All that glitters is not gold means an attractive surface doesn't guarantee real value inside. The flat is perfect in the photos, but the roof leaks; the job sounds glamorous, but it's all paperwork. You'll also see not all that glitters is gold. It works in conversation and in essays about advertising or career choices.
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all that glitters is not gold; not all that glitters is gold
- The flat looked perfect in the photos, but the roof leaked; all that glitters is not gold.
- All that glitters is not gold: the beautiful notebook fell apart after a week.
- The role sounded glamorous, yet most days involved routine paperwork—not all that glitters is gold.
What changed
First versionThe flat looked perfect in the photos, but the roof leaked: not everything that shines is gold.
RevisionThe flat looked perfect in the photos, but the roof leaked: all that glitters is not gold.
Shine is the first verb that comes to mind for gold, so the saying gets rebuilt as not everything that shines is gold. But the English version uses glitters, which means sparkles, and the word order is fixed: all that glitters is not gold. The literal version was replaced with the saying.
The real McCoy is about something that turns out to be genuine. All that glitters is not gold is a warning that something attractive may be worthless. Looks can be deceiving means the same, but without the image of gold.
Your turn
Complete the saying: All that ___ is not gold.
Show the answer
glitters — The verb in the saying is glitters: all that glitters is not gold. Shines is close in meaning, but it isn't used in this expression.
Write about a purchase, job or offer that looked great but turned out to be disappointing.
The shiny suitcase broke on its first trip; all that glitters is not gold.
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