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All that glitters is not gold is a well-known saying.
The expression, in various forms, dates from at least as far as the 12th century.[1]. It might even go back as far as Aesop.[2]
It simply means that not everything is what it seems.
The popular form of the expression is a corruption of a line in William Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice. The line comes from the secondary plot, the puzzle of Portia's boxes:
| “ |
All that glisters is not gold; |
” |
Note that Shakespeare used glisters rather than glitters. Glitters, however, is synonymous with glisters and was used in the 17th century.[3]
References
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