All that glitters is not gold is a well-known saying, meaning that not everything that looks precious is precious. The expression, in various forms, originated in or before the 12th century and may date from Aesop

Aesop

Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...

.

The popular form of the expression is a corruption of a line in William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's play, The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice

The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...

, which employs a 17th century synonym for "glitters", "glisters". The line comes from a secondary plot of the play, the puzzle of Portia

Portia (Merchant of Venice)

Portia is the heroine of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. A rich, beautiful, and intelligent heiress, she is bound by the lottery set forth in her father's will, which gives potential suitors the chance to choose between three caskets composed of gold, silver and lead...

's boxes (Act II - Scene VII - Prince of Morocco):
Panning for gold often results in finding pyrite

Pyrite

The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...

, nicknamed fool's gold, which reflects substantially more light than authentic gold does. Gold in its raw form appears dull and does not glitter.

"Not all that glitters is gold" is an alternate formulation.

The inverse of this expression, "All that glitters is gold," is a lyric in the Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

 song, "Stairway to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven

"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...

", the Smash Mouth

Smash Mouth

Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell, Greg Camp, Paul De Lisle and Kevin Coleman as lead vocals, guitar, bass and drums respectively...

 song, "All Star"

All Star (song)

"All Star" is a single by Smash Mouth, released in 1999.It was featured on their album Astro Lounge and is one of the group's most successful songs. The music video featured cameos of William H...

, and the Death in Vegas

Death in Vegas

Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...

 song, "All That Glitters"

Dead Elvis

Dead Elvis was the first album by British band Death in Vegas. It was released on March 10, 1997 in the United Kingdom and on September 16, 1997 in the United States. This was the only Death in Vegas album to feature original member Steve Hellier. The British release features colored Elvis graffiti...

.

See also

• The Merchant of Venice
  The Merchant of Venice
  The Merchant of Venice is a tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. Though classified as a comedy in the First Folio and sharing certain aspects with Shakespeare's other romantic comedies, the play is perhaps most remembered for its dramatic...
  
  
• All that is gold does not glitter
  All that is Gold Does Not Glitter
  All that is gold does not glitter is a poem written by J. R. R. Tolkien for his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. It alludes to an integral part of the plot. The poem reads:...
  
  , poem by J. R. R. Tolkien
  J. R. R. Tolkien
  John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
  
   included in his fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings
  The Lord of the Rings
  The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
  
  , with a contrasting meaning
• "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes", poem by Thomas Gray which ends "Nor all that glisters gold"

External links

• Context of Shakespeare's quote at enotes.com