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French Proverb
| Meaning | All that glitters isn’t gold |
| Literally | All that shines isn’t gold |
| Register | normal |
| Pronunciation | |
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[too s(eu) kee breey nay pah uhr] (or [pah zuhr] – the liaison is optional) |
| IPA | [tu s(ə) ki brij ne pa ɔʀ] (or [pa zɔʀ]) |
Usage notes: Tout ce qui brille n’est pas or is one of the rare French proverbs with a near-perfect English equivalent: "All that glitters isn’t gold." It’s used in both languages to indicate that something which seemed wonderful turned out to be not so great after all.
Par exemple…
J’ai déménagé après avoir entendu parler de beaucoup d’emplois ici, mais je ne peux rien trouver. Tout ce qui brille n’est pas or.
I moved after hearing about lots of good jobs here, but I can’t find anything. All that glitters isn’t gold.
Erreur ?
Some French speakers insist that the correct expression is tout ce qui brille n’est pas d’or, literally, "all that glitters isn’t made of gold." However, Le grand Robert and Le bon usage, the bibles of French vocabulary and grammar, respectively, both say tout ce qui brille n’est pas or. So if you disagree with my lesson, you’ll have to take it up with them. 🙂
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