fool's gold en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
From the idea that the mineral fools people (especially those who are fools) into mistakenly thinking that they have found gold. Regarding minerals that were named for deceptive appearance that prompts confusion with others, compare also apatite.
Meanings
- (uncountable) A mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold; mainly iron pyrite.
-
(figuratively, uncountable) Something worthless that deceptively seems valuable.
Although many dot-com dreams turned to fool's gold in a short time, in reality, there are a number of entrepreneurial ventures that not only survived but thrived during and after the dot-com crash.
2011, Ellen A. Ensher, Susan E. Murphy, Power Mentoring, page 50:
Translations (38)
nb narregull (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nl ijzerkies (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · cmn 愚人金 (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · ja 愚か者の金 (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · pt ouro dos tolos (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · fr or des fous (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · ja 黄鉄鉱 (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nb svovelkis (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nl het goud der dwazen (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · ko 바보의 금 (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · de Katzengold (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · sv kattguld (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · ca or dels ximples (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · es oro de los pobres (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · it similoro (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nn pyritt (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · is glópagull (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nl gekkengoud (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · hu bolondok aranya (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · el σιδηροπυρίτης (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · de Narrengold (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · el χαλκοπυρίτης (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · fi kissankulta (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · fy klettergoud (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · sv svavelkis (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · es oro de los tontos (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nb pyritt (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · it oro di Bologna (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · sv pyrit (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · da narreguld (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nl pyriet (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · cmn 假黃金 /假黄金 (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · fi katinkulta (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · cs kočičí zlato (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · th ทองคนโง่ (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · it oro degli stolti (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nn svovelkis (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold) · nl klatergoud (mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold)