The English idiom "don't judge a book by its cover" is a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

ical phrase that means one should not judge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone. For example, "That man may look very small and insignificant, but don't judge a book by its cover – he's a very powerful man in his circle".

Early reference

*In

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

's ''

The Mill on the Floss ''The Mill on the Floss'' is a novel by George Eliot, first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was published by Harper & Brothers, Publishers, New York. Plot summary Spanning a period of 10 to ...

'' (1860), Mr. Tulliver uses the phrase in discussing Daniel Defoe's ''

The History of the Devil ''The Political History of the Devil'' is a 1726 book by Daniel Defoe. General scholarly opinion is that Defoe really did think of the Devil as a participant in world history. He spends some time discussing John Milton's ''Paradise Lost'' and ...

'', saying how it was beautifully bound. *The phrase was popularized when it appeared in the 1946 murder mystery, ''Murder in the Glass Room'', by Lester Fuller and

Edwin Rolfe Edwin Rolfe (September 7, 1909 – May 24, 1954) was an American poet and journalist. His first collected poetry appeared in an anthology of four poets called ''We Gather Strength'' (1933). Three more collections followed, none of which were con ...

: “You can never tell a book by its cover.”

References

English-language idioms Metaphors referring to objects English proverbs {{vocab-stub

Early reference

See also

References