What is "fool's gold"

Fool \Fool\, n. [OE. fol, n. & adj., F. fol, fou, foolish, mad; a fool, prob. fr. L. follis a bellows, wind bag, an inflated ball; perh. akin to E. bellows. Cf. Folly, Follicle.]

1. One destitute of reason, or of the common powers of understanding; an idiot; a natural.

2. A person deficient in intellect; one who acts absurdly, or pursues a course contrary to the dictates of wisdom; one without judgment; a simpleton; a dolt.

   Extol not riches, then, the toil of fools.
   --Milton.

   Experience keeps a dear school, but fools will learn in no other.
   --Franklin.

3. (Script.) One who acts contrary to moral and religious wisdom; a wicked person.

   The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.
   --Ps. xiv. 1.

4. One who counterfeits folly; a professional jester or buffoon; a retainer formerly kept to make sport, dressed fantastically in motley, with ridiculous accouterments.

   Can they think me . . . their fool or jester?
   --Milton.

   April fool, Court fool, etc. See under April, Court, etc.

   Fool's cap, a cap or hood to which bells were usually attached, formerly worn by professional jesters.

   Fool's errand, an unreasonable, silly, profitless adventure or undertaking.

   Fool's gold, iron or copper pyrites, resembling gold in color.

   Fool's paradise, a name applied to a limbo (see under Limbo) popularly believed to be the region of vanity and nonsense. Hence, any foolish pleasure or condition of vain self-satistaction.

   Fool's parsley (Bot.), an annual umbelliferous plant ( [AE]thusa Cynapium) resembling parsley, but nauseous and poisonous.

   To make a fool of, to render ridiculous; to outwit; to shame. [Colloq.]

   To play the fool, to act the buffoon; to act a foolish part. ``I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly.''
   --1 Sam. xxvi. 21.

Gold \Gold\ (g[=o]ld), n. [AS. gold; akin to D. goud, OS. & G. gold, Icel. gull, Sw. & Dan. guld, Goth. gul[thorn], Russ. & OSlav. zlato; prob. akin to E. yellow. [root]49, 234. See Yellow, and cf. Gild, v. t.]

1. (Chem.) A metallic element of atomic number 79, constituting the most precious metal used as a common commercial medium of exchange. It has a characteristic yellow color, is one of the heaviest substances known (specific gravity 19.32), is soft, and very malleable and ductile. It is quite unalterable by heat (melting point 1064.4[deg] C), moisture, and most corrosive agents, and therefore well suited for its use in coin and jewelry. Symbol Au ( Aurum). Atomic weight 196.97.

   Note: Native gold contains usually eight to ten per cent of silver, but often much more. As the amount of silver increases, the color becomes whiter and the specific gravity lower. Gold is very widely disseminated, as in the sands of many rivers, but in very small quantity. It usually occurs in quartz veins (gold quartz), in slate and metamorphic rocks, or in sand and alluvial soil, resulting from the disintegration of such rocks. It also occurs associated with other metallic substances, as in auriferous pyrites, and is combined with tellurium in the minerals petzite, calaverite, sylvanite, etc. Pure gold is too soft for ordinary use, and is hardened by alloying with silver and copper, the latter giving a characteristic reddish tinge. [See Carat.] Gold also finds use in gold foil, in the pigment purple of Cassius, and in the chloride, which is used as a toning agent in photography.

2. Money; riches; wealth.

   For me, the gold of France did not seduce.
   --Shak.

3. A yellow color, like that of the metal; as, a flower tipped with gold.

4. Figuratively, something precious or pure; as, hearts of gold. --Shak. Age of gold. See Golden age, under Golden. Dutch gold, Fool's gold, Gold dust, etc. See under Dutch, Dust, etc. Gold amalgam, a mineral, found in Columbia and California, composed of gold and mercury. Gold beater, one whose occupation is to beat gold into gold leaf. Gold beater's skin, the prepared outside membrane of the large intestine of the ox, used for separating the leaves of metal during the process of gold-beating. Gold beetle (Zo["o]l.), any small gold-colored beetle of the family Chrysomelid[ae]; -- called also golden beetle. Gold blocking, printing with gold leaf, as upon a book cover, by means of an engraved block. --Knight. Gold cloth. See Cloth of gold, under Cloth. Gold Coast, a part of the coast of Guinea, in West Africa. Gold cradle. (Mining) See Cradle, n., 7. Gold diggings, the places, or region, where gold is found by digging in sand and gravel from which it is separated by washing. Gold end, a fragment of broken gold or jewelry. Gold-end man.

   1. A buyer of old gold or jewelry.

   2. A goldsmith's apprentice.

   3. An itinerant jeweler. ``I know him not: he looks like a gold-end man.'' --B. Jonson. Gold fever, a popular mania for gold hunting. Gold field, a region in which are deposits of gold. Gold finder.

      1. One who finds gold.

      2. One who empties privies. [Obs. & Low]
         --Swift.

         Gold flower, a composite plant with dry and persistent yellow radiating involucral scales, the Helichrysum St[oe]chas of Southern Europe. There are many South African species of the same genus.

         Gold foil, thin sheets of gold, as used by dentists and others. See Gold leaf.

         Gold knobs or Gold knoppes (Bot.), buttercups.

         Gold lace, a kind of lace, made of gold thread.

         Gold latten, a thin plate of gold or gilded metal.

         Gold leaf, gold beaten into a film of extreme thinness, and used for gilding, etc. It is much thinner than gold foil.

         Gold lode (Mining), a gold vein.

         Gold mine, a place where gold is obtained by mining operations, as distinguished from diggings, where it is extracted by washing. Cf. Gold diggings (above).

         Gold nugget, a lump of gold as found in gold mining or digging; -- called also a pepito.

         Gold paint. See Gold shell.

         Gold pheasant, or Golden pheasant. (Zo["o]l.) See under Pheasant.

         Gold plate, a general name for vessels, dishes, cups, spoons, etc., made of gold.

         Mosaic gold. See under Mosaic.

n. A mineral or other substance often mistaken for gold, mainly used for iron pyrite.

n. a common mineral (iron disulfide) that has a pale yellow color [syn: pyrite, iron pyrite]

Fool's Gold is an original English-language manga published by Tokyopop. It is written and illustrated by Amy Reeder. The first of a planned three volumes was released on July 11, 2006.

There are currently no plans for the third, and final, volume to be printed.

Fool's Gold, or pyrite, is a mineral with a superficial resemblance to gold.

Fool's Gold may also refer to:

Fool's Gold is an 2008 American adventure-romance film from Warner Bros. Pictures about a recently divorced couple who rekindle their romantic life while searching for a lost treasure. The film was directed by Andy Tennant and reunites the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days stars Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson.

Fool's Gold is a Los Angeles collective that weaves together Western pop aesthetics with African rhythms and melodies. The group started as a side project of musicians Luke Top (a vocalist and bassist) and Lewis Pesacov (lead guitarist), who set out to explore their shared love of various forms of African music (specifically Congolese, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malian), Krautrock, and 1980s dance influenced pop music.

Fool's Gold is the first studio album by the American indie band Fool's Gold. It was released on September 29, 2009 by IAMSOUND Records in the United States, and on January 25, 2010 in the United Kingdom.

"Fool's Gold" is a song written by Timmy Tappan and Don Roth, and performed by American country music artist Lee Greenwood. It was released in August 1984 as the second single from his album You've Got a Good Love Comin'. The single peaked at number 3 on the U.S. country charts and number 5 in Canada.

Fool's Gold is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Laurence Trimble. A copy of the film survives in the National Film and Television Archive.

Fool's Gold is a 1947 American Western film directed by George Archainbaud and written by Doris Schroeder. The film stars William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Robert Emmett Keane and Jane Randolph. The film was released on January 31, 1947, by United Artists.

"Fool's Gold" is a single by American pop musician Aaron Carter. It was released on April 1, 2016. Considered to be a comeback single, the song is set to be on Carter's fifth studio album, LØVË.