heart of gold
25
2.9
- idiom
- Informal
- Everyone in the community knows her for her heart of gold and willingness to support others.
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Watch on YouTubeThis grumpy old man who has a heart of gold.
- This grumpy old man who has a heart of gold.
- Not honestly, like as as crazy as he is, he has a heart of gold and love him to death.
- And he's he's just a really has a heart of gold.
- I was I, you know, read Isaac Asmov in my formative years and, you know, kind of love the robot with the heart of gold trope.
Examples
-
I felt bad, and I'll tell you why: Because he does have a heart of gold.
Blog text (8) -
The door opened to show the first victim in need: old Mrs. Goodwin, a faithful soul who had a heart of gold.
Fiction book (1997) -
You have a heart of gold.
-
Your son has a heart of gold.
Blog text (31) -
This was a good woman who had a heart of gold and lived alone.
Blog text (32) -
She truly has a heart of gold, gives so much and is a solid person and so talented.
-
McKindry was crusty and gruff, but he had a heart of gold and a compassionate nature that wasn't compromised by sentimentality.
Fiction book (2001) -
Then, as I headed into parish ministry, it seemed natural that during my travels along the coast of Labrador, I would drop into the Catholic rectory for tea with Fr. Jacob, the grouchy old Oblate of Mary Immaculate who had a heart of gold and a three-legged dog.
Academic text (2015) -
My grandmother always had a heart of gold, helping anyone in need without a second thought.
-
Despite his tough exterior, he has a heart of gold and volunteers at the local shelter.
Synonyms
46
2.4
A person who is very kind and ready to help others
6
4.1
Being kind, polite, and generous to other people
2
7.8
A natural kindness and care for other people
1
2.2
Being caring and helpful to people who need support
1
3.2
Being friendly, generous, and caring to other people
1
3.9
A caring and generous attitude toward other people
Kind and generous behavior that helps other people
Antonyms
How Kind
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward metaphorical composition: 'heart' (center of emotions/compassion) combined with 'gold' (valuable, precious) yields the idea of a very kind, valuable nature. This mapping is conventional and cross-linguistically common (e.g., Spanish 'corazón de oro'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can reliably infer the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
Heart of gold compares a person's heart to gold, a shiny, valuable metal. That picture of a golden heart suggests someone pure and giving, so the phrase means 'very kind and generous'.