have a heart of gold
Meaning: To be very kind and generous.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The old janitor looks gruff, but he has a heart of gold.”
Category: Body & Senses
Origin: In Shakespeare's Henry V (around 1599), Pistol calls the king "a bawcock, and a heart of gold." Gold, the purest and most precious metal, stands for a good and generous nature.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Avoir le cœur sur la main — literally: To have your heart on your hand
More idioms — Body & Senses
- get back on one's feet — To recover after an illness or a setback.
- not sleep a wink — To not sleep at all.
- welcome with open arms — To greet or accept someone with great warmth and enthusiasm.
- count on the fingers of one hand — To be very few in number, five or fewer.
- give someone an earful — To scold someone at length, or tell them angrily what one thinks.
- one's eyes pop out of one's head — To be astonished, often at something striking or desirable.
More English idioms
- have a short fuse — To lose one's temper easily.
- be full of beans — To be lively and full of energy.
- not to give a hoot — Not to care at all.
- have a blast — To have a very good time.
- set alarm bells ringing — To make someone suspect that something is wrong.
- throw the baby out with the bathwater — To discard something valuable while getting rid of what is unwanted.
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