Word.ws English Dictionary

you can't tell a book by its cover

you can't tell a book by its cover is the alternative form of you can't judge a book by its cover.

Meaning of you can't judge a book by its cover

Proverb

you can't judge a book by its cover

  1. (figuratively, idiomatic) It is not possible to make reliable judgments about things or people by considering external appearances alone.
    Synonyms:
    clothes don't make the man, the cowl does not make the monk, all that glitters is not gold, looks can be deceiving, appearances are deceptive, don't just scratch the surface, Anything essential is invisible to the eyes, One sees clearly only with the heart, Other things besides cream float to the top

Questions about you can't tell a book by its cover

What is you can't tell a book by its cover the alternative form of?
You can't tell a book by its cover is the alternative form of you can't judge a book by its cover.

Words near you can't tell a book by its cover in the dictionary

  1. you can't say fairer than that
  2. you can't step in the same river twice
  3. you can't take it with you
  4. you can't talk
  5. you can't teach an old dog new tricks
  6. you can't tell a book by its cover
  7. you can't turn a hoe into a housewife
  8. you can't unring a bell
  9. you can't win them all
  10. you cannot break a stick in a bundle
  11. you cannot break a twig in a bundle

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: you can't tell a book by its cover (page history and authors); you can't judge a book by its cover (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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