Don’t judge books by their cover. What does this mean to don’t judge a book (or for that matter, a person) by its cover? Let’s break it down even further. What does it mean to say don’t judge. What is the definition of judge, anyway?
Meaning
According to Wikipedia, The English idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover” is a metaphorical phrase which means “you shouldn’t prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone. Putting aside what the heck an idiom is, put simply, this phrase means the ugly duckling could turn into a beautiful swan.
How many of you have looked at a book (or an eBook) and made an instantaneous decision on whether you are interested in it based on the beauty or the ugliness of its cover. Be honest now. I’m not a betting person normally, but I would bet that more than one reader out there has made a hasty decision, only to hear later that the book was a best seller.
Let me give you another example. Say you’re walking down the street and you see a person that is dressed in jeans with patches, shabby tennis shoes, a face covered with tattoos and a hoodie. What are your thoughts? Do you cross over to the other side of the street to avoid that person?
The meaning of “don’t judge a book by its cover” goes back to circa mid-19th century. According to Newspapers.com, this saying appeared in Piqua Democrat on June 19, 1867; but for those of you remembering my asking in the first paragraph, “What is the definition of judge, anyway,” Merriam-webster.com gives us the verb definition as:
: to form an opinion about (something or someone) after careful thought
: to regard (someone) as either good or bad
Don’t Judge Books By Their Cover
More Don’t Judge Quotes
There are many different ways to suggest we shouldn’t judge. Some of them are listed below for you:
• For those of you familiar with the Bible, you may recall the teachings of Matthew 7. This scripture gives people a very clear roadmap that we should not judge a book or a person or [anything].
• All that glitters isn’t gold.
• Appearances (looks) can be deceiving.
• Look with your eyes, judge with your soul.
• Don’t judge a duck by its feathers.
I think the simple lesson that I wish to share here is that you just don’t want to judge books (or people) by their covers. In fact, I would take it one step further and just say don’t judge – period. Look within yourself before you pass judgment on someone else. That book (or person) could have chapters that have not been written yet. The final result could be totally unexpected, and you could miss the gem that is hidden within.
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Pam Lokker is a skillful writer and proficient virtual assistant. Borlok Virtual Assistants is the place to get global expert Virtual Assistant services with quality and on-time delivery.
