Q: "gold dust" used figuratively?

[Joel S. Berson]

Since I've been challenged, how about, from the 18th century:

Some of the High Germans seem now to have rubb'd the French Gold-Dust
out of their Eyes, & begin to see that the French are but lukewarm in
the Emperor's Interest in the pretended mediation with the Ottoman Port.

This appeared only 1/3 of a century after the OED's earliest citation
for the literal meaning.

Joel

At 3/26/2010 12:32 PM, Bill Palmer wrote:
>IMHO, sounds more like that sort of thing  would be termed "fool's gold"
>rather than "gold dust".
>
>Bill Palmer
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Sent: Friday, March 26, 2010 11:34 AM
>Subject: Q: "gold dust" used figuratively?
>
>
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>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>Subject:      Q:  "gold dust" used figuratively?
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>>
>>Where is the place (and what are early dates) for "gold dust" used
>>figuratively, for example as something seductive but false?  It's not
>>in the OED, nor in the few dictionaries of American slang I have.
>>
>>Joel
>>
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