Q: "gold dust" used figuratively?

[Garson O'Toole]

Perhaps your example fits the pattern of the proverb "Gold dust blinds
all eyes". The following link goes to a Dictionary of Proverbs with an
entry for the saying, but the cite given is 1875:

http://books.google.com/books?id=7PMZJqSR4sAC&q=%22gold+dust%22#v=snippet&

But there are multiple examples before 1875. For example, an issue of
American Monthly Magazine dated July 1838 has an instance:

"… that the "dear people" had been bought up by the Banks - they had
been blinded by the gold dust thrown into their eyes and were rendered
incapable of judging of the perfections of the plan, which in his
infallibility, he had proposed for their acceptance."

http://books.google.com/books?id=bYNBAAAAYAAJ&q=%22gold+dust%22#v=snippet&

Here is a 1771 work containing a sermon in which a misguided
individual places gold dust into his eyes. "Let it be supposed, that
through his ignorance of the right use of the things that are about
him, he will vainly torment himself whilst he lives; and at last die,
blinded with dust, choaked with gravel, and loaded with irons.

http://books.google.com/books?id=C7IOAAAAIAAJ&q=gold+dust#v=snippet&

In the 1771 work the Reverend may be attempting to evoke a
pre-existing knowledge of the metaphor in the audience. I haven't
tried to trace the idea further back or search deeply, but I hope this
comment is useful to you.

On Fri, Mar 26, 2010 at 1:16 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Q:  "gold dust" used figuratively?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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?
>>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>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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