Idiom
take the shadow for the substance
Meaning
To be easily deceived, credulous, superficial.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Don't take the shadow for the substance when judging people.”
“You take the shadow for the substance if you value expensive clothes over kindness.”
“Do not take the shadow for the substance by trusting a politician's charming smile.”
“He focused only on the flashy marketing and took the shadow for the substance, ignoring the poor quality of the product.”
“Investors often take the shadow for the substance by following social media trends instead of checking the company's actual profit reports.”
“The young artist realized she had taken the shadow for the substance when the expensive gallery party felt empty and lonely.”
“The critic warned that those who value fame over character often take the shadow for the substance, failing to see the emptiness beneath the surface.”
Examples
simple
“Don't take the shadow for the substance when judging people.”
“You take the shadow for the substance if you value expensive clothes over kindness.”
“Do not take the shadow for the substance by trusting a politician's charming smile.”
contextual
“He focused only on the flashy marketing and took the shadow for the substance, ignoring the poor quality of the product.”
“Investors often take the shadow for the substance by following social media trends instead of checking the company's actual profit reports.”
“The young artist realized she had taken the shadow for the substance when the expensive gallery party felt empty and lonely.”
complex
“The critic warned that those who value fame over character often take the shadow for the substance, failing to see the emptiness beneath the surface.”
Origin
Attested since 1818, the phrase is traditional to English moral instruction and appears with particular frequency in the text of 19th-century sermons. It draws upon the distinction between the ephemeral and the tangible, though the source records no specific individual or event as its progenitor.
Key words
Related idioms
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