What it means
Means someone’s genuinely kind and generous, the sort who’ll drop everything to help you out and never make a song and dance about it. If they’ve got a heart of gold, they’ll lend a hand, stick the kettle on, and still say sorry for the fuss. Not fancy, just proper good egg behaviour.
Usage examples
"Jen’s got a heart of gold, gave her last fiver to the bloke outside Tesco, then turned up with Jaffa Cakes and a fresh brew."
"He grumbles a lot but he has a heart of gold, first to help when you are stuck."
"She volunteers every weekend, an absolute heart of gold."
Where it comes from
Gold has always stood for the most precious thing there is, so a heart of gold is the most precious kind of nature, pure kindness through and through. The phrase is old, Shakespeare used it, and it has never tarnished. Someone with a heart of gold might be gruff on the outside, but underneath beats nothing but warmth and generosity.
Other ways to say it
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