there is more to (someone or something) than meets the eye

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there is more to (someone or something) than meets the eye

Something or someone has more merit, import, or facets than is initially perceived. Don't discount Fred as a candidate for this job—there's more to him than meets the eye. This story goes deeper—there's definitely more to it than meets the eye.

there's more to something/someone than meets the eye

COMMON If you say that there is more to something or someone than meets the eye, you mean that they are more complicated or interesting than they appear. I'm not sure I believe Molly's version of events — something tells me there's more to this than meets the eye. There is more to this giggly style of television presenting than meets the eye. On the surface, she seemed shy — mousy even, but there was a great deal more to her than met the eye.

See also: eye, meet, more, someone, something, to

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

there's more to someone or something than meets the eye

a person or situation is more complex or interesting than they appear.

See also: eye, meet, more, someone, something, to

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

there’s more to somebody/something than meets the ˈeye

a thing or a person is more complicated, difficult, interesting, etc., than it appears: Sailing isn’t easy — there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye. ♢ Colleagues felt that there was more to his resignation than met the eye.

See also: eye, meet, more, somebody, something, to

more (to it) than meets the eye

One is seeing only the surface or a portion of something that has a deeper or larger significance. This nineteenth-century term became a favorite British cliché, as well as the object of fun. John Galsworthy used it in The Man of Property (1906): “‘There’s more here, sir,’ says the Inspector over the dead body, ‘than meets the eye.’” Critic Alexander Woollcott quoted actress Tallulah Bankhead as quipping about the revival of a play by Maurice Maeterlinck, “There is less in this than meets the eye.” See also tip of the iceberg, (only) the.