meaning - “Everything is not…”

I keep hearing people say everything is not… which frustrating because it is ambiguous. It could mean either

Nothing is… (for the set of all things, no thing is…)

Not everything is… (for the set of all things, some things are not…/not all things are…)

I have been hearing it more and more in the past few years. In fact, when you Google the phrase everything is not, you get Selena Gomez’s rendition of the Wizards of Waverly Place theme song which only further popularizes it with the youth.

Is this phrase grammatically correct/legitimate (ie, would an English teacher complain?), and if so, which is the correct meaning (if any)?

Comments

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