comparisons are odious

comparisons are odious

To draw an analogy is offensive; one cannot compare apples and oranges fairly. This term was already so well known in Shakespeare’s time that he was able to make a pun—more accurately a malapropism—on it and be sure it would be perfectly understood (“Comparisons are odorous,” says Dogberry in Much Ado about Nothing, 3.5). The earliest reference recorded is from about 1430, and there are equivalents in French, Italian, and numerous other languages.
See also: comparison
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • wrong scent, to be on the
  • salad years
  • conscience does make cowards of us all
  • cold heart, a
  • run with the hare, hunt with the hounds, to
  • off the hook, to get/to be let
  • straw(s) in the wind
  • in over one's head, to be
  • paint the lily
References in periodicals archive
COMPARISONS are odious said some learned person in the 15th century - and deep down I would probably agree with him.
Tough to top a classic duel; IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY
"But I think all comparisons are odious. "How can you adjudicate what is fair pay?
Marr My wages are still too much
Comparisons are odious, or so it is said, yet they will be inevitable should purser provide his trainer John Gosden with a fifth win in the BetBrightsponsored solario stakes, not the day's most valuable race but arguably the most intriguing.
Pots of cash with a slice of intrigue and mystery; Graham Denchon a busy day bursting with compelling contests OPENING SHOW
Obviously this is different, comparisons are odious, we can't compare two different time zones..
Spinning a yarn out of tatters
COMPARISONS are odious, we're told, and they can certainly be misleading, but how else can you describe a band's sound through the medium of the written word?
EARTHLY CHAKRAS! Quintet promise raw power at Kasbah Rock
--& tho there is no scot-free, & comparisons are odious, all
Pirated Music
I know comparisons are odious, but the show was more worthy of television than the show on BBC1 on Sunday, May 8
Short points: THANK-YOU the League of Welldoers
Such comparisons are odious and politicians say we should not make them.
Paul Routhledge: 24 years work: pounds 1.18 a week 25 years work: pounds 2,300 a week Guess which pension is Blair's
If, as the saying goes, "comparisons are odious," how much more odious must be the activity of theorizing comparison, which seems only to succeed in doubling the vacuousness and circularity of an already suspect process.
Why comparisons are odious
Asked about how India's missile programme squared off against China's, he said, " Comparisons are odious, always difficult, and many times taken out of context.
DRDO aims at reducing N- retaliation time
mrryan1984 They're both wonderful Comparisons are odious. Let us remember Arkle for the wonderful horse he was, and enjoy Kauto Star for the wonderful horse he is.
CHATROOM The best of your emails
"Comparisons are odious, but he stands in the same box and he's managed by the same team"
Horse Racing: THE THINGS THEY SAID
Anyway, the two are not truly comparable and we should really stop trying to compare them because such comparisons are odious.
Thommo's `odour' now becoming an obsession