apples to oranges

apples to oranges

Variants

• apples and oranges
• apples with oranges
• apples to apples (antonym)

Meaning | Synonyms

• the items that cannot be compared with eachother
• an unfair comparison
• two things that belong to different classes
• things that are completely different
• possessing non-identical attributes
• in contrast

Example Sentences

1. We cannot compare Sara and Salina. They are apples and oranges.
2. I can't think about leaving my two kids at home all alone. They are just apples and oranges.
3. Our new chef is just amazing while the previous one was not skilled, they are apples and oranges.
4. They were twins, but apples and oranges.
5. To compare Italian food with Mexican food is to compare apples with oranges.
6. They were a mismatching couple; it was like apples and oranges.

Origin

It is said that the idiom “apples to oranges” first known as “apples to oysters” in John Ray's proverb collection of 1670. The original expression referred to oysters on behalf of oranges as something which can never be compared with the apples.

Moreover, Spanish use it as “apples to pears” while the French use is as “apples to oranges.” The exact form of the idiom “apples to oranges” is being used since about 1889.