A comparison of apples and oranges occurs when two items or groups of items are compared that cannot be practically compared.
The idiom, comparing apples and oranges, refers to the apparent differences between items which are popularly thought to be incomparable or incommensurable, such as apples and oranges. The idiom may also be used to indicate that a false analogy has been made between two items, such as where an apple is faulted for not being a good orange.
Read more about Apples And Oranges: Variants, Criticism of The Idiom, Apples and Oranges in Teaching The Use of Units, Oranges As A Type of Apple
Famous quotes containing the words apples and, apples and/or oranges:
“There was a young lady of Ryde
Who swallowed some apples and died.
The apples fermented
Inside the lamented
And made cider inside her inside.”
—Anonymous.
“At the top of the house the apples are laid in rows,”
—John Drinkwater (1882–1937)
“I don’t give a hoot in a hollow if there’s oranges and grapes a-crowdin’ us out of bed, I ain’t goin’ to California! This is my country and I belong here. This is my dirt. It’s no good, but it’s mine.”
—Nunnally Johnson (1897–1977)