apples and oranges

Idioms  

1. Unlike objects or persons, as in Assessing the problems of the neighborhood grocery by examining a giant supermarket is comparing apples and oranges. This metaphor for dissimilarity began as apples and oysters, which appeared in John Ray's proverb collection of 1670. It is nearly always accompanied by a warning that one cannot compare such different categories.

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Example Sentences

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apples and oranges

"England and Scotland may be apples and oranges in terms of their football culture, but I don't believe the same can be said about the people culture", he said.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

That’s why comparing stocks’ past returns to Social Security’s risk-free, inflation-adjusted payments isn’t apples and oranges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

Colleges and universities may object that I’m comparing apples and oranges.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 14, 2025

Actually, the concept of the Packers’ streak being anything more than the three-peat they have always been credited for is semantics, fan talk ... a little bit of apples and oranges.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025

It’s like cooking: If you put in sugar and apples and oranges and lemons, when you eat it it’s going to be sweet.

From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones