We’ve all heard it, “You can’t do that - it’s like comparing apples to oranges.” So what? That’s literally what comparison means. I can easily list the differences, advantages and disadvantages of apple and oranges. I prefer “You can’t compare apples to orangutans.” And of course, now some smart ass is going to do just that.
I believe the implication of the idiom is that it’s a false analogy. You can’t fault an apple for not being an orange, and vice versa.
When you assume, you make an educated guess based on a combination of available evidence and logical reasoning.
Yeah, that’s all the idiom means. You certainly can compare apples and oranges in reality, it all depends on how broad your parameters are.
Well, I’ve heard that we humans share 50% of our DNA with bananas, so apples and orangutans can’t be that far apart either.
Personally I prefer apples— much easier to deal with than orangutans.
Apples are much easier to peel.
And apples can be eaten either raw or cooked. Raw orangutan is terrible
True. However, four and twenty orangutans baked in a pie… < chef’s kiss >
I come from Brits on my mom’s side of the family, and if that had been their only source of steak & kidney pie, well, they would’ve made do in a pinch.
Yes. Indeed, did not Hannah Glasse, in her book The Art of Cookery, made Plain and Easy
say “First catch your orangutan” ? *
*No.
Yeah I but its a bad metaphor, as actually in most respects you can draw an analogy between apples and oranges. They are both human-edible fruit, approximately the same size, both grown on trees. Unless your analogy involves one of the few attributes they don’t share, go ahead compare away.
“That’s like comparing apples to the concept of a bicameral legislator.”: That makes sense.
“That’s like comparing apples to oranges.”: Not so much
To make an orangutan pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.
To be serious, and possibly over-pedantic, for a moment: I think what you’re talking about is comparing apples as a class or type to oranges as a class or type. But that’s not what the idiom is referring to, because, of course, it would make no sense to compare the concept or class of apples to the class of apples. But you would compare one individual apple to another, which is more straightforward than comparing an individual apple to an individual orange.
You can easily compare apples and oranges. What’s more difficult is likening them to each other.
(Does this belong in the “words that get confused” thread?)
Would it be better to compare witches to ducks?
It’s a Fair Cop.
The idiom is making the point that, while apples and oranges have certain similarities and superficially appear alike, in fact they are not actually alike in their essentials, thus one is making an incorrect or misleading comparison of the two things that have provoked the comment.
Ook!!
Isn’t that contrast and not compare?
I Hate A Nickel Cause It Ain’t A Dime is a blues/rock song written and performed by my buddy, Pittsburgh music legend Norman Nardini.