# Poison Apple or Poisoned Apple? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333 "2010-02-02T04:07:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/1 "2010-02-02T04:07:27Z")
I was wondering if the wicked queen gave Snow White a “poison apple” or a “poisoned apple.” I know it makes little difference, but to me a “poisoned apple” seems to be a regular apple with poison added into it, while a “poison apple” is just naturally toxic? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/2 "2010-02-02T04:28:15Z")
Wasn’t it poisonous only on one side? That would seem to imply that it was something added on to it, rather than inherently toxic. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/3 "2010-02-02T06:05:54Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wasn’t it poisonous only on one side? That would seem to imply that it was something added on to it, rather than inherently toxic. Yip. Except in the Disney version. But in that one you see the queen put poison on the apple. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/4 "2010-02-02T06:38:09Z")
What was the significance of poisoning only one side? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/5 "2010-02-02T06:51:28Z")
Snow White was suspicious, so the Queen took a bite (out of the non-poisoned side) to “prove” it was safe. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/6 "2010-02-03T11:25:51Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Snow White was suspicious, so the Queen took a bite (out of the non-poisoned side) to “prove” it was safe. Great memory I didn’t recall that so I checked out a library book and yep there it was. It had five different versions of “Snow White,” and in all of them the Queen took a bite out of the non-poison side. So it WAS a regular apple with poison in it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/7 "2010-02-03T11:58:02Z")
Venomous Apple. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/8 "2010-02-03T13:30:02Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Venomous Apple. In Soviet Russia, apple bites you! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/9 "2010-02-03T17:35:15Z")
Poisoned donut. There is a poisoned donut, isn’t there, Smithers? ---
**Author:** ![kath94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/67e7ee/32.png) [@kath94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kath94)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/10 "2010-02-03T18:07:33Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I was wondering if the wicked queen gave Snow White a “poison apple” or a “poisoned apple.” > > I know it makes little difference, but to me a “poisoned apple” seems to be a regular apple with poison added into it, while a “poison apple” is just naturally toxic? Not claiming any expertise here, but in my opinion “poison apple” implies that the fruit itself has been damaged or, rather, the poison is intended to hurt the apple. “Poisoned apple” to me means that it has been toxicified (is that a word?) so that the apple becomes a weapon. YMMV. And is anyone else tripping on the fact that if you stare at a specific word (“poison”) too long it begins to look foreign or just _wrong_? ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/11 "2010-02-03T18:09:40Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Poisoned donut. > There is a poisoned donut, isn’t there, Smithers? But it comes with a free Frogurt! ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poison-apple-or-poisoned-apple/527333/12 "2010-02-03T19:04:44Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > Not claiming any expertise here, but in my opinion “poison apple” implies that the fruit itself has been damaged or, rather, the poison is intended to hurt the apple. “Poisoned apple” to me means that it has been toxicified (is that a word?) so that the apple becomes a weapon. YMMV. Mine does…a lot. Were I inclined to make the distinction between the words based on that, it would be the opposite. A poison apple would be an apple that was poisonous. A poisoned apple would be an apple that had been a victim of poisoning. If one were to slip arsenic into someone’s meal, one wouldn’t say that the victim’s been ‘poison’…one would say that they’ve been ‘poisoned’. Likewise, the arsenic itself would be called a poison, or poisonous substance, not a poisoned. The distinction I would make between the two would be thus: Poison - a substance which is toxic, or contains a toxic ingredient; a synonym for poisonous. Poisoned - A victim or poisoning, or a descriptor of something that, while not inherently poisonous has had a poison added to it. Therefor the apple could be accurately described as either poison or poisoned.