compare apples and oranges

compare apples and oranges
to examine the similarities of things that are completely different.

Comparing the average wages of workers and managers is like trying to compare apples and oranges.

Usage notes: usually used to explain that two things cannot be compared

New idioms dictionary. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • you can't compare apples and oranges — you can t compare ˌapples and ˈoranges idiom (NAmE) it is impossible to say that one thing is better than another if the two are completely different • They are both great but you can t compare apples and oranges. • No, you re trying to compare… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Apples and oranges — For other uses, see Apples and oranges (disambiguation). Apples and Oranges, by Paul Cézanne …   Wikipedia

  • apples and oranges — (of two people or things) irreconcilably or fundamentally different * * * ˌapples and ˈoranges idiom (NAmE) used to describe a situation in which two people or things are completely different from each other • They really are apples and oranges.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • compare apples and oranges — try to find similarities between two completely different items (or subjects, issues, etc.) …   English contemporary dictionary

  • compare apples and/to/with oranges — to compare things that are very different To compare large trucks with compact cars is to compare apples with oranges. • • • Main Entry: ↑compare compare apples and/to/with oranges see ↑compare, 1 • • • Main Entry: ↑orange …   Useful english dictionary

  • apples and oranges — used when people compare or describe two totally different things. ( Apples to oranges is also used.) …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • mix apples and oranges — verb To mix two totally different things. See Also: compare apples and oranges …   Wiktionary

  • apples and oranges — American if two people or things are apples and oranges, they are completely different. You can t compare inner city schools and schools in the suburbs they re apples and oranges …   New idioms dictionary

  • apples and oranges — idiom. two things that cannot be compared. It s apples and oranges. You can t compare them …   English slang

  • Computer Power and Human Reason — Joseph Weizenbaum s influential 1976 book Computer Power and Human Reason: From Judgment To Calculation (San Francisco: W. H. Freeman, 1976; ISBN 0 7167 0463 3) displays his ambivalence towards computer technology and lays out his case: while… …   Wikipedia

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