(as) queer as a clockwork orange

1. Completely or blatantly not heterosexual or cisgender. Offensive when used pejoratively. Honey, I know I'm not subtle. I'm as queer as a clockwork orange and proud of it! My parents were not terribly surprised when I came out. I'm queer as a clockwork orange and always knew it—and I think they did too.

2. Very strange, odd, or unconventional. Everyone at the party thought he looked queer as a clockwork orange in his mismatched outfit. I know some of my students think I'm as queer as a clockwork orange because of my weird methods. Mr. Stewart may seem queer as a clockwork orange, but he's really nice—he's actually helped me carry my groceries many times.

all Lombard Street to a China orange

proverb Very probable or likely. London's Lombard Street has long been associated with the banking industry, while a "China orange" is considered an ordinary, unimportant thing. We'll definitely be able to beat the worst team in the league—it's all Lombard Street to a China orange. I've been hearing about layoffs and pay cuts for a while now. It's all Lombard Street to a China orange that none of the executives see a drop in their salaries, though.

See also: all, china, orange, street, to

apples and oranges

Two unlike things or people. A global tech company and a farming co-op are apples to oranges, so comparing their marketing strategies isn't exactly practical, don't you think? My mom and my mother-in-law are just apples and oranges. They should not be left alone in the same room for too long! Come on, you're a nurse and I'm an engineer—our work worlds are apples and oranges!

See also: and, apple, orange

apples to oranges

An unfair or invalid comparison made between two unlike people or things. Hyphenated if used before a noun. Comparing the marketing strategies of a global tech company to those of a farming co-op is kind of apples to oranges, don't you think? You can't exactly make comparisons of sales results between authors who write in such drastically different genres—it's apples to oranges. Come on, you're a nurse and I'm an engineer—our work worlds are apples to oranges!

be (as) queer as a clockwork orange

1. To be completely or blatantly not heterosexual or cisgender. Offensive when used pejoratively. Honey, I'm as queer as a clockwork orange and proud of it. My parents were not terribly surprised when I came out. I'm queer as a clockwork orange and always knew it—and I think they did too.

2. To be very strange. Then he started jabbering on about aliens and time travel. We all thought he was queer as a clockwork orange. I know some of my students think I'm as queer as a clockwork orange because of my weird methods. A: "That Mr. Stewart is queer as a clockwork orange." B: "Actually, he's really nice—he's helped me carry my groceries many times."

compare apples and oranges

To try to highlight the similarities between two different things—which typically cannot be done. You can't compare your job as a nurse to mine as an engineer—that's comparing apples and oranges! If you looking at the marketing strategies of a global tech company and a farming co-op, don't you think you're comparing apples and oranges? Those movies are in two completely different genres! Why are you comparing apples and oranges?

compare apples to oranges

To compare two unlike things or people. Stop comparing apples to oranges—those two companies you're talking about are completely different. If you looking at the marketing strategies of a global tech company and a farming co-op, don't you think you're comparing apples to oranges? Those movies are in two completely different genres! Why are you comparing apples to oranges?

go gathering orange blossoms

To look for a wife. The phrase refers to the frequent use of orange blossoms as wedding decorations symbolizing the bride's innocence. I'm quite certain that Sir Andrew went to town to go gathering orange blossoms, so we'd best get ready for a wedding! Edgar can go gathering orange blossoms, but we, as his parents, will ultimately get to approve of any lady he chooses. There will be plenty of beautiful ladies at the ball. It would be a fine time to go gathering orange blossoms, you know.

See also: blossom, gathering, go, orange

like comparing apples and oranges

Highlighting the similarities and differences between two people or things that are not really comparable at all. You can't compare your job as a nurse to mine as an engineer—that's like comparing apples and oranges! Look, comparing the business model of a small local business to that of a giant global conglomerate is like comparing apples and oranges—they are two completely different things!

See also: and, apple, compare, like, orange

mix apples and oranges

To combine or compare two different things. You can't compare your job as a nurse to mine as an engineer—that's mixing apples and oranges!

squeeze an orange

To make use of everything someone or something has to offer. This business is like squeezing an orange: it doesn't matter who's doing the squeezing, you'll still get orange juice.

apples and oranges

Fig. two entities that are not similar. (Used especially in reference to comparisons of unlike things.) You can't talk about Fred and Ted in the same breath! They're like apples and oranges. Talking about her current book and her previous bestseller is like comparing apples and oranges.

See also: and, apple, orange

apples and oranges

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.

See also: and, apple, orange

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

apples and oranges

If you say that two things are apples and oranges, you mean that they are completely different and cannot be compared. We really can't compare the data any more, it's not the same — it's just apples and oranges. Note: You can also say that comparing two things is like comparing apples with oranges. To compare one with the other is to make the mistake we were all warned about in third grade, not to compare apples with oranges.

See also: and, apple, orange

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

apples and oranges

(of two people or things) irreconcilably or fundamentally different. North American

See also: and, apple, orange

all Lombard Street to a China orange

great wealth against one ordinary object; virtual certainty. dated

Lombard Street in London was originally occupied by bankers from Lombardy, and it still contains a number of London's principal banks. This idiom dates from the early 19th century, but the use of a China orange to mean ‘a worthless thing’ is recorded earlier.

See also: all, china, orange, street, to

squeeze (or suck) an orange

take all that is profitable out of something.

ˌapples and ˈoranges

(American English) used to describe a situation in which two people or things are completely different from each other: He was no competition for me: it was like apples and oranges.

See also: and, apple, orange

apples to oranges

and A2O

phr. & comp. abb. [but that’s comparing] apples to oranges; [You are] making an unfair comparison. Chevvies and Beemers! That’s apples to oranges! They’re not even in the same class! It’s A2O! What can I say?

apples and oranges, like comparing

Comparing two unlike objects or issues. This term, dating from the second half of the 1900s, has largely replaced the difference between chalk and cheese, at least in America. The latter expression of disparateness is much older, dating from the 1500s. Why apples and oranges, since they’re both fruits, and not some other object is unclear. Nevertheless, it has caught on and is on the way to being a cliché.