apples to oranges


Also found in: Acronyms.

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!
See also: apple, orange, to
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

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?
See also: apple, orange, to
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
The discrepancies between what industry perceives and what visitors want may be evident to some, but for fishing and hunting lodge owners, who make up 88 per cent of the 150 respondents participating in the industry survey, the two reports are like trying to compare "apples to oranges," Greaves says.
Tourism operators off the mark: Lakehead prof
But this is like comparing apples to oranges. Because of widespread environmental degradation and what is viewed as an impending energy crisis, Our perspective is that the world can't afford not to go green." With this perspective, the homeowners have embraced these ideals and created for themselves a sustainably built and self-sufficient home.
Self-sufficient retreat in Max Patch: of-the-grid and off the beaten path
I take issue with this, because the two shows are like comparing apples to oranges.
I want my QAF
"Many companies, when they investigate replacing a boiler, are only concerned with the end cost and they find themselves comparing apples to oranges," according to Mortman.
'Boiling' over with experience. (Profile of the Week)
As the Supreme Court realized, once judges start scrutinizing every law that burdens religion, looking for a compelling interest to justify it, they are forced to compare apples to oranges, worldly ends to spiritual imperatives.
Establishment pause: religious freedom meets anti-discrimination law
They say you can't compare apples to oranges. Well, now you can, thanks to new scan data on produce from Information Resources Inc.
Scanning the produce patch
Most were eventually resolved and blamed either on poorly worded surveys that resulted in "comparing apples to oranges" or poor internal communication (as one university spokesperson explained, "one office not communicating with another").
University PAOs have to be ready for anything
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