Meaning & Analysis
The phrase indicates that two things being compared are extremely dissimilar—an apple and an oyster (or nut) share no real resemblance.
Insights
Extreme Dissimilarity
This proverb is used to express that two people, things, or ideas are fundamentally or obviously different, despite any superficial comparisons made between them.
False Equivalence
It critiques misleading comparisons, pointing out that certain analogies are so far-fetched as to be absurd, and should not be trusted as serious parallels.
Mockery of Comparison
The phrase can be used humorously or sarcastically to highlight the absurdity of likening two entities that share no meaningful qualities.
Shakespearean Humor
Shakespeare uses the phrase in *The Taming of the Shrew* to comically deflate a comparison between characters, signaling his awareness of how physical resemblance can be exaggerated for narrative convenience or flattery.
Visual and Textural Incongruity
The comparison between an apple—smooth, round, sweet—and an oyster—rough, irregular, and marine—leverages vivid sensory contrast to amplify the sense of absurdity, making it especially potent in oral and visual rhetoric.
Linguistic Play in Proverbial English
The proverb illustrates how English idiom often relies on the comic effect of exaggerated contrast, using incongruous pairings to drive home meaning through humor and hyperbole.
Idiomatic Resilience
Though archaic in phrasing, the idea endures in modern forms like 'as different as night and day' or 'apples and oranges'—testifying to the lasting appeal of using food-based analogies for conceptual clarity.
Rhetorical Devices
Simile
The proverb uses a stark simile to assert total difference, relying on the structure 'as like as...to...' for clarity and force.
Irony
The humorous exaggeration of a false likeness creates a form of irony, especially when deployed in mock-serious comparisons.
Sensory Contrast
By invoking highly distinct textures, tastes, and appearances, the phrase enlists sensory imagery to make the comparison striking and memorable.
Transcription
Quotations
(is to a nutte, or as wotemeale to grene chese).
Then we shall see howe like this apple is to that oyster.
(apple to).
And they do go no more aleek, Than an apple's like an oyster.
As much difference as may be, As an Apple is like an Oyster, saith the English.
(apple to).
(to a Lobster).
Shakespeare Citations
He is my father, sir; and . . In count'nance somewhat doth resemble you. —As much as an apple doth an oyster.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.