Could someone explain this phrase to me: "How do you like them apples?" (1 Viewer)

[Paul_D]

I've never understood this. I assume its a cultural reference, and most-likely something American. But what does it mean?
edit: I believe the preferred affectation is: "How dyya like dem apples?"

 

[Andrew W]

Did it come from Wizard of Oz??

 

[NickSo]

I thought it was from Good Will Hunting
D'ya like apples? How d'ya like DEM apples!

 

[Rain]

Are you asking what it means or what the origin is?

 

[Mike Frezon]

If you're asking what it means and how its used, its an idiom that's used in two different instances. One, when peopley are surprised by a certain turn of events. The other, when people offer one option which is rebuked and they'll offer another lesser option.

In the first example, people will expect one thing to happen, but another happens and they'll say, "Well, how do you like them apples?", in surprise. That is, "Well, what do you think of that?!"

In the second example, people will say, "why don't you sleep on the bed? No? Oh, well then why don't you just sleep on the floor then? How do you like them apples?" In this instance, its again another way of saying, "Well, what do you think of that?!" but with a more negative connotation.

 

[McPaul]

It means "how do you like that?"

 

[Carlo_M]

I'd actually like a bit of etimology if anyone's got it for this phrase. Like did it date back to farmers exchanging batches of apples, some rotten, or something like that?

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I checked the wonderfully useful Word Detective site, but didn't find an entry for this particular phrase. I've submitted the question and will be interested to see if it is answered sometime in the next few weeks.
Regards,
Joe

 

[Charles J P]

The phrase dates back to the mid 1000s BC. It was common in the bartering systems. One trader could easily offend another trader if they thought too highly of their own merchendise, or didnt have enough respect for the quality of the other trader's merchendise. So, if a person was trading apples for whale bones, and the person with the whale bones thought that the person didnt have enough apples or that the apples werent good, the apple trader would take back his apples and put out all his rotten ones and say "well how do you like them apples".
I'm just kidding, I totally made that up, but since I made it up, at least the snopes hounds wont be pasting any links to disprove me.

 

[Micheal]

While we're at it...
How did the phrase "Sick as a dog" come about? A couple of friends of mine were arguing about it so Im curious as to what the answer is.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Why would he keep his rotten apples? I'd want to get rid of them, quickly, and not have them anywhere near the good apples. Because, another well-known saying is "One bad apple spoils the whole bunch." That's been known to be true long before the cause (methane or some other gas emitted from a rotting apple causes other apples to ripen/rot also) was scientifically proven.

Is that enough to debunk the 1000 BC traders story?

 

[andrew markworthy]

My usual sources have failed on this one (the phrase isn't used in Brit English). I suspect that it refers to something like the proverbial English phrase 'if you wait for shoes, you'll wait 'til clogs come in'. In other words - it's either this or nothing. Is it a quotation from a film, a play or a book?

'Sick as a dog' may not mean quite what it first sounds. It probably originally meant 'as depressed as a dog', since some dogs were seen as naturally melancholic (think of the face of a bloodhound).

 

[Charles J P]

Nope Wayne, without the backing of an infinately infallable website like snopes to back your claim, I'm afraid its just not good enough . I'm pretty sure even primitave traders would keep their bad apple far enough away to not affect their good apples, yet close enough at hand to be useful in demonstrating their point to would-be low-ballers.

 

[John Tillman]

Speaking of Apples... What is an Apple Scruff (as in GH's song)?

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Charles JP wrote:

[SKEPTIC METER ON]
What is the source for your claims? What part of the world does this claim pertain to? "Dates back to mid 1000s BC" WHERE???

 

[VinT]

^^^^

Hey Rex. Maybe you should finish reading his post first.
Scroll down. Well How do YOU like them apples?

 

[Rex Bachmann]

VinT wrote:

I read it all before I posted, thank you. If you're trying to tell me that the gentleman was joking, I can tell you I didn't find the humor in it (even with the "grinnies" on), and, so, couldn't be sure whether the hell he meant to be serious or not. So, there.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I'm just kidding, I totally made that up

Yes, I can see how ambiguous this part of the post is. I can't tell if he's being serious or not myself.
Regards,
Joe

 

[andrew markworthy]

What is an Apple Scruff (as in GH's song)?

The Apple Scruffs was a name given by the Beatles to a bunch of diehard fans who hung around the Apple Records headquarters in London and also outside the various Beatles's homes (a 'scruff' is simply someone who is rather unkempt in appearance).

 

[Paul_D]

Are you asking what it means or what the origin is?

I more or less understood what it meant. I was more interested in the origins of the phrase, but it appears no one knows. :frowning: