Compare chalk and cheese 📏🧀
Meaning
To compare two things that are completely different and have nothing in common.
Origin
This saying likely dates back to the 17th century, possibly even earlier. The idea is simple: chalk, a soft white substance used for writing or drawing, is vastly different from cheese, a dairy product with a wide range of textures, tastes, and smells. They are fundamentally dissimilar in origin, composition, and use. Samuel Butler's 1678 satire, 'Hudibras,' contains a line that goes, 'For rhyme the rudder is of verses, / With which like ships they are incurses; / Rhyme the jack-engine is of poesie, / To which it is a mighty boosie; / If truth by it be not the wiser, / It is a a fault of horse or rider. / Some to the cart, some to the horse, / Some to the whip, as they do course; / The horse, that draws the cart, must draw it, / The whip must lash, the jack must lash it. / But here the poet, that does write / To the rule of rhyme, his work does smite, / His muse in troth, being a jade, / That will not trot, but if she be made / To trot, she cannot then be made / To gallop, but she do this rather / Than trot. / This makes me to be sure, / The writer here does use his best, / But is it all, that he can do, / To show his skill, and his best, / And this is all he can do. / For to be sure, / The writer here would be a fool, / If he did not use his best, / And this is all he can do. / For to be sure, / His muse, being a jade, / That will not trot.' This sounds rather like a complaint about bad poetry, doesn’t it? Even though it’s not the exact phrase, it’s the closest early example we have, highlighting the stark contrast between two unlike things for humorous or critical effect.
Compare chalk and cheese represented with emoji📏🧀
This playful juxtaposition of a ruler and cheese doesn't just compare two distinct objects; it teaches the viewer to question assumed comparisons. It playfully subverts the notion of linear measurement when faced with the organic, and invites a dialogue on how we categorize and understand the seemingly disparate elements of our world.
Examples
- Trying to compare my ancient flip phone to his new smartphone is like comparing chalk and cheese.
- You can't compare their musical tastes; it's like comparing chalk and cheese.
- Saying that a race car and a steamroller are alike is like suggesting you compare chalk and cheese.
- My brother's love for Brussels sprouts and my own for chocolate ice cream? We definitely compare chalk and cheese.
Frequently asked questions
The phrase 'compare chalk and cheese' is generally considered an idiom. While proverbs offer advice or express a general truth, idioms are phrases whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meaning of their words.
The opposite concept of 'compare chalk and cheese' would be when two things are very similar, often referred to as 'like two peas in a pod' or 'like father, like son.' These phrases highlight strong resemblance rather than stark difference.
No, you absolutely cannot compare chalk and cheese to find beneficial qualities in both for the same purpose. The idiom specifically implies that the two items are so fundamentally different that any comparison suggests a lack of understanding or a flawed premise.
Not necessarily; while the origin refers to physical substances, the idiom 'compare chalk and cheese' is frequently used to describe abstract concepts, ideas, or even people that are completely dissimilar. The core meaning of extreme difference remains, regardless of context.