That's comparing apples and oranges
Meaning
To compare two things that are fundamentally different and thus cannot be fairly evaluated against each other.
Origin
The very notion of comparing fundamentally different things has ancient roots, appearing in various forms across many languages. In English, for centuries, people would refer to "apples and oysters" or "apples and cabbages" to highlight stark dissimilarities. But it was the pairing of "apples and oranges" that truly ripened into our modern, ubiquitous expression. This vivid, agricultural imagery, contrasting two common but distinct fruits, perfectly captured the essence of an unfair comparison. It became firmly established in American English throughout the 20th century, a punchy, easy-to-grasp metaphor that transcended its humble fruit origins to become shorthand for any nonsensical or irrelevant comparison.
Examples
- You can't say that a novel is better than a symphony; that's comparing apples and oranges.
- Trying to decide whether a car is better than a motorcycle based solely on fuel efficiency is like comparing apples and oranges.