Etymology Journal · H
How about them apples?
Meaning
- A casual rhetorical question used to express surprise or to point out an unexpected outcome. It is often said with a smirk when someone successfully pulls off a difficult task or makes a point.
Playful, smug
Used in a sentence
- I managed to fix the sink without calling a plumber, how about them apples?
- We got the project finished two days early, how about them apples?
- The team scored in the final minute, how about them apples?
The backstory
This is a shortened version of a common taunt. It likely stems from competitive fruit-picking traditions in the nineteenth century.
Heard in
Nationwide
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