The Archive

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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