What does chalk and cheese mean?

When you say that two people are like 'chalk and cheese', you are suggesting that the two are very different from each other; they have nothing in common. The expression, which has the same meaning as 'apples and oranges', can be used with things as well. No one is really sure about the origin of this idiom.
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Why do we say chalk and cheese?

Origin. This phrase originated in the 13th century in the United Kingdom. There was a shopkeeper who often adulterated his goods just to make some profit. So sometimes, he swapped cheese for chalk, thus saving some cheese for himself and no one would be the wiser.
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Is chalk and cheese a metaphor?

A simile is a metaphor that uses “like” or “as” to make its comparison. So the expression “like chalk and cheese” and the expression “as different as chalk and cheese” are both similes.
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What is like chalk and cheese in English?

If two people are like chalk and cheese, they are completely different from each other: My brother and I are like chalk and cheese. oppositeTheir two daughters may look alike, but they are completely opposite from one another.
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How do you use chalk and cheese in a sentence?

The two opponents have been chalk and cheese. They are chalk and cheese. They were chalk and cheese and any simmering dislike they may have had of each other blew up in that moment. To an anorak they really are chalk and cheese.
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? Chalk And Cheese Meaning - Like Chalk and Cheese Defined - Chalk and Cheese Exampes - Similes ESL



Whats the opposite of chalk and cheese?

Opposite of exhibiting a difference or not being the same. same. alike. identical. similar.
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What does the term give up the ghost mean?

If a machine gives up the ghost, it stops working: Our old TV had finally given up the ghost. UK. to stop trying to do something because you know that you will not succeed: All I'd cherished from early childhood had been denied me, so I simply gave up the ghost.
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What does the idiom full of beans mean?

Definition of full of beans

informal. 1 : full of energy and life We were young and full of beans. 2 US : not correct or truthful : full of nonsense If that's what he's been saying, then he's full of beans.
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Where does the saying not by a long chalk come from?

The idiom not by a long chalk first appeared in the early 1800s, derived from the practice of using chalk to keep score in games of skill, particularly in English pubs. The practice is still widespread today, in games such as darts.
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What does chalked up mean?

Definition of chalk up

transitive verb. 1 : ascribe, credit chalked up his failures to inexperience. 2 : attain, achieve chalk up another victory.
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What does it mean to be as different as night and day?

Definition. If things or people are different as night and day, they are completely unlike each other.
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What does sixes and sevens mean in England?

If you say that someone or something is at sixes and sevens, you mean that they are confused or disorganized. [informal]
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What does all sizzle no steak mean?

all sizzle and no steak (uncountable) (idiomatic) A thing or person which fails to measure up to its description or advanced promotion. quotations ▼
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What is meaning of salt and pepper?

Definition of salt-and-pepper

: having black-and-white or dark and light color intermingled in small flecks a salt-and-pepper suit a salt-and-pepper beard.
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What is meant not by long shot?

informal (UK also not by a long chalk) not in any way: It wasn't as good as his first book - not by a long shot. Linguistics: intensifying expressions.
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What does the saying by a long shot mean?

1 : a venture involving great risk but promising a great reward if successful also : a venture unlikely to succeed.
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What is the meaning of playing to the gallery?

Definition of play to the gallery

: to do things that one thinks will be popular among many people instead of doing what one thinks is right a governor who refuses to play to the gallery.
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What does it mean to eat a slice of humble pie?

Definition of eat humble pie

: to admit that one was wrong or accept that one has been defeated They had to eat humble pie when the rumors they were spreading were proved false.
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What does it mean to go pear shaped?

Definition of go pear-shaped

British, informal. : to go wrong She was in debt, and when she lost her job it all went pear-shaped.
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What is the meaning of rotten egg?

rotten egg (plural rotten eggs) (slang, idiomatic, humorous, childish) A person who is the latest, the last, or the slowest in a group at performing a certain task, especially at going to a certain place.
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What does it mean if someone calls you a dark horse?

Definition of dark horse

1a : a usually little known contender (such as a racehorse) that makes an unexpectedly good showing. b : an entrant in a contest that is judged unlikely to succeed. 2 : a political candidate unexpectedly nominated usually as a compromise between factions.
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What does give up the goat mean?

Definition of get someone's goat

: to upset or irritate someone The way she's always correcting other people really gets my goat!
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What is the meaning of the idiom Birds of a feather?

Definition of of a feather

: of the same kind or nature : very much alike —usually used in the phrase birds of a feather Those two guys are birds of a feather. Note: The expression birds of a feather flock together means that people who are alike tend to do things together.
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Where does like chalk and cheese come from?

The origin of “chalk and cheese” comes from the UK in the 13th century. Some shopkeepers would try to stretch their profits by adding chalk into the ingredients when making cheese to add more weight to the final product.
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What does the phrase all hat and no cattle mean?

all hat and no cattle (not comparable) (US, idiomatic) Full of big talk but lacking action, power, or substance; pretentious.
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