Anyway, while we cooking dinner the other night, Alexandre was singing the song to himself, except he said, "Holy moly me oh my, you're the apple of my pie--"
"Apple of my eye!" I interrupted him, laughing.
Alexandre was flabbergasted. "What? What do you mean?"
"That's the expression in English! 'You're the apple of my eye!' It means like... you're very special to me."
"I know what it means, but that doesn't make any sense. 'Apple of my pie' makes much more sense! Because you guys eat apple pies! Get it? So like the apple is the most important part of the pie?"
I didn't know how to respond. He had a point. So I said, "I don't make up English idioms!"
My desire to tell you guys this funny little anecdote inspired me to search for the history of the expression online. The Wikipedia page has far more information than you'd ever want on it, and it's not even very clear. I have a feeling that if I show it to Alexandre as justification, he'll still insist that his version is better. I have no idea why that tendency would be in any way beneficial for someone involved in a relationship with me.
Anyway, I'll let you guys vote for which one is better: "Apple of my eye" or "apple of my pie"?
In case you couldn't tell by the apostrophes, I have internet at home again! More beach pictures and updates to come!
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Oh dear, yes, idioms can be troublesome for learners (and in this case your boyfriend). I remember having a student once in Nepal trying to tell me that something suited me by using the expression: "That's right up your valley." I corrected him, but once again being in Nepal, from the student's perspective "valley" made much more sense.
ReplyDeleteI think I like "apple of my pie" better. I might have to start using that.
ReplyDeleteRemember being a kid, and the first time hearing idioms like, "apple of my eye', "butterflies in my stomach", "playing at my heart strings", and "a chip on his shoulder"? I was always super confused. It's just that like everything else in one's native language, the more times you hear and say it, the less it needs to be explained to anyone else, because it "just makes sense". I say you guys invent your own alternative idioms and use them all you want! The english language needs a good kick in the sack!
ReplyDeleteI found a page listing a bunch of other idiomatic phrases involving apples: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/apple
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