Idiom
chalk and cheese
Meaning
Said of things that are very different, though possibly superficially alike.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“My brother and I are like chalk and cheese.”
“These two mobile phones look similar, but the software is chalk and cheese.”
“Even though they are twins, their personalities are like chalk and cheese.”
“The two cities are like chalk and cheese, as one is a quiet mountain village and the other is a crowded coastal metropolis.”
“You cannot compare the original movie to the remake because the directing styles are total chalk and cheese.”
“The two business partners were like chalk and cheese, yet their opposing strengths allowed the company to thrive in a competitive market.”
Examples
simple
“My brother and I are like chalk and cheese.”
“These two mobile phones look similar, but the software is chalk and cheese.”
contextual
“Even though they are twins, their personalities are like chalk and cheese.”
“The two cities are like chalk and cheese, as one is a quiet mountain village and the other is a crowded coastal metropolis.”
“You cannot compare the original movie to the remake because the directing styles are total chalk and cheese.”
complex
“The two business partners were like chalk and cheese, yet their opposing strengths allowed the company to thrive in a competitive market.”
Origin
Attested in variant form since 1393. The surface of some cheeses, particularly unaged ones, resembles the surface of chalk: white, crumbling, but in substance cheese is much softer than chalk. It is interesting to note that lime chalk and cottage cheese forms a glue-like material used in the restoration of ancient half-timbered houses, perhaps suggesting an alternative original meaning.
Key words
Related idioms
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