chalk and cheese

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
(Redirected from like chalk and cheese)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]
Some cheeses look superficially like chalk.
The surface of chalk may look like cheese, but it is actually harder than most cheeses.

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Attested in variant form since 1393. The surface of some cheeses, particularly unaged ones, looks similar to chalk – white, crumbling – but in substance cheese is much softer than chalk.

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.

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

chalk and cheese (uncountable)

  1. (British, New Zealand, idiomatic) Said of things that are very different, though possibly superficially alike.

Synonyms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]