chalk and cheese

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English

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

Alternative forms

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

  • Audio (AU):(file)

Noun

chalk and cheese (uncountable)

  1. (British, New Zealand, idiomatic) Said of things that are superficially alike but very different in substance.

Synonyms

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References