Literal context: When the apple falls to the ground, it means that it cannot fall so far away from the tree.
Figurative context: Kids are like their
parents; a chip off the old block; like father, like son.
Origin
THE APPLE DOESN'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE - "Apparently of
Eastern origin, it is frequently used to assert the continuity of family
characteristics. Quot. 1839 implies return to one's original home. Cf. 16th
century Ger. 'der Apfel fellt nicht gerne weit vom Baume,' the apple does not
usually fall far from the tree." From "The Concise Oxford Dictionary
of Proverbs" by John Simpson and Jennifer Speake (Oxford University Press,
Oxford and New York, Third Edition, 1998).
"Probably applied most often now to
someone with obvious failings, the saying asserts the problem was simply passed
along from parent to child. The notion is similar to the older 'Like father,
like son,' and 'Like mother, like daughter,' and seems to have appeared first
in German.
The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson apparently was the
first to use it in English when in an 1839 letter, he wrote that 'the apple
never falls far from the stem.' But here Emerson used it in another sense, to
describe that tug that often brings us back to our childhood home.
Emerson's original profession was as a Unitarian minister, but he left the ministry to pursue a career in writing and public speaking and became one of America's best known 19th century figures.
A century
later, however, the saying appeared in its current form and connotation in
'Body, Boots, and Britches' by H. W. Thompson." From "Wise Words and
Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and
Folk Sayings Olde and New" by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon
Books, New York, 1993).
The proverb also appears in
Russian, according to "Random House
Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y.
Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996). Mr. Titelman lists a similar proverb:
"It runs in the family.found in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play 'The
School for Scandal'."
Meaning:
When the apple falls to the ground, it does
not fall far from a tree. But what does it mean if you say that about a person?
It means two people are very similar It means
a son, or daughter seems very similar to a parent If a friend has many of the
same qualities as one of his or her parents, you can say, “wow! The apple sure
didn’t fall far from the tree”
Examples:
I looked at the father, then at the son, and
I thought, The apple doesn't fall far from the
tree.
References:
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