chalk and cheese
English
![](../I/m/Caerphilly_cheese.jpg)
Some cheeses look superficially like chalk.
![](../I/m/White_cliffs_of_dover_09_2004.jpg)
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)
- (Britain, New Zealand, idiomatic) Said of things that are superficially alike but very different in substance.
Synonyms
Translations
superficially alike but different
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References
- "chalk and cheese", World Wide Words, Michael Quinion
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