English Explanatory Dictionary

bite at the apple

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Synonym of bite of the cherry.

Word forms

bite at the apple bites at the apple

Etymology

The bite at the cherry form is the original. By the 1940s, cherry had taken on the additional meaning of "virginity" and the phrase was considered embarrassing, and so "apple" replaced "cherry" in American usage. The first recorded use of the "apple" form is in 1922.

Synonyms

bite of the cherry
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