How do you like them apples?

Posted by Cliff Bowman on October 27, 2008 at 17:58

In Reply to: How do you like them apples? posted by Lea Linding on October 27, 2008 at 17:02:

: Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "how do you like them apples?". I saw (or rather heard) the phrase in the movie 'Good Will Hunting' and while I understood the sentiment that was conveyed, the actual meaning eluded me...

I cannot find an authoritative source, but various sites on the web have it that the original "apple" was a mortar-fired bomb used during WW I. An illustration of the "toffee apple" can be found at the URL below.

The 1959 Howard Hawks film "Rio Bravo" is said to have a scene where the character "Stumpy" (played by Walter Brennan) lobs a stick of dynamite and says the phrase in question.

• How do you like them apples? ESC 27/October/08