apple of sodom

\\-ˈsädəm\

Usage: usually capitalized S

Etymology: from Sodom, biblical city destroyed by God (Gen 10)

1.

a. : a fruit described by ancient writers as externally of fair appearance but dissolving into smoke and ashes when plucked — called also Dead Sea apple

b. : an empty mockery

had seen the fruits of victory turn into apples of Sodom — R.M.Lovett

2.

a. : the small yellow tomatolike fruit of a prickly shrub (Solanum sodomeum)

b. : a spiny herb (Solanum carolinense) that bears yellow and orange berries

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apple of Sodom or Dead Sea apple noun

1. A fruit described by the ancients as fair to look upon but turning to ashes when touched, variously thought to be a gall, or the fruit of an asclepiad Calotropis procera

2. By botanists applied to the poisonous green-pulped fruit of Solanum sodomaeum

3. Any fair but disappointing thing

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Main Entry: ↑apple

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apple of Sodom see under ↑apple

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Main Entry: ↑Sodom

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apple of Sodom,

1. something that appears to be very desirable or attractive but turns out to be wholly disappointing.

2. a fruit described by ancient writers as fair to the eye but turning to smoke and ashes when plucked.

3. a spiny plant found near Jericho that bears small yellow fruits like small apples. It is related to the tomato.