I don't understand the 'tomato, potato' expression...?

Question

Can someone please explain it to me?

Answer 1

There is a song which accentuates the syllables differently "toe-MAY-toe" and "toe-MA-toe". Basically, if someone says Tomato, Potato, it just means your saying the same thing only with different words. Different strokes for different folks. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

As far as I know the expression "you say tomato, I say tomahto" originally comes from a 1936 song entitled "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" by George and Ira Gershwin. The song was sung as a duet by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald and also by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Here is an excerpt:

Things have come to a pretty pass
Our romance is growing flat,
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that,

Goodness knows what the end will be
Oh I don't know where I'm at
It looks as if we two will never be one
Something must be done:

You say either and I say either
You say neither and I say neither
Either, either, neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off

You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off

~~~

Talk about a shallow reason for breaking up. So basically it is a feeble attempt at pointing out the things that you don't have in common with someone.

Answer 3

Tomato Sayings

Answer 4

Its Tomato/ Tomato not tomato potato. It,s about two ways of saying the same thing which mean exactly the same thing.(hope ur following me here!)When people use the phrase they mean to to tell someone not to be so fussy and picky about something. In the song, you say tomato i say tomato you say potato and i say potato etc the two characters are expressing how different they are from one another, hence the end line which says, 'Lets call the whole thing off!) my brain hurts now.

Answer 5

I assume you mean the tomato (toe-may-toe), tomato (toe-mah-toe) expression. Basically it is saying that whatever you are talking about at the time, you may call it one thing and they might call it something else. The last time I heard it used I was talking with someone about political correctness.

He called the Native Americans Indians. I said they were called Native Americans (as they aren't from India), and he said it was a tomato, tomato situation. Basically saying they were two different words meaning the same thing. That's all that expression is saying, that you may be using two different words but you are referencing the same thing.

Answer 6

as in you say tomato i say tomato.

this is the difference in pronounciations between the UK and USA.

americans have a much more nasal voice (speaking through the nose) and therfore put extra emphasis on the A. whereas in england the a is pronounced as if it was a AR sound.

Answer 7

tomato potato expression for saying same thing!

Answer 8

You say Tomato, I say To-mah-to.

Even though we both pronounce the word differently, we can both agree that it's a juice seeded red fruit.

Answer 9

its to do with the way ppl say the 2 words some ppl express the a more

Answer 10

Americans pronounce them differently to the english