How did the expression "How about them apples ?" come about ?

Question

...and what does this really mean ?

Answer 1

"So, there." "What do you have to say now?" "What are you going to do about it?"

According to the "America's Popular Sayings: Over 1600 Expressions on Topics from Beauty to Money and Everything In Between" by Gregory Titelman, page 138, it has been used ironically since the late 1920s.

Titelman uses the phrase, "How do you like them apples," though he cites examples by Edward Albee, Andy Rooney and Elia Kazan.

My favorites contemporary use was in 1997's "Good Will Hunting" when the following exchange took place.

Will: Do you like apples?
Clark: Yeah.
Will: Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?

We use this phrase a lot in the Boston area. The screen play, of course, was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who grew up in Cambridge.

Answer 2

good question....