The phrase isn’t “you can’t compare apples and oranges” it’s “it’s like comparing apples and oranges”. Meaning that what you’re comparing are distinct things with their own merits, and it would be silly to try to declare an objective winner. It basically does mean that apples and oranges aren’t the same.
So why isn’t the phrase that then?
“Apples and oranges are not the same.”
The phrase isn’t “you can’t compare apples and oranges” it’s “it’s like comparing apples and oranges”. Meaning that what you’re comparing are distinct things with their own merits, and it would be silly to try to declare an objective winner. It basically does mean that apples and oranges aren’t the same.