Learn English – n English equivalent of the Italian idiom “non confondiamo l’oro con la tolla!”

idiom-requestsidiomsitalian

In Italy we say "non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!" (= don't compare gold to tin!) when someone compares a (concrete or abstract) high-value thing to a low-value one.

For example:

Joe: "LaTeX è come Word" (= LaTeX is like Word)

Carla: "Per piacere, non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!" (=Please,
don't compare gold to tin!)

Is there an English equivalent one?

Edit:

Replying to some criticism about my translation of "confondiamo", I'd like to point out that "confondere", literally, means "to confuse". However, in this case, I think that "to compare" makes a better idea.

Indeed, in Italian we have another idiom

non è tutto oro quel che luce

which is the exact translation of

all that glitters is not gold.

The expression

non confondiamo l'oro con la tolla!

is used as a reply when someone puts on the same level two things with different value.
Hence, I think that, in this case, "to compare" is more suitable than simply "to confuse".

Best Answer

Not in the same league is very common:

Joe: LaTeX is like Word.

Carla: They are not even in the same league!

Not in the same league means

Not at the same level or quality as someone or something, much [superior or] inferior to someone (Idiom Corner).

You can compare this with the another sports metaphor in the ballpark, (and the already mentioned not in the same ballpark) which is commonly used to compare location or range. You might say "The costs of using LaTeX vs Word are not in the same ballpark." This comes from the usage of ballpark to mean "a location, area, range; within the boundaries (of the park)". It might be used like this:

Joe: We need a word processor for work. I propose using Word.

Carla: That would be in the right ballpark, but I think we need something more flexible. I suggest LaTeX.

Joe: Whoa! LaTeX is out of our league! We don't have time or the skills to learn how to use that. (or Joe might have said "That's major league!")

The distinction between the two idioms is subtle and comes from usage (since idioms connote something different from their literal meaning).

When you say *She's out of my league" it means you are not good enough for her. From the baseball expression, a minor league player would not be playing in the same game with major league players. (But they could play in the same ballpark.)

Related Topic