Some idioms are not syntactically flexible, so I was wondering if "the apple of one’s eye" falls into that category. I mean would it be correct to pluralize the words "apple" and "eye" in this expression?
Which would you say is correct?
When I feel depressed, I hang out with my family;
a. they are apple of my eye.
b. they are the apples of my eye.
c. the apples of my eyes.
d. the apple of my eyes.
Best Answer
Although I can't provide evidence to support this, my feeling is that "apple of my eye" is not syntactically flexible. The pluralization of 'eye' (Sentences c and d) definitely sounds wrong. The pluralization of apple in Sentence b might be acceptable to some native speakers, but it sounds wrong to me. The only sentence I would consider natural is Sentence a - They are the apple of my eye. I think that here, apple is being used as a figurative term for something general and uncountable, such as a feeling of attachment or devotion. I suspect that is why it sounds strange in the plural.
Maybe an etymological analysis could shed some light on this.