An apple a day keeps the doctor away means that eating an apple every day, or keeping simple healthy habits, stops you from getting ill. People say it about small healthy habits, often with a smile as they hand someone a piece of fruit; frequently they say only the beginning: An apple a day…
When would you say an apple a day keeps the doctor away?
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an apple a day keeps the doctor away; An apple a day… (short form in speech)
- My grandmother puts an apple in my bag every morning: an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
- I've started eating fruit at work instead of biscuits. An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?
- 'An apple a day,' my dad says whenever he hands me a snack.
What changed
First versionAn apple in a day keeps the doctor away.
RevisionAn apple a day keeps the doctor away.
In a day can seem natural, since many time phrases start with a preposition. But English expresses frequency without one: once a week, three times a day, an apple a day. In a day means “within one day”: Rome wasn't built in a day. Only the extra in was removed.
Per day means the same as a day but sounds like an instruction or a report: Take two tablets per day. In the proverb and in everyday speech, people say a day: I walk ten thousand steps a day. The proverb itself is often cut off halfway: Have some fruit, an apple a day!
Your turn
My doctor laughed when I said I eat an apple every morning: 'Well, an apple a day keeps the doctor ___!'
Show the answer
away — The proverb keeps the doctor at a distance, and that's keep away. Keep off is used about grass or a topic of conversation: Keep off the grass. It doesn't work in the proverb.
Write about a healthy habit that you or your family keep. Say how often you do it and who recommended it to you.
My grandmother taught me to eat fruit twice a day; she always says an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
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