The English for "ananas" is "pineapple", did the English really think they grew on pine trees?

"apple" used to be a generic term for fruit. So it's actually "fruit of the earth", the French are poetic like that

Some German speakers say "Erdapfel" which is literally "earth apple."

Counter point:

There was a time when "pomme" was used to name any fruit.

Recently I watched an press event with a Canadian politician, who was switching between French and English as we must sometimes. He was talking about a bag of apples (which his colleague was holding) costing a stupid amount of money. He made the mistake of saying a bag of potatoes, which i found fucking hilarious as I speak both languages and understand the mistake. Unfortunately for him, the people criticising him were morons and were like WHY WOULD HE SAY POTATOES IS HE STUPID.

isn't apple used in many languages as a generic term for fruit?... it's not like pineapple has anything to do with apples either.

In a lot of languages the word for apple used to refer to all kinds of fruits, particularly new ones from more or less exotic lands. Pineapples also don't look much like apples, do they?

Let the language which is without sin cast the first stone.

I thought it was more "apples of the Earth", n'est-ce pas?

Have a look at how some early apple varieties looked like, before they were cultivated:

https://birdsongorchards.com/pages/welcome-to-wondrous-diversity-of-heirloom-apples

good tasting apples are a relatively recent thing. They are one of the fruits where a good tasting one is rare and then has to propagated with grafts. Apples that grow from seed are not that great and before a certain point was mainly turned into cider and vinegar and such.

Wait until you hear about pomegranates.

if you think ground apples isn't an apt description, you've never eaten potatoes raw.

In Germany they are called Kartoffeln (which is also a slur for the Germans itself).
But potatoes are also called Erdäpfel (ground apples) or in southern dialect Krombire (bent pear).
More variants here:
Source (German): https://die-kartoffel.de/wissen/schon-gewusst/kartoffel-deutsche-dialekte/

Have you ever bitten into a road apple?

People come up with funny names for things sometimes.

Why is this weird? "Apple" used to be the generic word for fruit in many different languages, it wasn't until recently that it took on the meaning of a specific type of fruit. I don't think calling potatoes "fruit of the earth" is at all strange. The English equivalent to this is the word "pineapple" -- a fruit that kind of looks like a pine cone.

Actually sounds like you've never had a fresh potato, pulled right out of the ground and eaten on the spot

eighty potatoes ..... french translation -> ... "quatre-vingts pommes de terre" (four twenties of earth apples)

They do make an apple sound when you crunch or slice them so i can see the link

American: "Have french people never eaten a good apple?"

Frenchman: "Have Americans never enjoyed a tasty potato?"

I think "ground apples" would better apply to jicama.

Dug up from the ground, somewhat sweet, can be eaten raw or cooked, apple-like in texture...