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Manser, Martin H. "the apple never falls far from the tree." Writer's Reference Center. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 17 Apr. 2025. <http://fofweb.infobase.com/wrc/Detail.aspx?iPin=DOP00065>.
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the apple never falls far from the tree

Definition 
Children resemble their parents in character and nature: "Forbes has a lively sense of fun (his motorcycling, balloon-riding father, Malcolm, certainly had one, and the apple does not fall far from the tree)" (Washington Post, 1996). The proverb is also sometimes used with reference to children who choose to live close to their parents or their place of birth, as in a letter by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1839): "As men say the apple never falls far from the stem, I shall hope that another year will draw your eyes and steps to this old dear odious haunt of the race." Compare the 16th-century German proverb "Der Apfel fellt nicht gerne weit vom Baume [The apple does not usually fall far from the tree]."

Variant of this proverb: an apple doesn't roll far from the tree.

Proverbs expressing similar meaning: like father like son; like mother like daughter.

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