What does applesauce mean?
Applesauce is a smooth purée made by cooking apples until they soften, then mashing or blending them, often with sugar, lemon, or spices such as cinnamon. It is a familiar household food in Britain and North America, commonly served alongside roast pork, stirred into oatmeal or yogurt, or eaten on its own as a gentle, comforting dish suitable for children. Grammatically it functions as an uncountable noun, so it has no ordinary plural form. Beyond the kitchen, the word carries a colorful second life in American slang: from roughly the 1920s onward, calling talk 'applesauce' meant dismissing it as nonsense or empty flattery, a usage popularized in jazz-age banter and old films. Though that slang sense now sounds charmingly dated, it gives the word a memorable cultural resonance. Simple, wholesome, and evocative of home cooking, applesauce remains a staple term that bridges everyday cuisine and linguistic history.
A smooth purée of stewed apples, typically sweetened and sometimes spiced, served as a food or accompaniment.
"The pork chops came with a side of cinnamon-spiked applesauce."
Treated as uncountable; no standard plural.
(US slang) Nonsense, rubbish, or insincere flattery.
"'Aw, applesauce — nobody believes that excuse anymore.'"
Dated American slang, characteristic of the 1920s–1940s.
Applesauce is a mass noun and does not take a plural form; quantities are expressed as 'some applesauce,' 'a jar of applesauce,' etc.
"We went through three jars of applesauce over the holidays."
In 1920s America, 'Oh, applesauce!' was a snappy way to call out someone's nonsense — long before the word became a lunchbox staple.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of applesauce
Applesauce is a straightforward English compound formed from 'apple,' which derives from Old English 'æppel' of Germanic origin, and 'sauce,' borrowed from Old French and ultimately from Latin 'salsa,' meaning salted food. The compound arose naturally as cooks named the dish they made by stewing and mashing apples. Its figurative slang use for nonsense emerged in American English in the early twentieth century, apparently playing on the idea of something soft, mushy, and insubstantial.
How applesauce is actually used
The culinary sense is standard in both British and American English and is treated as an uncountable mass noun. The slang sense is distinctly American, flourished in the 1920s–1940s, and now sounds dated or retro, though it survives in nostalgic speech and period fiction.
Easily confused with applesauce
An apple is the whole fresh fruit, while applesauce is a cooked, mashed preparation made from apples.