English in a Minute: Like Oil and Water

Welcome to English in a Minute!  

Oil and water are two very different substances. So, what could the expression “like oil and water” mean?  

 Dan, I just got your birthday invitation! But I don’t know if I can come.
You have to come. I’ve only invited five people. 
Yeah, and Donna and Shauna are two of them. Those two are like oil and water.  
It’s my birthday so they will have to get along, like adults.  

If we say two people are like oil and water, it means they don’t get along well. This expression is not just used for people. Anything that does not mix together easily can be compared to oil and water.

[GiangLe-kyrq]

Vietnamese have sentences such as: "Như nước với lửa" (like water and fire)or "Như chó với mèo" (like dog and cat) to express that.

[davidhill]

My mom and I are like oil and water, thanks to Jehovah’s Witnesses. A thru-and-thru Jehovah’s Witness parent and a PIMO (physically in and mentally out) child are like oil and water.

[mukhtaarfaqay]

In somali 🇸🇴 we say it's watet and fire 🔥

[davidhill]

One man and one woman who are only co-workers are like oil and water in a confined space in the office.

[davidhill]

Synonym for this is “like iron and clay.”

[davidhill]

Spicy foods and mayonnaise are like oil and water.

[nun-chan]

Thank you for your 'English in a minute'. These're interesting/useful/effective for my English learning. We, also, have this idiom '油(oil)に(into)水(water)' in the similar meaning in our indigenous dictionary. But I'd have an another image as the word 'に(into)' indicating, dangerous to put water into boiled deep-fly oil. As an another synonym 'dog and monkey relationship, 犬猿の仲' is, but our ancestors devoured stray-dogs, so stray-dogs vanished half a century ago we can't see a quarrel between even of them.

[davidhill]

Kim Jong-un and Yeonmi Park are like oil and water.

[davidhill]

Michael Jackson and Prince were like oil and water.