Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- apples stewed to a soft pulp and sometimes sweetened or spiced with cinnamon.
- Slang. nonsense; bunk.
by 1739, American English, from apple + sauce. Slang meaning “nonsense” is attested from 1921 and was noted as a vogue word early 1920s. Mencken credits it to cartoonist T.A. (“Tad”) Dorgan. DAS suggests the word was thus used because applesauce was cheap fare served in boardinghouses.