Them apples

"Day245" seems more than a bit clueless ... or maybe just very young.

From one "origin slang" site: " Note that the phrase in its colloquial use is ungrammatical. While a listener would understand "How about those apples" as being an equivalent question, using "them" is traditional. "

Also: how do you like them apples - interjection -
An exclamation of pleasure and triumph, usually inviting admiration for something one has done or acquired : How do you like them apples, huh, Ma?!/ How about them apples, Goodman? (1940s+). (The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.)

Will Hunting was smart enough and well-read to know that use of the traditional slang. A less educated person not knowing its history might well have used "those apples" and it wouldn't have made any sense within the context of the scene in the movie.

Anyone wanting to learn more about the use of the phrase over the decades can find a good discussion here:

https://www.quora.com/Where-did-the-phrase-how-about-them-apples-originate-from

..*.. TxMike ..*..
Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes not.

My mother used to say that to me in the early '70s. It's just an expression. It's not about the grammar.

Oh come on, Day... My native language isn't english, and even I know that's how the saying goes.
Sure, it's an aged way of phrasing it, but I think that's kind of the point.
"How do you like them apples" falls into the same category as "What can I do you for".
It just works, faults and all.

[deleted]

I think it showed that he had street smarts (in addition to book smarts).