In 1839, Ralph Waldo Emerson was credited with making the first known usage of the phrase "Apple Doesn't Fall Far From the Tree" in the United States. However, an old German proverb inspired him, and its English translation would be, "As men say, the apple never falls far from the stem." Emerson's phrase is used to describe how children tend to inherit the characteristics of their parents. This saying usually points out the similarities between a parent and child, whether physical or personality traits. For example, if a child has the same eye color as their parent, it might be said that "the apple didn't fall far from the tree." So when Sam Velez tells Lucas Hayes a changed version as "sometimes, the apple does fall far from the tree", he is actually trying to assure Lucas that Lucas will have different personality traits than his criminal father, so there is hope for Lucas to live a meaningful life with Veronica.