If you really want to describe in words,
1) better say we don't “Apply” [FONT=Courier New]Tuples, but rather “Compose”:
In[1] := Apply[Test`Tuples, {a, b, c}]
Out[1] = Test`Tuples[a, b, c]
In[2] := Compose[Test`Tuples, {a, b, c}]
Out[2] = Test`Tuples[{a, b, c}]
2) OTOH, [FONT=Courier...