Thursday, April 5, 2007

A COMMON METAPHOR EXAMINED:
Color:
Apples: various (red, green, yellow) (+1)
Oranges: one (orange), but possibly named after the item (+1)

Taste:
Apples: refreshingly tart (green); mildly sweet (red) (+1)
Oranges: refreshingly tart and sweet (+3)

Juice:
Apples: Infantilizing (0)
Oranges: Satisfying but easily spoiled (+1)

Cultural associations:
Apples: portable music, Beatles, expulsion from paradise, scion of musicothespian mediocraristocracy (+1)
Oranges: self-obsessed rich teens; harbinger of mafia death, oppressor of Roman Catholics and subduer of Irish (+1)

Conclusion: when one "compares apples to oranges," one really is saying that the second thing is much better than the first one.

That is all.

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