My freshman economics text listed spaghetti as an inferior good. An inferior good was defined as one that you consumed less of as your income grew. Well, clearly this got the attention of the Italian food industry. Sometime since then and now a creative Madison Avenue type came up with a new phrase, yep, pasta was born. Forget Chef Boyardee and McCormick enveloped tomato sauce, enter Mario Batelli, extra virgin olive oil and pine nuts over penne pasta! The wine industry was not far behind as a stroll through Central Market demonstrates.
George Carlin wrote several books on the subject of words and their meaning. As George put it, I don't want to get on the plane, I want to get in the plane.
I was reminded of this Christmas day over an expensive meal. The son in law commented on the fine gravy over the roast pork. I assured him at those prices we had a sauce not a gravy...
Hmm, white bread or French baquette? What meal image does each of those two references conjure up in your mind? Words matter, consider the difference and use it to your advantage in your writing.
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