XLVIII:ANIMALS

From the world of animals we get a lot of analogies. For instance, animals can be classified according to their feeding habits. Some animals graze. They are called the FORAGERS. GRAZING is the means by which they get food. Some other animals hunt. They are called the HUNTERS. They get food by STALKING (following secretly with an intention to attack) their prey. Yet some other animals browse. They are mainly the RODENTS. They get their food by BROWSING. A COW is an example of a FORAGER, the GRAZING animal. A TIGER is a HUNTER, the STALKING animal. A MOUSE is a RODENT, the BROWSING creature. Therefore, COW: GRAZE TIGER: HUNT MOUSE: BROWSE Look at the following ones: FORAGER: GRAZING HUNTER: STALKING The second term is the means by which the first obtain its food. The following is also from the animal kingdom: BIRDS: MIGRATE BEARS: HIBERNATE The second term refers to the winter activity of the first. STALKING, the activity of the hunters is also called PROWLING. When we STALK or PROWL, we walk secretly behind someone to attack him/her. A spurned lover may STALK his beloved. STALKING is thus an unfair activity. Among the ANALOGY problems the unfair or illegitimate activities are quite common. Let us turn our attention to such unfair relationships for some time. When we PEEK or PEEP, we SEE or LOOK at something with unfair intentions. When we EAVESDROP, we HEAR or LISTEN to something with unfair motive. When we CONVEY something illegally, we SMUGGLE, just as when we unlawfully COPY music or literature, we PIRATE or PLAGIARIZE. Another form of COPYING illegally is FORGING; just as unfairly TAKING is STEALING. When we LURK, we WAIT in hiding with some unfair motive. When we ABSCOND, we LEAVE unlawfully. When we STORE things illegally, we STASH, we HOARD or SECRETE. So, we can see that the following pairs of words are all parallel in their relationships: LOOK: PEEP OBSERVE: SPY LISTEN: EAVESDROP ASSIST: ABET WALK: PROWL WAIT: LURK LEAVE: ABSCOND CONVEY: SMUGGLE TAKE (COPY): PIRATE (PLAGIARIZE) COPY: FORGE TAKE: STEAL STORE: SECRETE (HOARD) In all the above pairs, the second is an unfair or unlawful version of the second. That is all for the day. See you soon with the next post.