| The phrase "carrot-and-stick" is the most misappropriated phrase in current discourse. |
| This issue certainly doesn't rise to the level of most of the other topics raised on this website. However, for me it is a constant irritant and, since this website's sole purpose is for me (and you) to vent, I raise it here. The term originally referred to the method by which a peasant coaxed a reluctant donkey to walk. When pushing, pulling and shoving the donkey failed, a resourceful peasant tied a carrot to the end of a stick and dangled the carrot in front of the donkey's face. The donkey stepped forward in an effort to reach the carrot. Of course the donkey could never reach the carrot because it dangled from the end of a stick held by the rider. Consequently, the donkey continued to put one hoof in front of the other in his effort to reach it, propelling himself, the peasant and his cargo. The phrase has been bastardized into a sort of reward/punishment analogy whereby the carrot represents reward and the stick represents punishment. Now that you know the origins of this phrase, perhaps the next time you hear it misused this way it will irritate you to the degree that it irritates me. |
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