epitome of incomprehensibility
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A college student I'm tutoring online is convinced that the word "dry" in reference to alcoholic drinks means a lack of wetness. He directs me to a post on a Reddit- or Quora-like site. Its tone goes, "Are you guys stupid? Where else does 'dry' mean 'sour'?? Some liquids are wet, and some are dry. Just because you uneducated morons can't understand complex physics..." I tell the student that this is inaccurate, at least from what I know of the world. He's only partly convinced. "Maybe that's true for wine, but what about cocktails? What about a dry martini?" So I consult Professor Google. According to a site it shows me, a dry martini is called a "maytini" and is traditionally garnished with sprigs of blackberry or raspberry - twigs stripped of leaves but with the berries still on - because these fruits mature in May. I'm not aware I'm in a dream this time, but I have an unscrambled enough memory of real_life to recall black raspberries ripening in mid-July to early August. As if to prove and reprove, the site shows a video of a kitchen cupboard opening to reveal raspberry and blackberry sprigs in vases. You see? They are there! In May! I don't think, "Hey, it's not May." I get up and go to the kitchen cupboard to see if mine is the same. Not quite; the vases stored there contain plant clippings, yes, but these ones are dark green and have elongated green pods hanging down. At first, I identify these as radish seedpods, but they seem more like green beans. Then I recall the student. As in other instances of dream_tutoring, I've neglected them. And I still don't have an answer about dry martinis. ... (I did put some pea plant clippings in my glass vase from Italy a few weeks ago. I'd pulled up some still-green plants - when I only meant to clear away the dried ones - and I thought the thin curling pale green vines and white pea flowers would look decorative against the clear vase with its bright-coloured leaf ornamentation.)
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