Smell bright and taste bright is grammatically correct, but why are they not used but look bright is used?
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3Most grammatically correct sentences are not used simply because they don't make any sense. colorless green ideas sleep furiously is a classic example used to make this point.– cigienCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 15:23
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I wouldn't be surprised at all if a wine reviewer said that some wine tastes or smells "bright". What makes you think these terms are never used?– The PhotonCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 15:52
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@The Photon cigien makes me think so– nomadCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 15:53
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I'm a little confused why you think the sentence is not used based on my comment. Your question states that the particular sentence is not used, and my comment was only referring to why that might be the case.– cigienCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 16:34
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1 Answer
When something is "bright", it means it produces a lot of light. Our sense of sight detects light, but our senses of taste and smell don't, so we have to use our sense of sight rather than our senses of taste or smell to determine whether something is "bright". We don't often say that things taste or smell "bright" because that wouldn't make any sense in a context where the literal meaning of bright is implied.
That said, it is entirely possible to use bright in a metaphorical sense to describe a very assertive (but not unpleasant) taste or smell. For example, it wouldn't be out of line for a wine review to describe a wine as tasting or smelling "bright", or for a restaurant reviewer to describe some kinds of food as "bright".
answered Mar 14, 2021 at 15:57
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But we guess after tasting or smelling wine the wine tastes or smells bright– nomadCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 16:01
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@nomad, I don't understand what you mean. After you taste or smell it, you should know whether it tastes or smells "bright" and not have to guess. Commented Mar 14, 2021 at 16:02
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I mean even though we don’t look at the wine at least we can guess with tasting so it tastes bright can be derived from guessing– nomadCommented Mar 14, 2021 at 16:03
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1@nomad, No. If we say it "tastes bright" we mean it has a strong but pleasant flavor. It has nothing to do with whether the taste leads us to believe it will also look bright. There is no guessing involved. Commented Mar 14, 2021 at 16:13