Likewise, the researchers said that men should approach women and say “your roof is a lover’s shoulder” or “your garden is the sea of flowers” rather than sticking to a more prosaic phrase like “your door is very strong.”
Scientists at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China have
published a new study called “Women prefer men who use metaphorical language when paying compliments in a romantic context” which suggests that poetic language is the way to a ladies’ heart.
It suggested lines like “Your smile is a naughty goblin” were likely to be more enticing than straightforward compliments like “your lips are so sexy.”
Likewise, the researchers said that men should approach women and say “your roof is a lover’s shoulder” or “your garden is the sea of flowers” rather than sticking to a more prosaic phrase like “your door is very strong.” Per the study:
The findings confirm our hypotheses that in a courtship situation where compliments serve as a sexual display of mate quality, women show a preference for metaphors, particularly novel ones, in verbal structure.
The preference seemed even more pronounced when the women were fertile:
We investigated 124 female students’ preference for compliments paid by males incorporating either literal or metaphoric (conventional/novel) language and targeting their appearance or possessions (house) throughout their menstrual cycle. Male faces paired with novel metaphorical compliments were rated as more attractive by women than those paired with literal ones. Compliments targeting appearance increased male attractiveness more than possessions. Interestingly, compliments on appearance using novel metaphors were preferred by women in a relationship during the fertile phase but by single women during the luteal phase.
The study was published in
Nature, and
is available online here. They seem to draw a tenuous conclusion that novel metaphorical language indicates higher intelligence, which would indicate better mating potential. What the hell, I like a good metaphor myself.
I realize, of course, that there may be some mistranslations among these otherwise extremely spiffy pick-up lines - it happens on occasion:
This discussion reminded me of a contest a few years ago (WaPo-sponsored, I think) wherein respondents were asked to produce pick-up lines that only Washington, D.C.-area residents would understand. The winner was "Your beauty renders me as powerless as D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton." Don't get it? That's because you don't live in D.C., but there's a
cursory explanation here.
