# Stop saying "carrot and stick." Just stop **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 24, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046 "2006-05-24T17:00:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/1 "2006-05-24T17:00:44Z")
I hate this. I hate hate hate this. I think every morning, some op-ed or front page story contains mention of a “carrot and stick approach.” It’s not clever anymore. It’s just really annoying. Just read one this morning for the (at least) third consequtive day. Am I alone in my needless hatred? ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/2 "2006-05-24T17:01:32Z")
OK, I’ll stop. What do I get? ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/3 "2006-05-24T17:11:32Z")
A carrot on a stick. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/4 "2006-05-24T17:14:39Z")
You’re never going to get them to stop this way. I could suggest an approach that would work, but you’d hit me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/5 "2006-05-24T17:14:44Z")
Sorry **Birdmonster** , but I think you’ve missed the window of opportunity between “trendy catchphrase” and “common idiom”. Perhaps years ago, when the phrase “carrot and stick” was still considered a bit novel and clever, you could have made a convincing case for everybody to stop using it before it got too old and tired. By this time, though, it’s moved right beyond old and tired into standard usage, as the generally accepted way of referring to incentives that combine rewards and threats. People are no more going to stop saying “carrot and stick” than they’re going to stop saying, well, “window of opportunity”. It’s not an overused catchphrase any more; it’s part of the language. Too bad, but you just weren’t quick enough! I think there may still be time to catch “herding cats” and “misunderestimate”, though. If you hurry. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/6 "2006-05-24T17:24:01Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > \…the generally accepted way of referring to incentives that combine rewards and threats. The funny thing about this, to me, is that this cliche was taught to me when I was a child with no implication of a threat at all. The image was one of an unreachable reward. I remember an illustration of it that showed a boy on a donkey, using a stick and a string to dangle a carrot in front of the face of the donkey, to persuade the donkey to move forward. The phrase was “carrot on a stick”, not carrot and stick. Does anyone else remember this? ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/7 "2006-05-24T17:37:06Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You’re never going to get them to stop this way. I could suggest an approach that would work, but you’d hit me. Would that be by using honey instead of vinegar? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/8 "2006-05-24T17:40:10Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Does anyone else remember this? Oh yeah. The idea of using the stick to hit is a new one to me. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/9 "2006-05-24T17:49:34Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > The funny thing about this, to me, is that this cliche was taught to me when I was a child with no implication of a threat at all. The image was one of an unreachable reward. I remember an illustration of it that showed a boy on a donkey, using a stick and a string to dangle a carrot in front of the face of the donkey, to persuade the donkey to move forward. The phrase was “carrot on a stick”, not carrot and stick. Does anyone else remember this? Yep, and that’s how I’ve been using it just this week - there’s this job I really want, and the person doing the hiring keeps saying I have a position, I’m “top priority”, talking to my family members and telling them I’ll be called… for weeks. I’ve called, they’re never there; they have my number, and never call. I put in an official resume a couple weeks ago - nothing. I told my husband last night that I was tired of chasing this “carrot on a stick” - look, just tell me “no” so I can forget the whole thing and stop calling. Top priority, indeed. It’s quite cruel, since they know I’m really anxious to start working, and supposedly the position has been available for several weeks, just waiting for someone to fill it. Look, if your neice waltzed in last week and said she wanted the job, that’s fine, I don’t care, but for god’s sake \*just tell me \* “Sorry, the position has been filled”! No threat, just the prospect of attaining something I _really_ want that keeps being held just out of my reach. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/10 "2006-05-24T17:50:30Z")
It was originally a description of a reward/punishment system. [http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/carrot.html](http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/carrot.html) > **[Definition of CARROT-AND-STICK](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carrot-and-stick)** > > characterized by the use of both reward and punishment to induce cooperation… See the full definition ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/11 "2006-05-24T18:16:39Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > I hate this. I hate hate hate this. I think every morning, some op-ed or front page story contains mention of a “carrot and stick approach.” It’s not clever anymore. It’s just really annoying. > > Just read one this morning for the (at least) third consequtive day. Am I alone in my needless hatred? I like the phrase and will probably continue to use it but I’m vulnerable to the appropriate persuasions. Perhaps if you could promise me some sort of reward for abstaining from future use as well as some sort of heavy, long, blunt object with which to threaten some format of swift punishment for any deviations. Oh, perhaps, you know, a CARROT AND STICK approach to changing my behavior. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/12 "2006-05-24T18:23:45Z")
> [@threemae](#): > > I like the phrase and will probably continue to use it but I’m vulnerable to the appropriate persuasions. Perhaps if you could promise me some sort of reward for abstaining from future use as well as some sort of heavy, long, blunt object with which to threaten some format of swift punishment for any deviations. > > Oh, perhaps, you know, a CARROT AND STICK approach to changing my behavior. **Cheeseteak** beat you to it. Just a bit more subtly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/13 "2006-05-24T18:23:58Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think there may still be time to catch “herding cats” and “misunderestimate”, though. If you hurry. You’re not going to take away “goat rodeo” are you? I like that one. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/14 "2006-05-24T18:27:28Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I think there may still be time to catch “herding cats” and “misunderestimate”, though. If you hurry. We all can band together in opposition of “misunderestimate.” And yeah, it’s too late, not that I could do a thing about it except bitch & moan. It’s just frustrating to hear the same phrase ad nausem, daily, when there are plenty of acceptible alternatives. ---
**Author:** ![Birdmonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/71e660/32.png) [@Birdmonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Birdmonster)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/15 "2006-05-24T18:28:42Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You’re not going to take away “goat rodeo” are you? I like that one. They can never take your goat rodeo. Or your manatee square dance. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/16 "2006-05-24T18:40:37Z")
I have to say that I, too, absolutely hate that expression. If I ever use it, please shoot me. I especially hate the clever look some people have on their faces when they say it. Makes me want to smack them. ---
**Author:** ![Manatee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/50afbb/32.png) [@Manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manatee)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/17 "2006-05-24T18:41:35Z")
> [@Birdmonster](#): > > They can never take your goat rodeo. Or your manatee square dance. Damn right on the latter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/18 "2006-05-24T18:42:20Z")
I’ve never heard it until now. Of course I am only 28… ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/19 "2006-05-24T18:42:47Z")
I prefer “sheep circus”, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Faruiza](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@Faruiza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faruiza)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046/20 "2006-05-24T18:46:30Z")
See, nowhere in MY life has a carrot ever been thought of as a reward for anything. Carrots are not fun, they are not a treat, they are just a vegetable that one ought to eat in order to get a certain type of nutrition. I suppose a carrot might be a reward for, maybe making it out of being stranded in the desert, because I’d probably be hungry, and carrots are kind of wet. But if someone gave me a carrot as a reward for say, completing a marathon, I’d be like, “Oh. A carrot. Thanks. Asshole.” A STICK, on the other hand…well, let’s just say, that used properly, a stick can be mighty fun! So, yeah. I want them to stop because I don’t get it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stop-saying-carrot-and-stick-just-stop/358046.md?page=2)