In the interest of taste, I wanted to write a piece on taste. I was drawn to the term “palate.” I was surprised that the word which sounds like “palate” can mean three very different things, depending on its spelling.
A palate is either that soft spot on the roof of one’s mouth or one’s intellectual taste. Lately, I would argue that Def Leppard agrees with my palate (as do Star Trek: Voyager and pineapples).
A palette is a flat board that a painter uses to mix colors. It’s an artist’s icon of sorts. I remember as a kid, when cartoons came on at 7:00 am on Saturday morning, characters who expressed painting would have exaggerated palettes.
A pallet is a flat (usually) wooden device used in the storage and transportation of goods. If I wanted a whole bunch of paper towels, I could go down to a wholesale warehouse and buy a pallet. I would need a forklift to get them home, but that pallet would be mine.
Palate. Palette. Pallet.
Auto-correct has a field day with these words. Computers can perform complex functions very quickly. What they can’t do very well is differentiate in matters of context.
The human palate will always select from a more pleasing area of the palette in a given context. A synthetic mind would better lift pallets.
