What is NEWSPAPER to as AIRCRAFT is to TRANSPORT?

The question above is an example of an analogy. The word “analogy” comes from a Greek word for “proportionality.” Analogies are used to compare two things and show the relationship between those things. They are used to explain how they depend on each other.

An analogy is more complex than a metaphor or simile. The aim of an analogy is for you to understand the relationship between the independent words without an explanation. An example of an analogy is the question given above.

“The newspaper is to Media as an Airplane is to Transportation.” Other examples are “Finding the money will be like finding a needle in a haystack,” “Go is to Come as Sit is to Stand,” and “Black is to white as on is to off.”

In analogies, there are three words or phrases. They are set up so that two words are shown together either by including the words “is to” or there is a colon in its place. This means that the person needs to determine the relationship of the first word to the second word.

Then the person has a third word. He or she needs to find a word that has the same relationship to that third word as the relationship from the first set of words. For example, aircraft and transport have a relationship as a noun and its verb. This means that the plane is the noun and traffic is what it does. Therefore, what does a newspaper do? A journal publishes.