People know a lot about the shapes of objects, yet they have few words in any language to describe shapes. There are a few terms like “smooth versus rough” or “pointy versus rounded” that imprecisely describe differences. But for the most part, instead of adjectives, people use nouns. Object shapes are remembered by storing a mental picture of a (presumably) representative example. If I tell you that something is shaped “like an fish,” I am relying on you having a mental picture enough like mine to match the features that I think are important. Presumably fins are important and perhaps a streamlined shape. And an association with water, of course.
Probably for most people, the word “fish” conjures ...
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