Which statement correctly contrasts 'analogous' and 'analogy'?

• A. Analogous means similar to; Analogy refers to a comparison.
• B. Analogous means something completely different; Analogy is a synonym for 'story'.
• C. Analogous describes a relationship between colors; Analogy describes shapes.
• D. Analogous describes time; Analogy describes space.

Answer: (A)

The key idea is distinguishing similarity from the act of comparing. Analogous is an adjective describing a relationship that is similar or comparable to something else. Analogy is a noun for the actual comparison or the way two things are explained as being alike.

So, saying that something is analogous means it is similar in a certain respect to something else. An analogy, on the other hand, is the comparison itself or the reasoning that uses that similarity to explain or illustrate something. The statement that analogous means similar to and analogy refers to a comparison captures this distinction precisely.

For example, you might say the wings of a bat are analogous to the wings of a bird, highlighting a similarity in function. An analogy would be stating or employing a comparison like “the brain is to memory as a library is to books” to explain how memory works. Other options misstate the meanings or mix up unrelated ideas (like equating analogy with a "story" or tying analogous to colors or time), so they don’t fit as well.