Gin Tonic

The gin tonic in Spain is a thing. In the US, it's just a 15-second drink, where the bartender will put some ice in a glass, pour some gin in, and top it off with tonic from the soda machine, and a wedge of lime. It's the drink you order when you can't think of anything else. At least that's what I do.

Here in Spain there are specialized gin-tonic bars. You choose your gin, the lime is rubbed around the edge of the glass, a fresh, individual bottle of tonic water is opened and poured down a special stick to aerate it, etc... Very elaborately ritualistic. The English phrase "gin tonic" is used.

I wish that were a metaphor for scholarly writing, but it just isn't. I guess what I am driving at is some things are a thing and some things are not. What makes a thing a thing is simply the frame around it.