According to this article, a “rose by any other name” might actually not smell as sweet.
From the article:
British neurologists report that the naming of an odor strongly influences a person’s perception of that scent.
For example, individuals were asked to sniff a cheddar cheese odor that was labeled either “cheddar cheese” or “body odor.” Participants uniformly rated the odor as being much more pleasant when it was labeled “cheddar cheese,” compared to when it was labeled “body odor.”
At least Shakespeare can’t be embarassed, since he’s dead now.
