juxtaposition

I remember when I learned what that word meant. Sophomore year, English class. Our teacher Ms. Butler (who once burned her arm very badly because she tried to iron her shirt while it was on her) asked if anyone knew what it meant. One girl thought she did, and raised her hand. I honestly don't remember her answer (she's the same girl who, when reading a headline about JFK Jr asked 'Who's JFK Jr?' and when her mother answered 'The president's son' she replied with 'I didn't know Bill Clinton had a son!', and she was serious) but it was not right. Not close. So Ms. Butler asked where she got that misinformation from. She replied, "It's in the J catalog" - if you even have to ask what the J catalog is, then perhaps the whole point of this story is lost on you. But, suffice it to say, I really only remember the meaning of this word because some uninformed small private all-girls school girl got her vocabulary from the J catalog.

jux·ta·po·si·tion (jkst-p-zshn)n.
the act of placing or positioning items in the image area side by side or next to one another to illustrate some comparison.

And some days, there are perfect real world examples of this. Like today. When I drove 5 miles out of my way to get some groceries at one store that is significantly cheaper than the one at my corner, I stood and debated over a $1.93 spool of ribbon, and whether I should wait until the 50 cent yogurt goes back on sale for 45 cents, I came home to a letter from Continental Airlines, that I had enough miles to enjoy their elite services on my next flight. So I can take my 45 cent yogurts (because I decided to wait) and I can sit in the swanky Continental airlines suite. Ah, to be a 27-year-old grad student!