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I've asked a question about olfactory's relation to observational and it got me thinking about other senses as well. There are five (or six if you're supernaturally believing), so, what are the exact term to fill out the blanks in the following? It's the bold parts that are interesting and I wonder if the already filled out ones are correct.

  1. Visual
    the beauty is in the eye of the beholder

  2. Audial
    the euphony is in the ear of the listener(?)

  3. Olfactious
    the fragrance is in the nostril of the inhaler

  4. Flavorous(?)
    the taste(?) is in the bud of the eater/taster(?)

  5. Touchy/sensefull(?)
    the feeling is in the hand of the caresser

  6. Supernatural
    the spookiness(?) is in the mind(?) of the medium(?)

Kindly, please note that I've no intention to start using these expression outside when interacting with average people. I'm just curious about the linguistic translation between senses and my mathematical mind craves completeness. I know how to express all six sentences in English. I just don't know how to express those while "following the suit", so to speak. It's a purely and strictly academic curiosity.

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  • This one is almost impossible - for instance, regarding sense of touch, its the sensory nerves which conduct the sensation, but the brain which receives/interprets it. A malfunction in either of those systems, or a difference, means each individual may have a different experience. In fact, I'd argue that 'receptors' such as taste buds, sense of smell, etc., are only half the story - the brain is where the action really takes place. Beauty is in the eye of beholder is one we all know, but really it should say beauty is in the brain of the beholder...
    – bamboo
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 11:31
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    How'bout - The proof is in the (eating of the) pudding.
    – Blessed Geek
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 13:25
  • 'to behold' is not particularly visual, it's about sensing the entire experience (of which vision is the primary one). So your trying to make up new idioms is just making stuff up. When you write your columns for the NYT op ed page, go wild. But this question is not answerable beyond fixing your English.
    – Mitch
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:12
  • I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for me appearing on NYT, haha. And please rest assured that I won't be using the archaic expressions in general speech because of the eyebrow's arising. In any case, I got the new words I was looking for so I can start 2014 with some ease of mind. Happy New too you and all! ;)
    – Konrad Viltersten
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 18:26

3 Answers 3

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  • Vision
    the beauty is in the eye of the sighted.

  • Audial
    the euphony is in the ear of the listener

  • Olfactory
    the fragrance is in the nose of the smeller (I prefer this term to that of inhaler).

  • Gustatory
    the taste is in the tongue of the taster.

  • Tactile
    the touch is in the hand of the caresser.

  • Extrasensory perception
    the intuition or sixth sense is in the mind of the sensitive/medium.

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  • This was a fantastic reply! I took the liberty to complete the list with two more senses copied from @Mitch as well as to change the list into a numbered style to better correspond to the original question. I hope that's fine by you. Also - kudos for the linkage. Truly awesome work. I'd bounty you but I can't yet. Instead I offer a virtual New Year's hug from Sweden!
    – Konrad Viltersten
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:34
  • I don't think it is fair to Mitch that you edit his suggestions in my post. I'm just very pleased that you liked my answer. Thank you!
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:37
  • But as of now, there are two answers that combined contain the full list of all senses. Separately, they're both to some extent "sensless" (get the joke?) and I'd like to have the full list compiled. If I post an own answer (which is complete), that's not fair to both of you. Suggestions?
    – Konrad Viltersten
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:41
  • I will edit and include your first two senses.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:43
  • I had to substitute "beholder" for someone who has the ability to see. It's less poetic but it fits in better with the list.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:55
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Hm. "Epidermis of the toucher"? Talk about missing the register by a mile. "The feeling is in the hands of the caresser" is more like it.

That being said, you can write anything and everything. "The beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is an idiom. A fixed phrase. All the others are word plays on it. And you can play on it every which way you see fit. There are no idioms for the other senses, so there is no one single correct choice. Nobody can tell you to use "snowing hippos and giraffes" over "snowing sheep and geese".

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  • I know it's idiomatic. However, what I'm curious about is the single-word-request translating e.g. beholder (for sight) to caresser (for feeling) while keeping grammatical and stylistic form. You can see it as a A is to B as 1 is to...? type of question (although asked for an array of senses). Purely, strictly, derdlike academical inquiry.
    – Konrad Viltersten
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 12:27
  • I understand that. The thing is that for barely any of them there is a single "correct" choice (even when keeping style and register in mind), and since you are asking for so many at once, we get combinatorial explosion. So this question has quite a number of equally correct answers. (To be perfectly frank, my answer here is what people, including myself, would normally be leaving as a comment while closing your question as "primarily opinion-based", but we try to be more welcoming and lenient during the hat season.)
    – RegDwigнt
    Commented Dec 31, 2013 at 14:39
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To set out your table:

  • visual, vision/seeing/sight, eye, to see, * (a seer is someone who is clairvoyant)

  • aural, hearing (audition is where one gets 'heard' first), ear, to hear, hearer/listener

  • olfactory, sense of smell/olfaction(technical), nose, to smell, *

  • gustatory(technical), taste, tongue, to taste, taster

  • haptic(technical), feeling/touch, skin, to feel, * (a feeler is an insect appendage which allows them to feel)

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