'Bombing Afghanistan back into the Stone Age' was quite a favourite headline for some wobbly liberals. The slogan does all the work. But an instant's thought shows that Afghanistan is being, if anything, bombed out of the Stone Age.

Meaning: It is easy to imagine an impressive plan without providing what would make it real. Castles in the air picture ambition without foundations, asking what practical support the idea needs rather than condemning imagination itself.

Meaning: Another worker can often find something to improve in work already considered finished. The second barber’s remaining task suggests that completion depends on standards and perspective, without proving that earlier work was careless or endless correction is necessary.

Meaning: Distance may weaken a mild attachment while making an intense one feel stronger. The contrast between cooling and inflaming describes different possible responses to absence, rather than a dependable rule for measuring love or deciding how relationships should work.