Synonyms (Austria)
Austria was sipping a coffee in one of his favourite cafés (with a particularly good view to St. Stephen's Cathedral), when he heard them. Three girls were sitting at the table next to his, apparently chatting about an article they were going to write.
'All right, so … Can any of you think of a synonym for "wealthy countries", other than "rich"?', the first girl said.
'How about "developed countries"?', the second one suggested.
'No, that's not really it', the first girl objected. 'I think you can be a developed country without being rich. Just think of Ireland and Iceland during the financial crisis.'
'And how about "important countries"?', the second one asked.
'I think it's the same as with "developed countries"', the third girl chimed in. 'You can be quite wealthy without being that important. Just think of Austria.'
Thank you very much, Austria thought sarcastically and shot her his best death stare.
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Notes:
Based on a real incident (without Austria's death stare, of course).