There can be many reasons due to which anything can seem artificial.Consider a case of movie.When can we say that movie is contrived and, when stilted?
Learn English – Difference between “contrived” and “stilted”
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Related Solutions
In short, the ones that are correct are all the same.
They all look like this:
As an American having lived in various parts of the country, I can safely say that "brake light" isn't used AT ALL for traffic lights. It means something very different in fact. It is the red light on the back of a car that lights up when you brake that looks like this:
Of all of the words you gave, traffic light is the most common. Stop light is also used sometimes. I'm guessing that red traffic light came along as a synonym for stop light, because the light is red. It is the same thing as a traffic light.
Take a look at the Ngram for those terms to see for yourself:
In the context of giving directions, yes, "light" implies a traffic light, unless there is some other landmark around like a HUGE lightbulb. But that isn't usually the case.
I've had a bit of deeper look into this. I found a version of the script (not sure how legal or safe that site is, so venture in at your own risk) and the word track is used three times. Two of those times are not the same as the phrase, so the film gives no previous definition of track to go on.
Initially I thought it might be a term related to the film industry, because Al Pacino is playing a failing/failed actor (Simon Axler). But Simon is a stage actor, not a film star, and the only film reference to track I could find was a "tracking shot" and I couldn't easily turn that into a relevant metaphor.
However, the words "does that track with" do appear in similar situations in various books. A few examples:
- Does that track with what you remember of the situation? "Federal Aviation Administration Operations Related to Safety and Procurement Management"
- How does that track with your reality, Mr. Baines? "A Handful of Kings", Mark Jacobs
- Does that track with your experience? "Powerhouse Presenting", Randy Siegel
The last link there, I think, gives us the best interpretation for what Simon means when he asks "How does that track with you?".
To gain agreement, I ask questions such as:
"Does that make sense?" (my favorite)
"Does that track with your experience?"
"Do you see how this could work for you?"
I think this makes it clear that what Simon is asking his psychiatrist is "does this lesbian flirting with me make sense to you?"
Best Answer
When talking about a movie, I think you would be more likely to say it is stilted if you are specifically referring to the writing or acting being poorly executed.
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Stilted gives the impression that the artist has failed in the execution of their art and the result is that it seems unnatural and not pleasing. It pretty much means the writer or actor did a poor job.
The word contrived gives the sense that something is overcomplicated in an unnatural way in order to achieve an artificial goal. For example, the writer wanted to arrange a romance between two characters, so they ended up stranded on an island in a way that doesn't make sense in the overall plot.
The plot of a movie is often the thing that is contrived.