Warren Buffett sparked ridicule and outrage by comparing Heinz Kraft's attempt last month to take over Unilever to a woman responding to sexual advances.

    The billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which is a major shareholder of Heinz Kraft, was asked by an interviewer on CNBC why the consumer goods company had made an offer for its Anglo-Dutch rival even though the latter was clearly not interested in a tie-up.

    He responded by saying that "if a diplomat says yes, he means maybe. If he says maybe, he means no. And if he says no, he's no diplomat."

    He then added that "if a lady says no, she means maybe. And if she says maybe, she means yes. And if she says yes, she's no lady."

    But if you were surprised by the billionaire's crude comments (and perhaps also his implication that it's impossible to be both a lady and a diplomat) then dig into his rich backlog of letters to investors and you'll find that he's no stranger to sometimes questionable, and other times just weird metaphors.

    In a 2004 letter to investors, he likened being caught out by an unpredictable market, to skinny dipping in the sea.

    "Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked," he wrote.

    A year later, when explaining that Berkshire Hathaway aims to grow the value of its investments and earnings, Buffett said:

    "In this ambition, we hope – metaphorically – to avoid the fate of the elderly couple who had been romantically challenged for some time. As they finished dinner on their 50th anniversary, however, the wife – stimulated by soft music, wine and candlelight – felt a long-absent tickle and demurely suggested to her husband that they go upstairs and make love. He agonized for a moment and then replied, 'I can do one or the other, but not both.'"

    And while the 86-year old has perhaps become crasser – or at least more uninhibited – with age, he seems to have always had a penchant for odd references.

    Even way back in 1985, he attempted to emphasize the importance of patience by using an off-the-wall reference to childbirth.

    "No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time," Buffett said. "You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant."

    Word of the Day 每日一词

    裸泳

    luǒyǒng

    skinny dipping

    swimming naked  

    粗鲁的

    cūlǔ de

    crass

    having or showing no understanding of what is proper or acceptable

    巴菲特粗鲁言论惹风波

    沃伦?巴菲特将亨氏食品公司上月试图收购联合利华的举动比作一位女性回应性骚扰，引发公众讥讽和愤慨。

    伯克希尔哈撒韦公司的首席执政官巴菲特是亿万富翁，也是亨氏食品公司的一位大股东。他在接受CNBC记者采访时被问及为什么亨氏明知其对手联合利华没兴趣合并却仍发出邀请。

    他回答说：“如果一个外交官说行，他的意思是可能行。如果他说可能行，那就意味着不行。如果他说不行，那他不是个外交官。”

    他接着说：“如果一个女人说不，她的意思是有可能。如果她说有可能，她的意思是行。如果她说行，她就不是淑女。”

    也许你不敢相信亿万富翁会发表如此粗鲁的言论（也许他在暗示女人不可以当外交官），但当你读他多封写给投资者的信时会不难发现，他经常会说不靠谱的话，或者古怪的比喻。

    2004年他在写给投资者的一封信中，将在变化莫测的市场中犯错比作在海里裸泳。

    “只有当海潮褪去，你才会发现谁在裸泳。”他写道。

    一年以后，当巴菲特先生在解释伯克希尔哈撒韦公司的目标是增加投资和收益时，他说：

    “按照这个宏伟目标，我们的希望是——打个比方——一对很长时间没有激情的老年夫妇在吃完50周年纪念晚餐后，轻柔的音乐、蜡烛红酒刺激了妻子很久未有的性欲，她对丈夫羞涩地提议上楼去做爱。丈夫犹豫了一会说道，‘上楼和做爱，我只能做到一个。’”

    随着年龄的增长，86岁的巴菲特可能更粗鲁，或者更放任自己，但他一直喜欢用奇怪的事物做比喻。

    1985年，他曾用一个关于分娩的异乎寻常的比喻强调耐心的重要性。

    “不管多有天赋、多么努力，有些事需要时间，”巴菲特说，“你不能通过让九个女人同时怀孕而只花一个月的时间要个孩子。”