Description : To what exactly does the "carrot-and-stick" metaphor refer?
Last Answer : I never questioned this and your first link does not work, so I don't know what it says. But the carrot is dangled on a string in front of the mule via a long stick to make it walk, always kept out ... it, it's an enticement. The stick is kept in reserve for the mule who won't walk for the carrot.