Socrates is making a meal out of Meno's inability to give a simple answer to the question what is X in all instances of X. He would like Meno to give an answer to what is shape, for this to serve as an exercise (meletē) towards Meno's later answer regarding virtue. Socrates points out that this "What is X?" problem is applicable to all things, such as shape and colour. Meno bargains with Socrates, as if he will answer concerning virtue if Socrates answers regarding shape. We may already suspect, along with Socrates, that Meno will once more stall after Socrates' answer concerning shape, and ask for Socrates' answer concerning colour. We don't really need to know about colour and shape, but we do need to understand Meno and Socrates and their behaviour, which these apparently trivial problems are intended to facilitate.

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