A simple, empirically motivated model is proposed to explain the transfer o
f imposed large scale anisotropy to small scales in high-Reynolds-number tu
rbulence. Observed power-law scalings of anisotropy metrics are interpreted
as manifestations of power-law scalings governing high-gradient regions re
sulting from compressional eddy motions. The model is used to interpret the
measured moment-order dependencies of the exponents and amplitudes of odd-
order structure functions and derivative moments that vanish in the absence
of anisotropy.