wallflower
a shy person
TRANSLATION
wallflower = das Mauerblümchen
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
GOOGLE INDEX
wallflower: approximately 9,000,000 Google hits
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Want a Raise? Ask for It.
You won't get your boss to pay you more by being a WALLFLOWER. Trumpet your achievements — with finesse.
(BusinessWeek magazine, article headline)
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Never the WALLFLOWER, Katy Perry's hot pink hair and Vivienne Westwood gown at the 2011 American Music Awards had people talking.
(stylebistro.com)
wallflower: approximately 9,000,000 Google hits
---
Want a Raise? Ask for It.
You won't get your boss to pay you more by being a WALLFLOWER. Trumpet your achievements — with finesse.
(BusinessWeek magazine, article headline)
---
Never the WALLFLOWER, Katy Perry's hot pink hair and Vivienne Westwood gown at the 2011 American Music Awards had people talking.
(stylebistro.com)
Did you
know?
wallflower
noun
- a shy person, especially a girl or woman, who is frightened to involve herself in social activities and does not attract much interest or attention
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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Wallflower, as a term to describe shy people, had its origins in ballrooms. People, usually women, who wished to remain inconspicuous and who were withdrawn from such public gatherings, were called wallflowers because they typically stayed close to the walls of the ballroom.
Wallflower is meanwhile used to describe any person who is shy in social occasions, whether they are at a dance or not. The term was originally used exclusively for females. But thanks to equal opportunity, men can also be called wallflowers these days.
In addition to the figurative sense, wallflower also refers to Cheiranthus cheiri, a sweet-smelling flower that likes to grow on old walls, rocks and quarries. The plant name is first recorded in 1578. It is not known who first made the comparison between these delicate flowers and single women sitting along the wall at a dance, but references to the figurative sense can be found as far back as the early 1800s.
Even Bob Dylan, who is not known for being a romantic, wrote a song about the wallflower:
Wallflower, wallflower
Won't you dance with me?
I'm sad and lonely too.
Wallflower, wallflower
Won't you dance with me?
I'm fallin' in love with you.
Coincidentally - or not - Bob Dylan's son Jakob created his own band in the early 90s and named it "The Wallflowers."
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SYNONYMS
introvert, loner
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"If you want to make it to the management ranks in a company, you can't act like a wallflower."
noun
- a shy person, especially a girl or woman, who is frightened to involve herself in social activities and does not attract much interest or attention
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
Wallflower, as a term to describe shy people, had its origins in ballrooms. People, usually women, who wished to remain inconspicuous and who were withdrawn from such public gatherings, were called wallflowers because they typically stayed close to the walls of the ballroom.
Wallflower is meanwhile used to describe any person who is shy in social occasions, whether they are at a dance or not. The term was originally used exclusively for females. But thanks to equal opportunity, men can also be called wallflowers these days.
In addition to the figurative sense, wallflower also refers to Cheiranthus cheiri, a sweet-smelling flower that likes to grow on old walls, rocks and quarries. The plant name is first recorded in 1578. It is not known who first made the comparison between these delicate flowers and single women sitting along the wall at a dance, but references to the figurative sense can be found as far back as the early 1800s.
Even Bob Dylan, who is not known for being a romantic, wrote a song about the wallflower:
Wallflower, wallflower
Won't you dance with me?
I'm sad and lonely too.
Wallflower, wallflower
Won't you dance with me?
I'm fallin' in love with you.
Coincidentally - or not - Bob Dylan's son Jakob created his own band in the early 90s and named it "The Wallflowers."
---
SYNONYMS
introvert, loner
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"If you want to make it to the management ranks in a company, you can't act like a wallflower."
