I have a dog and two cats. The cats are brother and sister. Mazey is lazy and loves to hide under blankets or behind my couch cushion (pictured). Ricky loves to explore. He is a very vocal cat, always talking to me, always following me. Ricky is also my ‘resident bug catcher’. Oh, how he loves to hunt and catch flying insects.
Depending on the time of year, I often have a couple of insects fly in the house when I walk through the front door. Flies are the worst. They are so irritating; almost like they taunt you with their buzzing and quick maneuvers.
Too bad everybody doesn’t have a Ricky. He is good. He is patient. And he almost always gets his bug.
He had been chasing a fly when his laser-focused-attention led him up on my kitchen counter top. (He knows better ;0) ) I shooed him off and lost track of the fly.
A bit later as I was taking my dinner out of the oven, I noticed a chuck of what I can only guess was Ricky’s fur on my butter. Gross. “Ricky!” I said out loud as I tossed the rest of the butter in the garbage. I guess it could have been worse; it could have been a fly in my butter. Either way, it was going in the garbage.
And that brings us to today’s idiom: Fly in the ointment.
I remember hearing this expression years ago, but I don’t remember where or who. Was it one of my grandparents? My mom? I am not sure, but I don’t hear it much anymore.
Today’s idiom, according to Wikipedia, is an expression for a drawback, especially one that was not at first apparent, for example: "We had a cookstove, beans, and plates; the fly in the ointment was the lack of a can opener."
Where do we get this saying? Once again, the source for this phrase is in Bible, and the book of Ecclesiastes.
Solomon wrote, “Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment,…” Ecclesiastes 10:1 NKJV
The English Standard Version words it this way, “Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a stench…”
For four centuries, a fly in the ointment has meant a small defect that spoils something valuable or is a source of annoyance.
The phrase can be applied to pretty much any area of life, even sports.
In 2016, the saying was used in an article about baseball in the Los Angeles Times. That year, the Los Angeles Angels lost a whopping 88 games. Despite their losing streak, the team’s manager, Mike Scioscia said he still believed the Angels had a lot of potential and talent.
He talked of their positive qualities, like the fact that they had scored more runs in 2016 than in 2015. However, many of the starting players for the Angels were injured that year for at least part of the season. Scioscia mentioned that the team’s lack of “quality starts,” or strong players who can start out the game in a positive way, was the “real fly in the ointment” of their season.
The modern wording, a fly in the ointment, first appeared in the English language in the early 1700s, but of course it goes back much further than that, and the meaning, and context needs to be looked at as well.
Solomon was writing about wisdom and folly. In fact, verse 1 continues, “…so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.”
Verse 2: “A wise man's heart inclines him to the right, but a fool's heart to the left.”
And verse 3 made me chuckle. It also reminded me of something I heard over 30 years ago, “better them to think you a fool, than open your mouth and prove it.”
Verse 3: “Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense, and he says to everyone that he is a fool.”
I was reading different commentaries this morning on King Solomon, and I had never thought of this. I want to share it with you today.
Solomon is recognized with writing Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
And here is where it got interesting for me.
Song of Songs is renowned for its beautiful depiction of devoted love and is believed to be written by Solomon in his youth.
Proverbs is full of guidance for living, encouraging the pursuit of wisdom.
Ecclesiastes provides insight into the meaning of life when much of what we do seems futile, directing the reader to trust in God rather than temporal knowledge.
1. 2. 3.
Like a three-cord braid. Strong. Each good on its own but combine them and you have three steps for healthy, happy living on planet earth. Solomon was wise indeed.
I’ll leave you with one of many wise sayings from King Solomon.
“Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind.” Ecclesiastes 4:6 ESV
by Jeanette Stark – Wednesday, July 12, 2023
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