APAD: Fly on the wall

Meaning:

   Alludes to the position of being able to freely observe a situation without

   being oneself noticed.

 

Background:

   This is an American phrase that originated there in the 1920s. The first

   citation of it that I can find is from The Oakland Tribune, February 1921:

 

     "I'd just love to be a fly on the wall when the Right Man comes along."

 

   It is now most often used in relation to `fly on the wall documentaries',

   which are films of real life situations supposedly made without affecting the

   behaviour of the participants. It is de rigeur for participants in such films

   to comment along the lines of `We just got used to the camera crew and after

   a while we just ignored them'. Well, maybe. I must say that if I had half a

   dozen strangers trooping around my house I think I would know that they were

   there.

 

- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Some books, or at least parts of them, are written in a similar way: the author,

typically an investigative journalist, initially asks to just ``tag along'' for a

professional experience, and comes back from the trip to author a bestseller.

Michael Pollan and Landon Cook came to mind.

 

At some points, however, the fly does come off the wall and get its feet dirty,

so to speak. So we read Pollan maning the pit for Ed Little's authentic southern

barbecue and Cook hauling chanterelles out of the bowels of the Pacific

Northwest mountain ranges. As long as the writing's good, we don't care.

 

 

At the last minute a thought hit me. I lived in the west and, especially in the  

early years, felt like a fly on the wall.

所有跟帖: 

"APAD:the eyes of heaven and the spies of hell -最西边的岛上12/26" -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:16:18

so fly changed fromSpyOfHell 2 observerOnTheWall in8days;-)) -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:20:22

飞飞飞,快快飞, run from hell&find a wall. Sorry, can'tHelpButLaugh -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:26:39

飞飞飞,俺飞回来了。问西岛好~~ -JoyAnna.- 给 JoyAnna. 发送悄悄话 JoyAnna. 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:30:51

欢迎归来,新年快乐!!! -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:38:25

Thank you. It confirms the undertone of `fly.' -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:52:30

Fly on the wall,英译中:作壁上观? -JoyAnna.- 给 JoyAnna. 发送悄悄话 JoyAnna. 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:34:07

Nice! -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 09:53:21

Know Michael Pollan--Forgot the book I read. -暖冬cool夏- 给 暖冬cool夏 发送悄悄话 暖冬cool夏 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:23:21

The last sentence means? What to do with living in the west -暖冬cool夏- 给 暖冬cool夏 发送悄悄话 暖冬cool夏 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:26:23

感觉是个旁观者。 -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:54:52

understand that totally!!! also felt very interesting 2 meet -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:59:46

new people & learn new things every single day then ... ... -最西边的岛上- 给 最西边的岛上 发送悄悄话 最西边的岛上 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 11:01:10

street photography, many chose to fly on the wall, @least -移花接木- 给 移花接木 发送悄悄话 移花接木 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:25:20

not seemed ethical to me -移花接木- 给 移花接木 发送悄悄话 移花接木 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:25:45

So are not cameras in public places. -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 10:53:34

还以为是蝙蝠侠呢。 -天边一片白云- 给 天边一片白云 发送悄悄话 天边一片白云 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 15:56:31

Close, only smaller :-) -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 18:29:39

Why not spy on the wall?:) -妖妖灵- 给 妖妖灵 发送悄悄话 妖妖灵 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 16:13:37

'fly' does have that connotation. -7grizzly- 给 7grizzly 发送悄悄话 7grizzly 的博客首页 (0 bytes) () 01/03/2025 postreply 18:30:12

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