Is it true that you catch more flies with honey?

A common expression would have us believe that ‘you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar’. But this is not true in the case of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster (xkcd, 2007).

What do we mean when we say you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” One online cultural dictionary explains its meaning as the likelihood of winning people to your side more easily by gentle persuasion and flattery than by hostile confrontation.

Is the saying you catch more flies with honey or you catch more bees with honey?

Don’t bees make honey? It’s usually said with “flies” rather than “bees”. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar is a well-known English proverb. The literal meaning being that you have flies in your home, you will have better success catching them with honey than with vinegar.

What is the saying about attracting bees with honey?

The proverb you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar means that it is much easier to get what you want by being polite rather than by being rude and insolent.

What is the saying about bees and honey?

“We think we can make honey without sharing in the fate of bees, but we are in truth nothing but poor bees, destined to accomplish our task and then die.”

What is the saying about catching more bees with honey?

Why do flies attract to me?

But why does the housefly love you and your home? Houseflies LOVE the scent of food, garbage, feces, and other smelly things like your pet’s food bowl. They’re also attracted to your body if you have a layer of natural oils and salt or dead skin cells built up.

What does “you catch more flies with honey” mean?

Origin and meaning of “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar”. I’m having trouble understanding the rationale behind the meaning of an American English phrase of which I just became aware. That phrase is: From what I understand now, this phrase would indicate that You make more friends by being nice than by being rude.

Do you attract more flies with honey or vinegar?

This phrase has been around for a very long time and comes in several different variations such as “Honey catches more flies than vinegar” and “You attract more flies with honey than vinegar”. Like most old proverbs, it uses a real-world example to convey a moralistic message. In this instance, honey and vinegar represent politeness and bitterness.

What is the counter-intuitive meaning of the idiom ‘Flys and honey’?

It doesn’t have a counter-intuitive meaning–if you are trying to catch flies, you are literally going to attract more with honey. That is, you’re going to get what you want (in the proverb flies, but in life any goal) with sweetness rather than acidity. This answer explains it similarly: Flies represents anything you want to achieve.

What attracts flies to you?

Not only does honey have a sweetness that attracts flies, but it’s also sticky, which means that they’re drawn in and then stuck to it, making the much easier to catch. Kindness is similar. If you are polite and open with people, they’ll be drawn toward you and also more willing to stick around and hear what you have to say.