'A Fly on the Wall' Hears Everything

 

Now Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.

On today’s show, we talk about something found all over the world – the fly.

When you spend time outdoors in nice weather, you usually come across a fly or two or … many!

Flies perform an important job in nature. They break down a lot of organic materials. Plus, farmers can use their larvae¹ as very cheap food sources for animals.

Those are really good things. But let’s be honest: Flies are annoying! They fly around our heads. They lay eggs in our trash and leave germs in our food. And they are so common that we often do not notice them. Once inside a building, they stick to the walls and seemingly watch the goings-on around them … secretly.

And that brings us to today’s expression – to be a fly on the wall.

“A fly on the wall” is a person who observes a situation without being noticed or without interfering².

This expression has appeared in different forms in many old stories.Take for example, some lines from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet from the late 1590s.

The language does not take the exact form of the expression “fly on the wall.” However, some experts suggest that the meaning of the expression is there. And so, the expression as we know it today began to take shape.

Okay, here is the set up. Romeo wants to see Juliet’s lovely hand and kiss her soft, red lips. But he can’t. He is banished⁴. The flies, however, are free. They can get as close as they want to Juliet. And Romeo sounds a bit upset about that.

Now, let’s hear that selection from an 1821 version of Romeo and Juliet:

Still blush, as thinking their own kisses sin;/ But Romeo may not; he is banished / Flies may do this, when I from this must fly / They are free men, but I am banished.

Today “fly on the wall” remains⁵ a commonly used phrase.

When you are a “fly on the wall,” you are eavesdropping⁷. You are listening in. You are a bystander, a witness and, sometimes, a spy.

As an adjective, “fly-on-the-wall” describes a style of filmmaking. Filmmakers and videographers often use the fly-on-the-wall method for reality shows and documentaries.

The filmmakers tell the subjects to ignore the cameras and filming crew. Even if the camera is clearly visible, the film subjects usually get used to the cameras and forget they are there.

Now, let’s listen to this conversation between two roommates.

I am SO happy it’s Friday!

Hey, do you want to see a documentary that just came out? It’s playing at the movie theater near our apartment.

Sure. What’s it about?

It’s a documentary about the lives of elephants! The filmmakers used really small cameras and shot it fly-on-the-wall style. So, you really feel like you’re just hanging out with the elephants.

Sounds great. I love elephants!

Me too!

Elephants!

Now, we will use this expression in a natural conversation. For that, I have invited Kelly Jean Kelly into the studio with me.

Welcome, Kelly!

Hi, Anna.

How are you?

I’m good. How are you?

Good, thank you. Thanks for helping⁸ to discuss the expression “fly on the wall.”

That is a good expression.

It’s a very good expression.

When I think about when I would use “fly on the wall” -- I think about conversations that are kind of secret – that I’m not supposed to be listening to.

Exactly. So you’re kind of eavesdropping. You’re listening in.

Exactly.

And the people don’t know you’re there.

Exactly.

Like a fly.

Like a fly. I’m thinking about, you know, some friends of mine just had a big fight. And I would like to be a fly on the wall for that fight and hear what they were saying.

And that’s all the time we have today.

Practice using the expression “fly on the wall” in the Comments Section.

Until next time … I'm Anna Matteo.

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

Don't you wish that you could be a fly on the wall

A creepy little sneaky little fly on the wall

All my precious secrets, yeah

You'd know them all

Don't you wish that you could be a fly on the wall...

Words in This Story

cheap – adj. not costing a lot of money

annoying – adj. causing slight anger

secret – adj. kept hidden from others : known to only a few people : secretly – adv.

banish³ – v. : to force (someone) to leave a country as punishment : to send (someone or something) away

selection – n. the act of choosing something or someone from a group

eavesdrop⁶ – v. to listen secretly to what is said in private

bystander – n. one who is present but not taking part in a situation or event

style – n. a particular way in which something is done, created, or performed

documentary – n. a presentation (such as a film or novel) expressing or dealing⁹ with factual events

creepy – adj. annoyingly unpleasant

precious – adj. greatly loved, valued, or important

1 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

2 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

3 banish   

vt.放逐，驱逐；消除，排除

参考例句：

• The doctor advised her to banish fear and anxiety.医生劝她消除恐惧和忧虑。
• He tried to banish gloom from his thought.他试图驱除心中的忧愁。

4 banished   

v.放逐，驱逐( banish的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was banished to Australia, where he died five years later. 他被流放到澳大利亚，五年后在那里去世。
• He was banished to an uninhabited island for a year. 他被放逐到一个无人居住的荒岛一年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 eavesdrop   

v.偷听，倾听

参考例句：

• He ensconced himself in the closet in order to eavesdrop.他藏在壁橱里，以便偷听。
• It is not polite to eavesdrop on the conversation of other people.偷听他人说话是很不礼貌的。

7 eavesdropping   

n. 偷听

参考例句：

• We caught him eavesdropping outside the window. 我们撞见他正在窗外偷听。
• Suddenly the kids,who had been eavesdropping,flew into the room. 突然间，一直在偷听的孩子们飞进屋来。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。