the.com/wallflower
The one watching everyone else dance, narrating the whole room in their head.
means A shy or socially overlooked person who lingers at the edges of a party or gathering rather than joining in.
from From the literal plant — the wallflower (genus Erysimum), a fragrant bloom that takes root in old walls and rocky crevices, clinging to the stone at the side of things. By the early 19th century the name had bloomed into a metaphor for the person pressed against the wall at a dance, present but unpicked, decorating the room's edges much as the flower decorates a crumbling wall.
- actual flower
- Wallflowers are real blooms that grow on stone walls
- origin
- Term coined in 1820s for ladies sidelined at balls
- secret edge
- Observers often read a room faster than its stars
- survival trick
- The plant thrives clinging to cracks others ignore
for instance
erysimum cheiri flower — actual plant species native to southern europe, commonly grown on walls in gardens