Meaning & Analysis
Literally, this proverb says that fiddlers (musicians), dogs, and flies—or by extension, flatterers—show up at feasts or gatherings without being invited.
Insights
Uninvited Opportunists
Highlights the tendency of certain people—especially those seeking advantage, entertainment, or scraps—to insert themselves into situations where benefits are available, regardless of whether they are welcome.
Inevitability of Intrusion
Suggests that whenever there is abundance or celebration, some will inevitably arrive unbidden, drawn by the prospect of gain or pleasure.
Social Parasitism
Equates flatterers and opportunists with pests, drawing a parallel between the annoyance of dogs and flies at a feast and the insincerity or self-serving behavior of certain hangers-on.
Folk Social Observation
Reflects an ancient awareness of social dynamics: wherever prosperity or festivity gathers, so too do those hoping to profit or bask in reflected joy—be they musicians, beggars, sycophants, or literal animals.
Hierarchy of Guests
The proverb humorously divides guests into classes: the invited, and those who come for scraps, tips, or opportunities, often blurring the boundary between welcome and unwelcome company.
Irony and Social Satire
Carries a satirical edge, likening social climbers and flatterers to creatures driven purely by appetite, thus lampooning their lack of dignity or restraint.
Rhetorical Devices
Enumeration
Lists fiddlers, dogs, and flies, building a vivid image of a bustling, disorderly feast that’s attractive to all sorts of uninvited 'guests.'
Analogy
Draws a direct analogy between animals/insects and human behaviors, amplifying the sense of nuisance or opportunism.
Irony
There is an implicit irony in lamenting the arrival of musicians—ostensibly needed for festivity—as equally uninvited as flies and dogs.
Transcription
Quotations
Three guests which are first at a banquet. Flies. Dogs. Flatterers.
You need no more send for a fidler to a feast, than a beggar to a fayre.
Let thy faith keepe out seditious persons from altring thy religion, for they are like flyes, dogs, and flatterers, which are three sawcy companions at a feast alwayes.
(comes).
(to the feast uncalled).
(Fidlers, Dogs, and Flesh-flies).
Annotations
- Fidlers for Money, the Flies for a Sip, and the Dogs for a Scrap.
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
Used under CC BY-NC 3.0.