I love thee like PUDDING, if thou wert pie I'd eat thee

Insights

Affection Expressed Through Appetite

The proverb humorously equates love with appetite, using the desire for food as a metaphor for strong affection or attraction, with pie representing something even more desirable than pudding.

Playful Hyperbole

It conveys exaggerated, even comically intense, fondness—so great that it borders on wanting to consume the beloved, blending literal and figurative hunger.

Food as a Metaphor for Love

Throughout English (and other) cultures, food metaphors have long been used to express emotional bonds—'sweetheart,' 'honey,' or 'I could eat you up.' The proverb taps into this tradition with a homely, relatable comparison.

Social and Literary Context

References to loving someone 'so much I could eat you' appear in popular literature and folk humor, often highlighting affection that is earthy, sensual, and unpretentious.

Humorous Undercurrent

The saying gently mocks the intensity of romantic or platonic feeling, using culinary exaggeration to lampoon sentimental declarations and keep affection grounded in the pleasures of ordinary life.

Rhetorical Devices

Simile and Conditional

Combines simile ('like pudding') with a conditional twist ('if thou wert pie'), adding layers of comparison and surprise.

Hyperbole

Exaggerates affection to the point of comic consumption, making the sentiment memorable and lighthearted.

Colloquial Tone

Employs the familiar, everyday language of food and eating, which adds warmth, informality, and accessibility.