Meaning & Analysis
To arrive at exactly the right or most opportune moment—specifically, at the time when pudding (the main or most enjoyable part of a meal) is being served.
Insights
Timely Arrival
The proverb describes someone who arrives just as something desirable or important is happening, emphasizing good timing or fortunate coincidence.
Seizing Opportunity
It can also refer to capitalizing on the most advantageous moment, suggesting that the person knows how to take action precisely when the benefits are greatest.
Historical Mealtime Context
In early modern English households, 'pudding time' marked the serving of pudding, often a highlight or centerpiece of the meal. To arrive then was to enjoy the best part, reflecting both social savvy and a knack for timing.
Cultural Value of Pudding
Pudding, as a cherished and communal dish, symbolized celebration and abundance. The phrase reflects a cultural tendency to associate well-timed arrival with both luck and social skill.
Comparison with Other Idioms
The proverb closely parallels expressions like 'in the nick of time,' revealing a universal appreciation for the serendipity and skill of perfect timing.
Rhetorical Devices
Metonymy
'Pudding time' stands in for any moment of reward, festivity, or opportunity, extending the proverb’s applicability beyond literal meals.
Colloquial Imagery
The homey, vivid image of arriving as pudding is served makes the saying memorable and relatable, enhancing its effectiveness in everyday conversation.
Irony
There is a gentle irony in praising opportunism or luck, often with a humorous or slightly critical edge toward those who always manage to appear when the best is offered.
Transcription
Quotations
This geare comth euen in puddynge tyme ryghtly.
Philip Fleming commeth euen in pudding time.
I you come in pudding time, or else I had drest them.
We come in pudding-time, for here's the Duke.
Oft things fall out in pudding time: But if they fell in, it were a crime.
I came in pudding time.
That scruple comes in pudding-time.
In pudding-time.
You are come in pudding-time, viz. Seasonably.
Just as they are ready to fall too, to come in time; the English say, in pudding-time; for as Italians begin with the salad, so the English with the pudding.
Cross References
- See St., no. 1618.
- N160 In the nick (nick of time).
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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