Ecclesiastes 10:1 Quotes
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Source: Ecclesiastes 10:1
Author: Narrator
"Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour."
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
Context
This line is written by the Ecclesiastes guy in Ecclesiastes 10:1.
The main thrust of the author's argument here goes like this: You know who ruins everything? Fools! Am I right? Yeah, just like flies swimming in your nice face cream. Gross! Can't stand fools, man.
Where you've heard it
Today a "fly in the ointment" is something small that ruins what would have been a great thing. "Our date was going so well, but when that monkey swooped down and stole my wig, it was a real fly in the ointment."
This term's been used all over the place in books and movies. Bruce Willis says this in Die Hard, when his character John McClane refers to himself as a fly in the ointment, clarifying that he means a pain in the ass. In BBC's Sherlock, this phrase comes up again and again. Sherlock refers to emotions as the distracting "fly in the ointment." His nemesis, Moriarty, is also called the "fly in the ointment." Basically, that fly is anything that gets in the way of Sherlock's ability to solve a case.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Not pretentious unless you're the human fly.