Cheese it is a peevish elf, It digests all things but itself.

The proverb gives cheese a temper and a strange power: it can deal with every other food but not with itself. The contradiction makes the observation humorous.

Its point is the contrast between cheese’s supposed help in digesting a meal and the difficulty of digesting cheese itself. It expresses that idea as a playful paradox, not a dietary rule.

Use it as a wry comment when cheese follows a meal or when someone remarks that cheese feels heavy despite its supposed digestive benefit. Its fanciful wording suits humor better than practical advice about food.