- English translation
Droning on for free, just like a wasp.
- Literal wording
Like the wasp, it buzzes for nothing.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying likens a person to a wasp, an irritating, droning pest rather than a bee, that hums on without anyone asking it to and without anything useful coming of the noise. It targets people who volunteer speech, advice, or similar effort on their own initiative and keep going long after anyone wants to hear it.
The main criticism is about annoyance, not malice. The speaker may mean no harm and may expect nothing in return, but the constant, uninvited hum tires and irritates everyone nearby. "For nothing" suggests both unpaid and pointless: the jab is that the talk is unrequested, not that the speaker is generous.
- When it is used
Use it as a teasing or mildly cutting remark about someone who offers long, unrequested talk or commentary that wears listeners out. It suits informal settings among people familiar with each other, and it may offend if aimed directly at someone in a formal situation.
- Register
- colloquial
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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