Learn English – Origin and meaning of “The eagle flies at midnight”
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The eagle flies at midnight.
What's the origin and meaning of this idiom?
Best Answer
I've never heard it before, certainly not as some kind of common phrase - but it sounds to me like the sort of line you'd hear in a cheesy wartime spy movie. Some sort of code phrase to inform your accomplices of your plans.
I believe that its origin was here, formed as a passphrase to identify fellow reddit users. Bacon and narwhals were popular topics of discussion on reddit at the time.
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar or, sometimes you catch more flies with honey is an English proverb. It doesn't have a counter-intuitive meaning--if you are trying to catch flies, you are literally going to attract more with honey. That is, you're going to get what you want (in the proverb flies, but in life any goal) with sweetness rather than acidity.
Flies represents anything you want to achieve. Honey (sweet) represents anything pleasant that you do to get what you want. Vinegar (sour) represents anything unpleasant that you do to get what you want. It tells you to use nice methods rather than unkind methods in dealing with other people.
This is a saying that means: you will be more successful in life being sweeter, or nice rather than being, mean to people, not nice and doing hurtful, dishonest things in life.
This forum makes some guesses at its origins, noting:
The proverb has been traced back to G. Torriano's 'Common Place of Italian Proverbs' . It first appeared in the United States in Benjamin Franklin's 'Poor Richard's Almanac' in 1744, and is found in varying forms..." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996).
Best Answer
I've never heard it before, certainly not as some kind of common phrase - but it sounds to me like the sort of line you'd hear in a cheesy wartime spy movie. Some sort of code phrase to inform your accomplices of your plans.