Skip to main content

Flowers on the Wall 

"Flowers on the Wall", also known by some listeners as "Counting Flowers on the Wall", is a country song originally performed by the Statler Brothers. It gained widespread fame when it was used in the movie Pulp Fiction.

There are countless interpretations of the lyrics, though the one I have found to be most fitting has to do with the narrator passing time in a psychiatric ward.

"Counting flowers on the wall, that don't bother me at all. Playing solitaire 'til dawn, with a deck of 51. Smokin' cigarettes and watching Captain Kangaroo...now, don't tell me I've got nothing to do."

Back when this song was written, it was not uncommon for patients kept in psychiatric hospitals to have absolutely nothing or very little to do. They were also allowed to smoke in their rooms and sometimes watch television, both activities that were desired by patients at the time.

"It's good to see you; I must go, I know I look a-fright. Anyway, my eyes are not accustom to this light..."

In the context of the meaning I outlined previously, the narrator is struggling with anxiety and reluctance for leaving the privacy of his hospital room, probably having to do with agoraphobia or some form of psychosis or social anxiety. The speaker is content being bored in his room because he wants nothing to do with the outside world.

This song has been covered by several artists, though the most recent and most popular was performed by Eric Heatherly.
In Pulp Fiction, Bruce Willis listened to this song while riding in his car.

Many people enjoy 'Flowers on the Wall' because they can all relate to the situation of being bored but are fine with it from time to time.
Flowers on the Wall mug front
Get the Flowers on the Wall mug.
See more merch

flower on the wall 

When someone just faces in the background. Kinda like old wallpaper that has flowers. It is there but you do not notice it.
He is a flower on the wall, I did not notice he was there.
flower on the wall by wooo!123 September 21, 2016

flophouse 

Any house/apartment/frat house/trailer/etc. which is used for individuals to crash (sleep, chill, hang out, lurk, etc.) for a period of time. In order to "crash", one must not actually live there (e.g. have their name on the lease, own said flophouse, etc.). Flophouses are typically used by college students, drug addicts, transients, vagrants, or other unsavory characters.

A flophouse may also be the home owned by the parents of a college student, who after being away at college, wishes to live as if he/she is still at college (e.g. staying out all night, returning just to crash at mom and dad's house, then leaving again), rather than conforming to the pre-college rules.
Example #1
Dude: (Talking to someone passed out face first on the floor of his college apartment) Hey man, who the hell are you? What do you think this is, a flophouse??

Bro: Sorry dude, I must have passed out for a minute.

Example #2
Mom: Where have you BEEN for the last three days? You come home just to sleep?? What do you think this is, a flophouse??!!

Son: What's your problem? I'm an adult now!
flophouse by J3553 November 21, 2007
Word of the Day on July 27, 2026

Hate Sink 

A person you hate intensely not because they deserve such hatred but because they serve as a focus for your general hatred. A healthy way to dispense with excess animosity.
Jake's not really that big an asshole. He just serves as my hate sink.
Word of the Day on July 26, 2026

funiosity 

The art of being peculiar, but in an amusing fashion.
"Wow, look at that dog running on three legs"
- "Yeah, that sure is a funiosity"
funiosity by Supersonic Stevie November 23, 2007
Word of the Day on July 25, 2026
A toe rag was originally a foot wrapping used, since mediaeval times up until the mid-nineteenth century, to protect the foot from chafing by boots or shoes. As these were, quite literally, rags they weren’t usually washed, and so with use they became very smelly until they were thrown away. Because of the similarity in smell, toe rag also became the name applied to dried, salted cod or other things with a strong, unpleasant, fishy smell. It didn’t take that long before the name was applied to someone who was an obnoxious, unpleasant OIC.
1 “Socks! Those aren’t socks you smelly git, they’re toe rags!”
2 “What have you been cooking? Smells like toe rag!”
3 “I can smell ‘er fanny from ‘ere, proper toe rag.”
4 That Heale Malcolm is a right toe rag.
Toe Rag by AKACroatalin November 29, 2016
Word of the Day on July 24, 2026

Eternity leave 

When some resigns or retires from a job, they are on "eternity leave". This can also refer to someone who has passed away, especially someone who worked somewhere for a long time, retired/resigned, then passed away later.
Oh I'm sorry, you didn't know that Kelly is on eternity leave? She resigned and moved to Hawaii!

With regrets I would like to inform you that my boss is officially on eternity leave. I will never see or hear them again. Ever.
Eternity leave by LingDanc803 February 7, 2023
Word of the Day on July 23, 2026