proverb · Words worth keeping
When good cheer is lacking our friends will be packing.
When good cheer is lacking our friends will be packing.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Companions drawn mainly by generous food or entertainment may leave when those benefits stop. The saying questions a friendship dependent on hospitality, without making attendance or a host’s spending a reliable measure of affection.
Example
When a household stops hosting elaborate dinners, several friends suggest meeting for a walk instead and continue spending time together.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
Good cheer suggests the enjoyable welcome a host provides, and packing pictures companions leaving once that welcome can no longer be supplied. The contrast exposes a possible difference between valuing the person and valuing the occasion or refreshments. It does not mean that a host must keep providing treats to deserve company. Equally, a quieter gathering or a missed invitation says little by itself about loyalty. The useful question is whether people remain interested in one another when the usual benefits are absent. Friendship can continue through less costly arrangements, different kinds of contact and practical understanding of what each person can offer.
When to use it
Use it when hospitality seems to be carrying a relationship more than mutual interest does.
Keep in mind
People owe neither lavish hospitality nor constant attendance; consider the wider relationship.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English