beans are in flower
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A catch-phrase said to one by way of accounting for his being so silly. Our forefathers imagined that the per- fume of the flowering bean made men silly or light-headed.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “beans are in flower” mean?
A catch-phrase said to one by way of accounting for his being so silly. Our forefathers imagined that the per- fume of the flowering bean made men silly or light-headed.
Is “beans are in flower” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.