Standing with our backs against the wall, I comment to comrade Gina that neither of us at today's big meeting has talked to anybody we don't already know in the group. "Is this where the term Wallflower comes from? From flowered wallpaper?" I ask. Apparently not, a quick search suggests: from at least the 1500's the word just refers to Erysimum, a type of plant that grows up old rock walls. The usage to describe a shy introvert at a party begins in the 1800's. What an apt metaphor!