h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Mauerblume

Really? I never heard that before

But then Germany is a big country and German a big language with a lot of dialects and I have only lived in Schleswig and left in 1970, so what do I know?

But I can still learn

If you've got Wandblumen it might be time to do something about damp.

They're not part of the wallpaper design then, KB?

Pierce, the term most often used is Mauerblümchen, but there is no diminutive in English to express that, so wallflower is quite a literal translation.

See? I learned yet another thing!

Learning something new - it's what hootoo stands for, imo.

Re Mauerblümchen/Wallflower. Another English (colloquial) expression that might be closer to the sentiment of Mauerblümchen is 'shrinking violet'

excellent point

Both should work, but I always think of "wallflower" as having a specific connotation of someone invisible in a room full of people, whereas the "shrinking violet" might be more a constant personality type.
Just my thoughts.

Bel, would you dance with this old wall nut, if I asked you?

I'm with hstwrd. A Mauerblümchen is somebody who is at a party/social event but sits in a corner, ignored by everybody else.
Not sure about the shrinking violet. The OED has it as: an exaggeratedly shy person - which doesn't necessarily imply that it's being ignored.

Hint: Shares as in turning swords to...

Ploughshares?

That's the one. Now look at the clue higher up.