What do the names of the mechanicals in Midsummer Night's Dream have to do with their occupations?

Answer 1

Well, a joiner has to make things fit snugly, so Snug's name fits. Tailor were notoriously poor, so we can understand Starveling. A bellows blows air and sometimes whistles, so Flute makes some sense. Snout is a little more difficult. A tinker fixes pots and kettles, so perhaps the name refers to a kettle's snout.

As for the others, their names may have nothing to do with their occupations. A quince is a hard sour fruit. This name may have more to do with the type of person Quince is than his occupation. Likewise, Bottom's name doesn't seem to have much to do with weaving. However, it suggests that he is the lowest of the low, at the bottom, despite his high opinion of himself. Thus the joke is that he, the man at the bottom, is the one who Titania, the one at the top, is forced to fall in love with. And of course there is the pun: Bottom becomes an Ass. Not far to go, hmm?