drop table if exists t1; create temporary table t1(n int not null primary key); drop table if exists t2; create table t2(n int); insert into t2 values(3); select * from t1; n 3 flush tables with read lock; drop table t2; Table 't2' was locked with a READ lock and can't be updated drop table t2; unlock tables; drop database if exists mysqltest; create database mysqltest; create table mysqltest.t1(n int); insert into mysqltest.t1 values (23); flush tables with read lock; drop database mysqltest; select * from mysqltest.t1; n 23 unlock tables; create table t1 (n int); flush tables with read lock; insert into t1 values (345); select * from t1; n 345 drop table t1;