See Also:

fly(2) (iou)



fly noun1. Pl. flies.

Any winged insect, as a bee, locust, moth, etc. Now usu. restricted to small winged insects of any group not popularly identifiable, or falling under sense 2 as below or as the 2nd elem. of comb. OE.
alder fly, caddis-fly, damselfly, firefly, greenfly, ichneumon fly, mayfly, sawfly, stonefly, etc.
b. Any of various winged insects harmful to crops or animals; a disease caused by such an insect. E18.
hop-fly, potato-fly, sheep-fly, etc.
A dipteran or two-winged insect; an insect of the order Diptera (comprising the true flies). OE.
blowfly, crane-fly, horsefly, housefly, hoverfly, sandfly, warble fly, etc.
b. ellipt. The tsetse-fly. S. Afr. M19.
fig. (A type of) something insignificant. ME.
Hazlitt He would not hurt a fly.
Angling. A natural fly or an imitation of this consisting of a hook dressed with silk and feathers, etc., used as fishing bait. L16.
dry fly, watchet fly, wet fly, etc.
R. Brautigan I cast..and let my fly drift.
A familiar demon; transf. a spy, a flatterer. L16-M17.
Printing.
a. A printer's devil. rare. L17.
b. The person who or machine which takes the printed sheets from the press. M18.
(Usu. Fly.) The constellation Musca. L17.
Phrases: drink with the flies (Austral. & NZ slang) drink alone. fly in amber fig. a curious relic. fly in the ointment [after Ecclesiastes 10:1] a trifling circumstance that spoils the enjoyment or agreeableness of a thing. fly on the wall (a) an unperceived observer; (b) Cinematography a film-making technique whereby events are observed realistically with minimum interference rather than acted out under direction. fly on the wheel a person who overestimates his or her own influence. like flies in large numbers or quantities. Lord of the Flies: see LORD noun. no flies on slang no lack of astuteness in (a person); nothing shady or underhand about (a deal etc.). squashed fly (biscuit): see SQUASH verb 1.
Comb.: fly agaric a poisonous mushroom, Amanita muscaria, with a white-spotted scarlet cap; flybane (a) any of various supposedly insecticidal plants, esp. catchfly; (b) rare poison for flies; fly-bird a hummingbird; fly-bitten adjective (a) fly-specked; (b) = FLY-BLOWN (a); (c) stung by flies; fly-book a book-shaped case in which anglers keep fishing-flies; fly-cap a kind of head-dress, shaped like a butterfly; fly-dope N. Amer. insect repellent; fly-eater an eater of flies; spec. any of several small Australasian warblers constituting the genus Gerygone (family Muscicapidae); fly-fan an instrument or motor-driven fan for driving away flies; fly-fish verb intrans. fish with a fly as bait; fly-fishing fishing with a fly; fly-flap noun & verb (a) noun an instrument for driving away flies; (b) verb trans. strike with a fly-flap, beat, whip; fly-flapper (a) a person who drives away flies with a fly-flap; (b) a fly-flap; fly-fungus (a) = fly agaric above; (b) a parasitic fungus, Entomophthora muscae, which infests and kills houseflies and other insects; fly honeysuckle: see HONEYSUCKLE 2; fly-hook a hook baited with a fly; fly-line noun1: for fly-fishing; fly-mould = fly fungus (b) above; fly-net a net for keeping flies away; fly orchid an orchid, Ophrys insectifera, with small dark-purple flowers resembling flies; fly-paper paper treated with a sticky substance for catching and poisoning flies; fly-rod: for fly-fishing; fly screen a screen for keeping flies away; fly-speck (a) a small stain produced by the excrement of an insect; (b) a disease of apples etc., with small black surface specks, caused by the fungus Leptothyrium pomi; fly-specked, fly-speckled adjectives marked with fly-specks; fly-spray a spray, usu. an aerosol, containing a liquid for killing flies; fly-strike infestation of the skin of sheep with the maggots of blowflies; fly-strip an impregnated plastic strip for poisoning flies; fly-swatter a device for killing flies by hitting them; fly-swish = fly-whisk below; flyweight a weight in boxing and other sports below bantamweight, in the amateur boxing scale now being below 52 kg, though differing for professionals and in other sports, and according to time and place; (designating) a boxer etc. of this weight; light flyweight, (of) a weight in amateur boxing of below 49 kg, (designating) a boxer of this weight; fly-whisk an instrument for driving away flies; fly-wire screening designed to keep out flies.