Fly

flī, v.i. to move through the air on wings: to move swiftly: to pa away: to flee: to burst quickly or suddenly: to flutter.— v.t. to avoid, flee from: to cause to fly, as a kite:— pr.p. fly′ing; pa.t. flew (flōō); pa.p. flown (flōn).— n. a popular name best restricted in its simplicity to the insects forming the order Diptera , but often so widely used with a prefix—e.g. butterfly , dragon-fly , May-fly —as to be virtually equivalent to insect: a fish-hook dre ed with silk, ., in imitation of a fly: a light double-seated carriage, a hackney-coach: ( mech. ) a flywheel: ( pl. ) the large space above the proscenium in a theatre, from which the scenes, ., are controlled.— adj. wide-awake: ( slang ) knowing.— adjs. Fly′away , flighty; Fly′-bit′ten , marked by the bite of flies.— n. Fly′blow , the egg of a fly.— adj. Fly′blown , tainted with the eggs which produce maggots.— ns. Fly′boat , a long, narrow, swift boat used on canals; Fly′book , a case like a book for holding fishing-flies; Fly′-catch′er , a small bird, so called from its catching flies while on the wing; Fly′-fish′er , one who fishes with artificial flies as bait; Fly′-fish′ing , the art of so fishing; Fly′-flap′per , one who drives away flies with a fly-flap; Fly′ing-bridge , a kind of ferry-boat which is moved acro a river by the action of the combined forces of the stream and the resistance of a long rope or chain made fast to a fixed buoy in the middle of the river; Fly′ing-butt′re , an arch-formed prop which connects the walls of the upper and central portions of an aisled structure with the vertical buttre es of the outer walls; Fly′ing-camp , a body of troops for rapid motion from one place to another; Fly′ing-Dutch′man , a Dutch black spectral ship, whose captain is condemned for his impieties to sweep the seas around the Cape of Storms unceasingly, without ever being able to reach a haven; Fly′ing-fish , a fish which can leap from the water and sustain itself in the air for a short time, by its long pectoral fins, as if flying; Fly′ing-fox , a large frugivorous bat; Fly′ing-lē′mur , a galeopithecoid insectivore whose fore and hind limbs are connected by a fold of skin, enabling it to make flying leaps from tree to tree; Fly′ing-par′ty , a small body of soldiers, equipped for rapid movements, used to hara an enemy; Fly′ing-phalan′ger , a general popular name for the petaurists; Fly′ing-shot , a shot fired at something in motion; Fly′ing-squid , a squid having broad lateral fins by means of which it can spring high out of the water; Fly′ing-squirr′el , a name given to two genera of squirrels, which have a fold of skin between the fore and hind legs, by means of which they can take great leaps in the air; Fly′leaf , a blank leaf at the beginning and end of a book; Fly′-line , a line for angling with an artificial fly; Fly′-mak′er , one who ties artificial flies for angling; Fly′man , one who works the ropes in the flies of a theatre; Fly′pāper , a porous paper impregnated with poison for destroying flies; Fly′-pow′der , a poisonous powder used for killing flies; Fly′-rail , that part of a table which turns out to support the leaf.— adj. ( Shak. ) moving slow as a fly on its feet.— ns. Fly′-rod , a light flexible rod used in fly-fishing, usually in three pieces—butt, second-joint, and tip; Fly′-trap , a trap to catch flies: ( bot. ) the spreading dog-bane, also the Venus's fly-trap; Fly′wheel , a large wheel with a heavy rim applied to machinery to equalise the effect of the driving effort.— Fly at , to attack suddenly; Fly in the face of , to insult: to oppose; Fly open , to open suddenly or violently; Fly out , to break out in a rage; Fly the kite , to obtain money as by accommodation bills, the endorser himself having no money; Fly upon , to seize: to attack.— A fly in the ointment , some slight flaw which corrupts a thing of value (Eccles. x. i.); Break a fly on the wheel , to subject to a punishment out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence; Let fly , to attack: to throw or send off; Make the feathers fly (see Feathers ). [A.S. fléogan , pa.t. fleáh ; Ger. fliegen .]