Re: Fly
by night
Posted by ESC on May 15, 2002
In Reply to: Fly by night posted by leighb on May 15,
2002
: where does the phrase fly by night come from
From the
archives:
FLY BY NIGHT - I heard this phrase used recently to refer to fly-by-night
contractors, people who come into a tornado-ravaged area, do some shoddy repair
work, then leave the area. "Fly-by-night was originally an ancient term of reproach
to an old woman, signifying she is a witch, according to Grose's 'Dictionary of
the Vulgar Tongue.' From a witch flying about at night on a broom, the term was
applied, at the beginning of the 19th century, to anyone who flies hurriedly from
a recent activity, usually a business activity and usually at night - someone
who is a swindler and whose activities are fraudulent. The first fly-by-night
operator recorded in English makes his appearance in Thomas Love Peacock's novel
'Maid Marion' (1822), a parody of the Robin Hood legend in which a character refers
to Maid Marion and the outlaw: 'Would you have her married to an old fly-by-night
that accident made an earl and nature a deer-stealer?' 'Fly-by-night has also
been, in British slang, prostitute and a prostitute's vagina." From "Encyclopedia
of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1977.)
- Re: Fly by night masakim 05/15/02
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