释义 |
ˈfly-flapper [f. prec. vb. + -er1.] 1. One who drives away flies with a fly-flap.
a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 503 Jupiter the flie⁓flapper. 1829Marryat F. Mildmay xvi, That fellow is only fit for fly-flapper at a pork shop! 1891Hall Caine Scapegoat xxiv, Beside him walked the fly-flappers. fig.1810James Milit. Dict. (ed. 3) Suppl., Fly-flapper, a figurative term alluding to any person who being in the confidence of another, keeps off impertinent intruders. 2. = fly-flap 1.
1749G. Lavington Enthus. Method. & Papists (1754) i. 90 If a Fly-flapper be held up to blow it off. 1859Darwin Orig. Spec. vi. (1878) 133 The tail of a giraffe, which serves as a fly-flapper. fig.1843Cobden Speeches 19 Oct. (1870) I. 103 The men of Manchester, who, by these fly-flappers, have managed to rouse them into a little activity. |