flycatchern.
/ˈflʌɪˌkatʃə/, U.S. /ˈflaɪˌkɛtʃər/, /ˈflaɪˌkætʃər/ 1. figurative.1708 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais (1737) v. xv. 61 Ye scurvy Fly-catchers you! [i.e. lawyers].1889 Daily News 5 Feb. 5/3 The quidnuncs and flycatchers.
a. One who catches flies.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by eating habits > [noun] > carnivore > that feeds on insects
flycatcher1600
insect-feeder1835
insectivore1863
fly-eater1895
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of flies
flycatcher1600
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of flies
flycatcher1600
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > snare, trap, entanglement > [noun] > one who entraps
beswiker1340
catcherc1450
fodea1529
misleader1579
Sinon1581
entrapper1587
siren1592
snarer1597
flycatcher1600
ensnarer1631
decoy1639
decoy-ducka1640
trepan1653
trepanner1659
1600 W. Cornwallis Ess. I. xix. sig. L5 To be of Domitians sect, a Fly-catcher.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cclviii. 225 The Swallow was a Fly-Catcher as well as the Spider.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 5 Nov. 2/2 ‘The fly-catcher’, as he [Darwin] was known to the crew, was a prime favourite.
b. A contrivance for catching flies.
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society > law > legal profession > lawyer > [noun]
lawyer1377
man of lawc1405
practiserc1450
jurist1481
lawman1535
practitioner1576
man of the long coat1579
(a gentleman) toward the law1592
gownsman1627
law-driver1640
long-robe man1654
green bag1699
flycatcher1708
homme d'affaires1717
jet1728
law-solicitor1738
shark1806
blue bag1817
law-person1819
law-gentleman1837
maître1883
lip1929
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > pest control > [noun] > device for catching flies
flycatcher1708
fly-cage1838
flypaper1842
fly-trap1855
catch-'em-alive-oh1856
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun] > trap for insects
flycatcher1708
bug trap?1765
flapper1796
fly-cage1838
flypaper1842
fly-trap1855
catch-'em-alive-oh1856
light trap1881
1848 Hardy in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 No. 6. 321 This implement is much used in Cornwall, where it is called the ‘fly-catcher’.
1855 A. Manning Old Chelsea Bun-house vi. 91 After Tea..my Mother began to snip a Fly-catcher.
2. A bird that catches flies; in England, usually one of the genus Muscicapa, esp. M. grisola; in America, usually one of the genus Tyrannus, T. Carolinensis or T. pipiri.
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the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > [noun] > family Tyrannidae (tyrant-bird)
flycatcher1678
tyrant1731
tyrant-flycatcher1783
tyrant-shrike1809
scissortail1827
tyrant-bird1888
boatbill1951
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > [noun] > subfamily Muscicapinae > genus Muscicapa (fly-catcher)
flycatcher1678
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 158 Muscicapa, the flycatcher.
1777 G. Forster Voy. round World II. 358 Several sorts of pigeons, parroquets, and fly-catchers.
1833 Selby in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 No. i. 20 The spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola).
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. xv. 353 The..plaintive note of a white-tufted tyrant-flycatcher.
1869 W. P. Turnbull Birds E. Pennsylv. 21 Least Flycatcher, Empidonax minimus.
1882 Hardy in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 9 No. 3. 440 The rare pied flycatcher (Muscicapa atricapilla).
3.
a. A spider that catches flies.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Arachnida > [noun] > order Aranea > member of (spider) > unspecified type > that catches flies
flycatcher1750
1750 G. Hughes Nat. Hist. Barbados 91 The Fly-Catcher..is of the Spider-kind.
b. A plant that catches flies; = fly-trap n. 2.
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the world > plants > by nutrition or respiration > [noun] > that ingests animal matter
flycatcher1862
insectivore1863
carnivore1884
1862 C. Kingsley Water-babies i, in Macmillan's Mag. Aug. 275/2 A spring..which soaks up..in the bog, among red fly-catchers.
c1865 Ld. Brougham in J. Wylde Circle of Sci. I. Introd. Disc. p. xxii The Muscipula, Fly-trap, or Fly-catcher..has small prickles in the inside of two leaves.
4. In the war of 1914–18, a fast type of aeroplane. colloquial.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > fighter
chaser1915
pursuit aeroplane1915
skyfighter1915
fighter1917
pursuit airplane1917
pursuit plane1918
flycatcher1924
pursuit aircraft1928
pursuiter1928
night fighter1941
dogfighter1943
parasite jet fighter1948
1924 Glasgow Herald 28 July 9 The royal yacht had three ‘fly-catchers’.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words Fly-catchers, a fast type of aeroplane, officially rated as ‘Fleet Fighters’.
1928 Times 23 Mar. 19/2 They were engaged in turn by the ‘Flycatchers’ from the Furious.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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