flyingn.
/ˈflʌɪɪŋ/ 1.
a. The action of fly v.1, in various senses.
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the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > [noun] > moving swiftly
flying1548
scudding1583
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccixv The fame was spred of kynge Edwardes flyenge.
c1565 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1728) 113 Great slaughter was made..in the flyings of the timber.
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 256 The Images of reuolt and flying off. View more context for this quotation
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ix. 152 The flying off, or else winding of these Steps will vary.
a1680 T. Goodwin Of Object Justif. Faith ii. i. ii, in Wks. (1697) IV. 76 A flying to him that is gracious.
1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod i. ii. 23 The training and flying of hawks became one of the essentials in the education of a young man of rank.
b. The action of guiding or piloting an aircraft or spacecraft, or of travelling in one.
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society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > [noun]
navigation1783
flying1834
1834 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 3 791/1 Such is my plan for flying.
1864 R. Chambers Bk. of Days II. 722/1 This extraordinary aërial locomotive is perhaps one of the most curious of these apparatuses for the purpose of flying.
1909 Flight 27 Feb. 113/1 In the present stage of flight the art of learning how is almost as great as that of the art of flying itself.
1909 Flight 27 Feb. 23 Oct. 668/2 As a result of the good flying on Saturday afternoon, a large attendance was attracted to the racecourse on Monday after~noon.
1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 48 When..involuntary descents [were] often a part of 'cross-country flying.
1930 P. White How to fly Airplane xxiii. 306 Cross-country flying includes all flights over land..more than a mile or two away from the home field.
1947 D. J. Ingells They tamed Sky i. 2 This is push-button flying, automatic flight.
1960 C. H. Gibbs-Smith Aeroplane 1 Flying has never appeared to its devotees as a mere method of transportation.
1962 J. Glenn in J. Glenn et al. Into Orbit 5 There is nothing spooky or supernatural about flying in space.
1967 Drive Spring 106 He loathes flying, endures sea travel, is happy in a car only when at the wheel.
2. concrete in plural (see quot. 1893).
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1888 R. Beaumont Woollen & Worsted Cloth Manuf. 57 Otherwise they cast off a lot of loose fibres as ‘flyings’.
1893 Labour Commission Gloss. Flyings, short fibres thrown out from the wool on to the sides of the carding machine.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
flying boot n.
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1935 Times 9 Oct. 9/4 They are also showing flying boots for women lined in sheepskin and covered in willow calf and crêpe rubber.
1944 G. Netherwood Desert Squadron vi. 49 An airman wearing a badge in the form of a silver flying boot..the insignia of the famous ‘Late Arrivals’ Club, a club formed from airmen who..after having been posted as missing, returned safely to their units.
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flying circus n. (See circus n. 2d.)
flying coat n.
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1931 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 545/1 Outside the squadron office was gathered a small group of pilots, in their sheepskin thigh-boots and heavy leather flying-coats.
flying ground n.
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1909 Daily Chron. 26 Feb. 1/2 The flying ground gives an interrupted flight of over ten miles in a straight line.
flying meeting n.
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1909 Flight 20 Nov. 749/1 A flying meeting to be held on the Napoule aerodrome.
flying school n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > training > [noun] > school or university
flying school1894
University of the Air1922
1894 Proc. Internat. Conf. Aerial Navig. 1893 307 Just as the rider and swimmer go to a school for their instruction, so we must go to a flying school for ours.
1920 Act 10 & 11 George V c. 80 §7 (I) Any aerodrome, flying school, or landing ground.
flying squadron n.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > group or unit on operation > [noun] > balloonists
flying squadron1785
balloon corps1859
balloon squadron1880
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > unit of
flight1914
flying corps1914
wing1915
flying squadron1917
group1919
1785 H. Walpole Let. 24 June (1905) XIII. 278 France has conceived hopes of annihilating our Pyrenees by these flying squadrons [sc. balloons].
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings p. xii A record for the casualties of any one flying squadron during any three months since the war began.
flying suit n.
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1935 D. Pilley Climbing Days iii. 52 My brother John, looking magnificent in a Teddy Bear Jaeger flying-suit.
1936 Discovery Sept. 285/1 Upper atmosphere flights employing..special flying suits have actually been made.
flying time n.
flying velocity n.
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1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Mil. Terms Flying velocity, the speed requisite to raise an aëroplane from the ground.
flying week n.
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1909 Flight 20 Nov. 749/2 The flying week to be held there by the Aero Club of France.
C2. (Some of these collocations could with equal or greater justification be listed under the participial adj.: for convenience they are all grouped here, since all of them fall within or appertain to the subject of aviation. Cf. sense 1b above.)
flying bedstead n. an experimental aircraft, shaped like a bedstead, for testing methods of vertical take-off.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > experimental aircraft
flying test bed1947
flying bedstead1955
1955 Sci. News Let. 4 June 357/2 Rolls-Royce, in Britain, has designed a model dubbed the ‘flying bed~stead’. It is thrust into the air vertically by two jet nozzles pointed downward in the front and rear.
1957 Times 29 Nov. 10/6 The ‘flying bedstead’ is..a tubular structure on which two 5,000 lb. thrust Rolls-Royce Nene turbo-jet engines are mounted.
flying bench n. an aircraft fitted with apparatus for measuring its performance in the air.
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1949 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 53 135/1 Neither the turbo-propeller nor the turbo-reaction engine had actually flown so far. A flying test bench was being prepared, which would take either engine. This test bench was a four-engined machine which had been fitted with a nacelle above the fuselage.
flying boat n. (a) an experimental flying machine built by J. P. Blanchard; (b) a boat-shaped car on a merry-go-round; (c) a form of seaplane having a boat-like fuselage.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > [noun] > an aircraft > lighter-than-air aircraft
aerostat1784
flying boat1784
airboat1852
aeronef1861
lighter-than-air1910
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun] > fairground ride > merry-go-round > horse or car
hobby-horse1741
flying boat1784
dobby1879
galloper1945
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > sea-plane
flying boat1903
hydro-aeroplane1909
hydroplane1911
waterplane1912
airboat1913
seaplane1913
float-seaplane1919
cabin cruiser1921
float-plane1922
1784 Universal Mag. 75 221/1 Mr. Blanchard..during the late war, formed a flying boat, which he intended for carrying the dispatches from Brest to Paris, but as this did not answer his expectations, he was obliged to relinquish the idea of elevating himself above the clouds.
1854 A. C. Mowatt Autobiogr. Actress 108 In a single night, the booths, the fairy houses, the circus, flying boats, cars, horses disappear.
1903 O. Chanute Let. 13 Mar. in M. W. McFarland Wright Pap. (1953) I. 301 Today I spent with Wm. Kress who experimented with a flying boat last year.
1913 Aeroplane 24 Apr. 470/1 The death of Louis Gaudart showed what a deathtrap the ordinary type of flying-boat is.
1917 C. C. Turner Aircraft of To-day xix. 277 The twin-engined Curtiss flying-boat ‘America’.
1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 31 Aug. 178/3 A flying-boat service between Sydney and Wellington.
1934 ‘R. Crompton’ William—the Gangster iii. 49 Riding upon merry-go-rounds, flying in flying-boats, sliding down helter-skelters.
1958 Times 18 July 6/5 Britain's only remaining air line using flying-boats, Aquila Air~ways, are to cease operations on October 1.
1971 Daily Tel. 16 July (Colour Suppl.) 5/3 One of the Sunderland flying boats between Cairo and India: a yacht of the sky, landing on the sea or inland lakes as it hopped from point to point.
flying bomb n. a pilotless jet-propelled aeroplane with an explosive warhead, first used by the Germans against England in June 1944.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > pilotless or remotely controlled
drone1936
doodlebug1944
flying bomb1944
V-11944
beeper1946
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > explosive device > [noun] > bomb > flying
rocket bomb1883
chase me, Charley1906
robot plane1929
robot bomb1934
robot1940
buzz-bomb1944
doodlebug1944
flying bomb1944
robomb1944
V-bomb1944
V-11944
V-21944
1944 Times 3 July 4/5 Strong measures to counter the flying bombs have been continued throughout the week-end.
1944 Times 5 July 4/5 The Prime Minister intended to make a statement on Thursday on the flying-bomb attack.
1946 Amer. Speech 21 246 The V-1 was in the U.S. and British official parlance a flying bomb... The troops, however, generally called it a buzz bomb, probably because it normally came in at rather low altitude, reminiscent of an airplane buzzing the ground.
flying boxcar n. a bomber or a large freight-carrying aircraft.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > aircraft for goods or passengers
liner1905
tramp1905
airliner1908
taxi1909
taxi plane1909
air ferry1916
air freighter1919
passenger plane1919
air taxi1920
freighter1920
flying boxcar1932
ferry1939
shuttle plane1944
day coach1945
feeder liner1946
charter1959
night coach1959
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > bomber
raider1908
bomber1917
night bomber1918
dart1925
bomb-dropper1928
flying boxcar1932
bombing plane1934
bomber aircraft1935
medium bomber1935
dive-bomber1937
heavy1943
nuisance raider1944
shuttle bomber1944
atomic bomber1945
interdictor1965
stealth1979
1932 Beaver Mar. 393 The new Junkers freight plane ‘JU-52’, ‘flying box~car’.
1941 Amer. Speech 16 165/2 Flying boxcar, a bomber.
1958 Oxf. Mail 19 July 1/2 A fleet of ‘flying boxcars’ bringing jeeps, bazookas and..rifles.
flying corps n. a unit of aircraft for military or naval purposes; the Royal Flying Corps was the precursor of the Royal Air Force.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > unit of
flight1914
flying corps1914
wing1915
flying squadron1917
group1919
1914Flying Corps [see ].
1914 Scotsman 15 Sept. 5/7 The success attained by the Royal Flying Corps.
1926 T. E. Lawrence Seven Pillars (subscribers' ed.) xxii. 114 It was decided to lay out on the beach by the aerodrome a small position, capable of being held..by the..Flying Corps.
flying country n. Hunting one that affords opportunity for long unbroken runs.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting area > [noun]
fieldOE
forest1297
seta1425
chasea1440
hunting-fieldc1680
hunting-ground1721
flying county1856
hunt1857
moor1860
the Shires1860
driving moor1873
beat1875
killing ground1877
flying country1883
killing field1915
1883 Standard 19 May 3/3 Viscount looked fitted for a flying country.
flying county n. = flying country n.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting area > [noun]
fieldOE
forest1297
seta1425
chasea1440
hunting-fieldc1680
hunting-ground1721
flying county1856
hunt1857
moor1860
the Shires1860
driving moor1873
beat1875
killing ground1877
flying country1883
killing field1915
1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Coventry xii Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, and other so-called ‘flying counties’.
flying deck n. = flight deck n. (a) at flight n.1 Compounds 2.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > deck > decks on aircraft carrier
flight deck1924
flying deck1931
angled deck1952
through-deck1969
1931 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 25 373 The ‘Vindex’..was the first ship to be fitted with a forward hangar and flying deck.
1954 P. K. Kemp Fleet Air Arm 86 The first carrier..was fitted with a flying deck forward.
flying doctor n. a doctor who habitually uses an aeroplane for visiting patients in areas remote from his headquarters; also attributive, as flying doctor service, etc.
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the world > health and disease > healing > healer > physician > [noun] > flying or parachuting doctors
flying doctor1926
paradoctor1944
1926 Lancet 17 Apr. 824/1 (heading) Flying Doctors.
1932 Lancet 24 Dec. 1396/2 In May 1928 Dr. K. St. Vincent Welch, the first ‘flying doctor’, set up practice at Cloncurry in Queensland.
1944 F. Clune Red Heart 7 There are six Flying Doctor Bases in Arid Australia.
1966 Daily Tel. 27 Sept. 13/3 Dr. Anne Spoerry, of the East African Flying Doctor Service.
1971 Daily Tel. 19 Jan. 10/5 The Falkland Islands Government maintains a ‘flying doctor’ service.
flying fence n. one that must be taken at a flying leap.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > riding after hounds > type of fence
timber1791
rasper1812
stopper1832
jump1858
oxer1859
flying fence1883
1883 E. Pennell-Elmhirst Cream Leics. 110 Honest flying fences, big enough to extend a good hunter.
flying field n. = airfield n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > airfield or airport > [noun] > airfield
satellite airfield1904
air park1908
field1910
airfield1919
flying field1927
satellite aerodrome1940
1927 J. M. Saunders Wings (1928) ii. 91 The giant searchlights from the tower played over the dark corners of the flying field.
1958 P. Kemp No Colours or Crest ix. 183 A disused flying field pitted with craters.
flying hour n. (see quot. 1956).
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society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > [noun] > time spent in
flying time1614
flight-time1881
flying hour1918
1918 F. H. Colvin Aircraft Mech. Handbk. xxii. 305 To keep all the available machines of one squadron in commission for 800 flying hours.
1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 214/1 Flying hour, an hour spent in flight (which includes takeoff and landing) by a person, aircraft, or piece of equipment.
flying machine n. a machine or contrivance capable of being flown in the air; usually restricted to a heavier-than-air machine dependent on its motors for maintenance and progression in the air (see also flying adj. 4b).
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > [noun] > an aircraft > heavier-than-air aircraft
flying machine1736
aeronef1861
aeromotive1865
aviator1891
aeromotor1902
aerodyne1906
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > machinery for effects > for flying
wire1607
traveller1859
flying machine1881
1736 Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 617/1 One James Todd..at the Theatre in Covent-Garden, fell from the upper Stage, in a flying Machine, the Wires breaking.
1769 Oxf. Mag. Sept. 108 (caption) A New Flying Machine upon Dr. Musgrave's Plan, that moves with ye same Rapidity as Mr. Moore's Machine without Horses.
1797 Encycl. Brit. I. 198/2 In the year 1709..as we were informed by a letter published in France in 1784, a Portuguese projector, Friar Gusman, applied to the king for encouragement to his invention of a flying machine.
1808 G. Cayley Aeronaut. & Misc. Note-bk. (1933) 3 Apr. 63 It obliges the centre of gravity of flying machines to be much forwarder of the centre of bulk than could be supposed a priori.
1834 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 3 790/1 (caption) Travelling Balloon, or Flying Machine.
1865 Reader 1 Apr. 375/3 Until the time shall arrive when an aerostat or flying machine can be introduced with something like success.
1881 L. Wagner Pantomimes 57 The manipulation of flying machines, or other contrivances whereby [etc.].
1895 Nature 1 Aug. 321/2 A large party of scientific men..to witness a trial of the celebrated flying machine.
1908 H. G. Wells War in Air viii. §2 It was not in their airships, but..in their flying-machines proper, that the strength of the Asiatics lay.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 11 Jan. 9/1 The regulation of flying-machine races.
1959 Times 2 Apr. 4/6 The challenge of the missile does not mean that the flying machine is outdated. On the contrary, there will always be great need for the work of the manned aircraft, which it alone can perform.
1970 Daily Tel. 30 Oct. 11/2 I was at school when I saw my first real flying machine.
flying officer n. a rank in the Royal Air Force.
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society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > airman > [noun] > officer in air force > flying officer
flying officer1913
1913 Aeroplane 17 Apr. 446 Royal Flying Corps, Military Wing.—To be flying officers and to be seconded.
1922 Man. Seamanship (H.M.S.O.) I. i. 11 Distinctive Lace worn by members of the Royal Air Force... Flying Officer, Observation Officer.
flying position n. the position of an aeroplane in flight.
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1916 H. Barber Aeroplane Speaks 128 The aeroplane should be standing upon level ground, or..packed up into its ‘flying position’.
flying saucer n. the fanciful name given to various unidentified disc- or saucer-shaped objects reported as appearing in the sky.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > spacecraft > [noun] > flying saucer or UFO
flying saucer1947
saucer1947
unidentified (flying) object1950
UFO1953
1947 Times 8 July 4/4 During the past fortnight reports that dish-like objects, nicknamed ‘flying saucers’, have been seen travelling through the air at great speed..have come from the United States and Canada.
1948 Jrnl. Brit. Interplanetary Soc. 7 199 I haven't examined the details carefully, but the ‘flying saucers’ bear all the hall-marks of mass-suggestion.
1953 D. Leslie & G. Adamski Flying Saucers have Landed i. i. 13 Ever since the cliché ‘flying saucer’ was coined, the greatest and most exciting mystery of our age has been automatically reduced to the level of a music hall joke.
1965 New Society 9 Sept. 14/2 When Kenneth Arnold saw something from his airplane near Mount Rainier in June 1947, he gave them the happy name of flying saucers.
flying speed n. the speed of an aircraft at take-off or in normal level flight.
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society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > navigation of course of aircraft > [noun] > speed
sinking speed1860
air speed1909
land-speed1910
landing speed1911
flying speed1917
1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 39 The throttle was again opened full out as the bus raced into the wind until flying speed had been attained, when it skimmed gently from the ground.
flying test bed n.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > experimental aircraft
flying test bed1947
flying bedstead1955
1947 Shell Aviation News cxii. 11/1 This year the development of turbine installations in flying test beds has been taken a step further.
1966 Times 10 Sept. 1/5 A Vulcan V-bomber, modified to act as a ‘flying test bed’ for the Anglo-French Concord's..engine, made a maiden flight yesterday.
flying time n. (a) the time when a hawk is in condition to be flown; (b) the time during which an aircraft, etc., is in flight (see also quot. 1956).
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > [noun] > time
flying time1614
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > [noun] > time spent in
flying time1614
flight-time1881
flying hour1918
1614 S. Latham Falconry i. xi. 40 You cease and leaue off from all those..obseruations of the flying time.
1946 Mod. Lang. Notes Nov. 442 Travel time, flying time, running time.
1956 W. A. Heflin U.S. Air Force Dict. 214/2 Flying time, the elapsed time spent in flight or in associated actions by aircraft..or by persons.
flying wing n. (see quots.).
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > without fuselage or tailplane
flying wing1937
1937 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 41 162 The final logical result..is..the flying wing with the engines, passengers or military load housed inside... There are still certain difficulties which will prevent us from achieving..a mere flying wing.
1948 Sci. News 7 ( (caption) to pl. 44) The Flying Wing... An aircraft without fuselage or tailplane.
Draft additions 1993
flying fortress n. an informal name for the Boeing B-17, an American long-range heavy bomber aeroplane developed in the late 1930s.
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society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > bomber > of specific manufacture
flying fortress1937
Stuka1940
Wimpey1942
hell's angel1943
V-bomber1955
1937 N.Y. Times 16 Oct. 3/8 The world's largest military airplane had its first test flight today... The newest ‘flying fortress’ built by the Boeing Aircraft Company, lifted into the air after running less than half the length of Boeing Field.
1938 Pop. Mech. 70 330/2 Uncle Sam wants to put you on his pay roll while..you..become a pilot for one of his great ‘Flying Fortresses’.
1985 C. Yeager & L. Janos Yeager (1986) 66 He saw two Flying Fortresses directly ahead... He almost landed right on them.
Draft additions 1993
flying suit n. a suit designed to be worn by an aircraft pilot or crew member when flying; also transferred as a fashionable garment, esp. a women's one-piece trouser suit or jump suit.
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1927 C. A. Lindbergh ‘We’ viii. 135 I put the flashlight in a pocket of my flying suit.
1930 Packing Predicaments (Austin Reed Ltd.) 23 Flying suit, or leather golf coat over thick sweater.
1984 Financial Times 30 June 16/4 Sales of women's ‘flying-suits’ and children's wear..have been disappointing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
flyingadj.
/ˈflʌɪɪŋ/ That flies, in senses of the verb/ (See note at flying n. Compounds 1.)
1.
a. That moves through the air with wings. Sometimes with distinguishing word prefixed, as high flying n.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > [adjective] > flying (as) with wings
flyingc1000
winged1513
a-flying1646
aflight1826
c1000 Ælfric Gram. (Z.) ix. 44 Uolucer, fleogende.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) v. liv. 171 The popyniay and the pellycan amonge fleeng fowles fede theimself with the fote.
a1577 G. Gascoigne Dan Bartholmew xviii The highest flying hauke will stoupe at laste.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xiv. 29 His fruite shall be a fierie flying serpent. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 643 So seem'd Farr off the flying Fiend. View more context for this quotation
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Visct. Cobham 8 In Man, the judgment shoots at flying Game; A Bird of passage!
1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 10 A menagerie of curious beasts, and crawling and creeping and flying things.
b. In names of insects, as flying-buck-beetle, flying-glow-worm. Also of fish, reptiles, quadrupeds, etc., which by means of special appendages are able to make movements resembling flight; as flying-frog, flying-gecko, flying-gurnard, flying-herring, flying-lemur, flying-lizard, flying-marmot, flying-phalanger, flying-squid. Also flying adder n. British regional a dragonfly. flying coachman n. the regent honey-eater, Zanthomiza phrygia. flying-dog n. a kind of vampire-bat. flying hart n., flying stag = French cerf-volant, a stag-beetle. flying mouse n. the smallest gliding marsupial, Acrobates pygmæus, of the family Phalangeridæ. Also flying fish n., flying fox n., flying squirrel n.
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the world > animals > by locomotion > [adjective] > flying
flying1626
volitant1891
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > Polyphaga (omnivorous) > superfamily Lamellicornia Scarabaeoidea > family Lucanidae (stag-beetles) > member of genus Lucanus (stag-beetle)
bull-fly1585
hornet1585
stag-fly1634
hartshorn beetle1658
flying hart1676
stag-beetle1681
flying stag1765
pinching bug1850
pinch bug1856
the world > animals > mammals > order Chiroptera or bat > [noun] > suborder Microchiroptera > family Desmodontidae (vampire bat)
vampire1774
spectre-bat1781
vampire bat1790
flying-dog1796
javelin-bat1861
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > [noun] > family Meliphagidae (honey-eater) > genus Xanthomiza (regent honeyeater)
mock regent bird1848
regent honeyeater1913
flying coachman1918
the world > animals > mammals > group Implacenta > subclass Marsupialia (marsupials) > [noun] > family Phalangeridae (phalanger) > genus Acrobates (flying mouse)
opossum mouse1832
flying mouse1934
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §712 Lucciole..may be the Flying~Glo-worm.
1676 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 11 652 A Kind of large flying Beetle,..with a huge pair of horns..Our people in Virginia..calling it a Flying Hart.
1694 J. Clayton in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 18 126 Another little green Frog, that will leap prodigiously, which they therefore call the Flying Frog.
1712 Philos. Trans. 1710–12 (Royal Soc.) 27 350 Another strange one, which they call Ololo, and comes next to our Corvus [read Cervus] volans, or Flying Buckbeetle.
1765 H. Timberlake Mem. 46 Of insects, the flying stag is almost the only one worthy of notice.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam II. xxii. 142 The vampire..of Guiana..is also called the flying-dog of New Spain.
1840 F. D. Bennett Narr. Whaling Voy. I. 269 The flying-squid rose from the sea in large flocks.
1854 R. Owen Struct. Skeleton & Teeth in Orr's Circle Sci.: Org. Nature I. 199 The flying lizard (Draco volans).
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 352 The other (Exocœtus) has been called Flying Herring.
1883 W. H. Flower in Encycl. Brit. XV. 401 Galeopithecus volans..The Flying Lemur of Linnæus.
1884 Longman's Mag. Mar. 523 Flying gurnards.
1918 J. A. Leach Austral. Bird Bk. (ed. 4) 170 Regent Honey-eater (Warty-faced), [or] Turkey-Bird (Mock Regent), [or] Flying Coachman..one of the most beautiful of birds.
1934 Bulletin (Sydney) 16 May 20/4 The..flying-mouse is common in the wide belt of scrub which stretches across S.A. and Western Vic.
1945 Folk-lore 56 312 In South Pembrokeshire ‘the big ones’ are called ‘Flying Adders’.
1982 E. V. Sale Four Seasons County Diary 91 They are probably what..others name more colourfully Devil's Darning Needles, or Horse Stingers (or, in Scotland, Flying Adders).
c. figurative. †flying pension (see quot. c1770).
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > grants and allowances > [noun] > payment in consideration of past service > types of
out-pension1711
commandery1721
state pension1745
flying pensionc1770
war pension1930
SERPS1983
eligible termination payment1984
c1770 H. Walpole Mem. George III (1845) I. xxiv. 337 In the meantime Sandwich obtained what was called a flying pension, that is, it was to commence if he lost his place.
d. flying horse, flying mare, a certain throw in wrestling.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > wrestling > [noun] > manoeuvres
swengOE
turn?c1225
castc1400
trip1412
fall?a1425
foil1553
collar1581
lock1598
faulx1602
fore-hip1602
forward1602
inturn1602
mare1602
hug1617
disembracement1663
buttock1688
throw1698
back-lock1713
cross-buttock1713
flying horse1713
in holds1713
buttocker1823
chip1823
dogfall1823
cross-buttocker1827
hitch1834
bear hug1837
backfall1838
stop1840
armlock1841
side hug1842
click1846
catch-hold1849
back-breaker1867
back-click1867
snap1868
hank1870
nelson1873
headlock1876
chokehold1886
stranglehold1886
hip lock1888
heave1889
strangle1890
pinfall1894
strangler's grip1895
underhold1895
hammer-lock1897
scissor hold1897
body slam1899
scissors hold1899
armbar1901
body scissors1903
scissors grip1904
waist-hold1904
neck hold1905
scissors1909
hipe1914
oshi1940
oshi-dashi1940
oshi-taoshi1940
pindown1948
lift1958
whip1958
Boston crab1961
grapevine1968
powerbomb1990
1713 T. Parkyns Inn-play 2 Flying Horse.
1754 S. Foote Knights i. 12 We don't wrestle after your fashion..we go all upon close Hugs, or the flying Mare.
1823 in ‘J. Bee’ Slang
e. flying angel: = angels on horseback n. at angel n. Phrases 7.
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1877 Cassell's Mag. Dec. 58/1 While upon the subject of cooking oysters, I will refer to a..bonne-douche, which I think has been dignified with the name of ‘flying angel’.
2. † b. Old Chemistry. = volatile n. and adj. Obsolete.
a. That passes (usually, that passes quickly) through the air.
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the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > [adjective] > swiftly
winged1513
flying1535
swift-flight?1592
wingy1658
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xiii. 25 Wilt thou be so cruell and extreme unto a flyenge leaf.
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors ii. f. 7v A Flying, shooting, or falling Starre.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. ii. 61 A backe-sounding eccho of fiery flying shots.
1656 Cowley in Roxburghe Ballads VII. 449 Martha took the flying Ball.
1789 Trans. Soc. Arts 7 54 A very flat, loose, flying, sandy coast.
1811 W. J. Hooker Jrnl. Tour Iceland (1813) II. 187 The flying sands from the eastern country.
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the world > matter > gas > becoming or making into gas > [adjective] > connected with or producing vaporization > able to be vaporized > volatile
flying1471
spirituala1500
volatile1605
fugitive1666
fugacious1671
volitablea1690
incoercible1710
1471 G. Ripley Compound of Alchymy vi, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 161 Spyrits whych fleyng are.
3. † b. under or with a flying seal (= French sous cachet volant): said of a letter with a seal attached but not closed, so that it may be read by a person who is requested to forward it to its destination.
a. Floating loosely, fluttering, waving. Hence in wider sense, Attached so as to have freedom of movement, hanging loose. flying jib, ‘a light sail set before the jib, on the flying jib-boom’; also flying-boom, flying-iron; flying deck, ‘a deck supported at the side by railings, stanchions, or the like’ (Webster 1934); flying-kites, see kite n. 5; flying martingale, a supporting rope for the flying jib-boom. flying ring, each of a number of rings suspended in pairs or rows by swinging ropes used in acrobatics and gymnastics; flying trapeze, = trapeze n. 1.with flying colours: see colour n.1 Phrases 9.
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the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > [adjective] > waving in the wind
windyc1450
streaming1567
flying1607
wavinga1616
flaunting1624
the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [adjective] > hanging down > streaming
streaming1567
plemmirrulate1592
flowing1606
flying1607
loose1781
streamy1813
fly-away1843
flowy1925
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > performance on trapeze > trapeze
flying trapeze1864
1607 G. Markham Cavelarice ii. 54 This flying Trench is to be made in all proportion like a plain full english Snafle.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 59 To spread the flying Canvass for the Fleet. View more context for this quotation
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 239 They carry..a flying topsail.
1832 F. Marryat Newton Forster III. iv. 50 Their flying jib-booms were..pointed over the taffrails of their precessors.
1849 R. Curzon Visits to Monasteries Levant 4 A red cap, a jacket with flying sleeves.
1859 T. J. Gullick & J. Timbs Painting 201 To give lightness to ‘flying drapery’.
1864 J. G. Bertram Glimpses Real Life xiii. 130 If the bounding youth be swinging to and fro on the flying trapeze.
1882 G. S. Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 13 The flying jib-boom is supported downwards by a flying martingale.
1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy 24 The given diameter of a flying-boom is at the boom-iron.
1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy 23 The extreme end [of the jib-boom] is eight-square and an iron hoop driven on to receive the flying iron.
1896 Daily News 17 Dec. 6/1 The boats are relegated to a flying deck overhead.
1901 Daily News 20 Feb. 6/7 Flying-ring performers, a troupe consisting of two men and a girl.
1919 C. Mackenzie Sylvia & Michael iii. 77 A fellow with a moustache like a flying trapeze.
1934 W. Saroyan (title) The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze & Other Stories.
1953 Britannica Bk. Year 639/2 Flying boom, a system used to refuel aircraft in flight.
1965 E. Bruton Wicked Saint iii. 35 Heidi's mother continued in a ground job with the circus..but for ever hankered after the flying trapeze.
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society > communication > correspondence > sending items > [adverb] > sealed but not closed
under or with a flying seal1638
1638 W. Perkins in Lismore Papers (1888) 2nd Ser. IV. 15 He..prayeth yt your lordship would be pleased to send yt your order vp to him, with a flyinge seale.
1811 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) VII. 540 I enclose the letter which I have written to the Prince Regent under a flying seal.
4. in extended use.1872 Daily News 22 Aug. A ‘flying brigade’..has been formed to examine tickets at unexpected stations.
a. That passes or travels swiftly, that passes by rapidly or rushes along; rapid. flying leap: a running jump. flying handicap, flying mile: one in which the starting-post is passed at full speed. flying jump, = flying leap. flying start: in a race, (a) a start in which the competitors pass the starting-point at full speed; (b) a start by one competitor prior to the starting signal being given; (c) transferred and figurative.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > start > flying start
flying start1851
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > [noun] > one who or that which > leap augmented by run
running jumpa1672
flying leap1871
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > types of racing > types of race
wild-goose race1594
wild goose chase1597
bell-course1607
Palio1673
stake1696
paddock course1705
handicap1751
by-match1759
pony race1765
give and take plate1769
sweepstake1773
steeplechase1793
mile-heat1802
steeple race1809
welter1820
trotting-race1822
scurry1824
walkover1829
steeple hunt1831
set-to1840
sky race1840
flat race1848
trot1856
grind1857
feeler1858
nursery1860
waiting race1868
horse-trot1882
selling plate1888
flying milea1893
chase1894
flying handicap1894
prep1894
selling race1898
point-to-point1902
seller1922
shoo-in1928
daily double1930
bumper1946
selling chase1965
tiercé1981
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > start > false start
false start1815
breakaway1885
flying start1921
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > advantage over another > an advantage > initial
flying start1933
1658 tr. S. de Cyrano de Bergerac Satyrical Characters ix. 30 He got to the flying River side.
1701 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother iv. i. 1794 Each minute of the flying Hours is precious.
1713 A. Pope Windsor-Forest 7 Earth rolls back beneath the flying Steed.
1721 in J. Dryden tr. Virgil's Wks. (ed. 5) I. 284 O're th' Elean Plains, thy well-breath'd Horse Impels the flying Carr.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 115 Of Men And Manners treating, with a flying Pen.
1851 Fraser's Mag. 43 658/2 A flying start being the rule.
1871 L. Stephen Playground of Europe (1894) viii. 187 A large crevasse..forcing us to take a flying leap.
a1893 Westm. Gaz. 13 Oct. 5/3 Windle has done the ‘flying’ mile in 1 min. 56 4–5 secs.
1893 R. Kipling Many Inventions 35 You know how you take a flying jump on to a fellow's head at school, when he snores in the dormitory.
1894 Daily News 21 May 7/1 The Flying Handicap I shall leave to Moonflower.
1899 Harmsworth Mag. July 531/2 The cycle is next best with a flying start record of 1 m. 352/ 5 sec.
1921 W. J. Martin in E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football up to Date 61 The easiest way to make an opening is to steal a march on your opposing outside half by getting a flying start.
1924 G. Lambton Men & Horses 233 In the Knowsley Nursery, at Liverpool,..thanks to a flying start, she was only just caught close home.
1928 Daily Mail 7 Aug. 15/5 [He] set up a new record for the mile (flying start) with a speed of 40 miles per hour.
1933 L. A. G. Strong Sea Wall 245 How are the likes of you and me to get a good flying start with nothing to kick off from?
1958 Spectator 31 Jan. 137/2 It got him off to a flying start; in it were the seeds of his future Christian life.
1962 Listener 7 June 983/1 He climbed slowly in Elizabeth's reign, despite his flying start as the son of a Lord Keeper.
b. esp. in flying post, a post travelling by relays of horses, an express. Also (17–18th centuries) in flying coach (also flying machine, flying carriage, etc.), the ordinary designation for a swift stage coach; flying packet, a packet sent by ‘flying post’ (all obsolete).Flying Scotchman, Scotsman: see the second element.
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society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun] > types of service > conveyance of mail by land or sea > by post-rider or coach
flying post1548
posting1556
postage1566
dāk1727
pony express1847
pony post1892
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > transport by relays of horses or vehicles > [noun] > travelling by means of post-horses > types of service
flying post1548
by-post1593
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > public service vehicle > [noun] > stagecoach or mail coach
posting carriage1556
wagon1615
post-coach1636
stagecoach1658
flying coach1669
stage1671
wagon-coach1675
stage-wagon1681
post-car1694
post-wagon1694
post calash1703
fly1708
post-carriage1720
post-stage1738
diligence1742
flying machine1764
machine1769
mail coach1785
dilly1786
mail stage1792
high-flyer1799
post-equipage1813
post vehicle1815
tally-ho coach1831
mail packeta1837
flying carriage1849
stager1852
mail-hack1909
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxvij Richarde Duke of Yorke..by..flieng postes, was aduertised of the great victorie.
1669 A. Wood Life & Times (1892) II. 153 Apr. 5, M(onday) flying coaches set up.
1685 London Gaz. No. 2009/1 Last Night..a Flying Pacquet..brought us the.. News of the Death of our Late Gracious Soveraign.
1705 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 29 Sept. On the 19th came by a Flying Post a Pacquet from Court.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 371 She had set out, in the Flying-coach.
1764 Ipswich Jrnl. 18 Feb. 4/3 A new Flying Machine, to accommodate Passengers by..the nearest Way for London, will set out..on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
1769 Public Advertiser 25 Sept. 4/2 One of the flying Machines from this City to London.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 378 At the close of the reign of Charles II, flying carriages ran thrice a week from London to all the chief towns.
c. Passing, flitting; hasty, transient; esp. of a trip or visit. Also, Rapidly constructed, temporary.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > a journey > [adjective] > brief (of visit to a place)
flying1764
society > leisure > social event > visit > [adjective] > short (of visit)
flying1764
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [adjective] > temporary or provisional
whilwendlicc1000
whilenda1050
specialc1400
seasonable1549
temporary1567
provisional1597
provisionary1617
temporaneal1625
provisory1630
interimistical1643
pro tempore1649
temporaneous1656
non-permanent1782
jury-rigged1788
ad interim1806
interim1808
meantime1840
running1851
flying1857
pro tem1858
interimistic1859
temp1909
caretaker1945
1764 Philos. Trans. 1763 (Royal Soc.) 53 259 This indeed was a flying observation, or taken, as the French would say, en passant.
1797 R. M. Roche Children of Abbey II. iv. 52 Amanda supposed, as usual, she only came to pay a flying visit.
1806 T. Jefferson Writings (1830) IV. 52 Mr. Beckley then supposed he should take a flying trip to London.
1825 H. Wilson Mem. II. 175 He paid me a flying visit.
1844 J. W. Croker in Croker Papers 7 July (1884) III I shall probably pay a flying visit to town..before the session is over.
1857 Countess Canning in Hare Two Noble Lives (1893) II. 332 The superintendent of telegraphs..goes to lay down a flying line to Lucknow if possible.
a1878 B. Taylor Stud. German Lit. (1879) 168 It is impossible..now, to give even a flying explanation.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 286 A Carthaginian army..made flying expeditions to other parts.
d. Military and Navy. (Sometimes with mixture of sense 5; all the expressions are from French.) Said of a body of troops, or a squadron of ships, designed and organized for rapid movement, as in †flying army, flying brigade, flying column, †flying fleet, flying hospital, flying party, flying squadron. flying artillery: a corps trained to rapid evolutions. flying camp: see camp n.2 2b. flying sap (see quot. 1876). Also flying bridge n.
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society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > group with special function or duty > [adjective] > organized for rapid movement
volant1548
running1592
velitary1600
expedite1609
flying1665
mobile1879
quick-reaction1961
rapid deployment1967
rapid-reaction1968
1665 T. Manley tr. H. Grotius De Rebus Belgicis 391 With a flying Brigade marching out of Antwerp.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 28 Feb. (1974) VIII. 88 We do entend to keep but a flying fleet this year.
1667 London Gaz. No. 181/3 The Flying Army that has been so long designed, will be speedily formed.
1702 N. Rowe Tamerlane i. i. 116 He..like a Storm swept with his flying Squadrons all the Plain.
1710 London Gaz. No. 4690/2 A flying Party will encamp in the Neighbourhood.
1809 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) V. 90 The stores belonging to the Flying Artillery.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 624 The flying columns which go out from Aldershot.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 636 For moving columns..flying hospitals are organized.
1876 G. E. Voyle Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) Flying sap, a sap formed by placing and filling several gabions at the same time..Also applied to the usual formation of the second parallel in the attack.
e.
(a) flying squadron n. transferred and figuratively applied to any body of persons organized for rapid movement or action.
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society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun] > other specific types of company
rabblement1536
rabble rout?1589
quorum1596
besorta1616
flying squadron1670
alliance1703
minority1837
umma1885
lads1888
minority group1919
flying squad1927
milieu1927
focus group1938
visible minority1940
enclave1945
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. ii. 161 He manag'd himself so with his flying Squadron, that it gave no little disgust to the Crowns.
1875 Temple Bar June 197 A constant system of espionage carried on by the beautiful demoiselles of her Court, whom Brantôme has immortalised under the term of the Queen-Mother's ‘flying squadron’.
1901 Girls' Realm 930/2 Flying Squadron Race.
(b) flying squad n. a detachment of a police force organized for rapid movement. Also = flying squadron n. at sense 4e(a) (figurative and in extended use).
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society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > a company or body of persons > [noun] > other specific types of company
rabblement1536
rabble rout?1589
quorum1596
besorta1616
flying squadron1670
alliance1703
minority1837
umma1885
lads1888
minority group1919
flying squad1927
milieu1927
focus group1938
visible minority1940
enclave1945
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > [noun] > branch or part of police force > specific
water1552
armed police1787
special police1804
detective force1849
traffic police1883
vice squad1905
drug squad1913
blue force1920
ghost squad1922
flying squad1927
Sweeney1936
morality squad1945
courtesy patrol1961
strike force1961
pussy posse1963
drugs squad1965
vice1967
mobile1971
uniform branch1972
uniform1978
NCIS1991
1927 Daily Tel. 10 May 6 Fatally injured by being knocked down by a motor-van of the Flying Squad.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. ii. iv. 347 What with photographs and finger-prints and telegraphs and wireless and flying squads!.. Not a dog's chance!
1938 Lancet 109/2 A ‘Flying Squad’ in London... Islington is shortly to have the first maternity emergency unit to be established in London.
1939 T. S. Eliot Old Possum's Bk. Pract. Cats 33 He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair.
1961 Daily Tel. 1 Mar. 24/1 To speed justice, more frequent assizes, continuous quarter sessions and a ‘flying squad’ of judges to hear cases during the Long Vacation are recommended to-day.
1966 Guardian 13 Dec. 5/4 In 1920..he [sc. W. Hambrook] was put in charge of a team of three inspectors, four sergeants, and four detective constables, together with two drivers... Within a few days the team had been named the Flying Squad.
f. flying flock, flying (ewe) stock (see quot. 1886); opposed to running stock (running adj. 26e). Also flying stock (Australian and New Zealand) (see quots. 18911, 18912). So flying herd (of cows).
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1837 W. Youatt Sheep xv. 519 In a breeding stock this [examination of ewes and lambs] is absolutely necessary, but in a flying stock, or that in which the ewes and the lambs are usually sold before the termination of the year, this may be dispensed with.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 1105 The ewes are sold in autumn to be fed on turnips, and the lambs are disposed of, after being weaned, to rearers of sheep who breed none. Such a one is called a flying-flock... Flying-stock require no drafting.
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 29 A flying ewe stock is one where the ewes are bought in annually, and sold out again after bringing a lamb.
1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xviii. 255 Walhallow Estate [Australia]..is largely used for fattening purposes, and a ‘flying’ stock is maintained in addition to the regular and permanent station flock.
1891 R. Wallace Rural Econ. Austral. & N.Z. xviii. 259 [On Edendale Estate, Southland, N.Z.] The sheep kept are largely a ‘flying’ or bought-in stock for fattening and marketing.
1950 J. G. Davis Dict. Dairying 437 Other herds are replenished by purchasing newly calved cows. These are called ‘flying herds’.
g. Football. (a) flying man, in the Eton field game (see quot. 1898); (b) flying half, flying man, earlier terms for fly-half (see fly n.2 Compounds 2).
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of player > player or position
full back1875
goal kick1875
No. eight1876
goalkicker1879
three-quarter back1880
handler1888
three-quarter1889
heeler1892
scrum half1894
lock forward1898
standoff1902
five-eighth1905
hooker1905
threes1905
flying half1906
loose head1907
standoff1908
fly-half1918
fly1921
inside half1921
outside half1921
scrum1921
inside centre1936
flank forward1937
out-half1949
prop1950
prop forward1951
number eight1952
flanker1953
tight head1959
back-rower1969
second rower1969
striker1973
packman1992
1864 Eton School Days xxiii. 255 He was a little too heavy for ‘flying man’.
1898 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport II. 143/1 In eleven a-side games the bully is formed of four players... Immediately behind is ‘flying man’, usually the most skilful forward on the side.
1906 D. Gallaher & W. J. Stead Compl. Rugby Footballer iv. 64 Two half backs, one being delegated to attention to the scrum, and the other being by way of a flying half.
a1914 J. E. Raphael Mod. Rugby Football (1918) 127 With the flying man standing as far back as the scrum half can throw the ball full pitch, it is extremely difficult to bottle him.
h. flying shear, a device for shearing a long, continuous length of metal into short pieces without arresting its forward motion; so flying-sheared adj.
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1902 Trans. Amer. Soc. Mech. Engin. 23 468 The success or failure of the whole equipment was entirely dependent on something so little demonstrated..as the Flying Shear.
1958 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 188 30/2 The flying shear limits the finishing speed and reduces output.
1958 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 188 30/2 Flying-sheared sheets must be cooled quickly.
i. flying spot: a small spot of light that is made to move rapidly over an object, the reflected or transmitted light from successive parts of it being converted by a photo-electric tube or cell into an electrical signal that can be made to reproduce an image of the object. Usually attributive, as flying-spot scanner, flying-spot scanning.
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society > communication > broadcasting > television > visual element > [noun] > scanning, etc.
scanning1927
scanning spot1929
flying spot1933
interlacing1935
line scanning1935
interlace1936
line scan1938
matrixing1951
line blanking1952
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > electric light > [noun] > spotlight > flying spot (scanning or scanner)
flying spot1933
1933 Television Oct. 342/1 The transmitter utilises the principle of indirect or ‘flying spot’ scanning by means of an aperture disc.
1960 How TV Works vi. 34/2 For many purposes..reproduction of higher quality is achieved by means of a ‘flying spot’ machine in which each frame of an ordinary positive film is rapidly scanned by a flying spot of light.
1965 Math. in Biol. & Med. (Med. Res. Council) iv. 192 The focus and intensity controls and high-voltage supplies are associated with the 1·5-mil-spot cathode ray tube that produces the short-persistence flying spot, with a sweep diameter of 10 cm.
1968 Brit. Med. Bull. 24 191/2 They are scanned line by line (television-wise) by a ‘flying-spot scanner’.
j. flying picket [picket n.1] , a group of striking workers who picket premises or organizations other than those at which they are employed, esp. one which travels from another area to a striking site or sites in order to reinforce local pickets; a member of such a picket; cf. secondary adj. 3t.
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society > occupation and work > worker > worker according to manner of working > [noun] > striking > picketing > collectively
picket1818
flying picket1974
1974 Socialist Worker 9 Nov. 12/1 I first met the IS comrades in Swansea during the recent nurses' dispute. The nurses' flying picket to the pits arose from the ideas and the hard work of the IS comrades.
1984 Times 16 Mar. 1/3 138 pits are on strike or are ‘picketed out’ by flying pickets from..militant coalfields.
5. That flies about.† b. Of a person's mind: Volatile, unsettled.† c. Of a hound: Apt to ‘fly about’; not steady.
a. Of a tale, rumour, etc.: Circulating without definite authority. flying sheet n. a leaflet printed for distribution broadcast.
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society > communication > information > rumour > [adjective] > rumoured
flying1425
bruited1523
fameda1533
bruitish?1570
rumoured1592
rumorous1605
reportative1636
buzzed1820
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publishing or spreading by leaflets or notices > [noun] > leafleting > leaflet for public distribution
flying sheet1769
fly-sheet1833
leaflet1860
throwaway1883
fly-bill1891
handout1907
1425 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 4 I..neuer hadde tydynges of þis matier but by seyd lettres and other fleyng tales.
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias lxxiii. 150 This was but a fleeing newes.
1630 Ld. Dungarvan in Lismore Papers (1888) 2nd Ser. III. 157 There was a flying report heere that [etc.].
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 40 I hope they are but flying stories. View more context for this quotation
1769 E. Burke Observ. Late State Nation 2 The light squadrons of occasional pamphlets and flying sheets.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 374 There had been flying rumours that a Lord Keeper..would soon be appointed.
1888 J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. II. liii. 322 Phenomena for a knowledge of which one must trust to a variety of flying and floating sources.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > inattention > mental wandering > light-mindedness > [adjective]
lightlyeOE
lightOE
lightsomea1425
flying1509
light-minded?1529
tickle or light of the sear?1530
giddya1547
light-headed1549
gidded1563
giddish1566
fling-brained1570
tickle-headed1583
toyish1584
shallow1594
leger1598
corky1601
barmy1602
airy1609
unfirma1616
unballast1622
cork-brained1630
unballasted1644
kickshawa1655
unserious1655
unstudious1663
flirtishc1665
caper-witteda1670
shatter-headedc1686
corky-brained1699
flea-lugged1724
halokit1724
shatter-brained1727
scattered-brained1747
shatter-witted1775
flippant1791
butterfly-brained1796
scatter-brained1804
gossamer1806
shandy-pated1806
shattery1820
barmy-brained1823
papilionaceous1832
flirtatious1834
flirty1840
Micawberish1859
scatterheaded1867
flibberty-gibberty1879
thistledown1897
shatter-pated1901
trivial-minded1905
scattery1924
fizgig1928
ditzy1979
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. lxxiii Wytles men of fleynge mynde.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [adjective] > of sporting or hunting dog
working1577
flying1684
pointing1745
faulting1837
short-running1853
short-working1853
gun-shy1884
trencher-fed1887
trial-bred1948
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > hound > [adjective] > that hunts > in particular way
scentinga1547
flying1684
steady1735
unentered1772
1684 R. Howlett School Recreat. 13 Bring them abroad with the..best Hunting Hounds: (all babling and flying Curs being left at home).
d. Of pains: Passing irregularly from one part of the body to another; migratory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > part of body > [adjective] > migratory
flying1805
migratory1874
1805 W. Saunders Treat. Mineral Waters (ed. 2) 199 The internal use of Bath water in flying pains and weaknesses of the limbs.
e. Itinerant. flying stationer (slang): see quot. 1796.
ΚΠ
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) Flying Stationers, ballad-singers and hawkers of penny histories.
f. flying reed n. Mining see quot.
ΚΠ
1798 J. Keir Min. Staffordsh. in S. Shaw Hist. Staff. Gen. Hist. 119 These two beds [of coal]..when thus separated acquire the name of the Flying Reed.
1839 R. I. Murchison Silurian Syst. i. xxxv. 470.
6. = fleeing adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going away > [adjective] > running away
flying1594
running1647
fugient1650
1594 1st Pt. Raigne Selimus sig. Kv [Selimus] Dings downe the flying Persians with their swords.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 61 To persecute from far the flying Doe. View more context for this quotation
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. 116 The massacre of many thousands of the flying Bastarnæ.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 641 Flying foot soldiers..were constantly coming in.
7. Building. flying façade, a façade that rises above the level of the roof of a building; flying shore, a horizontal shore used to provide temporary support between two walls.
ΚΠ
1894 J. P. Allen Pract. Building Constr. xxii. 355 End houses which cannot be strutted from another building, are dealt with by means of flying shores.
1936 P. E. Thomas Mod. Building Pract. II. 167 A ‘flying shore’ is horizontal, and incapable of taking any vertical load, its function being to keep the wall plumb.
1961 S. Sitwell Golden Wall & Mirador viii. 161 Espesaña denotes a bell-wall or flying facade, rising above and often doubling or trebling the height of the building.
1962 A. E. Bridgwood Newnes Carpentry & Joining III. 5 The elevation of one of a series of flying shores offering support to the walls of four floors is shown.
Draft additions 1993
flying change n. Equestrianism a change of leading hoof in mid-canter.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > actions of horse
screwing1609
go-by1615
stride1883
flying change1946
walk-up1946
1946 M. C. Self Horseman's Encycl. 132 When a horse is asked to change from one lead to the other at a gallop without coming to a half halt or reducing his gait he is said to be doing a ‘flying change’.
1986 Horse Internat. May 57/3 Dressage judges can't say ‘go and do the flying change again, I think I gave the wrong mark the first time and would like to have another look’.
Draft additions December 2007
flying fuck n. coarse slang (a) go take a flying fuck and elaborated variants: (expressing contemptuous dismissal) ‘go away’, ‘go to hell’; (b) not to give a flying fuck: = not to give a fuck at fuck n. Phrases 1.
ΚΠ
1938 J. O'Hara Let. Nov. (1978) 140 I say go take a flying fuck at a galloping r—ster.
1951 J. Jones From Here to Eternity iv. xxxii. 470 I dont give a flying fuck what anybody says.
1988 ‘J. Norst’ Colors i. 10 He said we can all take a flying fuck.
1989 R. Kenan Visitation of Spirits 110 I couldn't give a flying fuck about the still her husband Lucius had out in the woods behind the house.
2004 P. Cornwell Blow Fly xxi. 102 You know what she's doing these days, or don't you give a flying fuck?
Draft additions December 2002
flying bishop n. Anglican Church colloquial (originally in the U.K.) a bishop who is authorized to minister to clergy and congregations outside his own diocese who share his views on a matter of major doctrinal or ethical significance (esp. opposition to the ordination of women priests) and who on these grounds either do not recognize the authority of or do not wish to be ministered to by their diocesan bishop.
ΚΠ
1993 Daily Mail 5 Jan. 18/2 The move would mean traditionalists and liberals in the same parish being supervised by different bishops—some answering to the flying bishop and the rest to the official bishop in his diocesan palace.
2001 Times 8 June i. 9/7 The Church's 113 bishops are made up of 44 diocesan bishops, 36 area bishops, 30 suffragans and three ‘flying bishops’ who care for the opponents of women priests.
2002 Windsor (Ont.) Star (Nexis) 17 Aug. a17 Priests at eight Greater Vancouver parishes who fervently oppose same-sex blessings are..pressing to work under the authority of a so-called ‘flying bishop’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1897; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.1548
adj.c1000