kite-flyingn.

1804 T. A. Ward Diary 5–6 Oct. in Peeps into Past (1909) viii. 51/1 He went away..to renew the sport of kite-flying.

1827 D. Johnson Sketches Indian Field Sports (ed. 2) 168 This..man spent..his time in..pigeon flying, or paper kite flying.

1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (1850) xvii. 179 He never took an active part in any game but kite-flying.

1926 M. Leinster Dew on Leaf v. 199 Towards the end of the kite-flying season, numerous Chinese had made their way to various pieces of rising ground with these toys.

1962 W. O. Mitchell Kite ii. 14 Kite-flying would be a lot like taking a drive on Sunday or going on a picnic.

1834 Blackwood's Mag. 36 500/2 Some accommodating associate in the noble art and mystery of ‘kite-flying’.

1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms Kite Flying,..a combination between two persons, neither of whom has any funds in bank, to exchange each other's checks, which may be deposited in lieu of money, taking good care to make their bank accounts good before their checks are presented for payment. Kite flying is also practised by mercantile houses... A house in Boston draws on a house in New York at 60 days or more, and gets its bill discounted. The New York house, in return, meets its acceptance by re-drawing on the Boston house.

1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxiv. 244 That kite-flying, you know, Mr. M., always takes two or three on 'em to set the paper going. Altamont put the pot on at the Derby, and won a good bit of money.

1951 ‘H. Cecil’ Painswick Line vi. 55 ‘Kite flying’ is a method of borrowing money from a bank, which is not prepared to lend it to you.

1964 Z. Progl Woman of Underworld xix. 178 Passing dud cheques (kite-flying) calls for unwavering nerve and audacity.

1970 M. Kenyon 100,000 Welcomes iv. 23 Forgery? Fraudulent conversion? Kite-flying?

1898 ‘A. Hope’ in Daily News 4 Apr. 7/1 Principally it [sc. the press interview] was said to be used as a means of what might be called kite-flying.

1899 Daily News 29 June 5/4 The object of Boer diplomacy is to prolong the kite-flying stage indefinitely until commercial interests..urge England to accept anything.

1927 Daily Tel. 30 Aug. 8/6 These suggestions are dismissed in British circles as mere ‘kite-flying’.

1958 Economist 20 Dec. 1058/2 The Belgrade newspaper, Borba, which is often the government's mouthpiece, has emphasised..that if other countries would accept immigrants from Jugoslavia these would be allowed to leave... If this was kite-flying, the kite has been allowed to drop to the ground with a thud.

1969 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 2 May 3/8 State D.L.P. secretary (Mr. J. Judge), said: ‘This is nothing but kite-flying. The D.L.P. will be making no decision on preferences until the Central Council meets next Tuesday.’

1965 Listener 22 July 111/2 The irrelevance of his office to foreign affairs..stressed that he was merely kite-flying.

1844 Knickerbocker 24 258 The most persevering kite-flyers that I know of, are the Reformers.

1860 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 3) 231 Kite-flier, a financier who practises the operation of ‘kite-flying’.

1876 Monthly Packet June 577 Heavy bets are laid on the best kite-flyers.

1896 Daily News 1 Dec. 8/5 Franklin's experiences as a scientific kite-flyer.

1935 ‘D. Hume’ Gaol Gates are Open 8 Higher in the hierarchy of crime come the ‘kite flyers’, who cash worthless cheques.

1968 ‘L. Egan’ Serious Investigation (1969) iii. 34 Right now we've got a con man operating on the pensioners, and a kite flyer passing all the rubber checks.

1972 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 16 Jan. 2/7 Sarasota, Fla... Some 89 contestants jammed Lido Beach for the Association's 4th Annual International Flyoff, held in honor of America's foremost kiteflyer Ben Franklin.