Chapter Fly-boy to Fond of F by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

Fly-boy to Fond

Fly-boy The boy in a printing-office who lifts the printed sheets off the press. He is called the fly-boy because he catches the sheets as they fly from the tympan (q.v.) immediately the frisket (q.v.) is opened. This is now generally performed by the pressmen.

Fly a Kite (To). To send a begging letter to persons of a charitable reputation, or in easy circumstances, to solicit pecuniary aid, urging poverty, losses, or sickness as an excuse. (See Kite-Flying.)

Fly-by-night (A). One who defrauds his creditors by decamping at night-time. (See Fly.)

Fly in One's Face (To). To get into a passion with a person; to insult; as a hawk, when irritated, flies in the face of its master.

Fly in the Face of Danger (To). To run in a foolhardy manner into danger, as a hen flies in the face of a dog or cat.

Fly in the Face of Providence (To). To act rashly, and throw away good opportunities; to court danger.

Fly Open (To). To open suddenly, as, "the doors flew open," "les portes s'ouvrirent," as they do sometimes by the force of the wind.

Fly Out at (To). To burst or break into a passion. The Latin, involvo in ...

"Poor choleric Sir Brian would fly out at his coachman, his butler, or his gamekeeper, and use language ... which ... from any other master would have brought about a prompt resignation." - Good Words, 1887.

Flying Colours (To come off with). In triumph; with the flags unfurled and flying.

Flying Dutchman A spectral ship, seen in stormy weather off the Cape of Good Hope, and considered ominous of ill-luck. Sir Walter Scott says she was originally a vessel laden with precious metal, but a horrible murder having been committed on board, the plague broke out among the crew, and no port would allow the vessel to enter. The ill-fated ship still wanders about like a ghost, doomed to be sea- tossed, but never more to enjoy rest. Captain Marryat has a novel called The Phantom Ship.

Flying without Wings (No). Nothing can be done without the proper means.

"Sine pennis volare haud facile est." Plautus.

Flyman's Plot (The). In theatrical language, means a list of all the articles required by the flyman in the play produced. The flyman is the scene-shifter, or the "man in the flies."

Fog-eater A white bow in the clouds during foggy weather is so called. Such a bow was seen in England during January, 1888. A week preceding, the weather had been clear, sunshiny, and genial, then followed several days of thick fog, during which the white bow appeared. The bow was followed by several days of brilliant mild weather.

Fogie or Fogey. An old fogey. Properly an old military pensioner. This term is derived from the old pensioners of Edinburgh Castle, whose chief occupation was to fire the guns, or assist in quelling street riots. (Allied to fogat, phogot, voget, foged, fogde, etc.)

"What has the world come to [said Thackeray] ... when two broken-nosed old fogies like you and me sit talking about love to each other." - Trollope: W. M. Thackeray, chap. i.p. 61.

Fo-hi or Foë. One of the chief deities of the Chinese. His mother, Moyë, was walking one day along a river bank, when she became suddenly encircled by a rainbow, and at the end of twelve years was the mother of a son. During gestation she dreamed that she was pregnant with a white elephant, and hence the honours paid to this beast. (Asiatic Researches.)