Fly by night

Fly by night

The phrase fly by night is a derisive term in the English language for businesses that appear and disappear rapidly, or that give an impression of transience. It has also been applied to individual traveling businessmen and tradesmen. The phrase implies that the quality of work done or goods sold is shoddy enough that the person responsible must leave town under cover of darkness to evade angry customers, or sometimes legal authorities.

A classic portrayal of a traveling salesman as a fly-by-night operator is the Broadway musical and film, "The Music Man".


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  • fly-by-night — ˈfly by night adjective [only before a noun] informal a fly by night company or businessperson is not reliable and is only interested in making a quick profit and then disappearing: • The authority requires surety bonds of $50,000 from health… …   Financial and business terms

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  • fly-by-night — fly′ by night adj. 1) not reliable or well established, esp. in business, and primarily interested in making a quick profit: a fly by night operation[/ex] 2) not lasting; impermanent; transitory 3) a debtor who attempts to evade creditors 4) a… …   From formal English to slang

  • fly-by-night — fly by ,night adjective INFORMAL a fly by night company or businessman cannot be trusted because they are dishonest or may fail ╾ fly by ,night noun count …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • fly-by-night — fly by .night adj [only before noun] informal a fly by night company or businessman is one that you cannot trust because they have only been in business for a short time and are only interested in making quick profits …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • fly-by-night — fly by night; fly by night·er; …   English syllables

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