gadfly

American  

[gad-flahy] / ˈgædˌflaɪ /

noun

gadflies plural

1. any of various flies, as a stable fly or warble fly, that bite or annoy domestic animals.

2. a person who persistently annoys or provokes others with criticism, schemes, ideas, demands, requests, etc.

---

gadfly British  

/ ˈɡædˌflaɪ /

noun

1. any of various large dipterous flies, esp the horsefly, that annoy livestock by sucking their blood

2. a constantly irritating or harassing person

---

Usage

What does gadfly mean? A gadfly is a person who’s always hanging around and annoying people with criticism, demands, and questions. Basically, the kind of person you want to shoo away like a biting insect. Speaking of which ... The literal meaning of gadfly refers to any of several types of flies (such as stable flies or warble flies) that are known for pestering livestock by biting them and sucking their blood. Example: Don’t mind him—he’s just a gadfly who comes to every council meeting to request that the town pay to put a trampoline park in his backyard.

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• gadflies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gadfly

First recorded in 1585–95; gad ² + fly ¹

Explanation

A gadfly is an irritating person, a nuisance who will often ask too many questions or lob lots of criticisms in order to get his or her way. Gadfly can also refer to an actual fly. The next time you see a cow swatting at the air with her tail, look closer because she might actually be shooing away an annoying gadfly. This is any kind of fly that likes to pester, and even bite, livestock. The prefix gad is an old word for “spike” or “pointed stick” which can be thought of, in this case, as similar to a stinger. So if your office mate is continuously buzzing around your desk with stinging comments, call him a gadfly and try to shoo him back to his own desk.

Related Words

• motivator