dun fly
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of dun fly
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The flies I have just named will kill well in the Carra, with a small black one, like a midge, ribbed with silver, with a honey dun fly made very small.
From Project Gutenberg
The second is another dun fly: the body of black wool; and the wings made of the black drake’s feathers, and of the feathers under his tail.’
From Project Gutenberg
The first is the dun fly in March: the body is made of dun wool, the wings of the partridge’s feathers.
From Project Gutenberg
So the old hen who has swallowed the dun fly is killed, plucked, and roasted, and certain "black Dartmoor mutton" is put on the gridiron, and being compelled to confess the truth by that fiery torment, proclaims itself to all noses as red-deer venison.
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.