flying circus

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noun

a squadron of airplanes operating together, especially any of several squadrons of famous World War I aviators.

a carnival troupe, or the like, offering exhibitions of stunt flying at fairs, circuses, etc.

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Words nearby flying circus

flying bomb, flying bond, flying boxcar, flying bridge, flying buttress, flying circus, flying colors, flying colours, flying column, flying doctor, flying dragon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use flying circus in a sentence

That ground hold was to stop you flying through weather that could kill you and everyone else aboard.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The copilot on Flight 8501 was Remi Emmanuel Piesel, 46, who despite his age had just 2,275 hours of flying experience.
Annoying Airport Delays Might Prevent You From Becoming the Next AirAsia 8501|Clive Irving|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Inevitably, the old visceral “hands-on” flying skills, no longer much employed by pilots, have atrophied like an unused limb.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The “pilot flying” was more probably the far less experienced copilot.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

One report has the AirAsia Airbus flying at a speed very close to what would trigger a low speed stall.
Did Bad Weather Bring Down AirAsia 8501?|Clive Irving|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I asked him to tell me how he produced a certain effect he makes in his arrangement of the ballad in Wagner's Flying Dutchman.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
These Eskimos were very fond of kite-flying, for its own sake, without reference to utility!
The Giant of the North|R.M. Ballantyne
There were five men and three women in the circus troupe, and among the four nuns was the grave reverend mother of a convent.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
Pretty well for "a cross between an Astley's chariot, a flying machine and a treadmill."
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
I've seen just enough of flying fishes to hanker after Mandalay, just enough of Spaniards to long for a sight of Spain.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd

British Dictionary definitions for flying circus

flying circus

noun

an exhibition of aircraft aerobatics

the aircraft and men who take part in such exhibitions

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012