flying column
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of flying column
First recorded in 1865–70
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.
When Gen. MacArthur heard of the Japanese military’s plan to kill the prisoners, he organized a flying column to liberate the people.
From Washington Times • Feb. 14, 2015
Bob’s group was a part of this flying column and traveled 100 miles in three days to liberate the prisoners.
From Washington Times • Feb. 14, 2015
At Ludlow, a hundred cottagers, gathered in the square, peered at the flying column, cheered.
From Time Magazine Archive
He advanced in a flying column of Land-rovers, and it was a walkover.
From Time Magazine Archive
The deserted house was entirely bare of furniture, and as the force was a "flying column," flung forward without the impediments of baggage trains or tents, there was not even a camp-stool available.
From The Storm Centre by Murfree, Mary Noailles
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.
