flyman

American  

[flahy-muhn] / ˈflaɪ mən /

noun

Theater.

plural

flymen

1. a stagehand, especially one who operates the apparatus in the flies.

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flyman British  

/ ˈflaɪmən /

noun

1. theatre a stagehand who operates the scenery, curtains, etc, in the flies

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Etymology

Origin of flyman

First recorded in 1835–45; fly ² + -man

Example Sentences

“You pull the bag up, the piece goes in,” says John, the head flyman at the National Theatre.

From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2017

In England he has earned his living as sceneshifter and flyman in a theatre, prop-boy in a film studio, "effect" man with film companies.

From Time Magazine Archive

The flyman would be sure to get into conversation with the lodge-keeper or his wife.

From Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn

The flyman put him down at some distance from the big entrance gate, and he made a careful and cautious reconnaissance of the vicinity.

From The Secret House by Wallace, Edgar

He was a very pleasant-spoken gentleman, the flyman added, and paid uncommon liberal.

From Henry Dunbar A Novel by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)