flypaper

[ flahy-pey-per ]

/ ˈflaɪˌpeɪ pər /

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noun

paper designed to destroy flies by catching them on its sticky surface or poisoning them on contact.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.

Question 1 of 7

Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?

their

there

they're

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Origin of flypaper

First recorded in 1840–50; fly¹ + paper

Words nearby flypaper

flyoff, fly off the handle, fly on the wall, fly orchid, flyover, flypaper, flypast, flyposting, fly press, fly rail, Fly River

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for flypaper

More begets more, and spending tends to stick at higher levels, which is why the phenomenon is known as “the flypaper effect.”
The Great Medicaid Swindle|Nick Gillespie|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But they were as impotent as two flies that had rolled in the sticky slime of some super-flypaper.
The Raid on the Termites|Paul Ernst
He prowls around and challenges man until he comes to the flypaper; he then slinks away.
Autobiography of a YOGI|Paramhansa Yogananda
President Cleveland—And are you using that flypaper according to directions?
Eugene Field, A Study In Heredity And Contradictions|Slason Thompson

But he kept on and drew nearer and nearer, breathing hard and gathering flies like a flypaper.
The Wheels of Chance|H. G. Wells
The agricultural model for instance, which was practicable, proved a kind of flypaper for these busybodies.
The Wrecker|Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne

British Dictionary definitions for flypaper

flypaper

/ (ˈflaɪˌpeɪpə) /

noun

paper with a sticky and poisonous coating, usually hung from the ceiling to trap flies

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

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flypaper

noun

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”

Origin of flypaper

Words nearby flypaper

Example sentences from the Web for flypaper

British Dictionary definitions for flypaper

noun