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on the fly

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In a hurry, on the run, as in I picked up some groceries on the fly. The transfer of this expression, which literally means “in midair or in flight,” dates from the mid-1800s.

QUIZZES

DO A DOUBLE TAKE ON THIS QUIZ ON CONTRONYMS

Look both ways before you take this quiz on contronyms, or words that can have opposite meanings.
Question 1 of 7
Choose the sentence that uses "rent" correctly.
No one wanted to rent the run-down house on the corner.
His rent was so loud that people the next block over could hear it.
I had rent the apartment from an eccentric old lady.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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Words nearby on the fly

on the dot, on the double, on the edge, on the eve of, on the face of it, on the fly, on the fritz, on the go, on the heels of, on the Hill, on the horizon
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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