shoofly

[shoo-flahy]

noun, plural shoo·flies.

a child's rocker having a seat supported between two boards cut and painted to resemble animals.

Origin of shoofly

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65; shoo + fly²

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shoo-fly

Historical Examples

Shoo-fly afflicted the American people for at least two years, and "I don't think" and aber nit quite as long.
The American Language
Henry L. Mencken

Word Origin and History for shoo-fly

interj.

admonition to a pest, by 1867 (in baseball slang), from shoo (v.) + fly (n.). Popularized by a Dan Bryant minstrel song c.1870, which launched it as a catch-phrase that, according to H.L. Mencken, "afflicted the American people for at least two years." Shoo-fly pie is attested from 1935.