soldier fly

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noun

any of several flies of the family Stratiomyidae, characterized by brightly colored abdominal stripes.

QUIZ

QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

Were you ready for a quiz on this topic? Well, here it is! See how well you can differentiate between the uses of "was" vs. "were" in this quiz.

Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

Origin of soldier fly

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Andrew still plans to fly to Davos in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum on January 21, representing the British government.
From Playboy Prince to Dirty Old Man?|Tom Sykes|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
After some animated debate at the conference, Lelaie declared, with some frustration, “If you push on the stick, you will fly.”
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
A soldier in the service of ideals and aspirations that formed his core.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Thus it attracted a wave of cowboy operators to fly passengers and cargo between cities.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?|Clive Irving|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Many of these are small operations that would never, in any case, fly beyond Indonesia.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?|Clive Irving|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After relievedly giving the pistol to the nearest soldier, he stumbled quickly over to Brion and took his hand.
Sense of Obligation|Henry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)
Captain Duffield wrote two messages, giving one to Harry, and the other to the soldier who was to accompany him.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
To Harry's surprise, the soldier detailed to go with him proved to be a boy, not much older than himself.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The other was the spirited portrait of Baron von Friedericks, a happy combination of cavalier and soldier in its manly strength.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
Heavy firing continued all that afternoon, inflicting great loss on the rebels, whilst the Spaniards lost one soldier.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman