flay
verb (used with object)
to strip off the skin or outer covering of.
were flaying
-
past progressiveof flay.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As he strolled in several minutes late Mr. Cox heard high words, realized that the other Conference officials were flaying President Roosevelt.
From Time Magazine Archive
Alexina, as she stood shading her eyes from the brilliant sunlight and watching a great liner drift through the Golden Gate, wondered if Morty had consoled himself, and if his Puritanical conscience were flaying him.
From The Sisters-In-Law by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
His voice was as tense and metallic as a taut string, and he snapped out the lilting line in swift staccato as if he were flaying his audience with a whip.
From Golden Lads by Arthur Gleason
Then Telemachus returned to the house, and the suitors were flaying goats and singeing swine in the court.
From The Story of the Odyssey by Homer
During the forenoon, while we were flaying and shooting seals, we heard the old, well-known sound -- put, put, put -- of the Fram's motor, and presently the crow's-nest appeared above the Barrier.
From The South Pole; an account of the Norwegian Antarctic expedition in the "Fram," 1910-12 — Volume 1 and Volume 2 by Arthur G. Chater
