🪰 Spoiled by flies 🏚️ Dirty and run-down

flyblown

9.5

Being dirty and not cared for

adjective
/ˈflaɪbloʊn/

Archaic

: descuido

The abandoned house looked flyblown, with peeling paint and broken windows.

Examples

There is nothing worse than a set of yellowing, flyblown pictures.

Academic text (1990)
After years of neglect, the garden became a flyblown mess, overrun with weeds and debris.
The flyblown reputation of the restaurant kept many customers from dining there.

Synonyms

sordid

vsflyblown

46 7.5

Dirty and morally wrong, often involving dishonest or cruel acts

focuses more on physical decay and appearance rather than moral wrongdoing

dingy

vsflyblown

23 4.6

Dark and dirty so it does not look bright

means stronger neglect decay and squalor than mere dullness

run-down

vsflyblown

15 4.5

A building or place that is in poor condition because people do not look after it

means general neglect plus decay and possible tainted reputation

squalid

vsflyblown

9 7.1

Very dirty and unpleasant because of poverty or neglect

is broader and includes decay and tainted reputation

bedraggled

vsflyblown

4 7.0

Dirty and untidy, often wet after being in rain or mud

suggests longer neglect decay and taint rather than temporary wet untidiness

moth-eaten

vsflyblown

1 4.8

Old clothing or fabric with small holes made by moths

refers more to general decay neglect and social taint than fabric damage

tattered

vsflyblown

1 4.5

In a very poor state after long use or damage

covers both physical decay and damaged reputation beyond torn condition

tumbledown

vsflyblown

5.6

A building that is old, not cared for, and falling apart

is about decay and taint in appearance or reputation

begrimed

vsflyblown

8.2

Covered thickly with dark dirt or soot

implies broader decay and possible tainted reputation beyond surface dirt

Antonyms

pristine

63 5.1

Very clean and fresh, like new

well-kept

7 1.8

Neat and in good condition because someone looks after it

How Run-down

squalid

9 7.1

derelict

14 7.5

flyblown

Archaic

9.5

shabby

33 2.5

well-kept

7 1.8

Surface Forms

flyblown positive

Morphology

flyblown = fly + blown (semi-transparent) = fly + blown

The word is formed from 'fly' + 'blown' but the sense has extended metaphorically to mean 'run-down' or 'squalid', which is related but not fully predictable from the parts.

Etymology

Flyblown also became a picture of neglect, with fly and blown suggesting something so dirty that flies sit on it. That's why flyblown can mean a place or thing that is 'run-down' or badly cared for.