fly-by-night
1
8.6
- noun
- /ˈflaɪ baɪ naɪt/
- Offensive
:
estafador (persona)
- And it's it's numerous fly by night emperors, as I call them here.
- a fly-by-night outfit
- a fly-by-night operation
- a fly-by-night business
Examples
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He’s a proper fly-by-night, that one.
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Well, many of these mortgage originators were fly-by-night shops, shady enterprises that collapsed the moment they hit trouble.
Blog text (21) -
Fly-by-night unregistered home improvement contractors may take your money and disappear, leaving unfinished work and unsafe homes.
Blog text (26) -
However, research on their games reveals that many were originally developed by European studios for the Amiga computer, suggesting that Razor Soft was a fly-by-night operation that purchased the licenses in the hopes of riding a wave of controversy all the way to the bank.
Blog text (16) -
Many customers were upset after discovering that the construction company was a fly-by-night operation that suddenly closed without warning.
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She warned her friends not to invest in that fly-by-night business that promised quick profits but had no real plan.
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The recent surge of fly-by-night internet scams has made people more cautious about sharing their personal information online.
Synonyms
A person who disappears suddenly and without explanation
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word fly-by-night comes from the image of someone who flies at night, moving in the dark to arrive and leave quickly and avoid being seen. So a fly-by-night person or business is one you cannot trust because they may disappear to avoid paying debts or keeping promises.