in like Flynn
English
editEtymology
editPerhaps referring to Errol Flynn, Australian actor known for womanizing, or Edward J. Flynn, successful campaign manager for Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Pronunciation
editAudio (General Australian): (file)
Adjective
editin like Flynn (not comparable)
- (slang, originally US) Having achieved a goal or gained access as desired.
- 2009 June 4, Michael Wolff, “The Power and the Story”, in Vanity Fair[1]:
- [Robert] Gibbs is perfectly affable and even, in his way, courtly. And yet he seems to be not quite listening. Nothing touches him. This is no doubt partly because everybody understands he's in like Flynn.
Trivia
editErrol Flynn was reportedly so fond of this expression that he wanted to use the title In Like Me for his autobiography (it was eventually published as My Wicked, Wicked Ways).
Further reading
edit- “in like Flynn phr.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang, Jonathon Green, 2016–present
- Michael Quinion (1996–2024) “In like Flynn”, in World Wide Words.