no flies on

English

Etymology

A litotes suggesting one is not torpid enough to have flies settle.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

no flies on

1. (idiomatic) No mental weaknesses, character defects, or other significant flaws belonging to.
   • 1899, Grant Allen, chapter 3, in Miss Cayley's Adventures:

     "You're jest about the very woman I'm looking for, miss. Lithe—that's what I call you. I kin put you in the way of making your pile, I kin. This is a bonâ-fide offer. No flies on my business!"

   • 1909, William Dean Howells, chapter 5, in A Hazard of New Fortunes:

     I give you my word that there are no flies on his personal integrity, if that's what you mean.

   • 1914, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 13, in The Long Chance:

     "He knows what we want, you bet" he whispered. "No flies on that preacher. I like him. I like any man who can do things without a diagram and directions for using."

   • 1915, John Galsworthy, The Little Man, sc. 1:

     GERMAN. Wait! You are a young people.
     AMERICAN. That is so; there are no flies on us.

   • 2000 June 3, James Brooke, “A Budget Canadian Carrier Brings Back the Friendly Skies”, in New York Times, retrieved 31 October 2013:

     "WestJet is tightly run, well managed, there are no flies on those guys," said Harry Gow, a board member of the Canadian Association of Airline Passengers.

Usage notes

• Now usually used to suggest that a person is particularly alert, clever, or energetic.
• Often used in the construction "There are no flies on him/her/them".

Related terms

• and no flies

References

• “no flies on”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.