fly-line 
One of the fly-liiu-x of this species [the American bittern] 
crosses the Bermuda islands. 
//. ,s'rvh>Ai, British Birds, II. 006. 
fly-line 2 (fli'lin), . [< fly* + line?.} A line 
used for angling with an artificial fly. it is 
usually a long line of silk or linen terminating in a length 
of silkworm gut. called a leader, at the extremity of which 
is the tail-jlii. Other flies, called droppers, are att;n h, <I 
to the leader by suells or snoods. 
Thirty yards of waterproofed and polished flu-line of 
braided silk. The Century, XXVI. ;!7b. 
fly-maker (fli'ma"ker), . One who ties arti- 
ficial flies for angling. 
A certain school ot fly-makers tie on the wings, or more 
properly the wing, last of all. T. Norris, Art of Fly-making. 
flyman 1 (fli'man), . ; pi. flymen (-men). [<fly l , 
n., 4, + man.] One who works the ropes in 
the flies of a theater. 
The "grips " shove off the side-scenes, the fly-men raise 
the drops, the "clearers" run off the properties and set- 
pieces, and the stage-carpenters lower the bridges. 
Scridner's Mag., IV. 445. 
flyman 2 (fli'man), n. ; pi. flymen (-men). 
n., 6, + man.} One who drives a fly. 
fly-mixture (fli'miks'tur), n, A preparation, 
as spirits of ammonia, oil, and tar, rubbed by 
anglers upon their faces and hands as a protec- 
tion from flies, mosquitoes, etc. 
fly-net (fli'net), . [ME. not found ; AS. fleoh- 
net (= OD. vlieghen-net), < fledge, a fly, + net, 
a net.] 1. A net used as a protection against 
flies, as in an open window to prevent their en- 
trance. 2. A fringe or a net used to protect 
a horse from flies. 
fly-nut (fli'nut), n. A nut having wings which 
are twisted by the hand, as the screw-nut of a 
hand-vise. 
fly-Oil (fli'oil), n. A fly-mixture in which oil 
is a chief ingredient. 
fly-orchis (fli'6r"kis), n. The common name of 
Ophrys muscifera, from the resemblance of the 
flowers to flies. 
fly-paper (fli'pa"per), it. Poisoned paper used 
for killing flies, or a paper with an adhesive 
coating to which flies adhere. 
fly-penning (fli'pen'ing), n. A mode of manur- 
ing land by folding cattle or sheep in rotation 
over different parts of it. 
fly-poison (fli'poi"zn), n. 1. A poisonous sub- 
stance used to kill flies. 2. In l>ot., the Amian- 
thium muscaitoxicum, a liliaceous plant of the 
eastern part of the United States, allied to 
Veratrnm. It has a single tall stem bearing a dense 
raceme of white (lowers. The bulb, when pounded, has 
Any powder used 
to kill flies, usually an imperfect oxid of arsenic 
2296 
reading occurs only in one of the folio editions of Shak- 
spere and some modern ones ; the others have sly slow. The 
change probably arose from a printer's mistake of the old 
long s for/.] 
The fly-slow hours shall not determinate 
The dateless limit of thy dear exile. 
Shalt., Rich. II., i. 3. 
flysnapper(fli'snap"er),n. Inornith.: (o)Abird 
of the subfam- 
ily Afyiagrinai, 
and of the ge- 
nus Myiagra, 
or Terpsiphone, 
etc. (6) A shin- 
ing-black crest- 
ed fly-catching 
bird, Fliainope- 
pla nitens, of 
the southwest- 
ern United 
States. It is about 
7J inches long, and 
has a large white 
area on each wing. 
It is commonly re- 
ferred to the Myi- 
adestintf. 
fly-speck (flT- 
spek), n. An 
excrementi- 
tious stain 
made by an in- 
sect, chiefly by 
the common 
house-fly. 
fly : spected (fli'spekt), a. 
witn fly-dung. 
The lawyers of the circuit took their seats at the break- 
fast-table in the meagerly furnished, fly-specked dining- 
room of the tavern. E. Eggletton, The Graysons, xxv. 
fly-tackle (fli'tak'l), . The implements used 
in fly-fishing, including rod, line, flies, etc. 
flytail (fli'tal), n. A small gill-net without 
sinkers, formerly used for catching perch and 
other small fish. [North Carolina, U. S.] 
fly-taker (fli'ta'ker), . In angling, any fish 
mat will take the fly. 
flyte, v. and it. See'flite. 
fly-tent (fli'tent), n. A tent protected from rain 
or heat by an additional covering of canvas 
stretched from the ridge-pole and forming a 
separate roof. See fly 1 , n., 5. 
He (Gen. Sherman] sleeps in a fly-tent, like the rest of us 
G. W. Nichols, The Great March, p. 130. 
fly-tier (fli'tFer), n. One who ties fishing-fli. 
Flysnapper (PHaineptpla Hittttsi, male. 
Specked or soiled 
fly-press (fli'pres), H. A press for embossing, flv-tranTfli'i'nfn'^M l" 
die-stamping, punching, and the like, furnished H ! | fn 6 J the ^"oc'u 
with a fly or flier. See flier, 4 (d). which captures insects I 
which supports the leaf. m(ea mnscinfdif^e^vffiiafa 
A trap to catch flies. 
Apocynum androswmifoliiim, 
i supports 
flyre, v. and it. An obsolete or dialectal variant 
fly-reed (fli'red), . In weaving. See reed 1 . 
fly-rod (fli'rod), n. A rod used by anglers in fly- 
fishing. Fly-rods are made generally in three pieces, the 
butt, second joint, and tip, and are very light and flexible. 
There are two or more rings on each joint, through which the 
line runs from the tip to the reel. The best rods have butts 
made of bamboo split lengthwise In strips, which are then 
glued and bound together, preserving as much as possible 
the hard enamel or outer part, the softer inner substance 
being cut away. The second joint and tip are made of the 
best selected laucewood. In size the best trout-rods are 
from 10J to Hi feet long, and weigh from 8 to 10 ounces. 
The reel is placed behind the handle, near the end of the 
butt. Fly-rods are also made of steel. 
flysch (flish), n. [Swiss.] In geol., the Swiss 
local name of a rock of importance in Alpine 
geology, introduced as a scientific designation 
by Studer in 1827. It is a sandstone formation of great 
thickness, extending through the Alps along their north- 
ern slope from the southwestern extremity of Switzerland 
to Vienna, where it is also known as the "Vienna sand- 
stone." The fossils which this formation contains are 
chiefly fucoids, of little value for determining the geo- 
logical age of the rock, which, however, is generally con- 
sidered to be Eocene Tertiary ; but the lower portion of 
the flysch in its eastern extension is referred to the Creta- 
fly-sheet (fli'shet), n. A loose sheet of paper 
forming a single leaf, as one on which a hand- 
bill or broadside is printed. 
Having been printed on a fly-sheet at Rottweil in the 
same province in 1747. The American, XII. 154. 
fly-Shuttle (fli'shut"!), n. A shuttle with wheels 
propelled by a cord and driver. 
fly-SlOWt (fli'slo), a. [An adj. use of the phrase 
fly slow (see def.) ; explainable, if genuine, as a 
Shaksperian caprice.] Moving slowly. [This 
fly-up-the-creek (fli'up-the-krek'), n. 1. A 
common name of the small green heron of the 
United States, Butorides virescens, also called 
shitepoke, chalk-line, and little green heron. 2. 
A giddy, capricious person. [Colloq., U. S.] 
fly-water (fli ' wa"ter), n . A solution of arsenic, 
decoction of quassia-bark, or the like, used for 
killing flies. 
fly-weevil (fli'we'vl), . The common grain- 
moth, Gelechia cerealella. [Southern U. S.] 
fly-wheel (fli'hwel). . In mach., a wheel with 
a heavy rim placed on the revolving shaft of 
any machinery put in motion by an irregular 
or intermitting force or meeting "with an irreg- 
ular or intermittent resistance, for the purpose 
of rendering the motion equable and regular by 
means of its momentum. 
F. M. An abbreviation of field-marshal. 
fneset, v.i. [ME., < AS. fnSsan = Icel. ftuesa, 
later fiiysa = Dan. fnyse = Sw. fnysa, snort. 
Cf. feeze 2 .} To breathe heavily ; snort; snore. 
He speketh in his nose, 
Andfneseth faste. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Manciple's Tale, 1. 62. 
fo 1 t, . An obsolete spelling of foe. 
Fo 2 (fo), n. [Chinese.] 1. SameasJW.g. 
In Chinese decorative art, a dog-like animal rep- 
resented in carvings, porcelains, etc., consid- 
ered as the guardian of the Buddhist temples, 
and called by this name in Europe and America 
when occurring in Oriental art and decoration. 
Also called the Dog Fo and the Dog of Fo. 
F. 0. An abbreviation of field-officer. 
foal (fol), it. [< ME./o7e,/oi7e, < AS.fola, m., = 
OFries. folia, NFries. fole = MD. volen, D. fen- 
foam 
len = MLG. rolen = OHG./oJo, MHG. vol, Vote, 
(l.fohlen = Icel. foli = Sw. fille = Dan. fole = 
Goth./K/ri, a foal (see other'Teut. forms'under 
the deriv. filly) ; = L. pullus, the young of an 
animal, a foal, but particularly 'of fowls, a 
chicken (whence ult. E. pullen, poop, poult, 
poultry, jtullct, q. v.), = Gr. TruAof, a young ani- 
mal, particularly a foal or filly ; cf. Skt. pota, 
the young of an animal, putra, a son.] 1. The 
young of the equine genus of quadrupeds, of 
either sex ; a colt or a filly. 
Home gedc to stable : 
Thar he tok his node fole 
Also blak so eny cole. 
King //or>l(E. E. T. S.), 1. 589. 
Behold, thy King cometh unto thee : he is just, and hav- 
ing salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a 
colt the/oa( of an ass. y.i-ch. ix. 9. 
With that his strong dog, of no dastard kinde 
(Swift as tlKfoalet conceived by the winde), 
He set upon the wolfe. 
W. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, II. 4. 
2. In coal-mining. See the extract. [Eng.] 
When they [boys] reach the age of ten or twelve years, 
a more laborious station is allotted to them. They then 
become what are termed lads or foals ; supplying the in- 
ferior place at a machine called a tram. 
A. Hunter, Georgical Essays, II. 158. 
foal (fol), r. [< foal, .] I. trans. To bring 
forth, as a colt or filly: said of a mare or a she- 
ass. 
In the fourth year of the reign of George III., the year 
of the great eclipse, the celebrated " Eclipse " was/oaJed. 
S. Dowell, Taxes in England, III. 263. 
II. intrans. To bring forth young, as an ani- 
mal of the horse kind. 
Then he again, by way of irrision, "yee say very true 
indeed, that will ye, quoth liee, when a mule shall bring 
foorth a fole." Afterwards when this Gallia began to re- 
bell and aspire unto the empire, no thing hartened him in 
this designe of his so much, as tliefoling of a mule. 
Holland, tr. of .Suetonius, p. 212. 
foalfoot (fol'fut), . A name of the coltsfoot, 
Tiissilago Farfara, and of some other plants, as 
the asarabacca, Asarum Eiiropasum : so called 
from the shape of their leaves. See cut under 
Asarum. 
foal-teeth (fol'teth), n. pi. The first teeth of 
horses, which they shed at a certain age. 
foam (fom), n . [Early mod. E. also fame ; < ME. 
fome,foom, < AS. fdm = LG. fdm = OHG. feim, 
MHG. veim, Gr.feim, dial./awwi, foam. The sup- 
posed connection with L. spuma, foam, is doubt- 
ful : see spume.} 1 . An aggregation of bubbles 
formed on the surface of water or other liquid 
by violent agitation or by fermentation ; froth ; 
spume: as, the foam of breaking waves; the 
foam of the mouth. 
She whipped her steed, she spurred her steed, 
Till his breast was all a/oam. 
Sir Roland (Child's Ballads, I. 225). 
Look how two Intars 
Together side by side, their threat'ning tusks do whet, 
And with their gnashing teeth their angry fome do bite, 
Whilst still they should'ring seek each othere where to 
smite. Drayton, 1'olyolbion, xii. 325. 
It is the frequency of the reflections at the limiting sur- 
faces of air and water that renders foam opaque. 
Tyndall, Light and Elect., p. 40. 
2f. The foaming sea ; a foaming wave. 
ffor to fare on the fotne into fer londes. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 985. 
Aye the wynde was in the sayle, 
Over/ome they flett withowtyn fayle, 
The wethur then forth gan swepe. 
Le Bone Florence (Ritson's Metr. Bom., III.). 
3. Figuratively, foaming rage ; fury. 
Our churches, in the foam of that good spirit which di- 
recteth such fiery tongues, they term spitefully the temples 
of Baal, Idle synagogues, abominable styes. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 11. 
4. In mineral., same as apltrite. 5f. Scum, as 
from molten metal. 
Fonie that commeth of lead tried, being in colour like 
gold. Xomenclator. 
foam (fom), v. [Early mod. E. also fame; < 
ME. /Often ; also (in older umlauted form) fe- 
men, < AS. fi&inan = OHG. "feimjan, feiman, 
MHG. veimen, G. feimen, dial, famnen, faumen, 
foam; from the noun.] I. intrans. 1. Toform 
or gather foam, as water (the crest of a wave), 
etc., from agitation, a liquor from fermenta- 
tion, or the mouth from rage or disease ; froth ; 
spume. 
The frothe feined at his mouth vnfayre bi the wykez, 
Whettez his whyte tuschez. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1572. 
To conclude, the very foaming channell of the river, 
stained and died with the barbarians bloud, was even 
amazed to see such strange and uncouth sights. 
Holland, tr. of Ammianus, p. 76. 
He foameth and gnasheth with his teeth. Mark ix. 18. 
