muck fly

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

English

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

muck fly (plural muck flies)

  1. (obsolete) A fly found on, or associated with, dirt or dung.
    • 1751, Tobias Smollett, chapter 103, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, volume IV:
      [T]he naturalist [] next appealed to the patron's approbation for a curious disquisition he had made, touching the procreation of muck flies, in which he had laid down a curious method of collecting, preserving and hatching the eggs of these insects, even in the winter, by certain modifications of artificial heat.
    • 1940, Erling Christophersen, translated by RL Benham, Tristan da Cunha, The Lonely Isle, page 200:
      Less appetizing were the hordes of green, shiny muck-flies which were to be found all over the island, even amid the thickest tussock.