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fly-by-night

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fly-by-night

  [flahy-bahy-nahyt]
Use fly-by-night in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not reliable or responsible, esp. in business; untrustworthy: a fly-by-night operation.
2. not lasting; brief; impermanent; transitory: a fly-by-night theater.
–noun Also, fly-by-nighter.
3. a person or thing that is unreliable, esp. a debtor who evades or attempts to evade creditors.
4. a person regarded as a poor credit risk.
Origin:
1790–1800
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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fly-by-night   (flī'bī-nīt')
adj.  

  1. Unreliable or unscrupulous, especially with regard to business dealings: "fly-by-night telephone companies that open up shop, sell some systems, then disappear when service is needed" (Mary Ellen Jordan).

  2. Of an impermanent or insubstantial nature: fly-by-night fashions in clothing.

n.   also fly-by-night·er (-nī'tər)

  1. An unscrupulous or undependable person, especially one who leaves secretly without paying creditors.

  2. Something of a shaky or impermanent nature.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

fly-by-night

Shady or untrustworthy: “Before buying stock in a newly formed company, the prudent investor will check its owners' credentials to make sure it's not a fly-by-night operation.”

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
fly-by-night

  1. mod.
    undependable; dishonest. : Sam seems like such a fly-by-night character.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

fly-by-night 
1796, slang, said to be an old term of reproach to a woman signifying that she was a witch; extended 1823 to "anyone who departs hastily from a recent activity," especially while owing money. The two senses involve the two verbs fly.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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