flit

moonlight flit

A hasty nighttime departure, typically done to avoid paying money that one owes. Primarily heard in UK. I can't afford the rent this month, so we need to make a moonlight flit!

See also: flit, moonlight

do a moonlight flit

To depart hastily at night, typically to avoid paying money that one owes. I can't afford the rent this month, so we need to do a moonlight flit!

See also: flit, moonlight

flit about

to move about quickly; to dart about. A large number of hummingbirds were flitting about. Butterflies and moths flitted about among the trees and flowers.

See also: flit

flit from person to person

Fig. to move quickly from person to person or thing to thing. (See also flit from something to something else.) Tom flitted quickly from person to person, handing out snacks and beverages. The singer flitted from table to table, working the crowd for tips.

See also: flit, person

flit from (something to something else)

 

1. Lit. [for an insect] to fly quickly from one thing to another. The butterfly flitted from flower to flower.

2. Fig. [for someone] to go quickly from task to task, spending little time on each one. The housekeeper only flits from room to room without ever getting anything completely clean.

See also: flit

do a moonlight flit

make a hurried, usually nocturnal, removal or change of abode, especially in order to avoid paying your rent. informal

Make a moonlight flitting is recorded from the early 19th century and appears to have originated in northern England or Scotland. The expression is now often shortened to do a moonlight .

See also: flit, moonlight

do a moonlight ˈflit

(British English, informal) leave the place where you have been living in quickly and secretly, usually to avoid paying your debts, rent, etc: When I called to get the money she owed me, I found she’d done a moonlight flit.

See also: flit, moonlight