flit
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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!
flit about
To move in a quick, deft manner. The kids are outside, trying to catch the lightning bugs that are flitting about. I think Anita is flitting about the office, straightening up. Good luck finding her.
See also: flit
flit from (something to something)
To move quickly from thing to thing. I'm sorry, I have to go inside—there are just too many bees flitting from plant to plant out here! You wouldn't make so many mistakes if you stopped flitting from job to job and really focused on what you were doing.
See also: flit
flit from (something) to (something)
To move quickly from thing to thing. I'm sorry, I have to go inside—there are just too many bees flitting from plant to plant out here! You wouldn't make so many mistakes if you stopped flitting from job to job and really focused on what you were doing.
See also: flit
flit from person to person
To move quickly from one person to another. That guy's a politician, so he's just spent the whole night flitting from person to person, naturally.
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!
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.
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. informalMake 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 .