Meaning of fly-by-night | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A creature which flies at night; a nocturnal flier or traveler.
2. One who departs or flees at night in order to avoid creditors, law enforcement etc.
   attributive, often
3. A person or business that appears and/or disappears rapidly, appearing untrustworthy, or giving an impression of transience.
   derogatory, idiomatic
4. A traveling businessman or tradesman.
   derogatory, idiomatic

Examples

“Do not give⟳ your credit card number⟳ to that fly-by-night operation.”

“The automobile industry rose almost overnight. Orders poured into the offices of companies already organized; new companies were formed by dozens, capitalized at millions of dollars. Fly-by-night concerns sprang up like⟳ mushrooms, flooded the country with stock-selling schemes, established factories where parts of motor cars, bought elsewhere, were assembled.”

“True, it was a good advertisement at Boosters' Club lunches, and all the varieties of Annual Banquets to which Good Fellows were invited, to speak⟳ sonorously of […] a thing called Ethics, whose nature was confusing but if you had it you were a High-class Realtor and if you hadn't you were a shyster, a piker, and a fly-by-night.”

“Second, it will ensure that when fly-by-night providers go bankrupt, Medicare is at the top of the list of debts to be repaid. And finally, it will bring⟳ down costs by allowing Medicare to purchase⟳ goods and services at a competitive price.”

CEFR level