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fly-by-night

[flahy-bahy-nahyt] / ˈflaɪ baɪˌnaɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Many of the detainees are without any legal counsel or fallen prey to fly-by-night immigration attorneys.

From Salon • May 30, 2026

The proliferation of fly-by-night flags and registers has fanned concern about possible accidents involving old tankers with sanctioned cargoes, but until the recent seizures Western governments have mostly allowed them to sail unimpeded.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026

Some are on fly-by-night commercial websites that reveal little information about who runs them or the technology they’re based on.

From Seattle Times • May 23, 2024

Mr. Stoppelman said the surplus of fly-by-night companies gave credence to a joke that circulated around PayPal: Start-ups do better in the suburbs because their workers have less to do outside the office.

From New York Times • Dec. 17, 2022

Those jars were something you might expect to find in the basement of a fly-by-night medical school, not a house full of children.

From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs




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