English Reference
Idiom idiom

moonlight flit


An act of secretly leaving premises without paying the rent, supposedly at night by the light of the Moon; hence, any act of escaping at night.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

The tenant did a moonlight flit to avoid paying the rent.

CONTEXTUAL

When the landlord arrived to collect the overdue money, he discovered the apartment was empty after the tenant's moonlight flit.

COMPLEX

Fearing the consequences of his mounting debts, he packed his few remaining belongings and performed a desperate moonlight flit under the cover of darkness.


From moonlight + flit.


Related idioms1entry
  1. 01

    moonlight and roses

    A very pleasant, sentimental, or romantic situation or atmosphere.

Last updated August 10, 2026