ENGLISH
REFERENCE

fly about

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford British English Informal

phr. v.. to move quickly and busily from place to place, or to spread quickly like news or rumors.

phr. v.. to move in a hurried or erratic manner across a wide area; also used figuratively to describe the rapid dissemination of information or accusations.


SIMPLE

Rumors are starting to fly about the office.

CONTEXTUAL

He spent the whole morning flying about the city trying to finish his errands before the shops closed.

COMPLEX

Accusations of corruption began to fly about as soon as the investigative report was leaked to the national press.

Particles
about
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
fly + about
Usage

often used with plural subjects like 'rumors', 'insults', or 'accusations'.

Teaching tip

contrast the literal sense of physical movement with the figurative sense of information spreading; 'fly around' is a common and interchangeable variant.

Pitfall

The news fly about quickly.The news flies about quickly.remember to conjugate the verb 'fly' to match the subject; 'news' is an uncountable singular noun.

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