flyman

American

[flahy-muhn] / ˈflaɪ mən /

noun

Theater.

plural

flymen

a stagehand, especially one who operates the apparatus in the flies.

flyman British

/ ˈflaɪmən /

noun

theatre a stagehand who operates the scenery, curtains, etc, in the flies

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of flyman

First recorded in 1835–45; fly ² + -man

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.

“You pull the bag up, the piece goes in,” says John, the head flyman at the National Theatre.

From Washington Post • Jun. 26, 2017

In England he has earned his living as sceneshifter and flyman in a theatre, prop-boy in a film studio, "effect" man with film companies.

From Time Magazine Archive

“There’ll be a row about that,” said the hard-faced footman, as he set down the second trunk and closed the door, and the flyman drove off.

From By Birth a Lady by Fenn, George Manville

Then the newly-made friends walked upstairs together, leaving Honeybee and Fanny to get the luggage up, and to fight the flyman.

From Humorous Readings and Recitations In prose and verse by Various

The flyman would be sure to get into conversation with the lodge-keeper or his wife.

From Victorian Short Stories: Stories of Successful Marriages by Gaskell, Elizabeth Cleghorn

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023