hurt a fly

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

hurt a fly (third-person singular simple present hurts a fly, present participle hurting a fly, simple past and past participle hurt a fly)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly in the negative, chiefly with a conditional) To hurt or damage something even a little.
   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter XI, in Jeeves in the Offing:

     Talking of being eaten by dogs, there's a dachshund at Brinkley who when you first meet him will give you the impression that he plans to convert you into a light snack between his regular meals. Pay no attention. It's all eyewash. […] He wouldn't hurt a fly, but he has to put up a front because his name's Poppet. One can readily appreciate that when a dog hears himself addressed day in and day out as Poppet, he feels he must throw his weight about. His self-respect demands it.

Usage notes

• Chiefly used in the negative, in a form such as "wouldn't hurt a fly" or "is incapable of hurting a fly", with the meaning "has a very gentle nature, is incapable of violence".

Synonyms

• harm a fly

Translations

idiomatic: be of very gentle nature

• Czech: ani mouše by neublížil
• Danish: ikke gøre en flue fortræd
• Finnish: ei tekisi pahaa kärpäsellekään
• French: ne pas faire de mal à une mouche (fr)
• Galician: non matar unha mosca
• German: einer Fliege etwas zuleide tun, kein Wässerchen trüben können (de)
• Hungarian: légynek sem árt
• Italian: non fare male a una mosca
• Russian: му́хи не оби́дит (ru) (múxi ne obídit)
• Swedish: inte göra en fluga illa, inte göra en fluga förnär (sv)

Anagrams

• Fluharty