SHOOFLY


Meaning of SHOOFLY in English

ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun

Etymology: shoo (I) + fly

1. : a child's rocker having the seat built on or usually between supports representing an animal figure (as of a duck or swans)

a swan shoofly

a shoofly hobby horse

2.

a. : a wild indigo ( Baptisia tinctoria )

b. : flower-of-an-hour

c. : apple of peru

3.

a. : a temporary track laid on the ground or on cribwork at one side of a railroad line to permit trains to pass an obstruction in that line

b. : a temporary road (as an access road) used during completion of a construction project

4.

a. : a policeman usually in plain clothes detailed to watch or investigate other policemen

shoofly squad

b. : a foreman in the postal service who checks on carriers and drivers

5. : a long-fingered device in some cylinder presses for freeing the printed sheet from the cylinder for delivery

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.