like a blue-arsed fly

adjective

To be frantic, harried or restless

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Meanings

adjective

alternative like a blue-assed fly

  1. simileTo be frantic, harried or restless

    He was running around like a blue-arsed fly.

    2008, Patrick Burke, An Illiterate Genius, page 277

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
quickly

Origin

Refers to the frenetic flight of a bluebottle.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

like a blue-arsed fly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20blue-arsed%20fly

MLA

“like a blue-arsed fly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20blue-arsed%20fly. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “like a blue-arsed fly,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/like%20a%20blue-arsed%20fly.

Source: like a blue-arsed fly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.