no flies on (one)

no flies on (one)

One is very active or works at a fast past. Alludes to the idea that flies do not or cannot settle on fast-moving animals. There are certainly no flies on Judy. She works so fast that the rest of her team can't keep up with her.See also: flies, no, on

no flies on someone

Fig. someone is not slow; someone is not wasting time. (On the image of flies not being able to land on someone moving fast.) Of course I work fast. I go as fast as I can. There are no flies on me. There are no flies on Robert. He does his work very fast and very well.See also: flies, no, on

no flies on one

One is wide awake; there is nothing slow or dull about one. For example, She may be new to this field, but there are no flies on her. This slangy expression, which alludes to flies settling on a sluggish animal, was being used in Australia in the 1840s but did not appear in America until the last decades of the 1800s. See also: flies, no, on, one

there are no flies on someone

If you say there are no flies on someone, you mean that they are quick to understand a situation and are not easily deceived. Oh, he was a smart one, all right. There were no flies on him.See also: flies, no, on, someone, there

there are no flies on —

the person mentioned is very quick and astute. Early instances of this expression suggest that it originated with reference to cattle who were so active that no flies settled on them. The phrase was noted in the mid 19th century as being very common in Australia as a general expression of approbation. In the USA it could also be used to convey that the person in question was of superior breeding or behaved honestly.See also: flies, no, on, there

(there are) no flies on somebody

(informal)
1 somebody is not stupid and therefore cannot be tricked or deceived easily: You can’t just tell her that you’ve lost the money; she’ll never believe you. There are no flies on Jane, you know.
2 somebody is skilful or clever at doing something: There are no flies on Jim. He can persuade anybody to buy a car from him.See also: flies, no, on, somebody