hurt a fly

English

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

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)

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