flypaper
Definition
Noun: A type of paper, often in a strip, that is coated with a sticky, adhesive substance (or sometimes a poison) designed to trap and kill flies.
Usage
"Flypaper" is an uncountable noun referring to the material itself. It is used to describe the trap as a tool or product. - We need to buy some flypaper for the kitchen. - The old-fashioned method involved hanging flypaper near the window.
Examples
- The cafe used flypaper to control the fly population.
- A single strip of flypaper caught dozens of insects.
- He was as stuck to her as a fly on flypaper. (Figurative use comparing strong attachment to the trap's stickiness).
Advanced Usage
- Figurative Use: "Flypaper" can be used metaphorically to describe a situation, place, or person that traps or ensnares others.
- The small town felt like flypaper; once you moved there, you could never leave.
- Military Strategy ("Flypaper Theory"): In strategic discussions, it refers to a tactic of drawing enemy forces into a specific area to contain and engage them, much like flies are drawn to and stuck on flypaper.
Variants and Related Words
- Flytrap (n): A general term for any device that catches flies, which can include flypaper, but more commonly refers to the Venus flytrap plant.
- Adhesive tape (n): A more general product that shares the sticky property but not the specific purpose.
Synonyms
- Insect paper
- Sticky fly trap
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Like flies to flypaper: Used to describe something or someone that attracts a lot of attention or many people, often with negative or troublesome consequences.
- The new tax loophole drew investors like flies to flypaper.
Noun
-
paper that is poisoned or coated with a sticky substance to kill flies
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