Dictionary

fly on the wall en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) A quiet, non-participating, or unseen observer; an eavesdropper or witness.
   • I wish I'd been a little fly on his chamber wall when he found out that he had to go through the Michigan Child Custody Act! 1979 February 3, Jil Clark, quoting Margareth Miller, “Major Court Decision Allows Lesbian Mother to Retain Custody”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 27, page 1:
   • James W. Gerard, ex-Ambassador to Germany, the first speaker of the evening, said that at that moment he would like to be a fly on the wall of the palace at Potsdam to hear what the Potsdam gang were saying about our soldiers. 1918 August 9, “Clark Would Draft Even Men of 68”, in New York Times, retrieved 28 Oct 2008, page 11:

Forms

Translations (8)

fr petite souris (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · nn fluge på veggen (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · nb flue på veggen (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · da flue på væggen (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · sv fluga på väggen (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · fi kärpänen katossa (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · es agujero en la pared (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer) · de Mäuschen (quiet, non-participating or unseen observer)