there are no flies on him
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
He's all right; he's very alert; you won't catch him napping.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “there are no flies on him” mean?
He's all right; he's very alert; you won't catch him napping.
Is “there are no flies on him” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.