to fly in one's face
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To get into a passion with a person; to insult; as a hawk, when irritated; flies in the face of its master.
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 “to fly in one's face” mean?
To get into a passion with a person; to insult; as a hawk, when irritated; flies in the face of its master.
Is “to fly in one's face” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.