on the fly

[Guest teepee]

"on the fly" where does this saying come from,as a novis to AN or any other forum come to that, any more sayings with meanings i might come across, or any new ones anybody can think of.to do with fishing of coarse! (keep it kleeeeen).

 

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teepee

[Guest Alan Roe]

Firstly welcome to the madhouse!! relax and enjoy it though having a sheep fetish is an advantage......

the answer to your question is any fish that is caught by someone who is using the technique of flyfishing has been taken "On the fly"

Cheers

Alan

[Guest teepee]

thanks alan, i was wondering if anybody was going to talk to me! check out the topic from scott(more pole questions)dave hill & rondo end there answers with on the fly no connection to fly fishing cheers.

 

 

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[Guest DerwentBob]

They mean that the elastic tension can be adjusted to suit the conditions on the bankside rather than by re-elasticating in the workshop.

 

In this case "on the fly" is a good old northern mill phrase. The big spinning frames (spinning wool) were powered by steam engines or water wheels and if a thread broke the frame would have to be stopped in order to mend it. The problem was that the engine could not be stopped and it was difficult to suddenly change the load on the driving gear without stressing the system so a large, heavy flywheel was used to take up the load from the engine and to spin the frame back up to speed after repairs had been made so the engine could be re-engaged smoothly. The engine wasn't stopped and stress was minimised, "on the fly" became a byword for quick running repairs.

[Guest teepee]

thanks DerwentBob, great explanation,anybody got anymore wierd and wonderfull sayings.

 

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teepee