Fly
Stylish, sharp, good-looking.
- Origin: slang for fashionable since at least 1753, per Green’s
- On the Slang-o-matic wheel: Gen X (born 1965–1980). That is who the translator files it under, not a claim that this generation coined it.
What it means
Fly means stylish, sharp and attractive, usually about clothes, cars or a person’s whole look. Dictionary.com defines it as “stylish, attractive, sophisticated,” and it has comparative forms: flyer and flyest, as in your flyest outfit.
In British slang fly can also mean knowing or streetwise, a separate sense that Dictionary.com also lists.
Where it comes from
This word is much older than it sounds. Green’s Dictionary of Slang lists a 1753 citation, “A fly white petticoat,” for the sense of fashionable clothing, and others from the 1800s. Dictionary.com dates the slang adjective to 1805–15.
Green’s twentieth-century citations include a 1936 Chicago Defender glossary, “When something looks very okay,” and a 1984 college slang list: “Jack’s shoes are really fly.”
Who says it now
The translator files fly under Gen X, many of whom were teenagers in the 1980s, when that campus citation was collected. In our observation it is still understood widely and sounds a bit classic rather than new.
Tone
Complimentary and cool. It is about style more than sex appeal, so it is easier to say to a friend than foxy. From an older adult it can sound like they are trying a little hard, though usually in a friendly way.
What adults hear, what kids mean
A young child may hear fly and think of the insect or of flying. A teenager who says “those sneakers are fly” is praising them. Parents who grew up in the 1980s may hear their own slang coming back.
How to use it
Fly describes things you can see: clothes, shoes, cars, a haircut, a person who has it all together. One way to use it is “looking fly.”
Two examples, written by us:
- You look fly in that jacket.
- He restored an old Cadillac, and it is the flyest car on the block.
How to answer it
If someone says you look fly, “Thank you” is the whole answer. If you want to return it, compliment something specific about their look in your own words.
Same idea, other generations
The Slang-o-matic wheel files Fly under Gen X for the idea of looking good or being attractive. These are the words it files under the same idea, by generation. They are related, not always exact translations:
Related slang
- Foxy (Boomers): Attractive or sexy; also sly or crafty.
- Rad (Gen X): Excellent, exciting. Short for radical.
- Guap (Millennials): A lot of money.
Try the slang translatorAll slang by generation
Sources
Meanings and dates on this page come from these dictionaries. Each quote is copied word for word from the linked page.
- Dictionary.com
“adjective flyer, flyest Slang. stylish, attractive, sophisticated, etc..”
“Origin of fly 3 First recorded in 1805–15”
“British Slang. aware and worldly; clever; smart.”
- Green's Dictionary of Slang
“of clothing, cars, etc., fashionable; of individuals, stylish, sophisticated”
“1753 J. Poulter Discoveries (1774) 10: A fly white petticoat.”
“1936 D. Burley in Chicago Defender 9 May 23: Back Door's Revised Dictionary [...] fly — When something looks very okay.”
“1984 Eble Campus Sl. Sept. 3: fly – nice: Jack's shoes are really fly.”