fly-by-night operator

collocation in English

meaningsoffly-by-nightandoperator

These words are often used together. Click on the links below to explore the meanings. Or,see other collocations withoperator.
fly-by-night
adjective[before noun]
uk
/ˈflaɪ.baɪ.naɪt/
us
/ˈflaɪ.baɪ.naɪt/
Fly-by-night companies or business people cannot be trusted because they are likely to get into debt and close down the business to avoid paying the debts or ...
See more atfly-by-night
operator
noun[C]
uk
/ˈɒp.ər.eɪ.tər/
us
/ˈɑː.pə.reɪ.t̬ɚ/
someone whose job is to use and control a machine ...
See more atoperator

(Definition offly-by-nightandoperatorfrom theCambridge English Dictionary© Cambridge University Press)

Examplesoffly-by-night operator

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
One would have thought that industry, if not the irresponsiblefly-by-nightoperator, would have done something about the situation.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Is that insurance company prepared to underwrite any oldfly-by-nightoperator?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
This is nofly-by-nightoperator.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
People will go for thefly-by-nightoperator.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
That can assist authorities greatly if they are dealing with afly-by-nightoperatorwho presents a false identity or who is adept at changing his or his company's name.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Does she not think that the public should be alerted to the dangers of fly-by-night operators who could use that information?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
The industry is wide open to shoddy work and fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
This is not due to the well-run establishment; it is caused by the fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
The cowboys and fly-by-night operators, the tax dodgers, are the real enemy of all who are genuinely concerned about the good of the construction industry.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Such areas become particularly vulnerable to the activities of fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
The basis of the problem is that these carpet salesmen are fly-by-night operators who work from no registered office and thereafter cannot be traced.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
That disparity is creating great difficulties for legitimate business men who seek to compete with fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
If they are out to catch the shipwreck dealers, the fly-by-night operators, jolly good luck to them.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
It reminds many of us who lived our formative years in the 1920s and 1930s of the fly-by-night operators, the spivs and the drones.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
So it is quite right that today we should be dealing with the problem of unauthorised disposal by fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
They are not run by get-rich-quick, fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
Will he condemn the methods used by some fly-by-night operators who put forward such schemes using terror as a method of selling their dubious, highly unsatisfactory and probably unnecessary wares?
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
They want no fly-by-night operators.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under theOpen Parliament Licence v3.0
They came either from fly-by-night operators trying to make hay or from one-time directors looking to utilize government grants, employing shoe-string budgets only to fill their pockets.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
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Go to the definition offly-by-night
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See other collocations withoperator