Flying party

Flying \Fly"ing\, a. [From {Fly}, v. i.]
   Moving in the air with, or as with, wings; moving lightly or
   rapidly; intended for rapid movement.
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   {Flying army} (Mil.) a body of cavalry and infantry, kept in
      motion, to cover its own garrisons and to keep the enemy
      in continual alarm. --Farrow. 

   {Flying artillery} (Mil.), artillery trained to rapid
      evolutions, -- the men being either mounted or trained to
      spring upon the guns and caissons when they change
      position.

   {Flying bridge}, {Flying camp}. See under {Bridge}, and
      {Camp}.

   {Flying buttress} (Arch.), a contrivance for taking up the
      thrust of a roof or vault which can not be supported by
      ordinary buttresses. It consists of a straight bar of
      masonry, usually sloping, carried on an arch, and a solid
      pier or buttress sufficient to receive the thrust. The
      word is generally applied only to the straight bar with
      supporting arch.

   {Flying colors}, flags unfurled and waving in the air; hence:

   {To come off with flying colors}, to be victorious; to
      succeed thoroughly in an undertaking.

   {Flying doe} (Zool.), a young female kangaroo.

   {Flying dragon}.
   (a) (Zool.) See {Dragon}, 6.
   (b) A meteor. See under {Dragon}.

   {Flying Dutchman}.
   (a) A fabled Dutch mariner condemned for his crimes to sail
       the seas till the day of judgment.
   (b) A spectral ship.

   {Flying fish}. (Zool.) See {Flying fish}, in the Vocabulary.
      

   {Flying fox} (Zool.), see {Flying fox} in the vocabulary.

   {Flying frog} (Zool.), either of two East Indian tree frogs
      of the genus {Rhacophorus} ({Rhacophorus nigrapalmatus}
      and {Rhacophorus pardalis}), having very large and broadly
      webbed feet, which serve as parachutes, and enable it to
      make very long leaps.

   {Flying gurnard} (Zool.), a species of gurnard of the genus
      {Cephalacanthus} or {Dactylopterus}, with very large
      pectoral fins, said to be able to fly like the flying
      fish, but not for so great a distance.

   Note: Three species are known; that of the Atlantic is
         {Cephalacanthus volitans}.

   {Flying jib} (Naut.), a sail extended outside of the standing
      jib, on the flying-jib boom.

   {Flying-jib boom} (Naut.), an extension of the jib boom.

   {Flying kites} (Naut.), light sails carried only in fine
      weather.

   {Flying lemur}. (Zool.) See {Colugo}.

   {Flying level} (Civil Engin.), a reconnoissance level over
      the course of a projected road, canal, etc.

   {Flying lizard}. (Zool.) See {Dragon}, n. 6.

   {Flying machine}, any apparatus for navigating through the
      air, especially a heavier-than-air machine. -- {Flying
   mouse} (Zool.), the opossum mouse ({Acrobates pygm[ae]us}), a
      marsupial of Australia. Called also {feathertail glider}.

   Note: It has lateral folds of skin, like the flying
         squirrels, and a featherlike tail. -- {Flying party}
      (Mil.), a body of soldiers detailed to hover about an
      enemy. -- {Flying phalanger} (Zool.), one of several
      species of small marsuupials of the genera {Petaurus} and
      {Belideus}, of Australia and New Guinea, having lateral
      folds like those of the flying squirrels. The sugar
      squirrel ({Belideus sciureus}), and the ariel ({Belideus
      ariel}), are the best known; -- called also {squirrel
      petaurus} and {flying squirrel}. See {Sugar squirrel}. --
   {Flying pinion}, the fly of a clock. -- {Flying sap} (Mil.),
      the rapid construction of trenches (when the enemy's fire
      of case shot precludes the method of simple trenching), by
      means of gabions placed in juxtaposition and filled with
      earth. -- {Flying shot}, a shot fired at a moving object,
      as a bird on the wing. -- {Flying spider}. (Zool.) See
      {Ballooning spider}. -- {Flying squid} (Zool.), an oceanic
      squid ({Ommastrephes Bartramii} syn. {Sthenoteuthis
      Bartramii}), abundant in the Gulf Stream, which is able to
      leap out of the water with such force that it often falls
      on the deck of a vessel. -- {Flying squirrel} (Zool.) See
      {Flying squirrel}, in the Vocabulary. -- {Flying start}, a
      start in a sailing race in which the signal is given while
      the vessels are under way. -- {Flying torch} (Mil.), a
      torch attached to a long staff and used for signaling at
      night.
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