Wouldn’t Hurt A Fly

Also:

Wouldn’t harm a fly
Can’t hurt a fly
Couldn’t hurt a fly
Would never hurt a fly
wouldn’t hurt a flea

Meaning of Idiom ‘(someone) wouldn’t hurt a fly’

When it is said that someone wouldn’t hurt a fly, it means that they are very gentle and harmless and that they would never hurt anyone or upset them. ¹Kirkpatrick, Elizabeth M. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Idioms. Ware: Wordsworth, 1995.,²Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.,³Heacock, Paul. Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010.,⁴Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

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Examples of Use

“Victor looks tough but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Don’t worry about the boss. He seems mean but he can’t hurt a fly.”

“Everybody is afraid of my dog because he is a pit bull but he’s so gentle he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Origin

Used since the 1800’s, this idiom uses fly or flea to represent small insignificant animals that most people would think nothing of harming. So, a person who would not even harm such an insect is extremely mild and harmless, indeed. ⁵Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.

More Idioms Starting with W

• Waste One’s Breath
• Wash Your Hands of (Someone or Something)
• What’s the Damage?
• Work One’s Fingers To the Bone
• Out of Wedlock

More Hurt Idioms

More Fly Idioms

• Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)
• As the Crow Flies
• Fly Off the Handle
• Fly in the Ointment, a

More Insect Related Idioms

• The Bee’s Knees
• Hornet’s Nest, a
• Mothball
• Make a Beeline for (someone, something)
• Fly in the Ointment, a

More Would/Wouldn’t Idioms

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