flit

1 a sudden quick movement [syn: dart]

2 a secret move (to avoid paying debts); "they did a moonlight flit" v : move along rapidly and lightly; skim or dart [syn: flutter, fleet, dart] [also: flitting, flitted]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɪt

Noun

1. A fluttering or darting movement.
2. A particular, unexpected, short lived, change of state.

   My computer just had a flit.

3. A homosexual.

Verb

1. To move about rapidly and nimbly.
2. To move quickly from one location to another.
3. To unpredictably change state for short periods of time.

   My blender flits because the power cord is damaged.

Flit or FLIT is the brand name for an insecticide with the primary active ingredient of permethrin. It is most often used to control adult mosquitos. Spraying it into the air kills adult mosquitos that are present and then by settling onto surfaces it kills mosquitos that may later land. A device called a flit gun was often used to perform the spraying, although today backpack-mounted and aerial sprayers have largely replaced flit guns.

Flit is best known today because in 1928, when Standard Oil Company manufactured it, they promoted it with a very successful and long running advertising campaign. Theodor Seuss Geisel created the artwork for this campaign, years before he started writing the children's books that made him famous as Dr. Seuss. The ads typically contained the tagline "Quick, Henry, the FLIT!" and showed people threatened by whimsical, menacing insect-like creatures that will look familiar to fans of Dr. Seuss's later work. This advertising campaign continued for 17 years and made "Quick, Henry, the FLIT!" into a national catchphrase.

References

• The Advertising Artwork of Dr. Seuss

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