A person who spends a lot of time in bars, getting to know the bartenders and other regular customers very well.
American slang from the early 20th century, combining 'bar' (drinking establishment) with 'fly,' comparing the restless movement of someone constantly visiting bars to an insect's flitting behavior.
Barfly became iconic through literature and film—the 1987 Bukowski film of the same name immortalized the lifestyle—and it reveals how English speakers use animal metaphors to describe human behavior in clever, slightly insulting ways.
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