A tool with a flat or mesh head on a handle, used to hit and kill flying insects like flies and mosquitoes.
Compound of 'fly' (Old English 'flēoge') and 'swatter' (from 'swat,' meaning to hit sharply). The tool became common in the early 20th century as a simple pest control device.
Before bug spray and electric zappers, the flyswatter was humanity's main defense against annoying insects—a simple tool so iconic that it still appears in cartoons as a symbol of frustration!
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