'Trencher fly' definitions:

Definition of 'Trencher fly'

From: GCIDE
  • Trencher \Trench"er\, n. [OE. trencheoir, F. tranchoir, fr. trancher to cut, carve. See Trench, v. t.]
  • 1. One who trenches; esp., one who cuts or digs ditches. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A large wooden plate or platter, as for table use. [1913 Webster]
  • 3. The table; hence, the pleasures of the table; food. [1913 Webster]
  • It could be no ordinary declension of nature that could bring some men, after an ingenuous education, to place their "summum bonum" upon their trenchers. --South. [1913 Webster]
  • Trencher cap, the cap worn by studens at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, having a stiff, flat, square appendage at top. A similar cap used in the United States is called Oxford cap, mortar board, etc.
  • Trencher fly, a person who haunts the tables of others; a parasite. [R.] --L'Estrange.
  • Trencher friend, one who frequents the tables of others; a sponger.
  • Trencher mate, a table companion; a parasite; a trencher fly. --Hooker. [1913 Webster]