fly off

fly off

1. To leave a particular place by flying, as of a bird. The birds all flew off when they heard us coming.
2. To depart some place or thing hastily. Yeah, Paulina flew off earlier today because she had to be in Baltimore by noon.
3. To travel to a particular destination by flying, as on an airplane. Well, I guess I won't see you this weekend if you're flying off to Paris.
4. To suddenly become very upset, angry, or agitated. Don't fly off into a fit—we can fix this problem.
See also: fly, off
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fly off

 
1. Lit. to take to flight quickly. The stork flew off before we got a good look at it. The little birds flew off and things were quiet again.
2. Fig. to leave in a hurry. Well, it's late. I must fly off. She flew off a while ago.
See also: fly, off
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

fly off

v.
1. To fly away: After the gunshot, the birds flew off.
2. To depart and travel by flying: My parents flew off to Miami for the weekend.
3. To suddenly and expressively enter an excited, especially negative, emotional state: When the child was told to sit down, he flew off into a rage.
See also: fly, off
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • depart
  • be out
  • be out in bloom
  • defect to
  • defect to (something)
  • ditch (some place)
  • barrel in
  • barrel in(to)
  • know place
  • know your place
References in periodicals archive
If doors or panels fly off their hinges in high winds, they can become deadly, damaging, not so foreign debris!
Secure before flying
Plant onions, alliums and leeks nearby, which should help to keep the carrot fly off the scent.
GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT; How to stop carrot root fly
Summary: Thirty five teams attempted to fly off the flight deck with their homemade, human-powered flying machines in California.
Flugtag flying machines make a splash
When in these positions, if the employees have their passports with them, they can, if they want, fly off to their home countries without the employer's permission and even with the employer's cash.
Stop absconders
I AM due to get married and fly off on honeymoon in two months.
Naming the day to travel; The Judge I'll get it sorted
Food sales boomed in February as Valentine's Day and Mothering Sunday saw champagne, wine and chocolates fly off the shelves, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Surprise 1% leap in retail sales
Encouragingly, Kauto and Denman have already started to fly off the shelves - it's just that Denman's are flying off a bit faster.
Denman steals a march on Kauto in t-shirt stakes; Countdown to Cheltenham
Steiger arranges for an Aussie pop star (sadly, not Kylie) to sing at the ceremony, then they fly off in a helicopter with Bree.
tv & soaps: neighbours
Crew manager Dave Barnes said: "The crow was flapping around and trying to fly off, and we used a roof ladder to reach the bird.
Crow's feet crisis
A pair of ducks laid a number of eggs on the island, but when they came to fly off one duck couldn't fly, and they left it behind.
Duckling odyssey draws in students
The manga-style illustrations will be an easy selling point for most kids--the high-action ninjas fighting, and the female characters reminiscent of popular Bratz dolls--that will make this volume fly off the shelves.
Elder, Joshua. Mail order ninja
While others on their treadmills pop to hip-hop, I've been known to stop and shriek, like some Paula Revere, "The British have taken New Jersey!" before I fly off the back end of the treadmill.
King of my heart
Men are also liable to fly off the handle when it comes to on street parking spaces.
Neighbours from hell
This book has its heart in the right place and like many books of its genre will fly off the shelf, denouement or not.
Disappearing act