as in speck
a very small piece
surreptitiously removed a flyspeck of dirt from the china
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Recent Examples of flyspeck
That’s a flyspeck in a galaxy that measures 100,000 light years across and a universe that is a staggering 94 billion light years.
—
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 21 Dec. 2022
Sooty blotch looks like a brown or black blotch on the fruit; sooty blotch, unlike flyspeck, will wipe off the fruit.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 June 2022
Travelers jumping into the West Texas badlands from Mexico through Candelaria, a flyspeck village 50 miles up two-lane blacktop northwest of Presidio, might be deceived by the prevailing verdant quiet.
—Dudley Althaus, San Antonio Express-News, 26 June 2021
To those who grew up with Duncan in the U.S. Virgin Islands, their friend’s voyage from a picturesque flyspeck in the middle of the ocean to the basketball Hall of Fame was equal parts preordained and inconceivable.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 14 May 2021
But with a thousand islands scattered along their country’s jade-green Adriatic coast, from deserted flyspecks to hipster outposts, there’s no shortage of places to lick one’s wounds—or bask in silver-medal glory.
—Anja Mutić, WSJ, 19 July 2018
That is why presidential candidates hire squads of lawyers to flyspeck donations during a campaign.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 May 2018
Compared to this, Comcast is a flyspeck, and Charter hasn’t even gotten started.
—David Dayen, The New Republic, 30 Apr. 2018
Amid these forces, Fed rate hikes are a relative flyspeck, says Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 14 June 2017
Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 21 Dec. 2022
Sooty blotch looks like a brown or black blotch on the fruit; sooty blotch, unlike flyspeck, will wipe off the fruit.
—Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 June 2022
Travelers jumping into the West Texas badlands from Mexico through Candelaria, a flyspeck village 50 miles up two-lane blacktop northwest of Presidio, might be deceived by the prevailing verdant quiet.
—Dudley Althaus, San Antonio Express-News, 26 June 2021
To those who grew up with Duncan in the U.S. Virgin Islands, their friend’s voyage from a picturesque flyspeck in the middle of the ocean to the basketball Hall of Fame was equal parts preordained and inconceivable.
—Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 14 May 2021
But with a thousand islands scattered along their country’s jade-green Adriatic coast, from deserted flyspecks to hipster outposts, there’s no shortage of places to lick one’s wounds—or bask in silver-medal glory.
—Anja Mutić, WSJ, 19 July 2018
That is why presidential candidates hire squads of lawyers to flyspeck donations during a campaign.
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 3 May 2018
Compared to this, Comcast is a flyspeck, and Charter hasn’t even gotten started.
—David Dayen, The New Republic, 30 Apr. 2018
Amid these forces, Fed rate hikes are a relative flyspeck, says Doug Duncan, chief economist of Fannie Mae.
—Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 14 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for flyspeck
Noun
-
Within the span of a few days, an innocuous speck can turn a loaf of bread from prime sandwich material into a hideous mass of blue-green fuzz—an appetite-killing sight if ever there was one.—
Caroline Tien,
SELF,
1 May 2025
-
The dark speck near the bottom at the end of the line is Curiosity.—
Amanda Kooser,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
This nude lipstick shade has just a touch of warmth to it, plus gold flecks that catch the light for fuller-looking lips.—
Claire Sullivan,
Footwear News,
6 May 2025
-
For all his flaws, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s willingness to speak openly about autism as a public health concern led some of us to find flecks of hope in his arrival as secretary of health and human services.—
Mark Kendall,
Mercury News,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Inflation eased to a four-year low Your wallet may feel a tiny bit of ease.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
-
That promo bit was preceded by a series of surprise mini-concerts at other bars in Boston and Nashville, as well as a pop-in at Nashville’s Santa’s Pub with Noah Kahan for a short dual set and reconstruction the pop-up pub at the Coachella Festival.—
Gil Kaufman,
Billboard,
13 May 2025
Noun
-
Microplastics are small plastic particles that come from broken down plastics, according to a study in the National Library of Medicine.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
12 May 2025
-
Hydrolyzed marine collagen undergoes a process called enzymatic hydrolysis that breaks it down into even smaller particles called collagen peptides.—
Veronica Cristino,
Vogue,
7 May 2025
Noun
-
If the Twins hit a rough patch again, Lopez would be a prime candidate to improve a Mariners starting rotation that currently has the sixth-worst Wins Above Average among starting rotations at minus-0.6.—
Andrew Wright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 May 2025
-
Soon after release, one more major lighting feature, Ray Reconstruction, will be added in a post-launch patch.—
Matthew Buzzi,
PC Magazine,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
Always work with the grain of the wood and keep the nozzle moving to prevent noticeable lines.—
Mary Cornetta,
Better Homes & Gardens,
15 May 2025
-
The independent lab also tested another 66 samples of nine ancient grains: amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur, couscous, farro, millet, quinoa and spelt. Results showed rice purchased by shoppers contained 28 times more arsenic than the alternative grains.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
15 May 2025
Noun
-
The two then fought to a split draw in a September 2023 scrap.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
8 May 2025
-
Organizers have held quilt-ins in 30 states, evoking the image of repurposing scraps of otherwise unwanted fabric into something worth more than the sum of its parts.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
7 May 2025
Noun
-
No, turn off that Court TV stream; no video snippets of the Combs trial are coming.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
13 May 2025
-
Here’s a snippet of the laughter yoga session held this month during a break at the New Face of Aging conference in Miami.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Flyspeck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flyspeck. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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