: someone who is able to secretly watch or listen to other people
What might the proverbial fly on the wall have heard if four leading scientists had met over dinner in 1949 …—
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
ˈflī-ȯn-ṯẖə-ˈwȯl 
-än-
: having or involving an inconspicuous but effective point of observation
… fly-on-the-wall observations of aspects of daily life …—Will Manley
Will ManleyExamples of fly on the wall in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Randy Myers, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
Guest went on to direct (and often star in) several fly-on-the-wall mockumentaries that, like This Is Spinal Tap, utilize improvisation to capture offbeat, passionate personalities embedded in hyper-niche industries.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2025
The picture thus combines the excitement of an old-school disaster spectacle with a fly-on-the-wall portrait of institutions struggling to function in the face of a calamity.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2025
This latest Venice premiere is definitely a work of fragments, isolated scenes that amount to a fly-on-the-wall view of Lucius but are not meant to create a traditional narrative, or for the pieces to fit together as neatly as a jigsaw puzzle.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
His leadership role stood out in a recent six-part documentary series released by the club on YouTube, Sans jamais rien lacher (Never Give Up), which gave viewers a fly-on-the-wall perspective on De Zerbi’s first season in the dug-out.
—Tom Williams, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2025
The show was conceived as a spiritual (but not official) successor to The Osbournes, the anarchic fly-on-the-wall series that aired on MTV between 2002 and 2005.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
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Adjective
Flareups between Coppola and star Shia LaBeouf, along with Aubrey Plaza just being Aubrey Plaza, make Figgis’ fly-on-the-wall study entertaining.
—Randy Myers, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025
Guest went on to direct (and often star in) several fly-on-the-wall mockumentaries that, like This Is Spinal Tap, utilize improvisation to capture offbeat, passionate personalities embedded in hyper-niche industries.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 12 Sep. 2025
The picture thus combines the excitement of an old-school disaster spectacle with a fly-on-the-wall portrait of institutions struggling to function in the face of a calamity.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Sep. 2025
This latest Venice premiere is definitely a work of fragments, isolated scenes that amount to a fly-on-the-wall view of Lucius but are not meant to create a traditional narrative, or for the pieces to fit together as neatly as a jigsaw puzzle.
—Caryn James, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
His leadership role stood out in a recent six-part documentary series released by the club on YouTube, Sans jamais rien lacher (Never Give Up), which gave viewers a fly-on-the-wall perspective on De Zerbi’s first season in the dug-out.
—Tom Williams, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2025
The show was conceived as a spiritual (but not official) successor to The Osbournes, the anarchic fly-on-the-wall series that aired on MTV between 2002 and 2005.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 5 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fly on the wall.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fly%20on%20the%20wall. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
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