shoofly

/ˈʃuːflaɪ/
noun
  1. A type of pie with a sweet, gooey filling made from molasses and a crumb topping, popular in Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine.
    • For dessert, Grandma served a warm slice of shoofly pie with whipped cream.
    • I tried shoofly pie for the first time at the county fair and loved the molasses flavor.
    • The bakery is famous for its traditional shoofly pie, made from a family recipe.
  2. A child's rocking chair or a toy that rocks back and forth, often shaped like an animal.
    • The antique shoofly rocker was passed down through three generations.
    • The toddler giggled as she rocked in her wooden shoofly chair.
    • He bought a hand-painted shoofly horse for his granddaughter's birthday.
  3. A temporary police officer or detective, especially one assigned to a special detail.
    • The precinct called in a shoofly to handle the sensitive robbery investigation.
    • In the old detective novels, a shoofly often worked undercover.
    • The shoofly was brought in to investigate the corruption case.
interjection
  1. Used to shoo away a fly or other insect.
    • He muttered "shoofly" as a mosquito landed on his arm.
    • "Shoofly!" she cried, waving her hand at the buzzing fly.
    • The farmer said "shoofly" to the horsefly bothering his horse.