Obs. [f. TRENCHER1 + FLY sb.1, as a creature that infests the table.] A parasite.
1590. Greene, Never too Late, Wks. (Grosart), VIII. 165. Fed vppon with Trencher flies, eaten aliue with flatterers.
1603. H. Crosse, Vertues Commw. (1878), 29. He shall not want trencher-flies, clawbackes, and Sycophants.
1692. R. L’Estrange, Fables, No. 337. I. 294. To try, which of ’em were Friends, and which, only Trencher-Flies, and Spungers.
