Flick Flick noun A flitch; as, a flick of bacon.
Flick Flick transitive verb To throw, snap, or toss with a jerk; to flirt; as, to flick a whiplash. Rude boys were flicking butter pats across chaos.
Kipling.
Flick Flick noun [ See
Flick ,
transitive verb ]
A light quick stroke or blow, esp. with something pliant; a flirt; also, the sound made by such a blow. She actually took the whip out of his hand and gave a flick to the pony.
Mrs. Humphry Ward.
Flicker Flick"er (-ẽr)
intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Flickered (-ẽrd);
present participle & verbal noun Flickering .] [ Middle English
flikeren ,
flekeren , to flutter, Anglo-Saxon
flicerian ,
flicorian , confer Dutch
flikkeren to sparkle. √84. Confer
Flacker .]
1. To flutter; to flap the wings without flying. And flickering on her nest made short essays to sing.
Dryden. 2. To waver unsteadily, like a flame in a current of air, or when about to expire; as, the flickering light. The shadows flicker to fro.
Tennyson.
Flicker Flick"er noun 1. The act of wavering or of fluttering; fluctuation; sudden and brief increase of brightness; as, the last flicker of the dying flame. 2. (Zoology) The golden-winged woodpecker ( Colaptes aurutus ); -- so called from its spring note. Called also yellow-hammer , high-holder , pigeon woodpecker , and yucca . The cackle of the flicker among the oaks.
Thoureau.
Flickeringly Flick"ering·ly adverb In a flickering manner.
Flickermouse Flick"er·mouse` noun (Zoology) See Flittermouse .
Flidge Flidge adjective Fledged; fledge. [ Obsolete]
Holland.
Flidge Flidge intransitive verb To become fledged; to fledge. [ Obsolete]
Every day build their nests, every hour flidge .
R. Greene.
Flier Fli"er (flī"ẽr)
noun [ Form
Fly ,
v. ; confer
Flyer ]
1. One who flies or flees; a runaway; a fugitive. Shak. 2. (Machinery) A fly. See Fly , noun , 9, and 13 (b) . 3. (Spinning) See Flyer , noun , 5. 4. (Architecture) See Flyer , noun , 4.
Flier Fli"er noun An aëroplane or flying machine.
Flight Flight (flīt)
noun [ Anglo-Saxon
fliht ,
flyht , a flying, from
fleógan to fly; confer
flyht a fleeing, from
fleón to flee, German
flucht a fleeing, Swedish
flykt , German
flug a flying, Swedish
flygt , Dutch
vlugt a fleeing or flying, Danish
flugt . √84. See
Flee ,
Fly .]
1. The act of flying; a passing through the air by the help of wings; volitation; mode or style of flying. Like the night owl's lazy flight .
Shak. 2. The act of fleeing; the act of running away, to escape danger or expected evil; hasty departure. Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.
Matt. xxiv. 20. Fain by flight to save themselves.
Shak. 3. Lofty elevation and excursion; a mounting; a soaring; as, a flight of imagination, ambition, folly. Could he have kept his spirit to that flight ,
He had been happy .
Byron. His highest flights were indeed far below those of Taylor.
Macaulay. 4. A number of beings or things passing through the air together; especially, a flock of birds flying in company; the birds that fly or migrate together; the birds produced in one season; as, a flight of arrows. Swift. Swift flights of angels ministrant.
Milton. Like a flight of fowl
Scattered winds and tempestuous gusts.
Shak. 5. A series of steps or stairs from one landing to another. Parker. 6. A kind of arrow for the longbow; also, the sport of shooting with it. See Shaft . [ Obsolete]
Challenged Cupid at the flight .
Shak. Not a flight drawn home
E'er made that haste that they have.
Beau. & Fl. 7. The husk or glume of oats. [ Prov. Eng.]
Wright. Flight feathers (Zoology) ,
the wing feathers of a bird, including the quills, coverts, and bastard wing. See Bird . --
To put to flight ,
To turn to flight ,
to compel to run away; to force to flee; to rout. Syn. -- Pair; set. See
Pair .
Flight-shot Flight"-shot` noun The distance to which an arrow or flight may be shot; bowshot, -- about the fifth of a mile. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Within a flight-shot it inthe valley.
Evelyn. Half a flight-shot from the king's oak.
Sir W. Scott.
Flighted Flight"ed adjective 1. Taking flight; flying; -- used in composition. "Drowsy-
flighted steeds."
Milton. 2. (Her.) Feathered; -- said of arrows.
Flighter Flight"er noun (Brewing) A horizontal vane revolving over the surface of wort in a cooler, to produce a circular current in the liquor. Knight.
Flightily Flight"i·ly adverb In a flighty manner.
Flightiness Flight"i·ness noun The state or quality of being flighty. The flightness of her temper.
Hawthorne. Syn. -- Levity; giddiness; volatility; lightness; wildness; eccentricity. See
Levity .
Flighty Flight"y adjective 1. Fleeting; swift; transient. The flighty purpose never is o'ertook,
Unless the deed go with it.
Shak. 2. Indulging in flights, or wild and unrestrained sallies, of imagination, humor, caprice, etc.; given to disordered fancies and extravagant conduct; volatile; giddy; eccentric; slighty delirious. Proofs of my flighty and paradoxical turn of mind.
Coleridge. A harsh disciplinarian and a flighty enthusiast.
J. S. Harford.
Flimflam Flim"flam noun [ Confer
Flam .]
A freak; a trick; a lie. Beau. & Fl.
Flimsily Flim"si·ly adverb In a flimsy manner.
Flimsiness Flim"si·ness noun The state or quality of being flimsy.
Flimsy Flim"sy adjective [
Compar. Flimsier ;
superl. Flimsiest .] [ Confer W.
llymsi naked, bare, empty, sluggish, spiritless. Confer
Limsy .]
Weak; feeble; limp; slight; vain; without strength or solidity; of loose and unsubstantial structure; without reason or plausibility; as, a flimsy argument, excuse, objection. Proud of a vast extent of flimsy lines.
Pope. All the flimsy furniture of a country miss's brain.
Sheridan. Syn. -- Weak; feeble; superficial; shallow; vain.
Flimsy Flim"sy noun 1. Thin or transfer paper. 2. A bank note. [ Slang, Eng.]
Flinch Flinch intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Flinched ;
present participle & verbal noun Flinching .] [ Prob. from Middle English
flecchen to waver, give way, French
fléchir , from Latin
flectere to bend; but probably influenced by English
blench . Confer
Flex .]
1. To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or perserving; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched from the combat. A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining.
Locke. 2. (Croquet) To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.
Flinch Flinch noun The act of flinching.
Flincher Flinch"er noun One who flinches or fails.
Flinchingly Flinch"ing·ly adverb In a flinching manner.
Flindermouse Flin"der·mouse` noun [ Middle English
vlindre moth (cf. Dutch
vlinder butterfly) + English
mouse . Confer
Flittermouse ,
Flinders .]
(Zoology) A bat; a flittermouse.
Flinders Flin"ders noun plural [ Scot.
flenders ,
flendris ; perhaps akin to English
flutter ; confer Dutch
flenters rags, broken pieces.]
Small pieces or splinters; fragments. The tough ash spear, so stout and true,
Into a thousand flinders flew.
Sir W. Scott.
Fling Fling (flĭng)
transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Flung (flŭng);
present participle & verbal noun Flinging .] [ Middle English
flingen ,
flengen , to rush, hurl; confer Icelandic
flengia to whip, ride furiously, OSw.
flenga to strike, Swedish
flänga to romp, Danish
flenge to slash.]
1. To cast, send, to throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart; to emit with violence as if thrown from the hand; as, to fing a stone into the pond. 'T is Fate that flings the dice: and, as she flings ,
Of kings makes peasants, and of peasants kings.
Dryden. He . . . like Jove, his lighting flung .
Dryden. I know thy generous temper well.
Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it,
It straight takes fire.
Addison. 2. To shed forth; to emit; to scatter. The sun begins to fling
His flaring beams.
Milton. Every beam new transient colors flings .
Pope. 3. To throw; to hurl; to throw off or down; to prostrate; hence, to baffle; to defeat; as, to fling a party in litigation. His horse started, flung him, and fell upon him.
Walpole. To fling about ,
to throw on all sides; to scatter. --
To fling away ,
to reject; to discard. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition.
Shak. --
To fling down .
(a) To throw to the ground; esp., to throw in defiance, as formerly knights cast a glove into the arena as a challenge. This question so flung down before the guests, . . .
Was handed over by consent of all
To me who had not spoken.
Tennyson. (b) To overturn; to demolish; to ruin. --
To fling in ,
to throw in; not to charge in an account; as, in settling accounts, one party flings in a small sum, or a few days' work. --
To fling off ,
to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey; also, to get rid of. Addison. --
To fling open ,
to throw open; to open suddenly or with violence; as, to fling open a door. --
To fling out ,
to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh manner; as, to fling out hard words against another. --
To fling up ,
to relinquish; to abandon; as, to fling up a design.
Fling Fling intransitive verb 1. To throw; to wince; to flounce; as, the horse began to kick and fling . 2. To cast in the teeth; to utter abusive language; to sneer; as, the scold began to flout and fling . 3. To throw one's self in a violent or hasty manner; to rush or spring with violence or haste. And crop-full, out of doors he flings .
Milton. I flung closer to his breast,
As sword that, after battle, flings to sheath.
Mrs. Browning. To fling out ,
to become ugly and intractable; to utter sneers and insinuations.
Fling Fling noun 1. A cast from the hand; a throw; also, a flounce; a kick; as, the fling of a horse. 2. A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe; a sarcasm. I, who love to have a fling ,
Both at senate house and king.
Swift. 3. A kind of dance; as, the Highland fling . 4. A trifing matter; an object of contempt. [ Obsolete]
England were but a fling
Save for the crooked stick and the gray goose wing.
Old Proverb. To have one's fling ,
to enjoy one's self to the full; to have a season of dissipation. J. H. Newman. "When I was as young as you, I
had my fling . I led a life of pleasure."
D. Jerrold.
Flingdust Fling"dust` noun One who kicks up the dust; a streetwalker; a low manner. [ Obsolete]
Beau. & Fl.
Flinger Fling"er noun One who flings; one who jeers.
Flint Flint noun [ Anglo-Saxon
flint , akin to Swedish
flinta , Danish
flint ; confer Old High German
flins flint, German
flinte gun (cf. English
flint lock), perhaps akin to Greek ... brick. Confer
Plinth .]
1. (Min.) A massive, somewhat impure variety of quartz, in color usually of a gray to brown or nearly black, breaking with a conchoidal fracture and sharp edge. It is very hard, and strikes fire with steel. 2. A piece of flint for striking fire; -- formerly much used, esp. in the hammers of gun locks. 3. Anything extremely hard, unimpressible, and unyielding, like flint. "A heart of
flint ."
Spenser. Flint age .
(Geol.) Same as Stone age , under Stone . --
Flint brick ,
a fire made principially of powdered silex. --
Flint glass .
See in the Vocabulary. --
Flint implements (Archæol.) ,
tools, etc., employed by men before the use of metals, such as axes, arrows, spears, knives, wedges, etc., which were commonly made of flint, but also of granite, jade, jasper, and other hard stones. --
Flint mill .
(a) (Pottery) A mill in which flints are ground. (b) (Mining) An obsolete appliance for lighting the miner at his work, in which flints on a revolving wheel were made to produce a shower of sparks, which gave light, but did not inflame the fire damp. Knight. --
Flint stone ,
a hard, siliceous stone; a flint. --
Flint wall ,
a kind of wall, common in England, on the face of which are exposed the black surfaces of broken flints set in the mortar, with quions of masonry. --
Liquor of flints ,
a solution of silica, or flints, in potash. --
To skin a flint ,
to be capable of, or guilty of, any expedient or any meanness for making money. [ Colloq.]
Flint glass Flint" glass` (Chemistry) A soft, heavy, brilliant glass, consisting essentially of a silicate of lead and potassium. It is used for tableware, and for optical instruments, as prisms, its density giving a high degree of dispersive power; -- so called, because formerly the silica was obtained from pulverized flints. Called also crystal glass . Confer Glass . » The concave or diverging half on an achromatic lens is usually made of flint glass .
Flint-hearted Flint"-heart`ed adjective Hard- hearted. Shak.
Flintiness Flint"i·ness noun The state or quality of being flinty; hardness; cruelty. Beau. & Fl.
Flintlock Flint"lock` noun 1. A lock for a gun or pistol, having a flint fixed in the hammer, which on striking the steel ignites the priming. 2. A hand firearm fitted with a flintlock; esp., the old-fashioned musket of European and other armies.
Flintware Flint"ware` noun A superior kind of earthenware into whose composition flint enters largely. Knight.
Flintwood Flint"wood` noun (Botany) An Australian name for the very hard wood of the Eucalyptus piluralis .
Flinty Flint"y adjective [
Compar. Flintier ;
superl. Flintiest .]
Consisting of, composed of, abounding in, or resembling, flint; as, a flinty rock; flinty ground; a flinty heart. Flinty rock , or
Flinty state ,
a siliceous slate; -- basanite is here included. See Basanite .
Flip Flip noun [ Confer Prov. English
flip nimble, flippant, also, a slight blow. Confer
Flippant .]
A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron. Flip dog ,
an iron used, when heated, to warm flip.
Flip Flip transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Flipped ;
present participle & verbal noun Flipping .]
To toss or fillip; as, to flip up a cent. As when your little ones
Do 'twixt their fingers flip their cherry stones.
W. Browne.
Flip-flap Flip"-flap` noun [ See
Flip , and
Flap .]
The repeated stroke of something long and loose. Johnson.
Flip-flap Flip"-flap` adverb With repeated strokes and noise, as of something long and loose. Ash.
Flipe Flipe transitive verb To turn inside out, or with the leg part back over the foot, as a stocking in pulling off or for putting on. [ Scot.]
Flippancy Flip"pan·cy noun [ See
Flippant .]
The state or quality of being flippant. This flippancy of language.
Bp. Hurd.
Flippant Flip"pant adjective [ Prov. English
flip to move nimbly; confer W.
llipa soft, limber, pliant, or Icelandic
fleipa to babble, prattle. Confer
Flip ,
Fillip ,
Flap ,
Flipper .]
1. Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative. It becometh good men, in such cases, to be flippant and free in their speech.
Barrow. 2. Speaking fluently and confidently, without knowledge or consideration; empty; trifling; inconsiderate; pert; petulant. "
Flippant epilogues."
Thomson. To put flippant scorn to the blush.
I. Taylor. A sort of flippant , vain discourse.
Burke.
Flippant Flip"pant noun A flippant person. [ R.]
Tennyson.
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