Dictionary

flak en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /flæk/

Etymology

Borrowed from German FlaK, short for Fliegerabwehrkanone (“anti airplane cannon”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) Ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells.
   • He was promoted to general of flak artillery on March 1, 1945, and ended the war as the general of the flak arm at OKL, the High Command of the Luftwaffe. 2007, Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr., Retreat to the Reich: The German Defeat in France, 1944, footnote, page 30:
   • Another peculiar modern development is that of […] military abbreviations in army orders such as Flak ('Fliegerabwehrkanone' or 'archie')[.] 1931, W. E. Collinson, “Review: Neue Wege zum reinen Deutsch”, in The Modern Language Review, volume 26, number 2, page 230:
   • […] to consider whether the city was in February 1945 an undefended city within the meaning of the 1907 Hague Convention, it will be necessary to examine the establishment and subsequent total dispersal of the city's flak batteries, before the date of the triple blow. 1964, David John Cawdell Irving, The Destruction of Dresden, page 74:
2. (countable, uncountable) Anti-aircraft shell fire.
   • At 1057 we were just over the islands and at 1100 the tail gunner reported flak at six o'clock, below. 1943 November 29, “Target: Germany”, in Life, page 80:
   • Young Ratchford was first reported missing in action and later reported killed in action as of March 9. He was flight engineer on a B-24 Liberator bomber, and his plane was seen to go down in flames just after it had passed over Munster, where it had encountered heavy flak. 1971 [1945 August 23], Wilma Ratchford Craig, “Robert Hugh Ratchford”, in Ratchfords . . . I Reckon, Baltimore: Gateway Press, Inc., sourced from Gastonia Gazette, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 152:
   • 1984, Steve Harris, "Aces High", Iron Maiden, Powerslave. There goes the siren that warns of the air raid / Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak / Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne / Got to get up for the coming attack.
   • I could hear the fragments from the flak shells hitting the plane like someone throwing rocks at it. 1999, Brian O'Neill, Half a Wing, Three Engines and a Prayer, page 118:
3. (countable, figuratively, informal, uncountable) Adverse criticism.
   • Alex McLeish, perhaps mindful of the flak he has been taking from sections of the Villa support for a perceived negative style of play, handed starts to wingers Charles N'Zogbia and Albrighton. 2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:
   • There’s always been a built-in backlash against big-scale caprices like Raiders of the Lost Ark from people who think that $20 million should be spent on more than entertainment for its own sake. Raiders may also get flak for not being as cuddly-lovable as Star Wars, or for using those old reliables – the Nazis – as villains, or for dazzling the audience with an almost brazen self-confidence. 1981 June 25, Michael Sragow, “Inside ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ - The ultimate Saturday matinee”, in Rolling Stone:
   • This filter Herman and Chomsky call “flak,” which refers to letters, speeches, phone calls, and other forms of group and individual complaints. Advertisers and broadcasters avoid programming content that might cause large volumes of flak. 1990, Joel H. Spring, The American School, 1642-1990, page 380:
   • More flak was aimed at the Treasury's apparent lack of marketing skills, when it was argued that its idea of how to sell tickets was along the lines of "you can get two tickets for the price of two", and it lacks the sales and promotional skills of the train operating companies which are needed to boost revenue. 2022 January 12, Tom Allett, “Network News: MPs concerned at Treasury's influence on rail industry”, in RAIL, number 948, page 13:
4. (countable, informal, uncountable) A public-relations spokesperson.
   • 2006, Edward Herman, Noam Chomsky, A Propaganda Model, in 2006 [2001], Meenakshi Gigi Durham, Douglas Kellner (editors), Media and Cultural Studies: Keyworks, revised edition, page 277, AIM head, Reed Irvine's diatribes are frequently published, and right-wing network flaks who regularly assail the “liberal media,” such as Michael Ledeen, are given Op-ed column space, sympathetic reviews, and a regular place on talk shows as experts.

Forms

Deriveds

take the flak · flak catcher

Relateds

flak jacket

Synonyms

AAA · triple-A · ack-ack · ack-ack

Translations (38)

ru зени́тка (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · ru втык (adverse criticism) · ru взбу́чка (adverse criticism) · bg зенитно оръдие (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · ca critica adversa (adverse criticism) · sh oštra kritika (adverse criticism) · da antiluftskyts (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · pt crítica (adverse criticism) · sh glasnogovornik (a public-relations spokesperson) · nl luchtafweergeschut (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · fi tykitys (adverse criticism) · nl woordvoerder (a public-relations spokesperson) · pt bateria antiaérea (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · cmn 高射炮 (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · bg зенитка (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · fr lutte anti-aérienne (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · fi ilmatorjuntatuli (anti-aircraft shell fire) · de Flugabwehrkanone (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · de Fliegerabwehrkanone (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · fr DCA (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · ru вы́волочка (adverse criticism) · fi ilmatorjuntatykistö (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · ru зени́тное ору́дие (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · fr défense anti-aérienne (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · sh protuzračna artiljerija (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · es criticismo adverso (adverse criticism) · nl luchtafweergranaten (anti-aircraft shell fire) · es fuego antiaéreo (anti-aircraft shell fire) · fi ilmatorjuntatykki (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · ru разно́с (adverse criticism) · sh protivvazdušna artiljerija (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · it critica avversa (adverse criticism) · nl afbrekende kritiek (adverse criticism) · it criticismo avverso (adverse criticism) · es fuego antiaéreo (ground-based anti-aircraft guns firing explosive shells) · ru перекрёстный ого́нь (adverse criticism) · da antiluftskytsgranat (anti-aircraft shell fire) · sh glasnogovornica (a public-relations spokesperson)