flip-flop en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Onomatopoeic. Most probably an imitation of the sound produced when walking in them.
Meanings
-
(UK, US) A sandal consisting of a rubber sole fastened to the foot by a rubber thong fitting between the toes and around the sides of the foot.
the necessity for yet another place at which to buy a polo shirt or a pair of flip-flops may not be apparent to the town's residents
30 August 2004, The New Yorker,, page 38
-
(idiomatic) A change of places; an inversion or swap.
BR's flip-flop attitude towards the two options can be observed in comments made by the BR chairman in September 1967, which were interpreted as meaning that the facts now have to be "adjusted" to prove the electrification case.
2020 April 8, David Clough, “How the West Coast wiring war was won”, in Rail, page 61:On the break for strong left, everything remains the same, except for the flip-flop of positions.
1964, Scholastic Coach, volume 34, page 8:
- (US, idiomatic) A change of places; an inversion or swap. ▸ An instance of flip-flopping, of repeatedly changing one's stated opinion about a matter.
-
A bistable; an electronic switching circuit that has either two stable states (switching between them in response to a trigger) or a stable and an unstable state (switching from one to the other and back again in response to a trigger), and which is thereby capable of serving as one bit of memory.
Ten two-state flip-flops […] were formed into ten-stage ring counters representing each decimal digit in the ten-digit accumulators […]
2012, George Dyson, Turing's Cathedral, Penguin, published 2013, page 72:
- The sound of a regular footfall.
- A somersault.
-
(US, qualifier:truck driving, slang) A return trip.
We'll catch you on the flip-flop. This here's the Rubber Duck on the side. We gone, 'bye, 'bye.
1975, “Convoy”, in C.W. McCall, Chip Davis (lyrics), Black Bear Road, performed by C. W. McCall:
- (derogatory, offensive, slang) A person or inhabitant of the Middle East, or a Muslim nation, particularly Afghanistan.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| flip-flops | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| flipflop | alternative | lexicographic | |
| flip flop | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
flip-flop operator · flip-flopper
Descendants
Relateds
Synonyms
thong (footwear) · slipper (footwear) · slop (footwear) · chancla (footwear) · beach sandal (footwear) · jandal (footwear) · go-ahead (footwear) · flippy-flop · plugger (footwear) · zori (footwear)
Translations (21)
pl przerzutnik (bistable electronic circuit) · fi kiikku (bistable electronic circuit) · ne द्विमानित्र (bistable electronic circuit) · is vippa (bistable electronic circuit) · ja ぶれる (repeatedly changing one’s stated opinion) · es biestable (bistable electronic circuit) · hi द्विमानित्र (bistable electronic circuit) · ro bistabil (bistable electronic circuit) · cmn 觸發器 /触发器 (bistable electronic circuit) · gu દ્વિમાનિત્ર (bistable electronic circuit) · ja ふらふらさせる (repeatedly changing one’s stated opinion) · mr द्विमानित्र (bistable electronic circuit) · sv vippa (bistable electronic circuit) · is vippurás (bistable electronic circuit) · ko 플립플롭 (bistable electronic circuit) · ca biestable (bistable electronic circuit) · de Flipflop (bistable electronic circuit) · fi vatulointi (repeatedly changing one’s stated opinion) · pt flip-flop (bistable electronic circuit) · cmn 正反器 (bistable electronic circuit) · fr bascule (bistable electronic circuit)