This week’s theme
Abbreviations, acronyms, and blends

This week’s words
retcon
flak
hazmat
larp
blad

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(flak)

MEANING:

noun:
1. Severe criticism.
2. Anti-aircraft fire.

ETYMOLOGY:

An acronym of German Flugzeugabwehrkanone (anti-aircraft gun), from Flieger (flyer) + Abwehr (defense) + Kanone (gun). Earliest documented use: 1938. The word is sometimes also spelled as flack.

USAGE:

“I’ll take the praise or the flak, whichever comes.”
Bobbi Smith; Treasures & Pleasures; Invoke Books; 2016.

“In 2015 Uzbekistan Airways started measuring how heavy flyers were for safety reasons. But predictably, the practice has got some airlines a lot of flak from their passengers.”
The Case for Weighing Passengers Before Flights: Fat Tax; The Economist (London, UK); May 3, 2019.

See more usage examples of flak in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: