FLAG, an apron.
FLAG OF DISTRESS, poverty—when the end of a person’s shirt protrudes through his trousers.
FLAM, nonsense, blarney, a lie.—Kentish; Anglo Saxon.
FLAME, a sweetheart.
FLANNEL, or HOT FLANNEL, the old term for gin and beer, drank hot, with nutmeg, sugar, &c. Also called FLIP. There is an anecdote told of Goldsmith helping to drink a quart of FLANNEL in a night house, in company with George Parker, Ned Shuter, and a demure grave looking gentleman, who continually introduced the words CRAP, STRETCH, SCRAG, and SWING. Upon the Doctor’s asking who this strange person might be, and being told his profession, he rushed from the place in a frenzy, exclaiming, “Good God! and have I been sitting all this while with a hangman?”
FLARE UP, a jovial social gathering, a “break down,” a “row.”
FLASH, showy, smart, knowing; a word with various meanings. A person is said to be dressed FLASH when his garb is showy, and after a fashion, but without taste. A person is said to be FLASH when he apes the appearance or manners of his betters, or when he is trying to be superior to his friends and relations. Flash also means “fast,” roguish, and sometimes infers counterfeit or deceptive,—and this, perhaps, is its general signification. “Flash, my young friend, or slang, as others call it, is the classical language of the Holy Land; in other words, St. Giles’ Greek.”—Tom and Jerry, by Moncreiff. Vulgar language was first termed FLASH in the year 1718, by Hitchin, author of “The Regulator of Thieves, &c., with account of FLASH words.”
FLASH IT, show it—said when any bargain is offered.
FLAT, a fool, a silly or “soft” person, the opposite of SHARP. The term appears to be shortenings for “sharp-witted” and “flat-witted.” “Oh! Messrs. Tyler, Donelson, and the rest, what FLATS you are.”—Times, 5th September, 1847.
FLATTIES, rustic, or uninitiated people.