N.B. "flak" and "flack" are two different words, the latter referring to a political position.
On 5/8/08, John M. Dlugosz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > TSa Thomas.Sandlass-at-barco.com |Perl 6| wrote: >>> When I mentioned this before, there was big flack over mentioning the >>> way C++ did it. I think that must have been miscommunicated, since I >>> wasn't even talking about summing all the arguments when he brought >>> up "Manhattan dispatch". >> >> >> BTW, what is a flack? >> > > > American slang, I suppose! It dates from World War II, from > /*Fl*ug*a*bwehr*k*anone/ aircraft defense cannon. Bombers flying over > Axis teritory would be "taking flak" when they were being shot at. The > "flak jacket" they wore became the modern bulletproof vests, and the > term "flak" now means flying debris and shrapnel. > > I think I used "flak" to refer to the situation of being bombarded by > small bits of debris rather than the debris itself because it sounds a > lot like "raise a flap", meaning an excited state of agitation. So I > think British "flap" has become American "flack". > > --John > -- Sent from Gmail for mobile | mobile.google.com Mark J. Reed <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
