Oct 04 2008
cop some flack
I thought I knew what this idiom meant until I tried to verify it online. This is what I believed:
- cop. To view, gather or recieve.
- flack. Tiny metalised paper strips dropped from World War II aircraft as a means of interferring with enemy radar that is attempting to identify their position to relay to the anti-aircraft guns.
In Wendy’s world, to cop some flack is to be on the recieving end of lots of small irritations that together add up to major disruption. This interpretation is consistent with usage of the phrase in forums, blogs and news item titles.
Merriam-Websters 4th and last definition of flack is ‘anti aircraft guns’ or ’the bursting shells fired from flak’. It cites the origin of the main meaning of flack ‘one who provides publicity’ as ‘unknown, 1939′ . During WW2. WW2 airplanes also used to drop publicity (propaganda) leaflets, Dropping flack and dropping small leaflets have remarkable behavioural, if not intended funtional, similarity.
Dictionary.com’s 6th entry for flack cites the meaning of flack that looks most similar to my current understanding of its use
- Antiaircraft artillery.
- The bursting shells fired from such artillery.
- Excessive or abusive criticism.
- Dissension; opposition.
- Informal: Excessive or abusive criticism.
- Informal: Dissension; opposition.
15 of your thoughts on cop some flack
