flail /fieri/ verb, noun
m verb 1 ~ (sth)
(about/around) to move around without control; to move your arms and legs
around without control [V] The boys flailed around on
tfre^oor. j& ft ± ft
life ^ ft gfj ft 0 o He was
running along, his arms flailing wildly, fife lq W J®,
$f^p [also
VN] 2 [VN] to hit sb/sth very hard, especially with a stick ( fit!
■
noun a tool that has a long handle with a stick
swinging from it, used
especially in the past tq separate grains of wheat
from their dry outer covering, by beating the wheat
jifto ( )
flair /flea(r);
NAmE fler/ noun 1 [sing.,
U] ~ for sth a natural ability to do sth well ft ;
ftHJ; ft ft
H771 talent : He has a flair for languages, ftfe W ^ j# m ft 2 [U] a quality showing
the ability to do things in an interesting way that shows imagination if ; $r Jiff: artistic flair <> She dresses with real flair.
flak (also flack) /flaek/
noun [U] 1 guns on the
ground that are shooting at enemy aircraft; bullets from these guns rIJt'f'jfe; 2 [informal) severe criticism ft
ft ft: He’s taken a lot of flak for his
left-wing views. ftfeftjMIM^IiJ 0 She came in for
a lot of flak from the press.
flake /fleik/ noun, verb
m noun 1 a small, very thin
layer or piece of sth, especially one that has broken off from sth larger
/frill ft;
( Xfm ) 5$ ft: flakes of snow/paint
MU,
i'Ji£$Jftft
0
dried onion flakes ft^Mi&Jt —see also cornflakes, snowflake, soap flakes 2 [NAmE, informal) a person who is strange
or unusual or who forgets things easily ftMA; jg<tA
■
verb 1 [V] ~ (off) to
fall off in small thin pieces ( /A/frill
ft ) You
could see bare wood where the
paint had flaked off. bJ
0 His skin was dry and flaking. fifefifj&fl^'Ji,
2
to break sth, especially fish or other food into small thin pieces; to fall
into small thin pieces ft ( ft#/
)
feUiAillft; jAAHIft: [VN] Flake the tuna and add to the sauce. ftftftft
tijf&
k,
jJP ± iW ft 0 0 flaked almonds ^ftft [also V] ,flake 'out 1 (informal)
to lie down or fall asleep
because you are extremely tired ( W f§
% ) ftj ft , Bill: When I got home he’d already
flaked out on the bed. flcf^ftjlfeG 2 [NAmE, informal) to begin to behave in a
strange way
'flak
jacket noun a heavy jacket without
sleeves that has metal inside it to make it stronger, and is worn by soldiers
and police officers to protect them from bullets
iwiw
flaky /'fleiki/ adj. 1 tending to break into
small, thin pieces /frit >1*#); flaky pastry MW 0
dry flaky skin 2
[NAmE,
informal)
(of
a person A) behaving in a
strange or unusual way; tending to forget things ft A ft W; £F igif $J ► flakiness noun [U]
flam be /' flDmbei; NAmE flaim'bei/ adj: [after noun] (from French) (of food ##j) covered
with alcohol, especially brandy
and allowed to burn for a short time A'$£ ( $£
) ►flambe verb\yN] —picture
O PAGE Rl6
flam-boy-ant /flaem'boiant/ adj. 1 (of people or their
behaviour As£ftAl) different,
confident and exciting in a way that attracts attention If! (ft; a flamboyant
gesture/style/personality ffrM./
A
ft 2 brightly coloured and
noticeable j&Mtb; ft) ffi/f @ ftl : flamboyant clothes/designs ffe lf [ft ft SR; m
ft if ► flam-boy-ance /-'boians/ noun [U] flam-boy- ant-ly adv.
flame /fleim/ noun, verb
a noun 1 [C, U] a hot bright
stream of burning gas that comes from sth that is on fire A ‘Wi; Aft: the tiny yellow flame of a match A ^ /fr
ft A T o O The plane burst
intoflame(s) (= suddenly began burning strongly). 1
f/lA ftM.M0 Everything went up in flames (= was destroyed by
fire).
ftAo —picture o fireplace, laboratory 2 [U] a bright red or orange colour If ft ft; ft
Hft:
a
flame-red car If ftft&Aj^ft 3 [C] [literary) a very strong feeling Si£'[ 'If:
a
flame of passion fk
—
see also old flame 4 [C]-
(informal) an angry or insulting message sent to sb
by email or on the Internet Al^^ffeSP ( H
) IT5T77I see fan v.
m verb 1 (literary) to burn with a bright flame $$ ‘%k: [V] The logs flamed on the hearth. 0
(figurative) Hope flamed in her. Mil ft-# Mo [also V-ADJ] 2 (literary) (of a person’s face AS&) to become red
as a result of a strong emotion; to make sth become red ( ) $ft, {£$ft: [V] Her cheeks flamed
with rage, ftfe jfe & U W M ifi ft 0 [also V-ADJ, VN] 3 [VN] (informal) to send sb an angry or insulting message
by email or on the Internet [p] ( ^A ) (
tk
siwii)
flame-proof /‘fleimpruif/
adj made of or covered with
a special material that will not burn easily If A (ft; PA
A#J
flame-retard-ant /‘fleim
ri.taidant; NAmE -,ta:rd-/ adj. = fire-retardant
'flame-thrower noun a weapon like a gun that
shoots out burning liquid or flames and is often used for clearing plants from
land t$A#l; Al&'HIj'ff flam ing /'fleimiq/ adj. [only before noun] 1 full of anger $llj£,&A#J; Miiltf}: a flaming
argument/temper M burning and covered in flames W; 'I A ^ : Flaming fragments were
still falling
from the sky. 3 (BrE,
informal) used to emphasize that
you are annoyed ( M You flaming idiot!
ft ! 4 bright
red or orange in colour lift ft ; jlitftftj; tf ftftW:
flaming
(red) hair
A^^^J ( ft ) Aft 0 a flaming sunset MftfTO®
(,4«ft#&, ®&mi, m&&■)
flam mable /'flaemabl/ (also in-flam-mable especially in BrE) adj. that can burn easily MM&J; highly
flammable liquids il ® I 1 M fi PIH3 nonflammable
flan /flaen/ noun [C, U] 1 (especially BrE) an open pie made
of pastry or cake filled with eggs and cheese,
fruit, etc. ( H 1$ ) M tS t# : a mushroom/strawberry flan M ^ 16 ^i f6o Have some more flan. # ^ ^
16 0 — compare quiche, tart(1) 2 (NAmE) = creme
CARAMEL
flange /flaend3/ noun an edge that sticks out from an object and
makes it stronger or (as in a wheel of a train) keeps it in the correct
position [A A; (ft
m) m*
flank /flaeqk/ noun, verb
m noun 1 the side of sth such
as a building or mountain ( ill $1 ) i'J ffi 2 the left or right side
of an
army during a battle, or a
sports team during a game
() urn, mm, mm 3 the side of an
animal between the ribs and
the hip ( ) U4fft
■
verb [VN] 1 be flanked by sb/sth to have sb/sth on one or
both sides fi]® ( : She left the court
room flanked by armed
guards. ftfelt^^Wni^jlTf^ft t&Mo 2 to be placed on one
or both sides of sth ft ft• • • Eftffi'jSt; &■■■ fjjffi: They drove through the
cotton fields that flanked Highway 17. #J ]^
AsFMft 17 ft ft
flank er /'flaei]k0(r)/ noun an attacking player in