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Saturday, April 6, 2013

F - FLIM-FLAM!

The American Slang Dictionary
By: James Maitland
Chicago [1891]


Okay what you might not know about me, is I love books from pre-1900's and art... Below is 26 words using the letter "F" and I would like a comment from you that uses one of the them. Here or on my "F" post on my site, it might be fun or a flop.

What else is interesting that this book is over 100 years old and we still use some of the phrases/slang in our everyday language. Well at least I do and that ain't some flim-flam!
 
Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy

------------------------------------------------
Flicker, "let her flicker." Let her go.
Flies, (Am.), "no flies on him;" no nonsense about him.
Flim-flam (Old Eng.), nonsense; a stupid story.
Flimsy (Eng.), a Bank of England note.
Flimsy, copying paper used by reporters.
Fling, "to have one's" to indulge or dissipate.
Flip, fresh, fly, impudent.
Flip-flop, a dance or break-down ; a somersault.
Flipper, the hand. Sailor's slang.
Flit (Scotch and Old Eng.), to remove from one house to another.
Floater (Am.), a body found in the river or lake.
Floor (P. R.), to knock down.
Floored, beaten, knocked out.
Floorer, a knock-down blow.
Flop, to fall over suddenly, as one who faints.
Flop (Am.), in politics, to change front on a question.
Fluke (Eng.), an accidental shot at billiards, or indeed anything gained when not expected.
Flume (Am.), in the mining districts "flumes" are used to convey water for the purpose of washing out pay-dirt. A man who dies is said to have "gone up the flume."
Flummery, flattery, gammon, nonsense. The name is also given to a light pudding.
Flummoxed, perplexed. Sometimes pronounced "kerflummixed."
Flunk, to fail, to back out.
Flunkey (Eng.), a man servant or footman.
Flunky, frightened, timid.
Flush (Am.), having plenty of money.
Fogle (Old Cant), a silk handkerchief.
Fogle-faker, a pickpocket.

85 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am enjoying flitting from post to post - like a fritillary(?)
suestrifles.wordpress.com/

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Fogle-faker is officially my fave 'f' word that I didn't know about. Awesome list!

Unknown said...

I love books like this. I have one of slang from London from the 1800s and one from the 90s prediction words of the future.

Sheena-kay Graham said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Excellent post, enjoyed going through your list.

Enjoy your week-end.

Yvonne.

Mary Kirkland said...

Oh those are good ones.

Dark Thoughts Blog

Ermie said...

I still say flit when talking about moving house. How about a flutter on the races this weekend? Another one for the list.
Have a good one :-)

Rhonda Albom said...

At first I was floored by your request, then i figured it out.

Rhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
AtoZ #42

Rob Z Tobor said...

FOOL THE FREAT AS FANK THE FIDDLE, the FELON FlIT with the FRIBBLE.


Rob Z Tobor

Afshan Shaik said...

Fantastic :)

Jessica Ferguson said...

It might be just a fluke but I use some of these words today. No flies on me ... right? Now I think I'll flit away and re-evaluate my vocabulary.

Enjoyed the list!

MunirGhiasuddin said...

It is by Fluke that I found this post of yours. Now your blog is a keeper:)

Anonymous said...

oh fabulous! I used flummoxed in my F word post and Fluke my dog (an unexpected addition to our family) has a mention or two, I do love good vocab thankyou for sharing!

Novabug said...

One of my most favored expressions and always reminds me of the movie Short Circuit. hehe.

http://thenovabug-blog.blogspot.co.uk/

annisblogging said...

Hi Jeremy,
This is really interesting, good collection for F sweet and spicey LOL
Keep posting
Happy Weekend

Denise said...

I don't mean to be flip, but I am floored by your request.

Anonymous said...

Still using some of those words like flies, fling, floater, floored, fluke, flume, flunk, flunky, flush....and.....was thrilled to see one of my moms favourite words "flummoxed". Fabulous!

Catch My Words said...

I'm not allowed to use the F word. :)

http://joycelansky.blogspot.com

TaMara Sloan said...

We use flop at my son's soccer games to describe someone who falls expecting to get a foul called, when none should be.

TaMara
Tales of a Pee Dee Mama

Tina said...

LOVE this! It's a post for word nerds...so many to choose from, but at this point I will say, I wish I was flush so that we could pay these &^%# medical bills...



Tina @ Life is Good
Co-host, April 2013 A-Z Challenge Blog
@TinaLifeisGood, #atozchallenge

John Wiswell said...

"Fogle-faker" is just great!

from John at The Bathroom Monologues

Susan Scott said...

Flummoxed a bit re: the awards zombie but I have saved it and will TRY really hard to post it now that I have JUST posted my F word - Freedom- and plan to check out others' posts now.
Also was flummoxed by the signature but with help I now have it so I will use it here - for the first time.

Susan Scott's Soul Stuff
or:more simply: http://www.gardenofedenblog.com
Have a great weekend!

Ali said...

Fabulous! I wonder what words we use all the time these days will make it on to lists like this in 50 years.

http://www.alioffthemark.com

Patricia said...

My idea wasn't quite that creative, but I think I wrote it well anyway! http://www.bookishgeek.com/2013/04/a-to-z-challenge-fingernails.html

J.S. Andersen said...

What a flipper funky way to see the old fun words they used to use. I'm freaked out about it in a fabulous way. A to Z all the flip flopping way.

EvalinaMaria said...

Thank you for co-hosting this challenge. I hope I can make it to the end with out flunk.

JoJo said...

I used to hear 'floater' a lot when I lived out west b/c of the suicides that'd turn up in various and sundry waterways in SF Bay and Puget Sound.

D.E. Malone said...

Love the word 'flummoxed'. Great post!

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

We used many of these words in my family , as my grandparents from one side (born in the late 1800's) lived near me and my parents. I also read a lot of old books, such as the Jeeves series by PG Wodehouse, and basically just fit into old world style, myself, as a kid. I remember my grandmother grabbing my hand in NYC and saying to me, "We're feeling pretty flush, aren't we?" :)

Jean Yates A to Z--thanks for the memories !

Anonymous said...

It was a fluke entering so many blogs in the A - Z this year. I hope I don't flop on the floor when it's over.

HistorySleuth said...


Flim flam is a good word. Makes me think of the movie the Flim-Flam Man--which I loved. I haven't seen it in years. Now I have to see if Netflix has it. So that's 2 movies now I have to find from hopping around A-Z blogs. :)

http://historysleuth.blogspot.com/

Akash Govindarajan said...

Apple's shares flopped after the launch of iphone 5

Unknown said...

F is for Floater
#1382
http://mauldinfamily1.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/f-is-for-floater/

Mina Lobo said...

Flummery and flummoxed are my faves. :-)
Some Dark Romantic

A Daft Scots Lass said...

I used the F word a lot!

I'm lovin this Blog Challenge! Its rockin my face off.

Bob Sanchez said...

It's no fluke that many of these words still serve us well today.

Anonymous said...

I've always liked the word flummoxed...great post!

Shannon at I Survived and Now I Run

Maryannwrites said...

I loved the movie "The Flim Flam Man" too. Fabulous list of F words. Some I had forgotten, others are forever on my mind.

Unknown said...

I never realized that was the origin of the word "flimsy." I love seeing where words come from, and how we as speaking people change the meanings of words over time.

Unknown said...

I'm too flunky to comment on very many blogs... I need to get more bold!!

Jaimie
Living in the Light
A to Z Ambassador

Vidya Sury said...

What fun! :-)

katie eggeman said...

This week I have flit from one blog to another, just as I flit from DD1's house in CA, to my house in MO.
Katie atBankerchick Scratchings

Heather the Evil Twin @thewinetwins.blogspot.com said...

Oh what I wouldn't give to have a Flunky right now! :D

L said...

Flim Flam is a new one on me.

LuAnn said...

Very cute reminded me of Dr Seuss

Anonymous said...

Great idea! The day I finally get an agent I will do a flip-flop.

Anonymous said...

I like the last one - Fogle Faker!


Story Treasury

Christine Rains said...

Fabulous words!

Andrea said...

Floored by your post, yet flummoxed as to how not to flunk!

Jagoda said...

Fun post and that's no flummery.
Jagoda
http://www.conflicttango.com

Unknown said...

I love all of these! I wish my F post were this cool. :P

Jessica at Scary-Simple-Smitten

Kristen said...

I hope I don't flunk at this task. :)

From A to Z, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com

Chancelet said...

Fogle-faker is a good word.

Sorry hadn't commented on this site much! though I come everyday. Thanks for teaching how to do the signature. Hope it turns out right.

Writer’s Mark

Jer said...

From one of my upcoming A to Z posts:

"Two blades [in a razor] are optimal; a third is acceptable but a bit superfluous. Four and five are snake oil and flim-flam, respectively."

Chuck said...

I deal with people every day who are flummoxed...in fact I say it to them and they have no idea what I am talking about.

Chuck at Apocalypse Now

Unknown said...

I'm flummoxed by some of these words!

I hadn't heard of some of these words before, interesting post!

Sue McPeak said...

I've would have laughed til I cried over this FLIM-FLAM post, but it seems a Fogle-Faker's Flipper has taken my Fogle.
Sue CollectInTexasGal
AtoZ LoneStar Quilting Bee

Jen said...

Gotta love the english language. Did a post the other day about some fun words that were added to the dictionary recently; very original as you can imagine after writing that list :)

Kate Larkindale said...

What a great list of F words! I've always loved the word Flunkey..... And Fogel-faker is one I must find a use for at some point. Maybe I can put it as my occupation on a form of some sort.

Rebecca M. Douglass said...

This old fogey was flummoxed by the frivolous phrases.

Unknown said...

Not easy to do, I fear I may flunk, but this a fun request from fantastic post.

Paula said...

I was just going to say something flip, but know that is what I usually do.

Jason "J-Ryze" Fonceca said...

I am flush.

I'm ballin'.
I'm stacked.
I'm fly.
I'm money.
I'm iced out.
I'm flossin'.

And it feels good ;)

I wonder what James Maitland would think about the evolution of language today :)

Great stuff, Jeremy. F FTW!

Anonymous said...

I'm very much a fan of digging into archaic language and giving it a fresh read in the new century. It's certainly no fluke that it's a relevant today, in its own way, as it was when first coined. Bravo for this literary resurrection.

Anonymous said...

I got your comment, the one about which blog I am using for the A-Z Challenge. I looked because I wasn't sure if I had signed up under my new blog or my old one, and #249 is the blog I am using. I hope this helps in cleaning all the links up. :)

Unknown said...

Hi Jeremy, Great words all. I especially like flummoxed and would find frequent opportunities to use it if I remembered it when I was flummoxed. God bless, Maria from Delight Directed Living

Lyre said...

I was a bit flummoxed by how I might have incorporated "Flipper" into my comment... so I went another route instead.

Great list!

Lyre at Lyre's Musings

Maggid said...

so many GREAT Words!!!
Thanks.
-g-

J said...

Interesting list. I like the world flipper, but as in a dolphin flipping, like Flipper the movie. (sweetbeariesart.com)

Ann Hinds said...

One of the best things about raising a grandchild is that you get to teach them about your world. At 12, he knows most of these words and was tickled to find new ones. Needless to say, his vocabulary is somewhat larger than his peers. Thanks for the list! We had a good time with it.

Anstice Brown said...

You have floored me with the awesomeness of this post. Those are some neat words, I still use a few of them, and not just ironically.

Unknown said...

I am flummoxed as to what F word I should include in my comment. I did notice that Fogle is a handkerchief and Fogle-faker is a pickpocket. Do pickpockets fool their victims by pretending to be a tissue in their pocket? "Don't mind me. I'm not a criminal reaching into your pocket, just your crumpled snot rag"

klahanie said...

You forgot "Fanny", which has a rather different connotation in Britain as opposed to North America.

Gary, your cordial host of the alternate alphabet challenge!

Al Penwasser said...

Thank goodness we wear Flip Flops on our feet (yes, this wasn't your definition) unlike the old days when we wore 'thongs.'
Because I don't think the modern-day things would give us much protection.

Kathy Cannon Wiechman said...

I have a friend whose parents told him his birth was a fluke. I guess that's better than being labeled a mistake.

Craig Edwards said...

It's no fluke that you get all this comment activity when you post something cool like the above!

annucool15 said...

Oh this is so interesting! Never knew about this dictionary! It's always cool to learn from blogs!!! Thank you!

Unknown said...

I think I'm being 'FilmedFlamed' regarding the A-Z challenge...I follow and it says "closed"??

Help me I want to join ya'
PLU from SSF...donechute.com

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

I love the word flume - just amuses me .. but it serves such an important part of life ...

Great list of different words everyone's left ... quite difficult to say F words ... oh well! Cheers Hilary

Michelle Wallace said...

I'm late to this party! One of my favourite kind, involving words!
I'm floored by the list of F- words... (Not a good one, but hey, my brain is already on G...)

Unknown said...

I love your list good words, but some that you credit Am. are used a lot in England. Happy A to Z.

Intangible Hearts said...

Fabulous post. Wish I saw this when I did my F post.

Anonymous said...

I love slang terms, especially if I'm rp'ing in a period. I like to google the slang of the time.

dragyonfly said...

Well, I was FLOORED as well as FLUMMOXED to discover another word collector..Now I shall FOGLE_FAKER your word list. This blog is a definite keeper.

Unknown said...

There should be resurgence in older slang words - let's keep them in circulation!

Jamie @ Mithril Wisdom