flack

Etymology

The origin is unknown.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} It is sometimes said to come from the name of Gene Flack, a film publicist of the 1920s and 1930s,^[7][8][9] and in 1939 the columnist Walter Winchell wrote that the word was born in the Chicago offices of Gene Flack.^[10] Etymonline doubts the story: the Gene Flack it could trace was an advertising executive of the 1940s who sold mainly biscuits, and he does not seem to appear in “Variety” in the 1930s.^[7] Etymonline thinks the word was later influenced by flak, anti-aircraft fire,^[7] and Chambers takes it as possibly from flak;^[11] Green's Dictionary of Slang treats the publicist sense under flak.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

A press agent: in “Variety” headlines by September 1933,^[7][2] and in 1937 a newspaper wrote that flack was what “Variety” called press agents.^[10] The New Partridge and Merriam-Webster's Collegiate date it to 1939,^[12][13] and the first quotation in the OED is from 1946.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word spread from “Variety”'s show-business slang to publicists in general, and Winchell remarked in 1939 that the paper was trying to coin it, "without much luck".^[10] It is now used of press agents and spokespeople of all kinds, often with contempt, for example of a police commissioner's or a politician's spokesmen.^[10][12] The verb, to act as a press agent, followed in the 1960s: Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates it to 1963, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate to 1965 and the OED to 1966;^[2][13][3] from 1975 it was also transitive, to promote someone or something.^[3] The derivative flackery, the work of press agents, publicity or hype, dates from the middle of the 20th century.^[14][3]

Timeline

• 1933 – a press agent, in “Variety”.^[7][2] The OED's first quotation is from 1946.^[3]
• 1963 – verb, to work as a press agent, to provide publicity.^[2] The OED dates it to 1966.^[3]
• 1975 – verb, transitive, to promote someone or something.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chiefly US) A press agent or publicist; a spokesperson: The studio's flack refused to comment.^{[2][4][5][14]}

Verb

1. To act as a press agent; to provide publicity: He flacked for the senator for ten years.^[2][4][3]
2. To promote or speak in favour of someone or something.^[3][4][15]

Word family

• flackery

Related words

• flak

Usage notes

Flack is also a variant spelling of flak, anti-aircraft fire or harsh criticism,^[5][15][13] and flak is in turn used for a press agent.^[2][10] Separate older words spelled flack survive in dialect: a verb meaning to flap or flutter, recorded from 1393 in Gower and later used in dialect for hanging loosely,^[3][2] and a noun meaning a blow or slap, recorded from 1823 in Suffolk.^[3] Wright's dictionary records both in Scots and English dialects, and also a Renfrewshire flack for a square plaid.^[16]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
5. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
10. ^ a b c d e f Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
11. ^ The Chambers Dictionary (2014), 13th ed., Edinburgh: Chambers
12. ^ a b Dalzell, Tom; Victor, Terry, eds. (2013), The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, 2nd ed., London: Routledge
13. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
14. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
15. ^ a b Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
16. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)