Word of the Day

: September 22, 2008

flack

verb FLACK

What It Means

: to provide publicity : engage in press-agentry

flack in Context

The billionaire's former mistress has been in the tabloids and on the talk-show circuit as of late, flacking for her juicy tell-all.

Did You Know?

The word "flack" was first used as a noun meaning "publicity agent" during the late 1930s. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack. Another rumor holds that "flack" derives from a similar-sounding Yiddish word for someone who talks about someone else's affairs. The editors of Merriam-Webster dictionaries remain skeptical about these claims and have listed the etymology of "flack" as "unknown." We can say with confidence, however, that the verb form of the word appeared in Maclean's in 1963. You may also be familiar with another "flack" -- a noun meaning "criticism" or "opposition." This unrelated homograph stems from a misspelling of "flak," a German acronym and English word for antiaircraft guns.