Revised as of
19 Nov 2022
Yeah, I’ve taken some flak for my stance on these word confusions. And it’s okay. Sometimes I learn something new. Sometimes I get to be all self-righteous. Sometimes we just agree to disagree.
Speaking of agreeing, you’ll note that flack and flak can be alternative spellings for each other. However, you should also note that this pair of heterographs are distinct in that flack can also be about marketing and promotion whereas the closest flak comes is in criticizing.
Whichever you choose to use, be consistent throughout your manuscript in using the same spelling variation throughout. I’d flag your ass if you switched back and forth!
Hmmm, you could also say that my comment on flagging you is flack on my part to promote my editing business . . .
Word Confusions…
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Flack | Flak |
|---|---|
Free and Open Source Software Outreach Program for Women, January–April 2013 Flyer by Máirín Duffy, Liansu Yu, Hylke Bons is under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — A flyer flacking remote internships for women. |
Soviet Anti-Aircraft Guns courtesy of Edward L. Cooper is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — That tank is shooting a lot of flak. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Informal
Noun; Verb, intransitive & transitive Plural for the noun: flacks Third person present verb: flacks A variant spelling of flak |
Noun
Plural: flak A variant spelling of flack |
| Noun: A publicity agent Verb, intransitive: Verb, transitive: |
Antiaircraft fire Strong criticism |
| Examples: | |
| Noun: He’s the flack for a local rock band. He’s just a public relations flack. Press flacks are expecting us to take their word. Verb, intransitive: Jenny flacks for a new rock group. Verb, transitive: Nadir needs to flack this new record. |
You must be strong enough to take the flak if things go wrong.
Anti-aircraft fire sends up a lot of flak. Paul is flaking a new record. He’s getting a lot of flak for that. Such an unpopular decision is bound to draw a lot of flak from the press. “Her flak jacket will go on display at the Kensington Palace as part of its “Diana: Her Fashion Story” exhibition” (Hudson). |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: flackery | |
| History of the Word: | |
| 1935-40 and said to be after Gene Flack, a movie publicity agent. | 1930s, from the German, an abbreviation of Fliegerabwehrkanone, which literally means aircraft-defense gun. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Flack versus Flak
Apple Dictionary.com
Hudson, Mark. “Diana: Her Fashion Story, review: this riveting show of Diana’s Dresses Show Just How Magnificent She Was.” The Telegraph. 22 Feb 2017. Web. 19 Nov 2022. “<https://www.telegraph.co.uk/art/what-to-see/diana-fashion-story-kensington-palace-review/>>
Pinterest Photo Credits:
88mm SKC30 by Erik Ritterbach is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 de, GFDL, or CC-BY-SA-3.0 license and German Retired Soccer-pro Franz Beckenbauer in Front of Some Paparazzi is DerFalkVonFreyburg’s own work under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license with both via Wikimedia Commons.
