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flash for cash
to show wealth or money to impress others
flash it
Show it—said when any bargain is offered.
flash ken
A house that harbours thieves.
flash lingo
The canting or slang language.
flash man
A bully to a bawdy house. A whore's bully.
flash o’ lightning
The gold band on an officer’s cap.—Sea. Also in street slang, a glass of gin.
flash panneys
Houses to which thieves and prostitutes resort.
flash the cash
Show off one's wealth by spending or displaying money
flat
A bubble, gull, or silly fellow.
flat
A fool, a silly or "soft" person; the opposite of "sharp." The terms appear to be shortenings for "sharp-witted" and "flat-witted." Or, maybe, from musical notes.
flat as a flounder
I knocked him down flat as a flounder. A flounder is one of the flat- fish.
flat chat
working or moving as fast as possible
flat dog
crocodile
flat on one's back
Lying down, often due to illness or injury
flat out
completely or absolutely
flat race
A race on the "flat" or level ground without obstacles, as opposed to a steeplechase, or "over the sticks.
flat strap
working or moving as fast as possible
flat top
British and American name for aircraft-carrier (World War II).
flat-feet
The battalion companies in the Foot Guards.
flatch
Half, or a halfpenny.
flatch-yenork
Half-a-crown. See preceding remarks.
flatfoot
A sailor.
flatline
To kill.
flats
Playing cards; sometimes called "broads." Also the storeys of large houses, built on the "independent" principle, each flat having its separate and peculiar offices, street-door, &c.
flatten out
to become or make something less intense or extreme
flattery will get you nowhere
Excessive praise will not achieve its intended goal
flatties
Flat shoes.
flatty
A flatfish.
flatty
A rustic, or uninitiated person.
flatty-ken
A public-house the landlord of which is ignorant of the practices of the thieves and tramps who frequent it.
flava
flavor
flavor of the week
Something popular for a short time
flay the fox
To vomit. Now replaced by the more popular "shoot the cat."
flaybottomist
A bum-brusher, or schoolmaster.
flea bite
A trifling injury. To send any one away with a flea in his ear; to give any one a hearty scolding.
flea in one's ear
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
fleeky
On fleek.
Fleet Book Evidence
No evidence at all. The books of the Old Fleet prison are not admissible as evidence to prove a marriage.
Fleet Prison
The most notorious of the old debtors' prisons, the Fleet Prison stood on the site now occupied by the Memorial Hall,
Fleet Street
Now synonymous with journal- ism and newspaperdom, Fleet Street in London was a famous thoroughfare centuries before the first newspaper was published there at the close of the 18th century.
Flemish School
A school of painting established by the brothers Van Eyck, in the 15th century. The chief early masters were Memling, Weyden, Matsys, and Mabuse.
flesh and blood
Human beings, especially in reference to their weaknesses or emotions
flesh and bone
Human, with feelings and weaknesses
flesh bag
A shirt. American humourists call a white shirt a "clean biled rag." In the mining camps, and rough parts generally, a white shirt is called a "biled shirt" to distinguish it from the usual woollen garment, which cannot be boiled.
flesh broker
A match-maker, a bawd.
flesh one's maiden sword
To kill or defeat someone for the first time in battle
flesh out
To add more details or substance to an idea or plan
flesh-bag
A shirt.
fleshloaf
A baby.
flick
Or OLD FLICK, a comical old chap or fellow. Term of endearment among low people.
flick on the afterburners
to suddenly increase speed or effort
flicker
A drinking glass. CANT.
flickering
Grinning or laughing in a man's face.
flicking
Cutting. Flick me some panam and caffan; cut me some bread and cheese. Flick the peter; cut off the cloak-bag, or portmanteau.
flies
Trickery, nonsense. "There are no FLIES about me, sir." Softening of lies.
flight of fancy
An idea or thought that is imaginative but not practical
flim-flamn
Idle story.—Beaumont and Fletcher.
flimsy
A bank-note. Bank of Elegance notes are sometimes called soft flimsies. In this particular case two good terms make a bad one, as both "soft" and "flimsies" used separately refer to good notes.
flint
An operative who works for a "society" master, i.e., for full wages.