flashy 
But sometimes so shaken be these shell-fishes with the 
fraiv <>t flnshi/ lij;liti'nings that they become emptie or 
briui; forth feble young ones. 
Holland, tr. of Ammianus, p. 239. 
Thus spake the ladie, who in this meanwhile 
With light-heel 'ii flashy haste the horse o'retook. 
Vicars, tr. of Virgil (1632). 
The very attempt towards pleasing every body discov- 
ers a temper always flashy, and often false and insincere. 
Burke, Speech at Bristol. 
2. Showy; dazzling for a moment, but not 
lasting, solid, or real ; meretricious. 
Flashy wits cannot fathom the whole extent of a large 
discourse. Sir K. Diijby, Nature of Man's Soul. 
A sound and steddy judgment (which rarely goes in 
company with subtil and flashy imaginations) is the most 
useful and commanding ability in business. 
Dp. Parker, Platouick Theol. (2d ed.), p. 29. 
Tom looks upon them as men of superficial learning and 
flashy parts. Addison, Tom Folio. 
As stories, these were cheap and flashy. 
The Century, XXVI. 295. 
3. Ostentatiously showy in appearance ; gay ; 
gaudy ; tawdry : as, a flashy dress. 
flashy 2 t (flash'i), a. [< flash* + -#!.] Insipid; 
vapid ; without taste or spirit, as food or drink. 
Distilled books are, like common distilled waters, flashy 
things. Bacon, Studies (ed. 1887). 
And when they list, their lean and flashy songs 
Orate on their scrannel pipes of wretched straw. 
Milton, Lycidas, 1. 123. 
flask (flask), . [< ME. *flaske (not recorded), 
< AS. flaace, and transposed flaxe (not "flax or 
*flaxa), pi. flaxan, a bottle (usually of leather, 
but once explained by trywen byt, a wooden 
butt), = D. flesch = MLG. vlasche = OHG. 
flasca, MHG. vlasche, also vlesche, Or. flasche = 
Icel. flaxka = Sw. flaska = Dan. flaske, a bottle ; 
cf . OF. flasque, flaske, flaque, flesque = Sp. fiasco, 
frasco = Pg. frasco = It. fiasco, m., < ML. 
fiascos, m. ; also OF. flasche, fiache. flaische = 
It. flasca, f., < ML. flasca, f. ; also OF.flaseon, 
flacon, F. fiacon (> E. flagon), < ML. flasco(n-) ; 
LGr. (f>AaaK>i, QMaKuv, dim. QljiaKiav, a flask. It 
is uncertain whether the Rom. (ML.) forms are 
derived from the Teut., or the contrary; pos- 
sibly both groups have a common origin in the 
Celtic: cf. W. fliasg, a basket, a flask, Gael. 
flasg, a flask. The Finn, lasku and the Slav, 
forms, Buss, fliaga, dim. fliajka, a small barrel, 
Pol.fl(isza,flas~ka, etc., are derived from Teut. 
See flacke ft, flagon, flasket, etc.] 1. A bottle, 
especially one of some peculiar form or mate- 
rial (see below): as, a, flask for wine or oil. 
Like a drop of oil left in & flask of wine, in every glass 
you taste it. Southern, Maid's Last Prayer, ii. 1. 
With dainties fed, 
Ring for a flask or two of white and red. Swift. 
Here sits the Butler with & flask 
Between his knees, half-drain'd. 
Tennyson, Day-Dream, The Sleeping Palace. 
Specifically (a) A narrow-necked globular glass bottle : 
as, a Florence flask, (b) A metallic or other portable dram- 
bottle, with flat sides : as, a pocket-flask, (c) A vessel, gen- 
erally of metal or horn, for containing gunpowder, carried 
by sportsmen, usually furnished with a measure of the 
charge at the top. (d) An iron vessel for containing mer- 
cury, in the shape of a long bottle. A flask of mercury 
from California is about 78 
pounds, (e) A vessel used 
in a laboratory for subli- 
mation, for digesting in a 
sand-bath, or for any simi- 
lar purpose. 
2. A shallow frame of 
wood or iron used in 
foundries to contain 
the sand and patterns 
employed in molding 
and Casting. If the mold Two-part Flask, a. cope ; . drag. 
Is contained in two pieces, 
these form a two-part flask. The upper part holds the 
case or cope, and the lower the drag. Also molders' flask, 
molding-flask. 
3f. A bed in a gun-carriage. 4f. A long nar- 
row case, as for arrows ; a quiver ; hence, a set 
of arrows in a quiver. 
Her rattling quiver at her shoulders hung, 
Therein a flask of arrows feathered well. 
Fairfax, tr. of Tasso, xi. 28. 
Florence flask, a globular bottle of thin transparent 
glass with a long neck, usually covered with plaited maize- 
leaves or similar material, used for holding liquids of all 
sorts. The kind commonly known by this name is that in 
which olive-oil is often exported from Italy, and is famil- 
iar in Italian grocers' shops. Compare flasco &n&fiaschet- 
ta.~ Holders' flask. See def. 2. 
flask-board (flask'bord), . In foundry-work, 
the board upon which the flask rests. 
flask-clamp (flask'klamp), n. 1. An arrange- 
ment for securing firmly the parts of a molding- 
flask. 2. A clamp used by dentists to hold the 
flask in which the denture or set of teeth is 
heated in the muffle. 
2256 
flaskett (flas'ket), . [< OF. flasquet, flaschet, 
flachet, a small flask, dim. of flasque, a flask : 
see flask and flackcft.'} 1. A small flask, es- 
pecially one for powder: probably same as 
inorsing-horn. 2. A vessel in which viands are 
served. 3. A long shallow basket. 
And each one had a little wicker basket, 
Made of fine twigs, entrayli'd curiously, 
In which they gathered flowers to till their flasket. 
Spenser, Prothalamiou. 
Under his arm a little wicker flasket. 
B. Joitxon, Masque of Hymen. 
flask-shaped (flask'shapt), a. Shaped like a 
flask; specifically, round, partly cylindrical, 
and swelling into a more or less globular form 
at one end. 
flasque (flask), . [F.] In her., a bearing simi- 
lar to the flanch, but less rounded and occupy- 
ing less of the field. Also called voitlcr. 
flat 1 (flat), a. and n. [I. a. Early mod. E. also 
flatt, flatte; < ME. flat (rare), < Icel. flair = Sw. 
flat = Dan. flatt = OHG. flaz, flat. Not con- 
nected with D. MLG. vlak = OHG. flah, MHG. 
vlach, G.fiach, flat (see flash'*), or with E. plat 
= LG. plat = G. platt, flat. II. n. < ME. flat, 
(level) ground, a field; in other senses mod- 
ern. Cf. Icel. flat, pi. fiatir, a plain ; from the 
adj.] I. a. 1. Lying all in one plane ; without 
rotundity, curvature, or other variation or in- 
equality; plane; specifically, in math., having 
no curvature; homaloidal; having the locus 
of infinitely distant points linear : applied to 
space of any number of dimensions. In the 
common use of the word, levelness or horizon- 
talness is often implied. 
Flat meads thatch'd with stover. 
Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 
Thou, all-shaking thunder, 
Strike flat the thick rotundity o' the world ! 
Shak., Lear, Hi. 2. 
Virtue could see to do what virtue would 
By her own radiant light, though sun and moon 
Were in the flat sea sunk. Milton, Comus, 1. 575. 
The brute Earl . . . llliknlghtly, witli flat hand, 
However lightly, smote her on the cheek. 
Tennyson, Gerafnt, 
2. Prostrate; lying the whole length on the 
ground; level with the ground; hence, fallen; 
laid low ; ruined. 
The people &teflat, or trust in God, and the king's ways. 
Donne, Letters, Ixxi. 
3. Having little or no relief ; deficient in prom- 
inence or roundness of figure or feature ; lack- 
ing contrast in appearance, whether physical 
or visual ; smooth ; even ; without shading : as, 
flat tints; &flat painting; & fiat face, nose, or 
head; flat cheeks. 
Whatsoever man he be that hath a blemish, he shall not 
approach : a blind man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat 
nose. Lev. xxi. 18. 
The winged lion of St. Mark and the Ox of St. Luke, col- 
oured with brightrtaf tints. 
C. C. Perkins, Italian Sculpture, Int., p. xliii. 
The gray -green landscape of Provence is never absolute- 
ly /<, and yet is never really ambitious. . . . It is in con- 
stant undulation. //. James, Jr., Little Tour, p. 202. 
4. Having no definite or characteristic taste ; 
tasteless; stale; vapid; insipid; dead. 
Taste so divine, that what of sweet before 
Hath touch'd my sense flat seems to this, and harsh. 
Wilton, f. L., ix. 987. 
Most ample fruit 
Of beauteous form, . . . pleasing to sight, 
But to the tongue inelegant and flat. 
J. Philips, Cider. 
The cause of the beer becoming flat may be found in the 
ceasing of after-fermentation. 
Thauting, Beer (trans.), p. 689. 
5. Having little or no interest or attractive 
quality ; without briskness or animation ; lack- 
ing activity; stupid; dull. 
Reading good books of morality is a little flat and dead. 
Bacon, Friendship (ed. 1887). 
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable 
Seem to me all the uses of this world ! 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 2. 
Nay, I intreat you, be not so flat and melancholic. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's Revels, iii. 1. 
Doubtless many things appear flat to us, the wit of 
which depended on some custom or story which never 
came to our knowledge. Dryden, Essay on Dram. Poesy. 
I have added four more "Worlds," the second of which 
will, I think, redeem my Lord Chesterfield's character with 
you for wit, except in the two stories, which are very flat . 
Walpole, Letters, II. 414. 
6. Not relieved, broken, or softened by qualifi- 
cations or conditions ; peremptory ; absolute ; 
positive; downright. 
In the tme ballauncing of justice, it is a flatt wrong to 
punish the thought or purpose of any before'it be enacted. 
Spenser, State of Ireland. 
flat 
That in the captain 's but a choleric word 
Which in the soldier is Jtat blasphemy. 
,v/i*-., M. fr 11., ii. 2. 
I'll not march through Coventry with them, flint's flat. 
Shak., I Hen. IV.,'iv. 2. 
Thus repulsed, our fllial hope 
Is flat despair. Hilton, P. I-., ii. 143. 
A man deem'd worthy of so dear a trust . . . 
A flat and fatal negative obtains 
That instant upon all his future pains. 
Cowper, Tirocinium, 1. 714. 
7. Not clear, precise, or sonorous: as, a flat 
sound or accent. 
The first seems shorter then the later, who shewes a 
more odnesse then the former by reason of his sharpe ac- 
cent which is vpon the last sillable, and makes him more 
audible then if he had slid away with a flat accent, as the 
word sweruiiiK- Puttenham., Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 59. 
Too flat I thought this voice, and that too shrill. 
Prior, Solomon, ii. 
8. In music: (a) Of tones, below a given or in- 
tended pitch. 
Nay, now you are too flat, 
And mar the concord with too harsh a descant. 
Shale., 1. 0. of V., I. 2. 
(6) Of intervals, minor; diminished: as, &flat 
fifth, (e) Of keys or tonalities, having flats in 
the signature: as, the key of F is a. flat key. 
9. In gram., voiced or sonant: said of conso- 
nants, such as b, d, g, z, v : opposed to sharp 
(that is, breathed or surd) consonants, such as 
p, t, k, s, f. 10. On the stock exchange, with- 
out interest : applied to stocks when no inter- 
est is allowed by a lender of them on the sum 
deposited with him as security for their return 
when the purpose for which the stock was bor- 
rowed has been accomplished: such stock is 
said to be borrowed flat Flat arch. See arM. 
Flat blade, a double- or single-edged blade, as of a sword 
or saber: used ill contradistinction to the three-edged 
blade of the small-sword. Flat calm, candle, candle- 
lace. See lace. =SyxL Lewi, Flat. See level. 
II. ii. 1. A flat surface; a surface without cur- 
vature or inequality ; especially, a level plain ; 
a field. 
The rayn . . . Falls upon fayre flat. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 606. 
No perfect discovery can be made upon a flat or level. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, i. 55. 
On the Crown of this craggy Hill there is a Flat, upon 
which the Monastery and Pilgrimage-place is founded. 
Ilowell, Letters, I. 1. 23. 
The way is ready, and not long ; 
Beyond a row of myrtles, on a flat, 
Fast by a fountain. MUton, P. L., ix. 627. 
2. A level ground near water or covered by 
shallow water ; a shoal or sand-bank ; specifi- 
cally, in the United States, a low alluvial plain 
near tide-water or along a river, as the Jersey 
(United States) or Mohawk flats ; also, the part 
of a shore that is uncovered at low tide. 
I should not see the sandy hour-glass run, 
But I should think of shallows and of //"'*. 
Shak., M. of V., i. 1. 
They landed . . . and had much a doe to put a shore 
any wher, it lay so full of flatt. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 83. 
The naked shore, 
Wide flats, where nothing but coarse grasses grew. 
Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
3. The flat part or side of anything, as the 
extended palm and fingers of the hand, the 
broad side of a sword or knife, the part of a 
panel included by the beading or molding, 
etc. : as, to strike with the flat of the hand, or 
of a sword. 
It is easier to tell when the cutting edge and the flat are 
parallel, and the broad /'"/ is the best guide in holding the 
chisel level with the surface to be chipped. 
J. Rose, Practical Machinist, p. 267. 
The flats of panels are finished in imitation of mosaic, 
having a conventional border of deep buff and dull blue, 
and a design of acanthus form in the centres, in lighter 
blue, pink, and Venetian red tones upon a gold mosaic 
background. Beck's Jour. Dec. Art, II. 343. 
4. Something broad and flat in form, or present- 
ing a broad flat surface as a characteristic fea- 
ture, (a) A broad, flat-bottomed boat without a keel, 
generally used in river navigation, (b) A railroad-car with- 
out a roof or sides; a platform-car ; a flat-car, (c) A 
broad-brimmed, low-crowned straw hat worn by women. 
(a) A piece of bone, etc. , used for making buttons. () A 
flat piece of carding placed above the cylinder of a carder ; 
the flat- top carder. (/) A flat form of mat used in picture- 
frames. 
There are several small drawings of Turner's in the 
present Exhibition greatly injured by the very modern- 
looking deep gold flats brought close up to them. 
Nineteenth Crnturii, XIX. 400. 
5. A foolish person; a simpleton; one who is 
easily duped; a gull. [Colloq.] 
