Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also flak-artist, flak merchant) a publicity man/woman, a press agent [parallel ety. suggests Gene Flack, a 1930s US film publicist].

1937		Oakland Trib. 25 Feb. 13/4: Whereupon Paramount elected to cash in on the publicity and the flack as Variety calls press agents, leaped to his typing machine.
1939		W. Winchell On Broadway 23 Jan. [synd. col.] Variety which is trying to coin ‘flack’ as a synonym for press agent (without much luck) might like to know it was born in the Chicago offices of Gene Flack, a film publicist.
1961		H. Ellison ‘Have Coolth’ in Gentleman Junkie 133: ‘Hey, flak-artist,’ Eddie Brioni stood up.
1961		H. Ellison Rockabilly (1963) 51: As a small-time DJ [...] he had experienced the dynamiting done by flak-merchants.
1967		(con. 1940s) M. Dibner Admiral (1968) 349: He’s the smartest flack on the Strip.
1990		M. McAlary Crack War (1991) 101: The police commissioner’s flacks were now telling reporters that Benjamin had probably loaned his car to someone.
1991		C. Hiaasen Native Tongue 27: Being a newspaper reporter had left Joe Winder no time [...] Being a flak left him all the time in the world.
2000		S. Maloney Big Ask 110: Time was, even a minor political flack could see himself as part of a larger project, something from which he could draw pride.
2023		(con. 1962) J. Ellroy Enchanters 71: Studio flacks cited [Marliyn Monroe’s] ‘spectacular absenteeism’ and ‘wilful violation of contract’.

2. interference, annoyance, problems.

1956		J. Blake letter 26 March in Joint (1972) 79: I’ve encountered a certain amount of flak and static from Sandy’s cell partner.
1976		R. Price Blood Brothers 21: Jump back! Don’t give him no flak!
1978		P. Theroux Picture Palace 22: They gave me a lot of flak and wouldn’t let me leave town.
1985		O. Hawkins Chili 58: Her role was sufficiently sophisticated enough to allow to have a boyfriend [...] without any flack from the immediate community.
1994		G. Disher Crosskill [ebook] ‘If there is any flack, we cop it’.
1999		Scotland on Sun. mag. 7 Nov. 18: The women take the flak from both the law and the punters.
2001		Source Aug. 147: There was really nobody to give me flack.
2017		T. Spicer Good Girl Stripped Bare 138: ‘We won’t go through Jack,’ I say, fearing flack from the motorcycle enthusiasts.

3. cheek, negative criticism, verbal attacks.

1968		‘Hy Lit’ Hy Lit’s Unbelievable Dict. of Hip Words 15: flack session – Big argument; plenty of lip service and heated tempers.
1969		New Yorker 10 May 60: The city is taking a lot of flak because its own incinerators won’t be upgraded in time.
1975		L. Rosten Dear ‘Herm’ 181: The flack is killing me!
1979		B. Gutcheon New Girls (1982) 306: She’d get to feeling good, even, to [...] getting up as early as she liked without having to take any flak from Rowley.
1985		J. Morrison Share House Blues 44: ‘Curtains not the right size, bed won’t fit into the room, china wrong pattern. Who gets all the flak? The delivery man’.
1987		Eble Campus Sl. Fall.
1993		K. Scott Monster (1994) 99: Should we get some flack for that later on, we could always claim ‘association.’.
1998		Guardian G2 30 Jul. 13: A comedy reviewer who can’t take the flak he’s used to dishing out when he does his dismal turn.
1998		J. Hoskison Inside 39: Manolitto must have hoped that [...] I would take some of the flack.
2000		Observer Screen 20 Feb. 9: The show drew predictable flak for crossing the taste barrier.
2011		J.J. Connolly Viva La Madness 175: Jenna, Miguel’s sister [...] is taking flak.
2021		T. Pluck Boy from County Hell 228: ‘We [i.e. prison officers] get a lot of flack from bleeding hearts’.

4. publicity material.

1965

L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty 84: All this degenerate flack he was throwing at my ears.