What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
like that.

I thought it was short for snowflake, but when I looked that up, it was
"a person who is easily offended, overly sensitive, or emotionally
fragile:" I'm not going to argue against that, but it leaves the
question, what is the origin of flake?

El Sat, 29 May 2021 05:35:36 -0400, micky escribió:

> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
> like that.
>
> I thought it was short for snowflake, but when I looked that up, it was
> "a person who is easily offended, overly sensitive, or emotionally
> fragile:" I'm not going to argue against that, but it leaves the
> question, what is the origin of flake?

Never heard of it.

--
Paul.

https://paulc.es/elpatio

On 5/29/2021 2:35 AM, micky wrote:
> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
> like that.
>
> I thought it was short for snowflake, but when I looked that up, it was
> "a person who is easily offended, overly sensitive, or emotionally
> fragile:" I'm not going to argue against that, but it leaves the
> question, what is the origin of flake?

It comes from Jeff Flake, the former US Senator from Arizona.

--
Ken

"Micky":
> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
> like that.

The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which
makes sense to me -- a flaky person might do suddenly something odd,
just as a flaky pastry or mineral might suddenly come apart.

They define a "flaky" person as one "liable to act in an odd
or eccentric manner (as though exhausted or under the influence
of drink or drugs); crazy, 'screwball'; feeble-minded, stupid".
The earliest cited use it from 1964, when the "New York Times" wrote:

| The term 'flake' needs explanation. It's an insider's word, used
| throughout baseball, usually as an adjective; someone is considered
| 'flaky'. It does not mean anything so crude as 'crazy', but it's
| well beyond 'screwball' and far off to the side of 'eccentric'.

Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
"flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
"Time" magazine in 1968:

| He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
| During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
| spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.

I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.
--
Mark Brader, Toronto | I am a mathematician, sir. I never permit myself
msb@vex.net | to think. --Stuart Mills (Carr: The Three Coffins)

My text in this article is in the public domain.

On 29/05/2021 21:16, Mark Brader wrote:
> "Micky":
>> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
>> like that.
>
> The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which
> makes sense to me -- a flaky person might do suddenly something odd,
> just as a flaky pastry or mineral might suddenly come apart.
>
> They define a "flaky" person as one "liable to act in an odd
> or eccentric manner (as though exhausted or under the influence
> of drink or drugs); crazy, 'screwball'; feeble-minded, stupid".
> The earliest cited use it from 1964, when the "New York Times" wrote:
>
> | The term 'flake' needs explanation. It's an insider's word, used
> | throughout baseball, usually as an adjective; someone is considered
> | 'flaky'. It does not mean anything so crude as 'crazy', but it's
> | well beyond 'screwball' and far off to the side of 'eccentric'.
>
> Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
> "flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
> "Time" magazine in 1968:
>
> | He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
> | During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
> | spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.
>
> I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.
>
I don't know but I doubt it. Killy was not noted as a ski jumper or as a
flake.

--
Ray
UK

In alt.usage.english, on Sat, 29 May 2021 15:16:04 -0500, msb@vex.net
(Mark Brader) wrote:

>"Micky":
>> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
>> like that.
>
>The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which
>makes sense to me -- a flaky person might do suddenly something odd,
>just as a flaky pastry or mineral might suddenly come apart.

That sounds like a good possibility.
>
>They define a "flaky" person as one "liable to act in an odd
>or eccentric manner (as though exhausted or under the influence
>of drink or drugs); crazy, 'screwball';

So my use of crackpot wasn't too far off.

> feeble-minded, stupid".
>The earliest cited use it from 1964, when the "New York Times" wrote:
>
>| The term 'flake' needs explanation. It's an insider's word, used
>| throughout baseball, usually as an adjective; someone is considered
>| 'flaky'. It does not mean anything so crude as 'crazy', but it's

I guess I'm overly crude, at least here.

>| well beyond 'screwball' and far off to the side of 'eccentric'.
>
>Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
>"flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
>"Time" magazine in 1968:
>
>| He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
>| During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
>| spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.
>
>I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.

I would think so, but I also foudn this::
Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies Ranked by Amount of Butt ...
https://melmagazine.com › en-us › story › jean-claude-...
Oct 3, 2020 — Is this the most important Jean-Claude Van Damme movies
list ever compiled? ... While nary a buttock is shown in the scene, the
air is full of bottom ... from taking his pants off — a “Hey, here's my
butt” scene where half the cast ... me if he might casually drop his
towel and show off his butt for a brief moment.
https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/jean-claude-van-damme-movies-list-splits-butt

--
Please say where you live, or what
area's English you are asking about.
So your question or answer makes sense.
. .
I have lived all my life in the USA,
Western Pa. Indianapolis, Chicago,
Brooklyn, Baltimore.

In message <ecqdnYSfqYeZPC_9nZ2dnUU7-Y_NnZ2d@giganews.com> Mark Brader <msb@vex.net> wrote:
> "Micky":
>> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
>> like that.

> The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which
> makes sense to me -- a flaky person might do suddenly something odd,
> just as a flaky pastry or mineral might suddenly come apart.

> They define a "flaky" person as one "liable to act in an odd
> or eccentric manner (as though exhausted or under the influence
> of drink or drugs); crazy, 'screwball'; feeble-minded, stupid".
> The earliest cited use it from 1964, when the "New York Times" wrote:

>| The term 'flake' needs explanation. It's an insider's word, used
>| throughout baseball, usually as an adjective; someone is considered
>| 'flaky'. It does not mean anything so crude as 'crazy', but it's
>| well beyond 'screwball' and far off to the side of 'eccentric'.

> Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
> "flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
> "Time" magazine in 1968:

>| He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
>| During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
>| spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.

> I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.

And that citation shows that it was a word in common use and well known
enough to not require any explanation by 1968.

I think of it as meaning more unreliable and flighty rather than odd or
eccentrics. Often this is "flake out" byt more often the "out" is
omitted.

"Why did you flake on dinner?" means "You were supposed to be at dinner
and you didn’t show up and you didn't call" and someone who is a flake
is unlikely to show up when promised. That person may also be eccentric
or behave in unexpected ways as well, sine these traits often go hand-
in-hand.

Someone who reads their horoscope everyday is not necessarily a flake,
someone who talks about everything in relationship to astrology and
constantly wants to discusses other people's astrological signs and
indicators is probably a flake.

--
Hudd: 'I've just done this radio show where I never met any of the
other actors and I didn't understand what any of it was about'
Moore: 'Ah, yes I expect that's the thing I'm in.'

Mark Brader:
>> Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
>> "flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
>> "Time" magazine in 1968:
>>
>> | He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
>> | During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
>> | spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.
>>
>> I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.

"Ray":
> I don't know but I doubt it. Killy was not noted as a ski jumper or as a
> flake.

My presumption was based only on his name, his sport, and the date:
I knew nothing about his reputation. But my librarian friend Michael
Wares was kind enough to check the source for me. The article begins:

| When the flame is lit this week for the 10th Winter Olympics at
| Grenoble, France, TV will carry the Games to 200 million people
| around the world. One sport and one athlete will dominate
| everyone's attention. The sport is Alpine skiing -- with its
| hurtling downhill races and snow-spraying slaloms. The athlete is
| France's Jean-Claude Killy, an innkeeper's son from Val d'Isere
| in the French Alps, whose elan and ebullience have made him an
| almost legendary figure at the age of 24.
| | For kicks, Killy races fast cars and jumps from airplanes; he
| has tried his hand at bullfighting, and he has a well-deserved
| reputation as something of a flake. During an exhibition ski
| jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked spectators by dropping
| his trousers in midair. He once left a Volkswagen parked in the
| middle of an Italian hotel lobby, and three years ago, just for
| laughs, he and some buddies fired off revolvers on the main street
| of Vail, Colo.
| | But when Killy straps on his skis for competition, all is
| business...

So there.
--
Mark Brader "He'll spend at least part of his life
Toronto in prison, or parliament, or both."
msb@vex.net --Peter Moylan

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Mark Brader wrote:

> "Micky":
>> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
>> like that.

> The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which
> makes sense to me -- a flaky person might do suddenly something odd,
> just as a flaky pastry or mineral might suddenly come apart.

> They define a "flaky" person as one "liable to act in an odd
> or eccentric manner (as though exhausted or under the influence
> of drink or drugs); crazy, 'screwball'; feeble-minded, stupid".
> The earliest cited use it from 1964, when the "New York Times" wrote:

> | The term 'flake' needs explanation. It's an insider's word, used
> | throughout baseball, usually as an adjective; someone is considered
> | 'flaky'. It does not mean anything so crude as 'crazy', but it's
> | well beyond 'screwball' and far off to the side of 'eccentric'.

> Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
> "flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
> "Time" magazine in 1968:

> | He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
> | During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
> | spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.

> I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.


_________________________


> The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which


> "New York Times"-- It's an insider's word, used throughout baseball


so NYT thinks it's from MLB.... is [clutch] also from baseball?

[streaky] is somewhat like [flaky] -- is [streaky] also from baseball?

which came first, streak or streaky?

HenHanna wrote:

> Mark Brader wrote:

>> "Micky":
>>> What's the origin of the word flake, meaning crackpot? Or something
>>> like that.

>> The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which
>> makes sense to me -- a flaky person might do suddenly something odd,
>> just as a flaky pastry or mineral might suddenly come apart.

>> They define a "flaky" person as one "liable to act in an odd
>> or eccentric manner (as though exhausted or under the influence
>> of drink or drugs); crazy, 'screwball'; feeble-minded, stupid".
>> The earliest cited use it from 1964, when the "New York Times" wrote:

>> | The term 'flake' needs explanation. It's an insider's word, used
>> | throughout baseball, usually as an adjective; someone is considered
>> | 'flaky'. It does not mean anything so crude as 'crazy', but it's
>> | well beyond 'screwball' and far off to the side of 'eccentric'.

>> Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
>> "flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
>> "Time" magazine in 1968:

>> | He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
>> | During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
>> | spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.

> > I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.

Prolly. A snowflake then, so to speak.

> _________________________

>> The OED Online says it was a back-formation from "flaky", which

>> "New York Times"-- It's an insider's word, used throughout baseball

> so NYT thinks it's from MLB.... is [clutch] also from baseball?

> [streaky] is somewhat like [flaky] -- is [streaky] also from baseball?

> which came first, streak or streaky?

Bebercito wrote:

> HenHanna wrote:
...

>>> Although the above citation also uses the noun "flake", the entry for
>>> "flake" itself does not repeat it; the earliest cite there is from
>>> "Time" magazine in 1968:

>>> | He has a well-deserved reputation as something of a flake.
>>> | During an exhibition ski jump in Switzerland, Jean-Claude shocked
>>> | spectators by dropping his trousers in mid-air.

>> > I presume the "Jean-Claude" there would be Killy.

> Prolly. A snowflake then, so to speak.

That was a good one.

--
Jerry Friedman