cokespoon

A spoon used in the snorting of cocaine. Is it true that he put down the cokespoon and is finally getting some help? Last I heard, Ralph was in rehab. I sure hope he hasn't picked up the cokespoon again! Listen, you won't get far in life if you continue this close relationship with the cokespoon.

fish flakes

slang Very potent high-quality cocaine. So called for its flaky appearance and bluish color. Yo, I tried a bump of fish flakes last night, and my whole face went numb from it. I heard Tony scored a brick of fish flakes. He said he was going to cut it up to make a bunch of profit. Whoa, no, I don't want any fish flakes! Guys, I went to rehab—I'm clean now.

flake

slang

1. noun A person who is very unreliable, especially one who tends to cancel or renege on commitments or social engagements. A: "Do you think Tony will show?" B: "Nah, that guy's a total flake. He'll come up with some excuse at the last minute, just watch." Kid's a flake, that's why we had to kick him out of the band—he missed too many rehearsals. Of course your girlfriend's frustrated with you canceling all the time. Nobody wants to date a flake!

2. noun Cocaine. He was caught with a pound of flake in his car and was sent to jail for 15 years. Is it true that she used to be addicted to flake? Yo, Jeff scored a bunch of flake. Gonna have a wild party tonight!

3. verb To cancel or renege on a prearranged meeting, event, obligation, etc., especially at the last minute. Primarily heard in US. I'm going to stop inviting Samantha to do stuff because she always ends up flaking on us. I'm sorry to flake like this again, but I'm just too tired to go out tonight. Of course your girlfriend's frustrated with you flaking on her all the time.

4. verb To collapse or faint from exhaustion or fatigue. My workdays are long and tiring, so by the time I get home, the only thing I want to do is flake on the couch and watch TV. We were all ready to flake after spending nearly an entire day traveling. Get the stroller, Betsy is just about to flake after a full day at Disney World.

flake away

To fall from something in small bits or pieces. Ugh, look at all the glitter that's flaked away from my birthday cards. Would you stop touching the wall? You're causing the paint to flake away! The polish on that nail had already chipped, so I just helped it to flake away.

flake away from (something)

To fall from something in small bits or pieces. Ugh, look at all the glitter that's flaked away from my birthday cards. You're causing the paint to flake away from the wall—stop touching it! When I finally managed to jerk the window open, pollen flaked away from the windowsill.

flake off

1. To fall or break away (from something) in small bits or fragments. Ugh, look at all the glitter that flaked off my birthday cards. A bunch of paint has flaked off the outside of the house. I think it's about time to repaint it. When I finally managed to jerk the window open, pollen flaked off the windowsill.

2. To cause something to fall from something else in small bits or pieces. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is usually used between "flake" and "off." Hey, stop touching the wall—you're flaking the paint off it! A: "There's no need to flake off your nail polish, you know." B: "Well, it had already chipped, and it was bugging me." Why do the kids feel the need to flake the fake snow off the Christmas decorations?

3. slang To ignore a planned event or responsibility, often to do something frivolous instead. I flaked off class this afternoon and went to the mall instead. Tom and I were supposed to go on a date tonight, but he totally flaked off! Of course your girlfriend's frustrated if you keep flaking off to hang out with your friends!

flake off of (something)

1. To fall or break away from something in small bits or fragments. Ugh, look at all the glitter that's flaked off of my birthday cards. A bunch of paint has flaked off of the outside of the house. I think it's about time to repaint it. When I finally managed to jerk the window open, pollen flaked off of the windowsill.

2. To cause something to fall from something else in small bits or pieces. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is usually used between "flake" and "off." Hey, stop touching the wall—you're flaking the paint off of it! After chipping my nail pretty badly, I decided to just flake the rest of the polish off of it. Why do the kids feel the need to flake the fake snow off of the Christmas decorations?

flake on (one)

slang To cancel or renege on a prearranged meeting, event, obligation, etc., especially at the last minute. This is the second time in a row that he's flaked on me the morning of our date. I'm giving him one more chance, but after that I'm done with him. I need a business partner who isn't going to flake on me before an important meeting, Janet. I'm sorry to flake on you like this again, but I'm just too tired to go out tonight.

flake on (something)

1. To cancel or renege on a prearranged meeting, event, or commitment, especially at the last minute; to fail to attend or go through with something. This is the second time in a row that he's flaked on our date. I'm giving him one more chance, but after that I'm done with him. I need a business partner who isn't going to flake on an important meeting like that, Janet. I'm sorry to flake on our dinner plans again, but I'm just too tired to go out tonight.

2. To collapse onto something from exhaustion or fatigue. I've been on my feet for nearly eight hours. I can't wait to go home and flake on the sofa. After working a double shift, she flaked on her bed as soon as she got home. After that long hike, Rover flaked on the back seat of the car and slept the whole way home.

flake out

1. To cancel a prearranged meeting or event, especially at the last minute; to fail to attend or go through with something. I'm going to stop inviting Samantha to do stuff with me because she always ends up flaking out. I hate to flake out on them again, but I'm just too tired to go out tonight. Of course your girlfriend's frustrated with you flaking out on her all the time.

2. To collapse or faint from exhaustion or fatigue. After the eighth or ninth hour wandering in the woods, George eventually flaked out under a tree. I practically flaked out when I got to the finish line. I'm pretty sure that was my first and last marathon! After working a double shift, she flaked out as soon as she got home.

3. To go, or cause to go, crazy. I don't know what happened! I just mentioned that her father had called, and she started flaking out at me! His huge, arduous assignments are really starting to flake his students out. Did you hear Uncle Ed's wild conspiracy theories? I think watching the news all day long has finally flaked him out.

4. To fall asleep or take a nap. I think I'm going to head home at lunch and flake out for a bit. Sorry I didn't call you back last night—I flaked out at 8 PM and didn't wake up till my alarm went off this morning. No, I can't take a break until I'm done. If I sit down now, I'm liable to flake out.

5. To lose one's confidence, courage, or resolve. I really need your help in this fight, please don't flake out on me now! It's normal to flake out when you're intimidated, just don't give up. Wow, am I the only person who doesn't flake out in the face of one little setback? Come on, people, we can do this!

See also: flake, out

flake spoon

A spoon used in the snorting of cocaine. Is it true that he's finally put down the flake spoon and gotten some help? Last I heard, Ralph was in rehab. I sure hope he hasn't picked up the flake spoon again! Listen, you won't get far in life if you continue this close relationship with the flake spoon.

joy flakes

slang Any powdered recreational drug, especially heroin or cocaine. You're going to end up dead the way you're mainlining those joy flakes. When people started snorting lines of joy flakes off the kitchen table, I knew it was time for us to leave.

pee in (someone's) Corn Flakes

rude slang To really upset, irritate, or disappoint someone. Sorry to pee in your Corn Flakes, but you won't get any credits for the class unless you attend every single lecture. A: "Watch out, the boss is in a foul mood today." B: "Wow, I wonder who peed in his Corn Flakes?"

piss in (someone's) Corn Flakes

rude slang To really upset, irritate, or disappoint someone. Sorry to piss in your Corn Flakes, but you won't get any credits for the class unless you attend every single lecture. A: "Watch out, the boss is in a foul mood today." B: "Wow, I wonder who pissed in his Corn Flakes?"

flack out

and flake out

Sl. to collapse with exhaustion; to lie down because of exhaustion. All the hikers flacked out when they reached the campsite. After a few hours, the hikers all flaked out.

flake away (from something)

[for bits of something] to break away from the whole gradually or from natural causes. Bits of stone flaked away from the surface of the statue year after year. Bits of the steps flaked away from years of constant use.

flake down

Sl. to go to bed and go to sleep. I've got to go home and flake down for a while. Tom is flaked down for the night.

flake off (of) something

[for bits of something] to break away from the whole, perhaps under pressure or because of damage. (Of is usually retained before pronouns.) Little bits of marble began to flake off the marble steps. Bits flaked off from the whole.

flake something off of something

and flake something off

to make bits or flakes break off from the whole. The sculptor flaked bits of stone off the block, but you could not yet see what the block was going to become. She flaked off a little more.

flake out

1. Drop from exhaustion, faint. For example, After running the marathon, be simply flaked out on the ground. This expression possibly is derived from a now obsolete meaning of flake, "to become flabby or fall in folds." [Slang; c. 1940]

2. Lie down, go to sleep, as in Homeless persons flaked out in doorways. [Slang; early 1940s]

3. Lose one's nerve, as in Please don't flake out now. [Slang; 1950s]

4. Go crazy; also, cause someone to go crazy. For example, She just flaked out and we had to call an ambulance, or This project is flaking us out. The usages in def. 3 and 4 probably are derived from the adjective flaky, meaning "eccentric." [c. 1970]

5. Die, as in He flaked out last night. [1960s]

6. Surprise, astonish, as in She said she'd just been made a partner, and that flaked me out. This usage appears to be a variant of freak out. [c. 1970]

See also: flake, out

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flake off

1. To break away from a surface in small, flat pieces: Rust is flaking off of the old pipes. Paint chips are flaking off from the ceiling.

2. Slang To fail to do something out of lack of interest; blow something off: Last night I flaked off doing the dishes because I was tired.

flake out

v. Slang

1. To act oddly or eccentrically: I flaked out after hearing the bad news.

2. To lose interest or nerve: We wanted to go skydiving, but at the last minute we flaked out.

3. To fall asleep or collapse from fatigue or exhaustion: After driving for ten hours, I stopped and flaked out.

4. To fail to live up to an expectation or responsibility: I wouldn't have assigned you such an important task if I knew you were going to flake out like that. My contractor flaked out on me, and now I need to find a new one.

See also: flake, out

cokespoon

and (flake) spoon

n. a small spoon used to carry powdered cocaine to a nostril. (Drugs.) The principal wrote a letter to Mrs. Simpson telling her that Jimmy had brought a cokespoon to school. She used an old-fashioned flake spoon right until she died.

flake spoon

verb

See cokespoon

flack (out)

in. to collapse in exhaustion; to go to sleep. Betsy flacked out at nine every night.

flake

1. n. a person who acts silly or giddy. Sally is such a flake!

2. n. a medicinal form of crystallized cocaine. (Drugs. Similar to crack.) Where can I get some flake around here?

3. tv. [for the police] to place drugs or traces of drugs on a person during an arrest. (Underworld. The person is then charged with possession of drugs.) That’s not mine! You flaked me!

4. and flakes n. phencyclidine (PCP), an animal tranquilizer. Even Shorty won’t sell flake, and he’s not what I would call a concerned citizen.

flakes

verb

See flake

flake down

in. to go to bed; to go to sleep. After I flake down for about three days, I’ll tell you about my trip.

flake (out)

1. in. to pass out from exhaustion; to fall asleep. (see also flack (out).) After jogging, I usually flake for a while.

2. in. to fall asleep after drug use. (Drugs.) An hour after she took the stuff, she just flaked.

See also: flake, out

flake

verb

See flake out

flaked out

1. mod. alcohol intoxicated. You are too flaked out to drive home. Give me your keys.

2. and flaked mod. passed out because of drugs. (Drugs.) Jerry took the stuff and ended up flaked.

3. mod. unconscious; exhausted; tired out. There are too many flaked out people working at dangerous machines.

See also: flake, out

flaked

verb

See flaked out

joy flakes

and joy dust

n. powdered or crystallized cocaine. (see also crack.) She said what she wanted was some joy flakes, and I guess that’s cocaine. “Joy dust” is sort of crack without the press coverage.