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Flam vs Flap - What's the difference?

flam | flap |

As nouns the difference between flam and flap

is that flam is a freak or whim while flap is anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.

As verbs the difference between flam and flap

is that flam is to deceive with a falsehood while flap is to move (something broad and loose) back and forth.

flam

English

Etymology 1

17th century; from flim-flam, Flimflam / Claptrap], [http://www.word-detective.com The Word Detective, 2009–04–13 itself perhaps from a dialectal word or Scandinavian; compare Old Norse

Noun

(en noun)
  • A freak or whim.
  • A falsehood; a lie; an illusory pretext; deception; delusion.
  • * All pretences to the contrary are nothing but cant and cheat, flam and delusion. 1692
  • * South
    • A perpetual abuse and flam upon posterity.

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To deceive with a falsehood.
  • * South
    • God is not to be flammed off with lies.

    Etymology 2

    Imitative.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Two taps (a grace note followed by a full-volume tap) played very close together in order to sound like one slightly longer note.
    • Derived terms
    * flam paradiddle, flamadiddle

    References

    Anagrams

    * ----

    flap

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Anything broad and flexible that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
    • a cartilaginous flap upon the opening of the larynx
  • *
  • A hinged leaf, as of a table or shutter.
  • An upset, stir, scandal or controversy
  • The motion of anything broad and loose, or a stroke or sound made with it.
  • * , chapter=4
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=Then he commenced to talk, really talk. and inside of two flaps of a herring's fin he had me mesmerized, like Eben Holt's boy at the town hall show. He talked about the ills of humanity, and the glories of health and Nature and service and land knows what all.}}
  • A disease in the lips of horses.
  • (aviation) A hinged surface on the trailing edge of the wings of an aeroplane.
  • (surgery) A piece of tissue incompletely detached from the body, as an intermediate stage of plastic surgery.
  • (slang) The female genitals.

    • Synonyms

    * (upset)

    See also

    * ("flap" on Wikipedia) * * lappet

    Verb

    (flapp)
  • To move (something broad and loose) back and forth.
    • The crow slowly flapped its wings.
  • *
  • To move loosely back and forth.
    • The flag flapped in the breeze.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=September 29 , author=Tom Rostance , title=Stoke 2 - 1 Besiktas , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Former Turkey goalkeeper Rustu Recber flapped at his first Delap throw but was given a soft free-kick by referee Antony Gautier.}}

    Derived terms

    * cat flap * flapper * unflappable ----