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Twitch vs Flick - What's the difference?

twitch | flick |

In informal terms the difference between twitch and flick

is that twitch is action of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one while flick is a motion picture; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.

As nouns the difference between twitch and flick

is that twitch is a brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm while flick is a short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.

As verbs the difference between twitch and flick

is that twitch is to perform a twitch; spasm while flick is to move or hit (something) with a short, quick motion.

twitch

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) twicchen, from (etyl) twiccian, from (etyl) ).

Noun

(es)
  • A brief, small (sometimes involuntary) movement out of place and then back again; a spasm.
    • I saw a little twitch in the man's face, and knew he was lying.
  • (informal) Action of spotting or seeking out a bird, especially a rare one.
  • (farriery) A stick with a hole in one end through which passes a loop, which can be drawn tightly over the upper lip or an ear of a horse and twisted to keep the animal quiet during minor surgery.
    • Derived terms
    * nervous twitch

    Verb

  • To perform a twitch; spasm.
  • * (rfdate) — [http://www.mindspring.com/~randyhoward/new_page_6.htm]
    • "Why is it that you twitch whenever I say Faith?"
  • * 1922 , (Margery Williams), (The Velveteen Rabbit)
  • *:Their feet padded softly on the ground, and they crept quite close to him, twitching their noses...
  • To jerk sharply and briefly.
    • to twitch somebody's sleeve for attention
  • * Alexander Pope
    • Thrice they twitched the diamond in her ear.
  • To spot or seek out a bird, especially a rare one.
  • * 1995 , Quarterly Review of Biology vol. 70 p. 348:
    • "The Birdwatchers Handbook ... will be a clear asset to those who 'twitch' in Europe."
  • * 2003 , Mark Cocker, Birders: Tales of a Tribe [http://books.google.com/books?id=tv-Noj1Fvc0C], ISBN 0802139965, page 52:
    • "But the key revelation from twitching that wonderful Iceland Gull on 10 March 1974 wasn't its eroticism. It was the sheer innocence of it."
  • * 2005 , Sean Dooley, The Big Twitch: One Man, One Continent, a Race Against Time [http://books.google.com/books?id=fWLmpqL4EMsC], ISBN 1741145287, page 119:
    • "I hadn't seen John since I went to Adelaide to (unsuccessfully) twitch the '87 Northern Shoveler, when I was a skinny, eighteen- year-old kid. "
    Usage notes
    When used of birdwatchers by ignorant outsiders, this term frequently carries a negative connotation.
    Derived terms
    * atwitch

    Etymology 2

    alternate of quitch

    Noun

    (-)
  • couch grass, Elymus repens ; a species of grass, often considered as a weed.

    • flick

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.
    • He removed the speck of dust with a flick of his finger.
    She gave a disdainful flick of her hair and marched out of the room.
  • *{{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=January 5 , author=Saj Chowdhury , title=Newcastle 0 - 0 West Ham , work=BBC citation , page= , passage=On this occasion it was Nolan's deft flick that fooled West Ham's sleepy defenders Danny Gabbidon and Tomkins. The ball found its way to Best, who smashed in with confidence from the edge of the area.}}
  • (informal) A motion picture; (in plural, usually preceded by "the") movie theater, cinema.
    • My all-time favorite flick is "Gone with the Wind."
    Want to go to the flicks tonight?
  • (fencing) A cut that lands with the point, often involving a whip of the foible of the blade to strike at a concealed target.
  • (tennis) A powerful underarm volley shot.
  • *{{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=June 28 , author=David Ornstein , title=Wimbledon 2011: Victoria Azarenka beats Tamira Paszek in quarters , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=The fourth seed was dominating her 20-year-old opponent with a series of stinging groundstrokes and athletic drive-volleys, striking again in game five when Paszek flicked a forehand pick-up into the tramlines.}}
  • The act of pressing a place on a touch screen device.
  • A flitch.
    • a flick of bacon

    Synonyms

    * (short, quick movement)'' fillip (''of the finger ) * (cinema) the pictures

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To move or hit (something) with a short, quick motion.
    • flick one's hair
    with a flick of the wrist
    to flick the dirt from boots
  • * '>citation
    • Using her hands like windshield wipers, she tried to flick snow away from her mouth. When she clawed at her chest and neck, the crumbs maddeningly slid back onto her face. She grew claustrophobic.
    (Thackeray)

    Derived terms

    * flick knife * flick off * flick the bean

    Related terms

    * flicker ----