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