noun · countable / uncountable · rare

flim-flam

flim-flam · flim-flams

Misinformation; bunkum; false information presented as trueMisinformation; bunkum; false information presented as true.

/ˈflɪmflæm/

Meaning

3 senses

(countable, uncountable)Misinformation; bunkum; false information presented as true.
Most reports of supernatural occurrences turn out to be flim-flam when carefully investigated.
(countable, uncountable)Confidence game, con game.
(archaic, countable, uncountable)Table tennis.

Origin

Ultimately a sound-symbolic reduplication, 1538 as noun, 1660 as verb. Perhaps from a dial

Ultimately a sound-symbolic reduplication, 1538 as noun, 1660 as verb. Perhaps from a dialectal word or North Germanic/Scandinavian; compare Old Norse flim (“lampoon, mockery”).

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