flak

[flak]
noun
1.
antiaircraft fire, especially as experienced by the crews of combat airplanes at which the fire is directed.
2.
criticism; hostile reaction; abuse: Such an unpopular decision is bound to draw a lot of flak from the press.
Also, flack.

Origin:
1935–40; < German Fl(ieger)a(bwehr)k(anone) antiaircraft gun, equivalent to Flieger aircraft (literally, flyer) + Abwehr defense + Kanone gun, cannon

Can be confused: flack, flak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
flak or flack (flæk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  anti-aircraft fire or artillery
2.  informal a great deal of adverse criticism
 
[C20: from German Fl(ieger)a(bwehr)k(anone), literally: aircraft defence gun]
 
flack or flack
 
—n
 
[C20: from German Fl(ieger)a(bwehr)k(anone), literally: aircraft defence gun]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Flak is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

flak
1938, from Ger. Flak, acronym for Fliegerabwehrkanone "airplane defense cannon." Sense of "anti-aircraft fire" is 1940; metaphoric sense of "criticism" is c.1963 in Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

flak definition

[flæk]
and flack
  1. n.
    complaints; criticism; negative feedback. (Originally referred to antiaircraft guns and the explosions and damage they caused. The first form is an initialism from German Fliegerabwehrkanonen = flyer defense cannons. I.e., the initial fl plus the first a plus the k.) : Why do I have to get all the flak for what you did?
  2. n.
    publicity; hype. : Who is going to believe this flack about being first-rate?
  3. n.
    a public relations agent or officer. : The flak made an announcement and then disappeared.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Example sentences
The storied unit caught flak repeatedly during some of the toughest missions of
  the war.
He has dodged obstacles, braved the flak, and kept his eye on his goals.
Drug companies take a lot of flak for spending as much as they do on marketing
  and advertising.
Plans to internationalize the airline industry run into flak.
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