Etymology Alteration of earlier fillip, from Middle English filippen (“to make a signal or sound with thumb and right forefinger, snap the fingers”), an attenuated variation of flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”). Cognate with Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”).
[…] who looked at Dean a moment, crossed over the stage to him, raised himself on his toes, dashed his own hat firmly down to his ears, and every one on the stage supposed Dean was about to receive a flip on the ear or nose.1851, Falconbridge, Dan. Marble: A Biographical Sketch, page 98:
"While that was going on, we were getting organized. There were some fifty or sixty of us to begin with. I took flips in the helicopter, and when I saw signs of a group anywhere, I'd go down and issue a general invitation to come along."1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 256:
He loaded his flip and took careful aim at what he considered to be Emily's most vulnerable spot […]1986, George Scarbrough, A summer ago, page 123:
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A hairstyle popular among boys in the 1960s–70s and 2000s–10s, in which the hair goes halfway down the ears, at which point it sticks out
Justin Bieber and Zac Efron are among the celebrities who wore a flip.
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Informal The purchase of an asset (usually a house) which is then improved and sold quickly for profit.
What they bring to the table is hard-won brass-tacks knowledge from over fifteen years of personal investing as well as riding shotgun on over 1,000 flips with their clients.2007, Rick Villani, Clay Davis, Gary Keller, Flip: How to Find, Fix, and Sell Houses for Profit, page viii:
In the case of rifles flip is counteracted by the sighting of the weapons, and it is because of flip that the sights cannot be set so that the line of sight is exactly parallel to the axis of the bore.1961, Sir Gerald Burrard, The gun. The cartridge, page 224:
A small, lightweight round, such as a .22 LR, generates very manageable recoil and muzzle flip (how much the nose of the gun flips up when you fire it).2015, Tara Dixon Engel, The Handgun Guide for Women, page 33:
Etymology Alteration of earlier fillip, from Middle English filippen (“to make a signal or sound with thumb and right forefinger, snap the fingers”), an attenuated variation of flappen (“to flap, clap, slap, strike”). Cognate with Dutch flappen (“to flap”), German flappen (“to flap”).
However, the hosts hit back and hit back hard, first replacement hooker Andrew Hore sliding over, then Williams careering out of his own half and leaving several defenders for dead before flipping the ball to Nonu to finish off a scintillating move.2011 September 16, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: New Zealand 83-7 Japan”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 16 Oct 2025:
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Crucially, our research suggests that space weather is able to flip a signal in either direction, turning a red signal green or a green signal red. The former is obviously much more significant from a safety perspective.2023 November 15, Prof. Jim Wild, “This train was delayed because of bad weather in space”, in RAIL, number 996, page 31:
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To put into a quick revolving motion through a snap of the thumb and index finger.
If you can't decide which option to go for, flip a coin.
Parkour – often referred to as freerunning – entails creatively moving through an urban environment: flipping, jumping and vaulting across various obstacles.2022 June 16, Issy Ronald, “Meet the parkour athletes defying fear and gravity at Red Bull Art of Motion”, in CNN, archived from the original on 26 Jun 2022:
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Government, PoliticsUS To win a state (or county) won by another party in the preceding elections.
Wisconsin had been Democratic for decades, but the Republicans flipped it in 2016.
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US To turn state's evidence; to agree to testify against one's co-conspirators in exchange for concessions from prosecutors.
The mafioso flipped on his superiors to get a lighter sentence.
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US To induce someone to turn state's evidence; to get someone to agree to testify against their co-conspirators in exchange for concessions.
The district attorney was able to strengthen his case against the bank robber by flipping the getaway driver.
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Slang To go berserk or crazy; to get extremely angry.
I'd flip if anyone broke my phone.
They're talkin' bout the night Santa went crazy The night St. Nicholas flipped Broke his back for some milk and cookies Sounds to me like he was tired of gettin' gypped1996, "Weird Al" Yankovic, “The Night Santa Went Crazy”, in Bad Hair Day:
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Slang To go berserk or crazy; to be extremely thrilled or enthusiastic.
Heading home from a party, two hipsters, completely stoned, pause to snuggle on a park bench. A fire engine roars by, bells clanging, sirens screaming. The boy flips. “Solid, doll,” he murmurs, “they’re playing our song!”1952 September 29, “"BOP VOCABULARY" section, inside of "That Crazy Bop Joke Craze"”, in LIFE Magazine, New York, U.S., page 69:
1964, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure I got a silver ring with a "B" on it for Beatles. I really flip for those excellent guys.
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Business, FinanceSlang To purchase and resell assets (often real estate or artworks) for immediate short-term profit.
Those companies have been flipping houses in the real estate market for years.
After the formal part of dealer interviews, often later over a glass of wine, tales would be told of how the dealer does cope with pricing decisions, how other dealers are thought to set prices, and the pricing problems that result when evil collectors flip new paintings at auction.2010, Don Thompson, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark, Aurum Press Limited, →ISBN:
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Quick cash, flip that, now I got big cash. Sit back, sip yak with a next piff yat.2018 November 30, “Bits” (track 10), in Original Sounds, performed by Bru-C and Window Kid:
Typically, the art world disdains “flipping” — when a collector buys a work and then immediately resells it at a profit.2021 March 11, Scott Reyburn, “JPG File Sells for $69 Million, as ‘NFT Mania’ Gathers Pace”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
The bill makes it illegal to encourage borrowers to repeatedly refinance, or "flip," a loan primarily to collect more fees.2002, BNA's Banking Report, volume 78, page 747:
Some of our consumer protection offices are all too familiar with the abusive practice of "flipping" loans.2002, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Predatory Mortgage Lending, page 70:
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Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To invert a bit (binary digit), changing it from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0.
I flipped from the calendar app to the email app and logged in to view Cooper's. The unreads were staggering; I'd have to triage them later.2022, Michelle McCraw, Boss Me:
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To put on a (facial expression).
I knew he was kidding because he flipped a grin at me.
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To flap.
Rising above it all, an American flag flipped in the breeze.2016, Dan Eberhart, A Pact with the Living:
UK, Colloquial, Euphemistic Used to express annoyance, especially when the speaker has made an error.
What the flip just happened?
Impossible. He's dining out and coming on here after. He can't be reached. / Oh, flip!1967, Peter Shaffer, Black comedy, including White lies: two plays:
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"Oh flip, don't come near this place," she said. It was dangerous. The Catholics had banners up on the Garvaghy Road saying, 'No Protestants here'.2000, Susan McKay, Northern Protestants:
One of the children beckoned to me to try it and I started forward, but before I could move Ryland grabbed my coat. "They're fucking Flips, kid. The only way to play is to be better than they are. Go all the way to the top."1993, Gary Paulsen, Eastern sun, winter moon: an autobiographical odyssey, →ISBN:
Later, the lieutenant came up to me. “Those dumb Flips finally got the message, right? […]2002, Henry C Allan, H-Hour Plus Three: The Saga of the US Army Amphibious Engineers in the Pacific During World War II, →ISBN, page 188:
flip
noun
Etymology Compare English dialect flip (“nimble, flippant, also, a slight blow”).
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A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron (a "flip dog").
[H]e had provided vast quantities of strong beer, flip, rumbo, and burnt brandy, with plenty of Barbadoes water for the ladies […].1751, [Tobias] Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
I frequently took of large potations, though not of champagne certainly, but port, strong ales, and punch, and when our funds were low as sometimes happened, hot flip […] .1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 21
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Adding a whole egg to alcoholic drinks goes back centuries, and at one point it was common to plunge a hot poker into your beverage (then commonly made with beer) that caused it to froth around or "flip". These days, most flips are served cold and often with a fortified wine, like sherry or port, and they are delightful as the egg adds wonderful body and texture to the drink.2022 May 17, Nick Fisher, Cocktail Chemistry: The Art and Science of Drinks from Iconic TV Shows and Movies, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN, page 95: