Meaning & use
catching flack
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiominformal
Receiving strong criticism or negative reactions, often from many people.
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase; often followed by 'for' or 'from'.
Patterns
- catch flak for something
- catch flak from someone
- be catching flak
The politician is catching flak for his recent comments.
She caught flak from her boss for missing the deadline.
The company is catching flak over its new policy.
Common combinations
- catch flak for
- He caught flak for arriving late to the meeting.
- catch flak from
- The team caught flak from fans after the loss.
- take flak
- The spokesperson took flak for the unclear statement.
- come under flak
- The new law came under flak from civil rights groups.
Synonyms and how they differ
- criticism
- A general noun; 'catching flack' is the informal verbal phrase for receiving it.
- backlash
- A strong negative reaction from a large group, often more intense than flak.
- heat
- Informal and means pressure or criticism, similar to flak but often from authorities.
Opposites
Commonly confused: catching flack or flak? catching flack or flack?
catching flack vs flak
This is the original spelling and still preferred in formal writing; 'flack' is a variant that is also common.
catching flack vs flack
Can also mean a press agent, but in this phrase it means criticism.
Practice
The mayor is ______ for the city's slow response to the storm.
Choose one answer.
'Catching flack' is the correct phrase meaning receiving criticism. 'Flacks' is plural and not used in this idiom. 'A flack' would refer to a person, not criticism. 'The flack' is not the standard form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “catching flack”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.