flasher

See also: Flasher

English

Etymology

From flash +‎ -er.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈflæʃɚ/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æʃə(ɹ)

Noun

flasher (plural flashers)

1. Anything that flashes, especially a device that switches a light on and off.
2. (automotive) An indicator or turn signal.
   • 2019, Abby Chava Stein, Becoming Eve, Seal Press, page 13:

     Look here, look at this fire truck! It has flashers and sirens, and if you push the button at the bottom, it moves by itself.

3. (obsolete) Someone of great accomplishments, or brilliant appearance.
   • 1795 March 17, Hester Piozzi, Thraliana:

     Mr Yorke of D'Affrenalli has been introduced to me as a Wit & a Flasher: it was supposed that we were to admire one another's Abilities,—but I fancy the Project failed on both Sides […] .

4. (slang) Someone who exposes themselves indecently; someone who ‘flashes’ their genitals.

Synonyms

• (person): exhibitionist

Translations

anything that flashes

• Danish: blinklys n (directional light on a car)
• Russian: мига́лка (ru) f (migálka)

a person who exposes their genitals indecently

• Danish: blotter (da) c
• Dutch: flasher (nl) m, potloodventer (nl) m (specifically the phallus)
• Finnish: viuhahtaja (fi), itsensäpaljastaja (fi), vilauttelija
• French: exhibitionniste (fr) m or f
• Greek: επιδειξίας (el) m (epideixías)
• Russian: эксгибициони́ст (ru) m (eksgibicioníst), эксгибициони́стка (ru) f (eksgibicionístka)
• Swedish: blottare (sv) c

Anagrams

• halfers, reflash

French

Etymology

From English flash.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fla.ʃe/

• Audio (France (Saint-Maurice-de-Beynost)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

• Homophone: flache

Verb

flasher

1. to flash (of a light, to have intermittent periods on and off)
2. to flash (of a camera, to use flash photography)
3. to take photographs using a flash

   Des touristes épars flashaient à tout va. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

4. (transport) to flash (to catch a speeding vehicle on camera)
5. (colloquial) to have a crush, become infatuated

   Synonyms: avoir le coup de foudre, craquer

Conjugation

Conjugation of flasher (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	flasher
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	flashant /fla.ʃɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		flashé /fla.ʃe/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	flashe /flaʃ/	flashes /flaʃ/	flashe /flaʃ/	flashons /fla.ʃɔ̃/	flashez /fla.ʃe/	flashent /flaʃ/
	imperfect	flashais /fla.ʃɛ/	flashais /fla.ʃɛ/	flashait /fla.ʃɛ/	flashions /fla.ʃjɔ̃/	flashiez /fla.ʃje/	flashaient /fla.ʃɛ/
	past historic2	flashai /fla.ʃe/	flashas /fla.ʃa/	flasha /fla.ʃa/	flashâmes /fla.ʃam/	flashâtes /fla.ʃat/	flashèrent /fla.ʃɛʁ/
	future	flasherai /flaʃ.ʁe/	flasheras /flaʃ.ʁa/	flashera /flaʃ.ʁa/	flasherons /flaʃ.ʁɔ̃/	flasherez /flaʃ.ʁe/	flasheront /flaʃ.ʁɔ̃/
	conditional	flasherais /flaʃ.ʁɛ/	flasherais /flaʃ.ʁɛ/	flasherait /flaʃ.ʁɛ/	flasherions /fla.ʃə.ʁjɔ̃/	flasheriez /fla.ʃə.ʁje/	flasheraient /flaʃ.ʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	flashe /flaʃ/	flashes /flaʃ/	flashe /flaʃ/	flashions /fla.ʃjɔ̃/	flashiez /fla.ʃje/	flashent /flaʃ/
	imperfect2	flashasse /fla.ʃas/	flashasses /fla.ʃas/	flashât /fla.ʃa/	flashassions /fla.ʃa.sjɔ̃/	flashassiez /fla.ʃa.sje/	flashassent /fla.ʃas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	flashe /flaʃ/	—	flashons /fla.ʃɔ̃/	flashez /fla.ʃe/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Further reading

• “flasher”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012
• “flasher”, in Dictionnaire français en ligne Larousse