fluke
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See also: Fluke
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (UK) enPR: flo͞ok IPA(key): /fluːk/
- (US) enPR: flo͞ok IPA(key): /fluk/
- (obsolete) enPR: flyo͞ok IPA(key): /fljuːk/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -uːk
Etymology 1[edit]
Of uncertain or obscure origin, perhaps dialectal. It seems to have originally referred to a lucky shot at billiards. Possibly connected to sense 3, referring to whales' use of flukes to move rapidly.
Noun[edit]
fluke (plural flukes)
- A lucky or improbable occurrence, with the implication that the occurrence could not be repeated.
- The first goal was just a fluke.
- 1930, Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison:
- "And I say," said Wimsey, "that it would be better for her to be hanged outright than to live and have everybody think her a murderess who got off by a fluke."
- 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic (lyrics and music), “Christmas at Ground Zero”, in Polka Party![1]:
- It's Christmas at ground zero / Now the missiles are on their way / What a crazy fluke / We're gonna get nuked / On this jolly holiday
- 2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Garden:
- And before I forget... that was one amazing kiss, mister. Could have been a fluke, though. Guess we have to keep trying.
- 2020 January 2, David Clough, “How InterCity came back from the brink”, in Rail, page 69:
- That this was not just a fluke was proved by a further profit the following year, albeit cut due to industrial action - jam at last!
Synonyms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
- Cantonese: 符碌 (fu6 luk11)
Translations[edit]
stroke of luck
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Verb[edit]
fluke (third-person singular simple present flukes, present participle fluking, simple past and past participle fluked)
- To obtain a successful outcome by pure chance.
- I fluked a pass in the multiple-choice exam.
- (snooker) To fortuitously pot a ball in an unintended way.
- He fluked the other red into the middle pocket, despite the double kiss.
Related terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]

From Old English flōc (“flatfish”), of Germanic origin, related to German flach (“flat”), Old Norse floke (“flatfish”), all ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flakaz.
Noun[edit]
fluke (plural flukes)
- A flounder.
- A trematode; a parasitic flatworm of the Trematoda class, related to the tapeworm.
- The man had become infected with flukes after eating a meal of raw fish.
Derived terms[edit]
- flounder
- Gulf fluke (Paralichthys albiguttus)
- long fluke (Hippoglossoides limandoides)
- pole fluke (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus)
- sail fluke (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis)
- sand fluke (Microstomus microcephalus, Hippoglossoides platessoides)
- trematode
- American fluke (Fascioloides magna)
- bile fluke
- blood fluke
- bladder fluke
- cat liver fluke
- cecal fluke (Postharmostomum gallinum)
- Chinese liver fluke (Clonorchis sinensis, syn. Opisthorchis sinensis)
- deer fluke (Fascioloides magna)
- eye fluke
- flukeworm
- giant intestinal fluke (Fasciolopsis buski)
- giant liver fluke (Fascioloides magna)
- lancet fluke, lancet liver fluke (Dicrocoelium dendriticum)
- liver fluke
- lung fluke (Paragonimus spp.)
- unsorted
Etymology 3[edit]

Possibly as Etymology 2 or from Middle Low German flügel (“wing”), from Old High German vlügel, from Proto-Germanic *flugilaz (“wing”).
Noun[edit]
fluke (plural flukes)
- Either of the two lobes of a whale's or similar creature's tail.
- The dolphin had an open wound on the left fluke of its tail where the propeller had injured it.
- (nautical) Any of the triangular blades at the end of an anchor, designed to catch the ground.
- The fluke of the anchor was wedged between two outcroppings of rock and could not be dislodged.
- A metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons (such as a bill), made in various forms depending on function, whether used for grappling or to penetrate armour when swung at an opponent.
- The polearm had a wide, sharpened fluke attached to the central point.
- In general, a winglike formation on a central piece.
- After casting the bronze statue, we filed down the flukes and spurs from the molding process.
- Waste cotton.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
lobe of whale's tail
anchor blade
|
parasitic flatworm
|
a metal hook on the head of certain staff weapons
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Further reading[edit]
fluke on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
summer flounder on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
trematoda on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- James Orchard Halliwell (1846), “FLUKE”, in A Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, Obsolete Phrases, Proverbs, and Ancient Customs, from the Fourteenth Century. [...] In Two Volumes, volume I (A–I), London: John Russell Smith, […], →OCLC, page 365, column 2.
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “fluke”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Categories:
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- Rhymes:English/uːk
- Rhymes:English/uːk/1 syllable
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- en:Snooker
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- en:Nautical
- en:Flatfish
- en:Flatworms
- en:Parasites
- en:Weapons