flak catcher

English

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

flak catcher

Where it comes from

Coined by American author and journalist Tom Wolfe in his 1970 book Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers, from flak, meaning "criticism".

noun flak catchers · flak-catcher · flack catcher · flack-catcher

A person whose job is to conduct public relations by shielding a more prominent person by intercepting and deflecting complaints and criticism. As the mau-mauing brigade heads downtown to the welfare office, they run into the chief flak catcher.

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"flak catcher." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/flak%20catcher. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

flak catcher. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/flak%20catcher

Chicago

"flak catcher." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/flak%20catcher.

BibTeX

@misc{flak_catcher_2026,
  title = {flak catcher},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/flak%20catcher},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}