Informal. a sudden or unexpected reversal, as of direction, belief, attitude, or policy.
a backward somersault.
Also called flip-flop circuit.Electronics. an electronic circuit having two stable conditions, each one corresponding to one of two alternative input signals.
any of several similar devices having two alternative states, the change of state being caused by some input signal or by some change of input.
the sound and motion of something flapping, as a wind-blown shutter; a banging to and fro.
any backless, usually open-toed flat shoe or slipper.
a flat, backless rubber sandal, usually secured on the foot by a thong between the first two toes, as for use at a beach, swimming pool, etc.Compare thong, zori.
(in advertising) a display or presentation, usually on an easel, consisting of a series of pages hinged at the top and flipped over in sequence.
adverb
with repeated sounds and motions, as of something flapping.
verb (used without object),flip-flopped,flip-flop·ping.
Informal. to make a sudden or unexpected reversal, as of direction, belief, attitude, or policy: The opposition claimed that the president had flip-flopped on certain issues.
to execute a backward somersault.
to flap; bang to and fro: The door flip-flopped in the high wind.
also flip flop, "thong sandal," by 1972, imitative of the sound of walking in them (flip-flap had been used in various echoic senses, mostly echoic, since 1520s); sense of "complete reversal of direction" dates from 1900.
Flip-flaps, a peculiar rollicking dance indulged in by costermongers, better described as the double shuffle; originally a kind of somersault. [Hotten's Slang Dictionary, 1864]
