Bright lights shot into the sky to signal or illuminate, or wide-legged pants that fit snug at the hip and widen toward the ankle; can also mean to suddenly break out or become more intense.
Possibly from Middle Dutch 'vlair' or related to 'flare' meaning to blaze or flame up. The pants meaning emerged as a trendy style in the 1960s and 70s. The signaling device comes from the same root as the verb.
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