A quick snapping movement, or slang for a movie or film.
Imitative in origin, resembling the sound of a quick movement. First used as 'flick' in the 1500s for the movement itself. The slang meaning 'movie' developed in the early 1900s, likely because early silent films moved in a flickering, jerky manner (called 'flickers'), which was shortened to 'flicks.'
Movie theaters used to be called 'nickelodeons,' but people called movies 'flickers' because the early film projectors genuinely flickered on and off—the nickname 'flicks' stuck around even after projection became smooth! It's a word that's preserved a memory of cinema's jerky childhood.
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