flag waving
1
5.7
- noun
- /flæɡ ˈweɪvɪŋ/
:
ondear la bandera
- We have to make that distinction now because somewhere around 1978, the country devolved into a shitstorm of pickup trucks, flag waving, and women.
Examples
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I still get chills when I hear our anthem or see our flag waving in the breeze.
Blog text (5) -
These are the people who claim they hate flag waving by the right but who are ardent flag-waving Americans when they sense Europe (never hear them say they give a damn what Asian or other countries think of us, just European countries, especially Western European) likes the cut of an American President.
Blog text (14) -
Look at the proud American flag waving.
Blog text (34) -
Patriotism is being reduced to all the flag waving without any deep understanding of the real values behind it.
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If they talk about flag waving, I mean, what's it in the Rochester by election?
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There has been a little too much flag waving mixed in with the fiscal cliff hyperbole spewing from Capitol Hill.
Blog text (2) -
Got to love the godly flag waving and references to morality from a party whose nominee runs ads about Medicare and Welfare that are flat-out lies.
Blog text (24) -
1942 4th of July picture with the 48-star flag waving proudly. Need to see more flags on houses this year. The grocery store with meats and vegetables was most nostalgic.
Blog text (34) -
About as good a job as they are with the Revolutionary War-era Assassin's Creed III, which is also supposed to be something other than some USA flag-waving, fist-pumping slice of apple pie, despite everything that Ubi.
Blog text (24) -
During the election campaign, there was a lot of flag waving to rally support for the candidates.
Synonyms
1
8.6
Making unclear gestures or saying unclear things to avoid a clear answer
An act of showing too much grief to gain public sympathy
Antonyms
How Patriotic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is clearly linked to the literal constituents — a learner who knows 'flag' and 'wave' will infer a physical display of a flag and thus a patriotic show. However, the extended pragmatic sense (political rhetoric meant to rally support or distract from issues) is a contextual/idiomatic extension not fully predictable from the parts alone, so prior exposure is typically needed.
Etymology
Flag waving comes from the simple picture of people waving a flag at a rally to show strong love for their country. So flag waving now means public displays or speeches that try to arouse 'patriotic feelings' or sometimes to 'distract' people from other problems.