FLASHPOINT

PRONUNCIATION: (FLASH-point)

MEANING: noun:
1. The point at which a situation turns critical, for example, resulting in violence.
2. A location or situation where conflict, violence, etc., flare up.
3. The lowest temperature at which a substance’s vapors ignite in the presence of an ignition source.

ETYMOLOGY: From flash, of imitative origin + point, partly from Old French point and Latin punctum (point). Earliest documented use: 1878.
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FLESHPOINT - a cutaneous horn

FLASH-PAINT - paint mixed with lycopodium powder, for special movie effects

FLASK POINT - a clandestine liquor-holder that you can stand upright next to you on a lawn or on the beach