A thought flashed through me, which I clothed in act.
Tennyson.
3. To burst forth like a sudden flame; to break out violently; to rush
hastily.
Every hour He flashes into one gross crime or other.
Shak.
To flash in the pan, to fail of success. [Colloq.] See under Flash, a
burst of light. Bartlett.
Syn. -- Flash, Glitter, Gleam, Glisten, Glister. Flash differs from
glitter and gleam, denoting a flood or wide extent of light. The latter
words may express the issuing of light from a small object, or from a
pencil of rays. Flash differs from other words, also, in denoting
suddenness of appearance and disappearance. Flashing differs from
exploding or disploding in not being accompanied with a loud report. To
glisten, or glister, is to shine with a soft and fitful luster, as eyes
suffused with tears, or flowers wet with dew.
Flash (flsh), v. t. 1. To send out in flashes; to cause to burst forth
with sudden flame or light.
The chariot of paternal Deity, Flashing thick flames.
Milton.
2. To convey as by a flash; to light up, as by a sudden flame or light;
as, to flash a message along the wires; to flash conviction on the
mind.
3. (Glass Making) To cover with a thin layer, as objects of glass with
glass of a different color. See Flashing, n., 3 (b).