Floating Coffin, subs. phr. (nautical).—A rotten ship.
Floating Hell, or Hell Afloat, subs. phr. (nautical).—A ship commanded
by (1) a brutal savage, or (2) a ruthless disciplinarian. See also
Floating Academy.
Flock, subs. (colloquial).—A clergyman’s congregation. Also any body of
people with a common haunt or interest: e.g., a family of children, a
company of soldiers, a school of girls or boys, ‘a cabful of molls,’
and such like.
To fire into the wrong flock, verb. phr. (American pioneers’).—To
blunder. A variant is to bark up the wrong tree.
1858. New York Herald, 9 Nov. When Mr. Saulsbury rose and called
the Speaker’s attention to the alleged blunder in the Secretary’s
report, his own friends jumped up in great excitement and pulled
him down; he soon found out that he had fired into the wrong flock.
Flock of Sheep, subs. phr.—1. (gaming). A hand at dominoes set out on
the table.