Word.ws English Dictionary

two for flinching

two for flinching interjection: said after causing someone to flinch in anticipation of an attack, implying that the act of flinching permits the attack to be repeated.

Interjection

  1. Said after causing someone to flinch in anticipation of an attack, implying that the act of flinching permits the attack to be repeated.
    • She ducked. "Two for flinching!" She held out her wrist, and he flicked it twice with his knuckles. Now she swung at him. He didn't duck but his eyelids blinked. "Two for flinching!" Triumphant, she took his wrist and hit it as hard as she could with two extended fingers.1974, Jeannie Sakol, New Year's Eve: A Novel, page 304
    • Another gunshot popped overhead. Joel screamed, waiting for the pain.
      "Two for flinching," a voice said.2013, Bill Braddock, Brew, page 75

Questions about two for flinching

What does two for flinching mean?
Two for flinching means said after causing someone to flinch in anticipation of an attack, implying that the act of flinching permits the attack to be repeated.
What part of speech is two for flinching?
Two for flinching is an interjection.

Words near two for flinching in the dictionary

  1. two envelopes problem
  2. two fat ladies
  3. two fifths
  4. two fingers
  5. two fingers up
  6. two for flinching
  7. two for one
  8. two for the price of one
  9. two for two
  10. Two Gates
  11. Two Gray Hills

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: two for flinching (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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