Definition

Noun: 1. A young woman of the 1920s who displayed unconventional behavior and dress: The term specifically refers to a fashionable young woman in the 1920s, especially in the United States and Europe, who challenged traditional norms through her style, attitude, and social conduct. She was often associated with jazz music, dancing, and a desire for greater personal freedom.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The novel depicts the life of a flapper in New York City during the Roaring Twenties.
  • She dressed like a flapper, with a short bobbed haircut, a beaded dress, and a long string of pearls.
  • Historians study the flapper as a symbol of changing social and sexual mores in the post-World War I era.

Advanced Usage

• Cultural Symbol: The term "flapper" is often used to represent the spirit of the 1920s—youthful rebellion, modernity, and the new social freedom for women.
  • The flapper became an icon of the Jazz Age.

Variants and Related Words

• Flap (verb/noun): To move up and down or back and forth; a piece of material attached on one side. (This is the root word, but "flapper" has a distinct, specific historical meaning).
• Flapperdom (noun, rare): The state or world of flappers.
• Flapperish (adjective, rare): Resembling or characteristic of a flapper.

Synonyms

• Jazz Baby (slang, historical): A young woman devoted to jazz music and the associated lifestyle.
• Modern Girl: A general term for a young woman embracing contemporary fashions and ideas in the early 20th century.

Related Idioms

• The Flapper Era: A phrase used to describe the 1920s, emphasizing the cultural influence of the flapper.
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald's stories are synonymous with the Flapper Era.

Noun

1. a young woman in the 1920s who flaunted her unconventional conduct and dress