Expressions with the word FLAG [to flag something or someone down; to wrap yourself in the flag]

Do you have a a flag of your country? If you don't know what a flag is, just think of that piece of cloth used as a symbol of a nation, state or organization. That's what a flag is. What you may not know is that the word flag can also work as a verb [like most nouns in English], and it is part of many idiomatic expressions that we're about to see. Let's get started!

Imagine you need a taxi, and the only way for you to get it is by waving or making a sign indicating that they should stop for you. That's how things usually work, right? When you do that, you're flagging a taxi down. That's right. The expression to flag something or someone down means to wave in a way to make something or someone stop. In this case, you want the taxi to stop, so you flag the taxi down. See this example: Please go out and flag a taxi down. Easy, huh? But as I said before, you can also flag a person down, as in: A police officer flagged us down to check our vehicle. I don't know why they say it like that, but think of when you have a flag attached at the edge to a staff; what do you usually do to it? Yes, you wave it.

When we talk about flags, we can't help but remember of flags of nations, like the beautiful one we have in Brazil. So flags are a great symbol of nations and usually used to demonstrate one's patrtiotism. We see the american flag in Hollywood movies on a very regular basis, and that's maybe a perfect exemple of a nation taking big pride of their own nationality. But when you say someone wrapped himself in the flag, does it mean he took pride of his country? Not exactly. It actually means the total opposite: If you wrap yourself in the flat, you pretend to do something for your country when you are really doing it for your own advantage. For some reasons, brazilian politicians are known for wrapping themselves in the brazilian flag. They pretend they're worried about the issues of the country, but what they really care about is themselves. I hope you liked today's lesson. Talk to you next time!