Reader question:
Please explain “flat out mad” in this: Brooklyn-based filmmaker Alexis Gambis wants to break the stereotypes of how we think about scientists in movies, which can veer from cold and analytical to flat out mad.
My comments:
Mad, in short.
Completely mad.
First, I searched Alexis Gambis, the said filmmaker, online and found that he is a French-Venezuelan biologist. He’s been out to make science more accessible to the everyman.
That is that. Here, we want to focus on “what he wants to break”, i.e. “the stereotypes of how we think about scientists in movies.”
According to “the stereotypes”, people’s conception of scientists in movies ranges from “cold and analytical” all the way to “mad”.
As a matter of fact, “flat out mad”.
Completely mad, that is.
“Flat out” is an expression that is believed to be inspired by the game of horseracing. When a race horse gallops at full speed, its four legs are seen to stretch OUT, and the rider is seen to lean his head and torso forward, close to the horse’s back, enabling him to look FLAT.
Nobody is sure that this is exactly the case, but some believe these two images are what give rise to the phrase “flat out”, meaning the horse is running at full speed, sparing no effort, giving its all.
And from this derives the figurative meaning of “flat out”, i.e. total and complete. And in this sense “flat out” is mainly used for emphasis.
In our example, then, “flat out mad” means mad.
Likewise, if you come across such descriptions as, for instance, “flat out lies”, “flat out bonkers” and “flat out wrong and stupid”, you can do no wrong by interpreting them as just “lies”, “bonkers”, “wrong and stupid”, respectively.
Not just “lies”, “bonkers”, “wrong and stupid”, of course, but emphatically so.
Flat out so.
Utterly so.
All right, let’s read a few recent media examples to hammer the point further home:
1. Despite the fact that his state is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper was forced to use his time to debunk misinformation spread by Donald Trump Friday afternoon.
Trump posted on Truth Social earlier on Friday that Cooper, along with “Democrats in Washington,” were blocking aid from coming into the state to help people in need, including President Biden and Kamala Harris, saying, “It’s all over the place – A HORRIBLE SITUATION.
“I will make it up to everyone when we take Office on January 20th. HOLD ON, I’M COMING!” Trump’s post read, showing that the post wasn’t so much about aid as it was about scaring up votes in North Carolina.
Cooper responded on X with a screenshot of Trump’s post, pointing out that it was “a flat out lie.”
“We’re working with all partners around the clock to get help to people. Trump’s lies and conspiracy theories have hurt the morale of first responders and people who lost everything, helped scam artists and put government and rescue workers in danger,” Cooper said.
- North Carolina Governor Slams Trump’s “Flat Out Lie” on Hurricane, NewRepublic.com, October 12, 2024.
2. NBA legend LeBron James has been a clear advocate for Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark over the past year.
This has been seen with multiple X posts LeBron has made praising Clark, such as when he wrote, “If you don’t rock with Caitlin Clark game you’re just a FLAT OUT HATER!!!!! Stay far away from them people!! PLEASE” back on April 7.
He followed this up with, “CAITLIN CLARK!!!!! HI HATERS,” in an August 30 post that has over 18 million views after Clark went off for 31 points and 12 assists in the Indiana Fever’s 100-81 win over Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky.
He also spoke at length about Clark’s impact in a September 26 article from Esquire, saying, “I have a great deal of respect for Caitlin Clark, because I know exactly what it means to be drafted, be the face of a franchise, and also get the scrutiny from a lot of people that don’t believe you’re ready for the next jump... And so, me watching Caitlin and seeing what she’s doing, I’ve been in support of her since day one, because I remember myself going through that, and she has my support 100 percent.
“She’s a transcendent player,” James continued. “And obviously we all saw that at Iowa, and I knew that it would translate to the big leagues. And she’s an unbelievable talent. It’s great to watch.”
Now Clark has sent praise back LeBron’s way as part of an interview with Time magazine that was released on December 11.
“LeBron never messaged me directly, but it has been cool to just see his support of myself and the W[NBA] overall,” Clark said. “You can tell he really watches and turns it on. And he has been a big fan of myself from college and now in the W.
“I mean, he’s the greatest basketball player of all time,” Clark added. “So I think that’s pretty cool.”
- Caitlin Clark Dubs Her ‘Big Fan’ LeBron James Greatest Basketball Player of All Time, SI.com, December 14, 2024.
3. META employees have blamed artificial intelligence for taking their jobs after 3,600 workers were recently fired in a shocking cut.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he wanted to cut workers he framed as underachieving from the company, but ex-staffers are now firing back at the tech boss.
Zuckerberg announced his plans to cut 5% of his workforce in an internal memo in mid-January.
He said the company “decided to raise the bar on performance management and move out low performers faster.”
Ex-employees are now calling out the claim as a blatant lie and accusing the tech giant of sneakily shifting to prioritizing AI.
Former Meta product designer Steven S. blasted Zuckerberg’s performance management claim as “misleading” in a LinkedIn post about his own experience being let go from the company.
“I was let go today – but not because I was a ‘Low Performer,’” he wrote.
“This morning, I found out I was part of Meta’s latest round of layoffs – one of the 5% of employees impacted across the company.
“If you’ve seen the headlines, you’ve probably also seen how leadership is framing this: a move to ‘raise the bar’ by cutting so-called ‘low performers.’
“Let’s be clear: that label is misleading, and for many of us, it’s flat-out wrong.”
- WHAT THE ZUCK Meta workers blame AI for 3,600 job cuts as they blast Mark Zuckerberg’s ‘low performance’ claims as ‘flat-out wrong’, The-Sun.com, February 12 2025.
本文仅代表作者本人观点，与本网立场无关。欢迎大家讨论学术问题，尊重他人，禁止人身攻击和发布一切违反国家现行法律法规的内容。
About the author:
Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.
（作者：张欣）
