E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Flick.
To strike with a quick jerk. To “flick a whip in one’s face” is to strike the face with the lash and draw the whip suddenly back again. (Anglo-Saxon, fliccerian; Scotch, flicker; Danish, flikkeren, to twinkle, etc.)
