flannel
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++flan·nel1 /ˈflænl/ noun 1 [uncountable]DCC soft cloth, usually made of cotton or wool, used for making clothes 〔用作衣料的〕法兰绒 a flannel shirt 法兰绒衬衫2. [countable] British EnglishDCB a piece of cloth you use to wash yourself 〔洗澡用的〕毛巾 SYN facecloth, American English washcloth3. [uncountable] British English informalPRETEND something that someone says that has no real meaning or does not tell you what you want to know 废话；兜圈子的话4. flannels [plural] British EnglishDCC men’s trousers made of flannel 法兰绒男裤
Examples from the Corpus
flannel• Wearing a new sports jacket and grey flannels under his open raincoat.• How about updating the context, dressing the youths in flannels and baggy pants?• Around her ankle was the pinned flannel.• The line surprises us, for much of the poet's work was a squeezed flannel of disenchantment.• Toby saw him take up the pile of wet flannel from beside the bath and chuck it at his face.flannel2 verb (flannelled, flannelling) [intransitive, transitive] British English PRETENDto say things that have no real meaning in order to avoid answering a question directly or to hide your lack of knowledge 兜圈子说（话），支吾→ See Verb tableOrigin flannel (1500-1600) flanen “type of cloth” ((16-19 centuries)), from Welsh gwlanen “woollen cloth”flan·nel1 nounflannel2 verbChineseSyllable
for Corpus soft or of used cotton cloth, usually made wool,
flannel
flan‧nel1 /ˈflænl/ 
noun
a flannel shirt
2. [countable] British English a piece of cloth you use to wash yourself
SYN facecloth, washcloth American English
3. [uncountable] British English informal something that someone says that has no real meaning or does not tell you what you want to know
4. flannels [plural] British English men’s trousers made of flannel
flannel2 verb (past tense and past participle flannelled, present participle flannelling) [intransitive and transitive] British English
to say things that have no real meaning in order to avoid answering a question directly or to hide your lack of knowledge
| I |
noun Date: 1500-1600
Origin: flanen 'type of cloth' (16-19 centuries), from Welsh gwlanen 'woollen cloth'
1. [uncountable] soft cloth, usually made of cotton or wool, used for making clothes:Origin: flanen 'type of cloth' (16-19 centuries), from Welsh gwlanen 'woollen cloth'
2. [countable] British English a piece of cloth you use to wash yourself
SYN facecloth, washcloth American English
3. [uncountable] British English informal something that someone says that has no real meaning or does not tell you what you want to know
4. flannels [plural] British English men’s trousers made of flannel
| II |
verb (past tense and past participle flannelled, present participle flannelling) [intransitive and transitive] British Englishto say things that have no real meaning in order to avoid answering a question directly or to hide your lack of knowledge
both