skin flick: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Low (slang, dated)Informal, slang, potentially vulgar
Quick answer
What does “skin flick” mean?
A low-budget film primarily featuring nudity or sexual content.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
A low-budget film primarily featuring nudity or sexual content.
Any film, typically of low quality, whose main appeal is explicit sexual content or frequent nudity, often produced cheaply and quickly.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
The term is understood in both varieties but is largely an Americanism in origin. British English might use 'blue movie' or 'nudie film' more naturally.
Connotations
Similar in both: implies cheapness, low quality, and a lack of artistic pretension. Slightly antiquated feel.
Frequency
More frequent in historical American contexts. Rare in contemporary UK usage, where it might sound like an imported American term.
Grammar
How to Use “skin flick” in a Sentence
watch (a) ~be (just) a ~make/shoot (a) ~describe sth as (a) ~Vocabulary
Collocations
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Not used.
Academic
Rarely, only in film studies discussing exploitation cinema or porn studies historically.
Everyday
Informal, potentially humorous or dismissive reference to a low-quality sexual film.
Technical
Not used in technical contexts.
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “skin flick”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “skin flick”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “skin flick”
- Using it to describe a mainstream film with one nude scene.
- Using it in formal contexts.
- Spelling as 'skinflik'.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Not exactly. 'Skin flick' is a dated term that typically refers to exploitation films from the mid-20th century that featured nudity and suggestive content but often stopped short of explicit sex, unlike modern pornography. They often had thin plots.
No, it is informal slang. It is best avoided in formal or polite contexts due to its vulgar connotations and dated nature.
No, 'skin flick' is specific to film. It is a compound noun where 'flick' is old slang for 'film' or 'movie'.
The slang term 'flick' for a movie peaked in the mid-20th century. The specific genre of low-budget nudity-focused films it describes was most prevalent from the 1960s to the 1980s, before the home video era changed adult film distribution.
A low-budget film primarily featuring nudity or sexual content.
Skin flick: in British English it is pronounced /ˈskɪn ˌflɪk/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˈskɪn ˌflɪk/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “It's not art, it's just a skin flick.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine a film where the camera seems to 'flick' from one scene of bare 'skin' to another, with little else.
Conceptual Metaphor
CONTENT IS SURFACE (the 'skin' is the primary, superficial content; the 'flick' metaphorises the film as a trivial, quick movement).
Practice
Quiz
In which context would the term 'skin flick' be LEAST appropriate?