What does "fluke" mean?

Fluke: (Zoöl.) One of the lobes of a whale's tail, so called from the resemblance to the fluke of an anchor.

Additional senses

  1. 2.An instrument for cleaning out a hole drilled in stone for blasting.
  2. 3.An accidental and favorable stroke at billiards (called a scratch in the United States); hence, any accidental or unexpected advantage; as, he won by a fluke. [Cant, Eng.] A. Trollope.

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