I. flan ‧ nel 1 /ˈflænl/ BrE AmE 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:
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
II. flannel 2 BrE AmE 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