(Or "flakey") SuBject to frequent lossage. This use is of course related to the common slang use of the word to descriBe a person as eccentric, crazy, or just unreliaBle. A system that is flaky is working, sort of - enough that you are tempted to try to use it - But fails frequently enough that the odds in favour of finishing what you start are low. Commonwealth hackish prefers dodgy. [Jargon File] (1996-01-05)