flagfall
/ˈflaɡfɔːl
/noun
1Australian & SE Asian A fixed initial charge incurred at the start of a taxi journey, as part of the overall fare: passengers were slugged with a $3.60 surcharge on New Year’s Eve, on top of the $4.20 flagfall the air-conditioned taxis charge a flagfall of 35 baht...
- He said the original proposal was Rp 5,700 at flag fall and Rp 2,200 per kilometer to meet demand.
- We would be surprised if two jobs per day, guaranteed for each of 192 school days per year, did not attract some discount from a taxi flag fall rate.
- The Decree allows taxi companies to raise the flag fall and increase the charge from Rp 900 per kilometer to Rp 1,300 per kilometer.
1.1A fixed charge incurred when making a phone call, regardless of the length of the call: their standard calling rates are slightly higher, at 99c per minute with a 40c flagfall [mass noun]: there’s no flagfall, no connection fee, no monthly charges, and no lock-in contracts...
- Outside the bonus minutes, calls are charged at 78 cents per minute or part thereof, plus a flagfall of 39 cents.
- It's a web-only special, offering 10c/min calls with a 25c flagfall.
- For the majority of plans, this will be the flagfall plus a one-minute charge.
2chiefly British (In horse racing or motor racing) the start or end of a race, as signified by the lowering of a flag: the 16-1 outsider led from flagfall Morris maintained his advantage but Charlie was a fighting second, just a tenth of a second behind at flagfall...
- Come the start of the two miles at Leicester, Foley chose to drop his mount out at flagfall, losing at least 30 lengths in the process.
- Sixth and 7th at flagfall were Lopez and Lauda, with the rookie Brazilian driver, Ribeiro, showing good pace to claim the final point.
- The mare led from flag to flagfall, never troubled by the persistent challenge of Heather Breeze who she went on to defeat by two lengths.
Origin
Late 19th century: from flag1 + fall; in sense 1 flag refers to a mechanism in a taximeter that was raised to indicate that a taxi was for hire and lowered to activate the taximeter.