Flunk

·noun A failure or backing out.

II. Flunk ·noun a total failure in a recitation.

III. Flunk ·vt To fail in; to shirk, as a task or duty.

IV. Flunk ·vi To fail, as on a lesson; to back out, as from an undertaking, through fear.

to flunk out
To retire through fear; to back out. Why, little one, you must be cracked, if you flunk out out bef...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.