Teflon

See also: teflon and téflon

English

Etymology

Trade name, 1940s. From the first letters of tetra- (“four”) +‎ fluoro- (“fluorine”) +‎ -on, modeled after nylon etc. From the fluorine count of polytetrafluoroethylene.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɛflɒn/

Proper noun

Teflon

1. A brand name of polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”) products, latterly applied to other fluoropolymer products.

Derived terms

• teflon
• Teflon Don
• Teflonish

 

Noun

Teflon (countable and uncountable, plural Teflons)

1. Multiple film, resin, coatings, fabric and surface protectors made with PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or fluoropolymer and surfactants not made with PTFE.
   • 2016 November 9, James Eagle, Donald Trump: Why is the world so surprised?‎^[1], retrieved 30 October 2017:

     ...tweeting in defiance at all those horrendous scandals that were meant to destroy his campaign. He made teflon look sticky.

   • 2022, “Follow the Fool”, performed by Primus:

     Look at that there fool playing dirty tricks
     He must be made of Teflon 'cause nothing ever sticks
     Dancing 'round the room while farting in the breeze
     Friends huff it down like it's American cheese

2. Synonym of polytetrafluoroethylene (“PTFE”)

Alternative forms

• teflon

Coordinate terms

• ePTFE
• Gore-Tex

 

Derived terms

• Teflon flu

 

Adjective

Teflon (not comparable)

1. (informal, of a person) Having an undamageable reputation (by analogy with nonstick Teflon surfaces).

   a Teflon image

   • 1995, Liz Cunningham, Talking Politics: Choosing the President in the Television Age:

     But Ronald Reagan, by everybody's definition, was the Teflon president, and it wasn't that the media tried to touch him and failed.

   • 2010, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, The Godmother's Web, Gypsy Shadow Publishing, →ISBN, page 33:

     He would have called the man by his first name and said, Not at all, so and so, but though he was very good at remembering names where clients were concerned, there was something very Teflon about these guys and nothing about them was sticking with him.

Alternative forms

• teflon

Coordinate terms

• like water off a duck's back
• rubber
• water off a duck's back

 

Further reading

• polytetrafluoroethylene on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Felton