flak
n.strong criticism or complaints from people. You usually get flak when you make a decision that others do not like.
n.strong, often public criticism or opposition. Derived from the term for anti-aircraft fire, it is used figuratively in informal contexts to describe verbal attacks.
“The manager took a lot of flak for the new rules.”
“The government is catching flak from environmental groups after approving the new coal mine.”
“Despite the initial flak from traditionalists, the architect's radical redesign of the city square eventually won several international awards for its innovative use of space.”
Commonly used with the verbs 'take', 'get', 'catch', or 'give'.
Borrowed from German FlaK, short for Fliegerabwehrkanone (“anti airplane cannon”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.