Flaking out?

hello,

1)hold out
2)followed up
3)flanking out
4)steer clear of someone
5)scoop out

thank you all for your time and efforts.

1) hold out. It depends on how the phrase is used. It could mean wait or delay action on something to gain an advantage, etc. "She wanted to buy a new car but decided to hold out until she can afford a really nice one." Or, literally: "Hold out your hand and I'll give you candy."

2) followed up. Took additional action after an event - gathered more information, checked to see if something was being done properly, etc.

3) flanking out. See "flank" "Flank" is "the right or left of a formation.

4) steer clear of someone. Stay away from someone, avoid the places that person goes.

5) scoop out. Dip out - like with an ice cream scoop. (Scope out is "check out" or look at.)

I've never seen the phrasal verb "flank out" and honestly can't come up with any meaningful sentence in which it might be used. I wonder if the question-setter meant "outflank", which literally means "to get round the side of", or figuratively "to best".

Or maybe it was a typo for "flunking out"--failing academically, with expulsion from school as a result.

I thought maybe "flanking out" mean spreading out.

Flaking out is to go crazy or to lose one's cool. Maybe it's that, though perhaps flaking out is a little slangy.