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Phrase(s): flash across something
1. Lit. [for something bright] to move quickly across something. • The telephone number flashed across the television screen too fast for me to copy it down. • The spotlight flashed across the audience, blinding me as it went by. 2. Fig. [for an idea or image] to move quickly through one’s mind. • A solution to the problem suddenly flashed across my mind. • Thoughts of food flashed across my mind, and I began to be very hungry.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs