free

free as a bird Go to (as) free as a bird.

free as (the) air Go to (as) free as (the) air.

free-for-all a disorganized fight or contest

involving everyone; a brawl. The pic-

nic turned into a free-for-all after mid-

night. The race started out in an orga-

nized manner, but ended up being a

free-for-all.

free translation a translation that is not

completely accurate and not well thought

out. John gave a free translation of the

sentence, which did not help us at all.

Anne gave a very free translation of the

poem.

fresh as a daisy Go to (as) fresh as a daisy.

fresh out (of something) and clean out (of

something) just now having sold or used up

the last of something. (Folksy.) Sorry,

I can’t serve you scrambled eggs. We are

fresh out of eggs. We are fresh out of

nails. I sold the last box just ten minutes

ago. Lettuce? Sorry. I’m fresh out.

Sorry. We are clean out of dried beans.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. A

true friend is a person who will help you

when you really need someone. (Com-

pare this with fair-weather friend.)

When Bill helped me with geometry, I

really learned the meaning of “A friend in

need is a friend indeed.” “A friend in

need is a friend indeed” sounds silly until

you need someone very badly.

friend or foe a friend or an enemy.

can’t tell whether Jim is friend or foe.

“Who goes there? Friend or foe?” asked the

sentry.

frighten the wits out of someone and

frighten the (living) daylights out of

someone; scare the (living) daylights

out of someone; scare the wits out of

someone to frighten someone very badly.

We nearly had an accident. It frightened

the living daylights out of me. The in-

cident scared the wits out of me.

frightened to death and scared to death

severely frightened. (Also literal.) I

don’t want to go to the dentist today. I’m

frightened to death. I’m frightened to

death of dogs. She’s scared to death she’ll

fail algebra.

fritter something away to waste something

little by little, especially time or money.

(Folksy.) Don’t stand around and frit-

ter the whole day away. T Stop frittering

away my hard-earned money!

from dawn to dusk during the period of

the day when there is light; from the ris-

ing of the sun to the setting of the sun.

I have to work from dawn to dusk on the

farm. The factory runs from dawn to

dusk to produce hats and gloves.

from door to door moving from one door

to another—typically, from one house to

another. (See also door-to-door.) Anne

went from door to door, selling books, to

earn money for college.  The children

went from door to door, saying “Trick or

treat!” at each one.

from far and near and from near and far

from all around, both close by and far-

ther away. (Reversible, but with a pref-

erence for from far and near.) All the

young people from far and near gathered

at the high school for the game. The ea-

gles gathered from near and far at the river

where the salmon were spawning.

from hand to hand from one person to a

series of other persons. The book trav-

eled from hand to hand until it got back

to its owner. By the time the baby had

been passed from hand to hand, it was

crying.

from head to toe from the top of one’s

head to one’s feet; all over the body. (See

also from tip to toe.) She was decked

out in f lowers from head to toe. The

huge parka covered the small child from

head to toe, assuring that she would be well

protected against the cold.

from near and far Go to from far and near.

from overseas from a location on the

other side of the Atlantic or Pacific

Ocean, according to the point of view of

someone located in the U.S. The latest

word from overseas is that the treaty has

been signed.  Is there any news from

overseas about the war?

from pillar to post from one place to a se-

ries of other places; (figuratively) from

person to person, as with gossip. My

father was in the army, and we moved

from pillar to post year after year. Af-

ter I told one person my secret, it went

quickly from pillar to post.

from side to side moving first to one side

and then to the other, repeatedly. The

pendulum of the clock swings from side to

side. The singers swayed from side to

side as they sang.

from start to finish from the beginning to

the end; throughout. I disliked the

whole business from start to finish.

Mary caused problems from start to finish.

from stem to stern from one end to an-

other. (Refers to the front and back ends

of a ship.) Now, I have to clean the

house from stem to stern. I polished my

car carefully from stem to stern.

from the bottom of one’s heart sincerely.

(Compare this with with all one’s heart

and soul.) When I returned the lost kit-

ten to Mrs. Brown, she thanked me from

the bottom of her heart. Oh, thank you!

I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart.

from the cradle to the grave from birth

to death; throughout one’s life.

government promised to take care of us

from the cradle to the grave. You can feel

secure and well protected from the cradle

to the grave.

from the ground up from the beginning;

from start to finish. (Refers to the build-

ing of a house or other building.) We

must plan our sales campaign carefully

from the ground up. Sorry, but you’ll

have to start all over again from the

ground up.

from the heart from a deep and sincere

emotional source. I know that your

kind words come from the heart. We

don’t want your gift unless it comes from

the heart.

from the horse’s mouth Go to (straight)

from the horse’s mouth.

from the old school holding attitudes or

ideas that were popular and important in

the past, but which are no longer con-

sidered relevant or in line with modern

trends. Grammar was not taught much

in my son’s school, but fortunately he had

a teacher from the old school. Aunt Jane

is from the old school. She never goes out

without wearing a hat and gloves.

from the outset from the beginning. We

had problems with this machine from the

outset. We knew about the unfriendly

judge from the outset of our trial.

from the top from the beginning of some-

thing, such as a song or a script. Okay,

let’s try it again from the top. Play it

from the top one more time.

from the word go from the beginning.

(Informal.) I knew about the problem

from the word go. She was failing the

class from the word go.

from time to time occasionally.

pizza from time to time. From time to

time, a visitor comes to our door.

from tip to toe from the top to the bot-

tom. (Not necessarily of a person. See

also from head to toe.) She is wearing

all new clothes from tip to toe.  The

house needs to be cleaned thoroughly from

tip to toe.

from top to bottom from the highest

point to the lowest point; throughout.

(Compare this with from stem to stern.)

I have to clean the house from top to

bottom today. We need to replace our

elected officials from top to bottom.

from way back from far in the past; from

an earlier time. (Informal.) Grandfa-

ther comes from way back. This antique

clock is from way back.

fruit(s) of one’s labor(s) the results of one’s

work. We displayed the fruits of our la-

bor at the convention. What have you

accomplished? Where is the fruit of your

labors?

full as a tick Go to (as) full as a tick.

full blast Go to (at) full blast.

full of beans Go to full of hot air.

full of bull Go to full of hot air.

full of hot air and full of beans; full of

bull; full of it; full of prunes full of

nonsense; talking nonsense. (Slang.)

Oh, shut up, Mary. You’re full of hot air.

Don’t pay any attention to Bill. He’s full

of beans. My English professor is full of

bull. You’re full of it. She doesn’t know

what she’s talking about. She’s just full of

prunes.

full of it Go to full of hot air.

full of Old Nick Go to full of the devil.

full of the devil and full of Old Nick al-

ways making mischief. (Informal. Old

Nick is another name for the devil.)

Tom is a lot of fun, but he’s sure full of the

devil. I’ve never seen a child get into so

much mischief. He’s really full of Old Nick.

full steam ahead forward at the greatest

speed possible; with as much energy and

enthusiasm as possible. (From an in-

struction given to engineers on

steamships.) It will have to be full steam

ahead for everybody if the factory gets this

order. It’s going to be full steam ahead

for me this year. I take my final exams.

fun and games playing around; doing

worthless things. (Informal.) All right,

Bill, the fun and games are over. It’s time

to get down to work. This isn’t a seri-

ous course. It’s nothing but fun and games.

funny as a barrel of monkeys Go to (as)

funny as a barrel of monkeys.

funny as a crutch Go to (as) funny as a

crutch.

funny business trickery or deception; il-

legal activity. From the silence as she

entered the room, the teacher knew there

was some funny business going on.

There’s some funny business going on at the

warehouse. Stock keeps disappearing.

funny ha-ha amusing; comical. (Informal.

Compare this with funny peculiar.) I

didn’t mean that Mrs. Peters is funny ha-

ha. She’s weird—funny peculiar, in fact.

Mike thinks his jokes are funny ha-ha, but

we laugh because they are so silly.

funny peculiar odd; eccentric. (Informal.

Compare this with funny ha-ha.) I

didn’t mean that Mary is funny ha-ha.

She’s weird—funny peculiar, in fact. His

face is sort of funny—funny peculiar,

that is.

fond

fond of someone or something to like some-

one or something. I’m fond of choco-

late. Mary isn’t fond of me, but I’m fond

of her.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

A person who acts unwisely with money

soon loses it. (Often said about a person

who has just lost a sum of money because

of poor judgment.) When Bill lost a

$400 bet on a horse race, Mary said, “A

fool and his money are soon parted.”

When John bought a cheap used car that

fell apart the next day, he said, “Oh, well,

a fool and his money are soon parted.”

fool around (with someone or something) to

fiddle, play, or mess with someone or

something; to waste time with someone

or something. (Informal.) John is out

fooling around with his friends again.

That child spends most of his time fooling

around. Please don’t fool around with

the light switch. You’ll break it. There

are lots of interesting things in here, but

you must leave them alone. Don’t fool

around

footloose and fancy-free without re-

sponsibilities or commitments. All the

rest of them have wives, but John is foot-

loose and fancy-free. Mary never stays

long in any job. She likes being footloose

and fancy-free.

for a lark and on a lark for a joke; as

something done for fun. For a lark, I

wore a clown’s wig to school. On a lark,

I skipped school and drove to the beach.

for all I know according to the informa-

tion I have; I think; probably. (Informal.)

For all I know, the mayor has resigned

already. She may have gone to town for

all I know.

for all intents and purposes virtually;

practically speaking; in effect. (Some-

times this expression has very little mean-

ing.) He entered the room, looking for

all intents and purposes as if he would

burst into song. She said that for all in-

tents and purposes she had completed her

assignment.

for all it’s worth and for what(ever) it’s

worth if it has any value. My idea—for

all it’s worth—is to offer them only $300.

Here is my thinking, for whatever it’s

worth. Ask her to give us her opinion,

for what it’s worth.

for better or for worse under any condi-

tions; no matter what happens. I mar-

ried you for better or for worse. For bet-

ter or for worse, I’m going to quit my job.

for chicken feed and for peanuts for

nearly nothing; for very little money. (In-

formal.) Bob doesn’t get paid much. He

works for chicken feed. You can buy an

old car for chicken feed. I won’t do that

kind of work for peanuts!

For crying out loud! For heaven’s sake!; I

am amazed! (An exclamation of surprise

and mild shock.) For crying out loud!

I didn’t expect to see you here. For cry-

ing out loud! What a time to call someone

on the telephone.

for fear of something out of fear of some-

thing; because of fear of something.

He doesn’t drive for fear of an accident.

They lock their doors for fear of being

robbed.

for free for no charge or cost; free of any

cost. They let us into the movie for free.

I will let you have a sample of the candy

for free.

for good forever; permanently. I finally

left home for good. They tried to repair

it many times before they fixed it for good.

for good measure as extra; (adding) a lit-

tle more to make sure there is enough.

When I bought a pound of nails, the clerk

threw in a few extra nails for good mea-

sure. I always put a little extra salt in

the soup for good measure.

for hours on end for many hours. We

sat and waited for the doctor for hours on

end. We listened to the speaker for hours

on end.

for instance for example. I’ve lived in

many cities, for instance, Boston, Chicago,

and Detroit. Jane is very generous. For

instance, she volunteers her time and gives

money to charities.

for keeps forever; permanently. (Informal.

See also play for keeps. Compare this

with for good.) When I get married, it’ll

be for keeps. We’ve moved around a lot.

Now I think we’ll stay here for keeps.

for kicks for fun; just for entertainment; for

no good reason. (Slang.) They didn’t

mean any harm. They just did it for kicks.

We drove over to the next town for kicks.

for life for the remainder of one’s life.

The accident caused me to become blind

for life. She will stay in prison for life.

for one’s (own) part as far as one is con-

cerned; from one’s point of view. For

my own part, I wish to stay here. For her

part, she prefers chocolate.

for openers and for starters to start with.

(Informal.) For openers, they played a

song everyone knows. For starters, I’ll

serve a delicious soup.

for peanuts Go to for chicken feed.

for real authentic; genuine; really. (Infor-

mal or slang.) Is this diamond for real?

Are you for real? Are we there for real?

for safekeeping for the purpose of keep-

ing someone or something safe. I put

my jewelry in the vault for safekeeping.

I checked my fur coat at the entrance to the

bar for safekeeping.

for sale available for purchase; buyable.

(Compare this with on sale.) Is this

item for sale? How long has this house

been for sale? My car is for sale. Are you

interested?

for short in a short form. (Usually refers to

names of people or things.) My name

is William. They call me Bill for short.

Almost everyone who is named Robert is

called Bob for short.

for starters Go to for openers.

for sure certainly; surely. (Informal or

MARY: Do you like my new

jacket? JANE: For sure. For sure, I want

to go on the picnic.

for that matter besides; in addition. If

you’re hungry, take one of my doughnuts.

For that matter, take two. I don’t like

this house. The roof leaks. For that matter,

the whole place is falling apart. Tom is

quite arrogant. So is his sister, for that

matter.

[for the asking] Go to one’s for the asking.

for the best Go to (all) for the best.

for the better better; an improvement.

(See also take a turn for the better.) A

change of government would be for the

better. A new winter coat would cer-

tainly be for the better.

for the birds worthless; undesirable.

(Slang.) This television program is for

the birds.  Winter weather is for the

birds.

for the devil of it and for the heck of

it; for the hell of it just for fun; because

it is slightly evil; for no good reason. (In-

formal. Use caution with hell.)  We

filled their garage with leaves just for the

devil of it. Tom tripped Bill for the heck

of it. John picked a fight with Tom just

for the hell of it.

for the duration for the whole time that

something continues; for the entire pe-

riod of time required for something to be

completed; for as long as something

takes. We are in this war for the dura-

tion. However long it takes, we’ll wait.

We are here for the duration.

for the good of someone or something for the

benefit, profit, or advantage of someone

or something. The president said the

strict drug laws were for the good of the

country. David took a second job for the

good of his family.

for the heck of it Go to for the devil of it.

for the hell of it Go to for the devil of it.

for the life of one even if one’s life were

threatened; even in exchange for one’s

life. (Informal. Always with a negative,

and usually having to do with one’s

memory.) For the life of me, I don’t re-

member your name. She couldn’t recall

the correct numbers for the life of her.

For the life of them, they couldn’t remem-

ber the way home.

for the moment and for the time being

for the present; for now; temporarily.

This will have to do for the moment.

This is all right for the time being. It’ll have

to be improved next week, however. This

good feeling will last only for the time be-

ing. This solution is satisfactory for the

moment.

for the most part mostly; in general. For

the most part, the class is enjoying geom-

etry. I like working here for the most

part.

for the odds to be against one for things

to be against one generally; for one’s

chances of success to be slim. You can

give it a try, but the odds are against you.

I know the odds are against me, but I

wish to run in the race anyway.

for the record so that (one’s own version

of ) the facts will be known; so there will

be a record of a particular fact. (This of-

ten is said when there are reporters pre-

sent.) I’d like to say—for the record—

that at no time have I ever accepted a bribe

from anyone. For the record, I’ve never

been able to get anything done around city

hall without bribing someone.

for the sake of someone or something for the

good of someone or something; for the

honor or recognition of someone or

something. (Compare this with for one’s

own sake.) I did it for the sake of all

those people who helped me get through

school. I’m investing in a house for the

sake of my children. For the sake of hon-

esty, Bill shared all the information he had.

for the time being Go to for the moment.

for what(ever) it’s worth Go to for all it’s

worth.

forbidden fruit someone or something that

one finds attractive or desirable partly

because having the person or thing is im-

moral or illegal. (From the fruit in the

Garden of Eden that was forbidden to

Adam by God.) Jim f lirts with his sis-

ter-in-law only because she’s forbidden

The boy watches that program

only when his parents are out. It’s forbid-

den fruit.

force someone or something down someone’s

throat Go to shove someone or something

down someone’s throat.

force someone out (of office) and drive

someone out (of office) to pressure some-

one to leave an elective office. The city

council forced the mayor out of office.

Please resign immediately, or I’ll have to

drive you out.

force someone’s hand to force a person to

reveal plans, strategies, or secrets. (Refers

to a handful of cards in card playing.)

We didn’t know what she was doing until

Tom forced her hand. We couldn’t plan

our game until we forced the other team’s

hand in the last play.

force someone to the wall and drive some-

one to the wall to push someone to an

extreme position; to put someone into an

awkward position. He wouldn’t tell the

truth until we forced him to the wall.

They don’t pay their bills until you drive

them to the wall.

a force to be reckoned with someone or

something that is important and power-

ful and must not be ignored. Walter is

a force to be reckoned with. Be prepared

to deal with him. The growing discon-

tent with the political system is a power-

ful force to be reckoned with.

fore and aft at the front and the back, usu-

ally of a boat or ship. They had to at-

tach new lights fore and aft because the old

ones were not bright enough to meet the

new regulations. The captain ordered a

watch stationed fore and aft.

a foregone conclusion a conclusion al-

ready reached; an inevitable result.

That the company was moving to Califor-

nia was a foregone conclusion. That the

mayor will win reelection is a foregone

conclusion.

forever and ever and forever and a day

forever. I will love you forever and ever.

This car won’t keep running forever and

ever. We’ll have to get a new one sometime.

We have enough money to last forever

and a day.

forget oneself to forget one’s manners or

training. (Said in formal situations al-

luding to belching, bad table manners,

and, in the case of very young children,

pants-wetting.) Sorry, Mother, I forgot

myself. John, we are going out to din-

ner tonight. Please don’t forget yourself.

forgive and forget to forgive someone (for

something) and forget that it ever hap-

pened. I’m sorry, John. Let’s forgive and

forget. What do you say? It was nothing.

We’ll just have to forgive and forget.

fork money out (for something) to pay (per-

haps unwillingly) for something. (Infor-

mal. Often mention is made of the

amount of money. See the examples be-

low.) Do you think I’m going to fork

twenty dollars out for that book? Fork-

ing money out to everyone is part of life

in a busy economy. T I like that stereo, but

I don’t want to fork out a lot of money.

fork something over to give something to

someone. (Refers to handing over money.

Slang. Usually used in a command.)

Now! Fork it over now! T Okay, Joe. Fork

over that twenty dollars you owe me.

form and substance meaningful content;

structure and meaningful content. (See

also sum and substance.) The first act

of the play was one screaming match af-

ter another. It lacked form and substance

throughout. Jane’s report was good. The

teacher commented on the excellent form

and substance of the paper.

form an opinion to think up or decide on

an opinion. (Note the variation in the ex-

amples.) I don’t know enough about the

issue to form an opinion. Don’t tell me

how to think! I can form my own opinion.

I don’t form opinions without careful

consideration.

winks on the plane. If you’re lucky you’ll

get forty winks while the children are out.

foul one’s own nest to harm one’s own in-

terests; to bring disadvantage upon one-

self. He tried to discredit a fellow sena-

tor with the president, but just succeeded

in fouling his own nest. The boss really

dislikes Mary. She certainly fouled her own

nest when she spread those rumors about

him.

foul play illegal activity; bad practices.

The police investigating the death suspect

foul play. Each student got an A on the

test, and the teacher imagined it was the

result of foul play.

foul someone or something up to cause disor-

der and confusion for someone or some-

thing; to tangle up someone or some-

thing; to mess someone or something up.

(Informal.) Go away! Don’t foul me up

any more. T You’ve fouled up my whole

day. T Watch out! You’re going to foul up

my kite strings. T Stay off the field. You’re

going to foul up the coach.

foul up to do (something) badly; to mess

something up. (Informal.) At the last

minute, he fouled up and failed the course.

Take your time. Plan your moves, and

don’t foul up.

fouled up messed up; in disorder.

fishing line is all fouled up. The foot-

ball team got fouled up and lost the game.

fraught with danger [of something] full

of something dangerous or unpleasant.

The spy’s trip to Russia was fraught with

danger. My escape from the kidnappers

was fraught with danger.

fine

fine and dandy all right; okay; really fine.

Everything is fine and dandy at work.

No special problems at the present time.

I feel fine and dandy. The new medicine

seems to be working.

a fine how-de-do Go to a fine how-do-

you-do.

a fine how-do-you-do and a fine how-

de-do a predicament. What a mess!

This is a fine how-do-you-do! Here’s a

fine how-de-do!

a fine kettle of fish a real mess; an un-

satisfactory situation. The dog has

eaten the steak we were going to have for

dinner. This is a fine kettle of fish! This

is a fine kettle of fish. It’s below freezing

outside, and the furnace won’t work.

the fine print Go to the small print.

a fine state of affairs Go to a pretty state

of affairs.

firing on all cylinders and hitting on all

cylinders working at full strength; mak-

ing every possible effort. (Refers to an in-

ternal combustion engine.) The team

is firing on all cylinders under the new

coach. The factory is hitting on all cylin-

ders to finish the orders on time.

first and foremost first and most impor-

tant. First and foremost, I think you

should work harder on your biology.

Have this in mind first and foremost: Keep

smiling!

first and ten [in football] the first down

[of four] with ten yards needed to earn

another first down. It is first and ten

on the forty-yard line, and Army has the

ball. There will be no first and ten on

the last play because there was a f lag on

the play.

First come, first served. The first people

to arrive will be served first. They ran

out of tickets before we got there. It was

first come, first served, but we didn’t know

that. Please line up and take your turn.

It’s first come, first served.

first of all the very first thing; before any-

thing else. First of all, put your name

on this piece of paper. First of all, we’ll

try to find a place to live.

first off first; the first thing. (Almost the

same as first of all.) He ordered soup

first off. First off, we’ll find a place to

live.

first thing (in the morning) before any-

thing else in the morning. Please call

me first thing in the morning. I can’t help

you now. I’ll do that first thing.

fish for something to try to get information

(from someone). (Also literal.)

lawyer was fishing for evidence.

teacher spent a lot of time fishing for the

right answer from the students.

fish or cut bait either do the task you are

supposed to be doing or quit and let

someone else do it. Mary is doing much

better on the job since her manager told her

to fish or cut bait. The boss told Tom,

“Quit wasting time! Fish or cut bait!”

fit and trim slim and in good physical

shape. Jean tried to keep herself fit and

trim at all times. For some people, keep-

ing fit and trim requires time, effort, and

self-discipline.

fit as a fiddle Go to (as) fit as a fiddle.

fit for a king totally suitable. What a de-

licious meal. It was fit for a king. Our

room at the hotel was fit for a king.

fit in someone Go to fit someone in(to some-

thing).

fit in (with someone or something) to be com-

fortable with someone or something; to

be in accord or harmony with someone

or something. I really feel as if I fit in

with that group of people. It’s good that

you fit in. This chair doesn’t fit in with

the style of furniture in my house.  I

won’t buy it if it doesn’t fit in.

fit like a glove to fit very well; to fit tightly

or snugly. My new shoes fit like a glove.

My new coat is quite snug. It fits like a

glove.

fit someone or something out (with something)

to provide or furnish someone or some-

thing with something. They fitted the

camper out with everything they needed.

They fitted them out for only $140.

He fitted his car out with lots of chrome.

fit the bill Go to fill the bill.

fit to be tied very angry and excited.

(Folksy. To be so angry that one has to be

restrained with ropes.) If I’m not home

on time, my parents will be fit to be tied.

When Ann saw the bill, she was fit to

be tied.

fit to kill dressed up to look very fancy or

sexy. (Folksy.) Mary put on her best

clothes and looked fit to kill. John looked

fit to kill in his tuxedo.

fix someone’s wagon to punish someone; to

get even with someone; to plot against

someone. (Informal.) If you ever do

that again, I’ll fix your wagon! Tommy!

You clean up your room this instant, or I’ll

fix your wagon! He reported me to the

boss, but I fixed his wagon. I knocked his

lunch on the f loor.

fix someone up (with someone or something) 1.

[with something] to supply a person with

something. (Informal.) The usher fixed

us up with seats at the front of the theater.

T We fixed up the visitors with a cold

drink. 2. [with someone] and line some-

one up with someone to supply a person

with a date or a companion. (Informal.)

They lined John up with my cousin,

Jane. John didn’t want us to fix him up.

T We fixed up Bob with a date.

fizzle out to die out; to come to a stop

shortly after starting; to fail. It started

to rain, and the fire fizzled out. The car

started in the cold weather, but it fizzled

out before we got very far. My attempt

to run for mayor fizzled out. She started

off her job very well, but fizzled out after

about a month.

flare up [for emotions or a chronic disease]

to grow intense suddenly. (Refers to a

fire, suddenly burning brighter or with

more vigor.) Just when we thought we

had put the fire out, it f lared up again.

Mr. Jones always f lares up whenever any-

one mentions taxes. My hay fever usu-

ally f lares up in August.

a flash in the pan someone or something

that draws a lot of attention for a very

brief time. (Refers to a small grease fire

in a frying pan. Informal.) I’m afraid

that my success as a painter was just a

f lash in the pan. Tom had hoped to be

a singer, but his career was only a f lash in

the pan.

flat as a board Go to (as) flat as a board.

flat as a pancake Go to (as) flat as a

pancake.

flat out 1. clearly and definitely; holding

nothing back. (Informal.) I told her flat

out that I didn’t like her. They reported

f lat out that the operation was a failure. 2.

at top speed, with the accelerator pedal

flat on the floor. (Slang.) How fast will

this car go f lat out? This car will hit

about 110 miles per hour f lat out.

Flattery will get you nowhere. You can

praise me, but I’m not going to give you

what you want. I am glad to hear that

I am beautiful and talented, but f lattery

will get you nowhere. Flattery will get

you nowhere, but that doesn’t mean you

should stop f lattering me!

flesh and blood 1. a living human body,

especially with reference to its natural

limitations; a human being. This cold

weather is more than flesh and blood can

stand. Carrying 300 pounds is beyond

mere flesh and blood. 2. the quality of be-

ing alive. The paintings of this artist are

lifeless. They lack f lesh and blood. This

play needs f lesh and blood, not the mum-

bling of intensely dull actors. 3. one’s own

relatives; one’s own kin. That’s no way

to treat one’s own f lesh and blood.

want to leave my money to my own f lesh

and blood. Grandmother was happier

living with her f lesh and blood.

flesh something out to make something

more detailed, bigger, or fuller. (As if one

were adding flesh to a skeleton.) This

is basically a good outline. Now you’ll have

to f lesh it out. T The play was good, ex-

cept that the author needed to f lesh out the

third act. It was too short.

flight of fancy an idea or suggestion that

is out of touch with reality or possibil-

ity. What is the point in indulging in

f lights of fancy about foreign vacations

when you cannot even afford the rent?

We are tired of her f lights of fancy about

marrying a millionaire.

fling oneself at someone Go to throw oneself at

someone.

flip one’s wig and flip one’s lid to suddenly

become angry, crazy, or enthusiastic.

(Slang.) Whenever anyone mentions

taxes, Mr. Jones absolutely f lips his wig.

Stop whistling. You’re going to make me

f lip my lid. When I saw that brand-new

car and learned it was mine, I just f lipped

my wig.

flirt with the idea of doing something to

think about doing something; to toy with

an idea; to consider something, but not

too seriously. I f lirted with the idea of

going to Europe for two weeks.

f lirted with the idea of quitting her job.

float a loan to get a loan; to arrange for a

loan. I couldn’t afford to pay cash for the

car, so I f loated a loan. They needed

money, so they had to float a loan.

flora and fauna plants and animals.

(Latin.) The magazine story described

the f lora and fauna of Panama.  We

went for a hike in the Finnish wilderness

hoping to learn all about the local f lora

and fauna.

flotsam and jetsam worthless matter;

worthless encumbrances. (Refers to the

floating wreckage of a ship and its cargo

or to floating cargo deliberately cast over-

board to stabilize a ship in a rough sea.)

His mind is burdened with the f lotsam

and jetsam of many years of poor instruc-

tion and lax study habits. Your report

would be better if you could get rid of a

lot of the f lotsam and jetsam and clean up

the grammar a bit.

flunk someone out to cause someone to

leave school by giving a failing grade.

The teacher f lunked Tom out. T The pro-

fessor wanted to f lunk out the whole class.

fly-by-night irresponsible; untrustworthy.

(Refers to a person who sneaks away se-

cretly in the night.) The carpenter we

hired was a f ly-by-night worker who did

a very bad job. You shouldn’t deal with

a f ly-by-night merchant.

fly in the face of someone or something and

fly in the teeth of someone or something

to disregard, defy, or show disrespect for

someone or something. John loves to

f ly in the face of tradition. Ann made

it a practice to f ly in the face of standard

procedures. John finds great pleasure in

f lying in the teeth of his father.

fly in the teeth of someone or something Go

to fly in the face of someone or something.

fly the coop to escape; to get out or get

away. (Informal. Refers to a chicken es-

caping from a chicken coop.) I could-

n’t stand the party, so I f lew the coop.

The prisoner f lew the coop at the first

opportunity.

fob something off (on someone) to trick

someone into accepting something that

is worthless. (Informal.) The car dealer

fobbed a car off on Tom. T He also fobbed

off a bad car on Jane. Some car dealers

are always trying to fob something off.

foist something (off ) on someone to force

someone to take something that they

don’t want. Bill tried to foist the task of

washing dishes off on his sister. The city

council foisted the new garbage dump on

the poorest neighborhood in the city.

fold something up to put an end to some-

thing; to close something such as a busi-

ness or some other enterprise. (Refers to

folding something closed.) Mr. Jones

was going broke, so he folded his business

up. T The producer decided to fold up the

play early. It was losing money.

fold, spindle, or mutilate to harm or dis-

figure a machine-readable document,

such as a computer punch card. (Such a

document, if folded, placed on a bill

spike, or otherwise punctured, would no

longer be machine-readable. Now rarely

seen on a bill but the expression is some-

times used in a figurative sense.) At the

bottom of the bill, it said “do not fold, spin-

dle, or mutilate,” and Jane, in her anger,

did all three. Look here, chum, if you

don’t want to get folded, spindled, or mu-

tilated, you had better do what you are

told

fold up to close up; to end. (Alluding to

something that folds closed or collapses

along its folds.) The play folded up af-

ter two days. It’s time to fold up and go

home.

follow in someone’s footsteps Go to follow

in someone’s tracks.

follow in someone’s tracks and follow in

someone’s footsteps to follow someone’s

example; to assume someone else’s role or

occupation. The vice president was fol-

lowing in the president’s footsteps when he

called for budget cuts. She followed in

her father’s footsteps and went into

medicine.

follow one’s heart to act according to one’s

feelings; to obey one’s sympathetic or

compassionate inclinations. I couldn’t

decide what to do, so I just followed my

heart. I trust that you will follow your

heart in this matter.

follow one’s nose 1. to go straight ahead,

the direction that one’s nose is pointing.

(Folksy.) The town that you want is

straight ahead on this highway. Just fol-

low your nose. The chief ’s office is right

around the corner. Turn left and follow

your nose. 2. to follow an odor to its

source. (Informal.) The kitchen is at the

back of the building. Just follow your nose.

There was a bad smell in the base-

ment—probably a dead mouse. I followed

my nose until I found it.

follow orders to do as one has been in-

structed. You have to learn to follow or-

ders if you want to be a marine. I did-

n’t do anything wrong. I was only following

orders.

follow someone or something up 1. [with

something] to add more information or

detail to something; to follow something

through. Bill had to follow my sugges-

tion up. T The police followed up my story.

2. [with someone] to review someone’s

work and check it over. The person who

follows you up will make sure you’re do-

ing the right thing. T When I followed up

Mary, I found errors in her work.

follow someone’s lead to do as someone else

does; to accept someone’s guidance; to

follow someone’s direction. Just follow

my lead and you will not get lost. John

followed his father’s lead and became a

lawyer.

follow suit to follow in the same pattern;

to follow someone else’s example. (From

card games.) Mary went to work for a

bank, and Jane followed suit. Now they are

both head cashiers. The Smiths went out

to dinner, but the Browns didn’t follow

suit. They stayed home.

follow the crowd to do what everyone else

is doing. I am an independent thinker.

I could never just follow the crowd.

When in doubt, I follow the crowd. At least

I don’t stand out like a fool.

follow through (on something) and carry

through (on something) to complete a

task; to see a task through to its comple-

You must follow through on the

things that you start. Don’t start the job

if you can’t follow through. Ask Sally to

carry through on her project.

follow up (on someone or something) to find

out more about someone or something.

Please follow up on Mr. Brown and his

activities. Bill, Mr. Smith has a com-

plaint. Would you please follow up on it?

follow up (on something) to check (on

something) and do what needs to be

done. I will follow up on this matter and

make sure it is settled. There is a prob-

lem with the bank account. Will you please

follow up?

fast

fast and furious very rapidly and with un-

restrained energy. Her work in the

kitchen was fast and furious, and it looked

lovely when she finished. Everything was

going so fast and furious at the store dur-

ing the Christmas rush that we never had

time to eat lunch.

faster and faster at an increasing rate of

speed; fast and then even faster. The

car went faster and faster and I was afraid

we would crash. The cost of education

goes up faster and faster every year.

fat and happy well-fed and content.

Since all the employees were fat and happy,

there was little incentive to improve pro-

ductivity. You look fat and happy. Has

life been treating you well?

fat as a pig Go to (as) fat as a pig.

fat chance very little likelihood. (Infor-

mal.) Fat chance he has of getting a pro-

motion. You think she’ll lend you the

money? Fat chance!

favor someone or something with something to

provide someone or something with

something beneficial or special. Mary

favored us with a song. Nature favored

Bill with curly hair.

feast one’s eyes (on someone or something) to

look at someone or something with plea-

sure, envy, or admiration. Just feast

your eyes on that beautiful, juicy steak!

Yes, feast your eyes. You won’t see one like

that again for a long time.

a feather in one’s cap an honor; a reward

for something. Getting a new client was

really a feather in my cap. John earned

a feather in his cap by getting an A in

physics.

feather one’s (own) nest 1. to decorate and

furnish one’s home in style and comfort.

(Birds line their nests with feathers to

make them warm and comfortable.)

Mr. and Mrs. Simpson have feathered their

nest quite comfortably. It costs a great

deal of money to feather one’s nest these

days. 2. to use power and prestige to pro-

vide for oneself selfishly. (Said especially

of politicians who use their offices to

make money for themselves.)

mayor seemed to be helping people, but she

was really feathering her own nest. The

building contractor used a lot of public

money to feather his nest.

fed up (to somewhere) (with someone or some-

thing) bored with or disgusted with some-

one or something. (Informal. The some-

where can be here, the teeth, the gills, or

other places.) I’m fed up with Tom and

his silly tricks. I’m fed up to here with

high taxes. They are fed up to the teeth

with screaming children. I’m really fed

up!

feed one’s face to eat; to eat a regular meal.

(Slang.) Come on, everyone. It’s time

to feed your faces. Bill, if you keep feed-

ing your face all the time, you’ll get fat.

feed someone a line Go to give someone a

line.

feed the kitty to contribute money to a

special, voluntary collection. (See also

pass the hat.) Please feed the kitty.

Make a contribution to help sick children.

Come on, Bill. Feed the kitty. You can

afford a dollar for a good cause.

feel a glow of something a feeling of con-

tentment, happiness, satisfaction, peace,

etc. Anne felt a glow of happiness as she

held her new baby. Sitting by the lake,

the lovers felt a warm glow of contentment.

feel at home to feel as if one belongs; to

feel as if one were in one’s home; to feel

accepted. (See also at home with someone

or something.) I liked my dormitory room.

I really felt at home there. We will do

whatever we can to make you feel at home.

feel dragged out to feel exhausted. (In-

formal.) What a day! I really feel

dragged out. If he runs too much, he

ends up feeling dragged out.

feel fit to feel well and healthy. If you

want to feel fit, you must eat the proper

food and get enough rest. I hope I still

feel fit when I get old.

feel free (to do something) to feel like one is

permitted to do something or take some-

thing. Please feel free to stay for dinner.

If you see something you want in the re-

frigerator, please feel free.

feel it beneath one (to do something) to feel

that one would be lowering oneself to do

something. Ann feels it beneath her to

carry her own luggage. I would do it,

but I feel it beneath me.

feel like a million (dollars) to feel well

and healthy, both physically and men-

tally. A quick swim in the morning

makes me feel like a million dollars.

What a beautiful day! It makes you feel

like a million.

feel like a new person to feel refreshed

and renewed, especially after getting well

or getting dressed up. I bought a new

suit, and now I feel like a new person.

Bob felt like a new person when he got out

of the hospital.

feel like doing something 1. to want to do

something; to be in the mood to do

something. Do you feel like stopping

work to eat something? I feel like going

on a vacation. 2. to feel well enough to do

something. I believe I’m getting well. I

feel like getting out of bed. I don’t feel

like going to the party. I have a headache.

feel like (having) something to want to have

something or do something. I feel like

having a nice cool drink. I feel like a nice

swim.

feel one’s gorge rise to sense that one is

getting very angry. I felt my gorge rise

and I knew I was going to lose my temper.

Bob could feel his gorge rise as he read

his tax bill.

feel on top of the world to feel very good,

as if one were ruling the world. I feel

on top of the world this morning. I do

not actually feel on top of the world, but I

have felt worse.

feel out of place to feel that one does not

belong in a place. I feel out of place at

formal dances. Bob and Ann felt out of

place at the picnic, so they went home.

feel put-upon to feel taken advantage of or

exploited. Bill refused to help because

he felt put-upon. Sally’s mother felt put-

upon, but she took each of the children

home after the birthday party.

feel someone out to try to find out how

someone feels (about something). (In-

formal. This does not involve touching

anyone.) Sally tried to feel Tom out on

whether he’d make a contribution. T The

students felt out their parents to find out

what they thought about the proposed

party.

feel something in one’s bones and know

something in one’s bones to sense some-

thing; to have an intuition about some-

thing. The train will be late. I feel it in

my bones. I failed the test. I know it in

my bones.

feel the pinch to experience hardship be-

cause of having too little money. The

Smiths used to go abroad every year, but

now that he’s retired, they’re really feeling

the pinch. You’re bound to feel the pinch

a bit when you’re a student.

feel up to something to feel well enough or

prepared enough to do something. (Of-

ten in the negative.) I don’t feel up to

jogging today. Aunt Mary didn’t feel up

to making the visit. Do you feel up to go-

ing out today?

feeling no pain drunk. Bob’s on his

eighth beer and feeling no pain. At mid-

night when we were all feeling no pain, the

landlord comes up and tells us to be quiet.

fence someone in to restrict someone in

some way. (Also literal. See also hem

someone or something in.) I don’t want to

fence you in, but you have to get home ear-

lier at night. Don’t try to fence me in. I

need a lot of freedom.

fend for oneself Go to shift for oneself.

ferret something out of someone or something

to remove or retrieve something from

someone or something, usually with cun-

ning and persistence. (In the case of

someone, the thing being ferreted out

would be information.) I tried very

hard, but I couldn’t ferret the information

out of the clerk. I had to ferret out the

answer from a book in the library.

a few cards short of a deck Go to a few

cards shy of a full deck.

a few cards shy of a full deck and a few

cards short of a deck; two bricks shy

of a load [of someone] not very smart

or clever. Bob’s nice, but he’s a few cards

shy of a full deck. You twit! You’re two

bricks shy of a load!

fiddle about (with someone or something) Go

to fiddle around (with someone or some-

thing).

fiddle around (with someone or something)

and fiddle about (with someone or some-

thing) 1. [with someone] to tease, annoy,

or play with someone; to waste someone’s

time. (See also mess around (with some-

one or something).) All right, stop fiddling

around with me and tell me how much you

will give me for my car. Now it’s time for

all of you to quit fiddling around and get

to work. Tom, you have to stop spend-

ing your time fiddling about with your

friends. It’s time to get serious with your

studies. 2. [with something] to play with

something; to tinker with something in-

eptly. My brother is outside fiddling

around with his car engine. He should

stop fiddling around and go out and get a

job. Stop fiddling about with that stick.

You’re going to hurt someone.

fiddle while Rome burns to do nothing

or something trivial while knowing that

something disastrous is happening.

(From a legend that the emperor Nero

played the lyre while Rome was burning.)

The lobbyists don’t seem to be doing

anything to stop this tax bill. They’re fid-

dling while Rome burns.  The doctor

should have sent for an ambulance right

away instead of examining the woman. In

fact, he was just fiddling while Rome

burned.

fight against time to hurry to meet a

deadline or to do something quickly.

The ambulance sped through the city to

reach the accident, fighting against time.

All the students fought against time to

complete the test.

fight someone or something hammer and

tongs and fight someone or something

tooth and nail; go at it hammer and

tongs; go at it tooth and nail to fight

against someone or something energeti-

cally and with great determination.

They fought against the robber tooth and

nail. The dogs were fighting each other

hammer and tongs. The mayor fought

the new law hammer and tongs. We’ll

fight this zoning ordinance tooth and nail.

fight someone or something tooth and nail Go

to fight someone or something hammer and

tongs.

a fighting chance a good possibility of

success, especially if every effort is made.

(See also sporting chance.) They have

at least a fighting chance of winning the

race. The patient could die, but he has

a fighting chance since the operation.

figure in something [for a person] to play a

role in something. Tom figures in our

plans for a new building. I don’t wish

to figure in your future.

figure on something to plan on something;

to make arrangements for something.

(Informal.) We figured on twenty guests

at our party. I didn’t figure on so much

trouble.

figure someone or something out to under-

stand someone or something; to find an

explanation for someone or something.

It’s hard to figure John out. I don’t know

what he means. T I can’t figure out this

recipe.

fill the bill and fit the bill to be exactly

the thing that is needed. Ah, this steak

is great. It really fills the bill. I think that

this book will fit the bill just right.

filled to the brim filled all the way full;

filled up to the top edge. I like my cof-

fee cup filled to the brim. If the glass is

filled to the brim, I can’t drink without

spilling the contents.

a final fling the last act or period of en-

joyment before a change in one’s cir-

cumstances or life-style. You might as

well have a final f ling before the baby’s

born. Mary’s going out with her girl-

friends for a final f ling. She’s getting mar-

ried next week.

find a happy medium Go to strike a happy

medium.

find fault (with someone or something) to find

things wrong with someone or some-

thing. We were unable to find fault with

the meal. Sally’s father was always find-

ing fault with her. Some people are al-

ways finding fault.

find it in one’s heart (to do something) to

have the courage or compassion to do

something. She couldn’t find it in her

heart to refuse to come home to him. I

can’t do it! I can’t find it in my heart.

find its way somewhere [for something] to

end up in a place. (This expression avoids

accusing someone of moving the thing to

the place.) The money found its way

into the mayor’s pocket. The secret plans

found their way into the enemy’s hands.

find one’s own level to find the position

or rank to which one is best suited. (As

water “seeks its own level.”) You can-

not force clerks to be ambitious. They will

all find their own level. The new student

is happier in the beginning class. It was just

a question of letting her find her own level.

find one’s tongue to be able to talk. (In-

formal.) Tom was speechless for a mo-

ment. Then he found his tongue. Ann

was unable to find her tongue. She sat

there in silence.

find one’s way (around) to be able to move

about an area satisfactorily. I can go

downtown by myself. I can find my way

around. I know the area well enough to

find my way.  He can find his way

around when it comes to car engines.

find one’s way somewhere to discover the

route to a place. Mr. Smith found his

way to the museum. Can you find your

way home?

find someone guilty and find someone in-

nocent to decide guilt or innocence and

deliver a verdict in a court of law. The

judge found the defendant not guilty by

reason of insanity. The jury found the

defendant innocent.

find someone innocent Go to find someone

guilty.

find someone or something out 1. [with some-

thing] to discover facts about someone or

something; to learn a fact. I found

something out that you might be interested

in. T We found out that the Smiths are go-

ing to sell their house. 2. [with someone]

to discover something bad about some-

one. John thought he could get away

with smoking, but his mother found him

out. Jane was taking a two-hour lunch

period until the manager found her out.

find (something) out the hard way Go to

learn (something) the hard way.

Finders keepers(, losers weepers). <a

phrase said when something is found.>

(The person who finds something gets to

keep it. The person who loses it can only

be sorry.) John lost a quarter in the din-

ing room yesterday. Ann found the quar-

ter there today. Ann claimed that since she

found it, it was hers. She said, “Finders

keepers, losers weepers.” John said, “I’ll

say finders keepers when I find something

of yours!”

F

face someone down to overcome someone

by being bold; to disconcert someone by

displaying great confidence.

teacher faced the angry student down

without saying anything. T The mayor

couldn’t face down the entire city council.

face the music to receive punishment; to

accept the unpleasant results of one’s ac-

tions. Mary broke a dining-room win-

dow and had to face the music when her

father got home. After failing a math

test, Tom had to go home and face the

music.

face-to-face 1. in person; in the same lo-

cation. (Said only of people. An adverb.)

Let’s talk about this face-to-face. I don’t

like talking over the telephone. Many

people prefer to talk face-to-face. 2. fac-

ing one another; in the same location.

I prefer to have a face-to-face meeting.

They work better on a face-to-face basis.

the facts of life 1. the facts of sex and re-

production, especially human reproduc-

tion. (See also birds and the bees.) My

parents told me the facts of life when I was

nine years old. Bill learned the facts of

life from his classmates. 2. the truth about

the unpleasant ways that the world

works. Mary really learned the facts of

life when she got her first job.  Tom

couldn’t accept the facts of life in business,

so he quit.

fair and impartial fair and unbiased. (Usu-

ally referring to some aspect of the legal

system, such as a jury, a hearing, or a

Gary felt that he had not re-

ceived a fair and impartial hearing. We

demand that all of our judges be fair and

impartial in every instance.

fair and square completely fair(ly).

won the game fair and square. The di-

vision of the money should be fair and

square.

fair game someone or something that it is

quite permissible to attack. I don’t like

seeing articles exposing people’s private

lives, but politicians are fair game. Jour-

nalists always regard movie stars as fair

game.

fair-haired boy a favored person. (Not

necessarily young or male.)

teacher’s fair-haired boy always does well

on tests. The supervisor’s son was the

fair-haired boy on the construction site.

[fair share] Go to one’s fair share.

fair to middling only fair or okay; a little

better than acceptable. (Folksy.) I don’t

feel sick, just fair to middling. The play

wasn’t really good. It was just fair to

middling.

fair-weather friend someone who is your

friend only when things are going well for

you. (This person will desert you when

things go badly for you. Compare this

with A friend in need is a friend indeed.)

Bill wouldn’t help me with my home-

work. He’s just a fair-weather friend. A

fair-weather friend isn’t much help in an

emergency.

fall afoul of someone or something and run

afoul of someone or something to get into a

situation where one is opposed to some-

one or something; to get into trouble

with someone or something. Dan fell

afoul of the law at an early age. I hope

that you will avoid falling afoul of the dis-

trict manager. She can be a formidable en-

emy. I hope I don’t run afoul of your sis-

ter. She doesn’t like me.

fall (all) over oneself to behave awkwardly

and eagerly when doing something. (See

also fall over backwards (to do something).)

Tom fell all over himself trying to make

Jane feel at home.  I fall over myself

when I’m doing something that makes me

nervous.

fall all over someone to give a lot of atten-

tion, affection, or praise to someone. (In-

formal.) My aunt falls all over me

whenever she comes to visit. I hate for

someone to fall all over me. It embarrasses

me.

fall apart at the seams [for something] to

break into pieces; to fall apart; [for ma-

terial that is sewn together] to separate at

the seams. (Literal for cloth, otherwise

figurative. See also come apart at the

seams.) My new jacket fell apart at the

seams. This old car is about ready to fall

apart at the seams.

fall asleep to go to sleep. The baby cried

and cried and finally fell asleep. Tom fell

asleep in class yesterday.

fall back on someone or something to turn to

someone or something for help. (Also lit-

eral.) Bill fell back on his brother for

help. John ran out of ink and had to fall

back on his pencil.

fall between two stools to come some-

where between two possibilities and so

fail to meet the requirements of either.

The material is not suitable for an acade-

mic book or for a popular one. It falls be-

tween two stools. He tries to be both

teacher and friend, but falls between two

stools.

fall down on the job to fail to do some-

thing properly; to fail to do one’s job ad-

equately. (Also literal referring to an ac-

cident while one is working.) The team

kept losing because the coach was falling

down on the job. Tom was fired because

he fell down on the job.

fall flat (on its face) Go to fall flat (on one’s

face).

fall flat (on one’s face) and fall flat (on

its face) to be completely unsuccessful.

(Informal.) I fell f lat on my face when

I tried to give my speech. The play fell

f lat on its face. My jokes fall f lat most

of the time.

fall for someone or something 1. [with some-

one] to fall in love with someone. Tom

fell for Ann after only two dates. He wants

to marry her. Some men always fall for

women with blond hair. 2. [with some-

thing] to be deceived by something. I

can’t believe you fell for that old trick.

Jane didn’t fall for Ann’s story.

fall from grace to cease to be held in favor,

especially because of some wrong or fool-

ish action. He was the teacher’s pet un-

til he fell from grace by failing the history

test. Mary was the favorite grandchild

until she fell from grace by running away

from home.

fall head over heels to fall down, perhaps

turning over or rolling. (Also literal.)

Fred tripped on the rug and fell head over

heels into the center of the room. Slow

down or you will fall down—head over

heels.

fall head over heels in love (with some-

one) to fall deeply in love with someone,

perhaps suddenly. Roger fell head over

heels in love with Maggie, and they were

married within the month.  Very few

people actually fall head over heels in love

with each other. She fell head over heels

in love and thought she was dreaming.

fall in to line up in a row, standing shoul-

der to shoulder. (Also literal, meaning

“to collapse.” Usually refers to people in

scouting or the military. Compare this

with fall in(to) line and fall out.) The

Boy Scouts were told to fall in behind the

scoutmaster. The soldiers fell in quickly.

fall into a trap and fall into the trap; fall

into someone’s trap to become caught in

someone’s scheme; to be deceived into

doing or thinking something. (Also lit-

eral.) We fell into a trap by asking for

an explanation. I fell into his trap when

I agreed to drive him home. We fell into

the trap of thinking he was honest.

fall in(to) line 1. to line up with each per-

son (except the first person) standing be-

hind someone. (Compare this with fall

in.) The teacher told the students to fall

in line for lunch. Hungry students fall

into line very quickly. 2. to conform; to

fall in(to) place. All the parts of the

problem finally fell into line. Bill’s be-

havior began to fall in line.

fall into someone’s trap Go to fall into a trap.

fall into the trap Go to fall into a trap.

fall in with someone or something 1. [with

someone] to meet someone by accident;

to join with someone. John has fallen

in with a strange group of people. We

fell in with some people from our home-

town when we went on vacation. 2. to

agree with someone or something. Bill

was not able to fall in with our ideas about

painting the house red. Bob fell in with

Mary’s plans to move to Texas.

fall out (with someone about something) Go

to fall out (with someone over something).

fall out (with someone over something) and

fall out (with someone about something)

to quarrel or disagree about something.

Bill fell out with Sally over the question

of buying a new car. Bill fell out with

John about who would sleep on the bottom

bunk. They are always arguing. They

fall out about once a week.

fall short (of something) 1. to lack some-

thing; to lack enough of something.

We fell short of money at the end of the

month. When baking a cake, the cook

fell short of eggs and had to go to the store

for more. 2. to fail to achieve a goal. We

fell short of our goal of collecting a thou-

sand dollars. Ann ran a fast race, but fell

short of the record.

fall to someone to do something to become the

responsibility of someone. It always

falls to me to apologize first. Why does

it fall to me to answer the telephone every

time it rings?

fall (up)on someone or something 1. to attack

someone or something. (Also literal.)

The cat fell upon the mouse and killed it.

The children fell on the birthday cake

and ate it all. 2. [with someone] [for a

task] to become the duty of someone.

The task of telling Mother about the bro-

ken vase fell upon Jane.  The job of

cleaning up the spill fell upon Tom.

familiar with someone or something having a

good knowledge of someone or some-

thing. Are you familiar with changing a

f lat tire? I’m can’t speak German f lu-

ently, but I’m somewhat familiar with the

language.

Familiarity breeds contempt. Knowing a

person closely for a long time leads to bad

feelings. (Proverb.) Bill and his broth-

ers are always fighting. As they say: “Fa-

miliarity breeds contempt.” Mary and

John were good friends for many years. Fi-

nally they got into a big argument and be-

came enemies. That just shows that famil-

iarity breeds contempt.

a fan of someone a follower of someone;

someone who idolized someone. (Pre-

ceded by be, become, seem like, or act

like.) My mother is still a fan of the Bea-

tles. I’m a great fan of the mayor of the

town.

fan the flames (of something) to make

something more intense; to make a situ-

ation worse. The riot fanned the f lames

of racial hatred even more. The hostil-

ity in the school is bad enough without

anyone fanning the f lames.

far and away the best unquestionably the

This soap is far and away the best.

Sally is good, but Ann is far and away

the best.

far as anyone knows Go to (as) far as any-

one knows.

far as something is concerned Go to (as) far

as something is concerned.

a faraway look and a far-off look an ap-

pearance on one’s face of having one’s

mind in another place. Dave had a far-

away look in his eyes, so I touched him to

get his attention. Katherine’s face had

a far-off look indicating that she was

daydreaming.

far be it from me to do something it is not

really my place to do something. (Always

with but, as in the examples below.)

Far be it from me to tell you what to do,

but I think you should buy the book. Far

be it from me to attempt to advise you, but

you’re making a big mistake.

a far cry from something a thing that is very

different from something else. (Infor-

mal.) What you did was a far cry from

what you said you were going to do. The

song they played was a far cry from what

I call music.

far from it not it at all; not at all. Do I

think you need a new car? Far from it. The

old one is fine. BILL: Does this hat look

strange? TOM: Far from it. It looks good.

far into the night late into the night; late.

She sat up and read far into the night.

The party went on far into the night.

a far-off look Go to a far-away look.

far out 1. far from the center of things; far

from town. The Smiths live sort of far

out. The restaurant is nice, but too far

out. 2. strange. (Slang.) Ann acts pretty

far out sometimes. The whole group of

people seemed pretty far out.

farm someone or something out 1. [with some-

one] to send someone (somewhere) for

care or development. When my mother

died, they farmed me out to my aunt and

uncle. T The team manager farmed out

the baseball player to the minor leagues

until he improved. 2. [with something] to

send something (elsewhere) to be dealt

with. Bill farmed his chores out to his

brothers and sisters and went to a movie.

T I farmed out various parts of the work

to different people.

everything

everything but the kitchen sink almost

everything one can think of. When

Sally went off to college, she took every-

thing but the kitchen sink. John orders

everything but the kitchen sink when he

goes out to dinner, especially if someone

else is paying for it.

everything from A to Z Go to everything

from soup to nuts.

everything from soup to nuts and

everything from A to Z almost every-

thing one can think of. For dinner we

had everything from soup to nuts.

college I studied everything from soup to

nuts. She mentioned everything from A

to Z.

everything humanly possible everything

that is in the range of human powers.

The rescuers did everything humanly pos-

sible to find the lost campers. The doc-

tor tried everything humanly possible to

save the patient.

Everything’s coming up roses. Every-

thing is really just excellent. Life is

wonderful. Everything is coming up roses.

Q: How are things going? A: Every-

thing’s coming up roses.

the exception that proves the rule <a

saying identifying an exception to a rule

or guideline as emphasizing the existence

of the rule.> Sixth-graders do not have

to wear school uniforms, but they’re the ex-

ception that proves the rule.   The

youngest dog is allowed in the house. He’s

the exception that proves the rule.

Sally and Liz didn’t have enough time to

exchange more than five words.

exciting as watching (the) paint dry Go

to (as) exciting as watching (the) paint

dry.

excuse oneself to make polite apologies or

explanations before leaving a place.

Please excuse me. I must leave. I will

have to excuse myself from this meeting

since I have a vested interest in the

outcome.

excuse someone 1. to forgive someone.

(Usually with me. Said when interrupt-

ing or when some other minor offense

has been committed. There are many

mannerly uses of this expression.) John

came in late and said, “Excuse me, please.”

John said “excuse me” when he inter-

rupted our conversation.  When John

made a strange noise at the table, he said

quietly, “Excuse me.” John suddenly left

the room saying, “Excuse me. I’ll be right

back.” 2. to permit someone to leave; to

permit someone to remain away from an

event. The coach excused John from

practice yesterday. The teacher excused

John, and he ran quickly from the room.

expecting (a child) pregnant. (Eu-

phemism.) Tommy’s mother is expect-

ing a child. Oh, I didn’t know she was

expecting.

expense is no object Go to money is no

object.

explain oneself 1. to explain what one has

said or done or what one thinks or feels.

(Formal and polite.) Please take a mo-

ment to explain yourself. I’m sure we are

interested in your ideas. Yes, if you give

me a moment to explain myself, I think

you’ll agree with my idea. 2. to give an ex-

planation or excuse for something wrong

that one may have done. (Usually said in

anger.) Young man! Come in here and

explain yourself this instant. Why did

you do that, Tom Smith? You had better

explain yourself, and it had better be good.

explain something away to give a good ex-

planation for something; to explain

something so that it seems less impor-

tant; to make excuses for something.

This is a very serious matter, and you can-

not just explain it away. T John couldn’t

explain away his low grades.

explode a bombshell Go to drop a

bomb(shell).

express one’s anger to allow a release or ex-

pression of anger, such as through angry

words. Don’t keep your emotions inside

of you. You have to learn to express your

anger. Bob expresses his anger by yelling

at people.

extend credit (to someone) and extend

someone credit to allow someone to pur-

chase something on credit. I’m sorry,

Mr. Smith, but because of your poor record

of payment, we are no longer able to ex-

tend credit to you. Look at this letter,

Jane. The store won’t extend credit any-

more.  We are unable to extend that

company credit any longer.

extend one’s sympathy (to someone) to

express sympathy to someone. (A very

polite and formal way to tell someone

that you are sorry about a misfortune.)

Please permit me to extend my sympathy

to you and your children. I’m very sorry to

hear of the death of your husband. Let’s

extend our sympathy to Bill Jones, who is

in the hospital with a broken leg. We

should send him some f lowers.

extend someone credit Go to extend credit

(to someone).

extenuating circumstances special cir-

cumstances that account for an irregu-

lar or improper way of doing something.

Mary was permitted to arrive late be-

cause of extenuating circumstances. Due

to extenuating circumstances, the class will

not meet today.

the eye of the storm the center of a prob-

lem; the center of a commotion or a dis-

turbance. Tom, finding himself at the

eye of the storm, tried to blame someone

else for the problem. The manager’s of-

fice was known as the eye of the storm

since all the major problems ended up

there.

[eyes are bigger than one’s stomach] Go

to One’s eyes are bigger than one’s

stomach.