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?
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