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?