[fair sex]{n.}, {informal} Women in general; the female sex. •/"Better not use four-letter words in front of a member of the fair sex," Joe said./
[fair shake]{n.}, {informal} Honest treatment. •/Joe has always given me a fair shake./
[fair-weather friend]{n.} A person who is a friend only when you are successful. •/Everyone knows that John’s only a fair-weather friend./
[fairy godmother]{n.} 1. A fairy believed to help and take care of a baby as it grows up. 2. A person who helps and does much for another. •/The rich man played fairy godmother to the boys and had a baseball field made for them./ •/Jane was a fairy godmother to her poorer friends./
[fairy tale] or [story] {n.} An inaccurate, even false account of something; a result of wishful thinking. •/Jeff said he was going to be promoted soon, but we all suspect that it is only one of his customary fairy tales./
[faith] See: GOOD FAITH, ON FAITH.
[fall] See: BOTTOM DROP OUT or BOTTOM FALL OUT, RIDING FOR A FALL.
[fall all over]{v. phr.}, {informal} To show too much love or thanks toward (someone). •/She must love him. Every time you see them, she’s falling all over him./ •/When Bob found the lady’s ring and returned it, she fell all over him./
[fall asleep at the switch]{v. phr.} To fail to perform an expected task; be remiss in one’s duty. •/The two airplanes wouldn’t have collided, if the control tower operator hadn’t fallen asleep at the switch./ •/The dean promised our department $250,000 but the foundation never sent the money because someone in the dean’s office fell asleep at the switch./
[fall away]{v. phr.} To decline; diminish. •/I was shocked to see how haggard Alan looked; he seems to be falling away to a shadow./
[fall back]{v.} To move back; go back. — Usually used with a group as subject. •/The army fell back before their stubborn enemies./ •/The crowd around the hurt boy fell back when someone shouted "Give him air!"/ Compare: DROP BACK, GIVE WAY.
[fall back on] or [fall back upon] v. 1. To retreat to. •/The enemy made a strong attack, and the soldiers fell back on the fort./ 2. To go for help to; turn to in time of need. •/When the big bills for Mother’s hospital care came, Joe was glad he had money in the bank to fall back on./ •/If Mr. Jones can’t find a job as a teacher, he can fall back on his skill as a printer./
[fall behind]{v.} To go slower than others and be far behind them. •/When the campers took a hike in the woods, two boys fell behind and got lost./ •/Frank’s lessons were too hard for him, and he soon fell behind the rest of the class./ •/Mary was not promoted because she dreamed too much and fell behind in her lessons./
[fall by the wayside] also [drop by the wayside] {v. phr.} To give up or fail before the finish. •/The boys tried to make a 50-mile hike, but most of them fell by the wayside./ •/George, Harry, and John entered college to become teachers, but Harry and John fell by the wayside, and only George graduated./
[fall down on the job]{v. phr.}, {informal} To fail to work well. •/The boss was disappointed when his workers fell down on the job./
[fall due] or [come] or [become due] {v. phr.} To reach the time when a bill or invoice is to be paid. •/Our car payment falls due on the first of every month./
[fall flat]{v.}, {informal} To be a failure; fail. •/The party fell flat because of the rain./ •/His joke fell flat because no one understood it./
[fall for]{v.}, {slang} 1. To begin to like very much. •/Dick fell for baseball when he was a little boy./ 2. To begin to love (a boy or a girl.) •/Helen was a very pretty girl and people were not surprised that Bill fell for her./ 3. To believe (something told to fool you.) •/Nell did not fall for Joe’s story about being a jet pilot./
[fall from grace]{v. phr.} To go back to a bad way of behaving; do something bad again. •/The boys behaved well during dinner until they fell from grace by eating their dessert with their fingers instead of their forks./ •/The boy fell from grace when he lied./
[fall guy]{n.}, {slang} The "patsy" in an illegal transaction; a sucker; a dupe; the person who takes the punishment others deserve. •/When the Savings and Loan Bank failed, due to embezzlement, the vice president had to be the fall guy, saving the necks of the owners./
[fall in]{v.} 1. To go and stand properly in a row like soldiers. •/The captain told his men to fall in./ Contrast: FALL OUT(3). 2. to collapse. •/The explosion caused the walls of the house to fall in./
[fall in for]{v.} To receive; get. •/The boy fell in for some sympathy when he broke his leg./ •/The team manager fell in for most of the blame when his team lost the playoffs./
[falling-out]{n.} Argument; disagreement; quarrel. •/Mary and Jane had a falling-out about who owned the book./ •/The boys had a falling-out when each said that the other had broken the rules./
[fall in line] or [fall into line] See: IN LINE, INTO LINE.
[fall in love] See: IN LOVE.
[fall in] or [into place] {v. phr.} To suddenly make sense; find the natural or proper place for the missing pieces of a puzzle. •/When the detectives realized that a second man was seen at the place of the murder, the pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place./
[fall in with]{v.}, {informal} 1. To meet by accident. •/Mary fell in with some of her friends downtown./ 2. To agree to help with; support. •/I fell in with Jack’s plan to play a trick on his father./ 3. To become associated with a group detrimental to the newcomer. •/John fell in with a wild bunch; small wonder he flunked all of his courses./ Compare: PLAY ALONG.
[fall into the habit of]{v. phr.} To develop the custom of doing something. •/Jack has fallen into the bad habit of playing poker for large sums of money every night./
[fall off] See: DROP OFF(4).
[fall off the wagon]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {alcoholism and drug culture} To return to the consumption of an addictive, such as alcohol or drugs, after a period of abstinence. •/Poor Joe has fallen off the wagon again — he is completely incoherent today./
[fall on] or [fall upon] {v.} 1. To go and fight with; attack. •/The robbers fell on him from behind trees./ 2. {formal} To meet (troubles). •/The famous poet fell upon unhappy days./
[fallout]{n.} 1. Result of nuclear explosion; harmful radioactive particles. •/Some experts consider fallout as dangerous as the bomb itself./ 2. Undesirable aftereffects in general. •/As a fallout of Watergate, many people lost their faith in the government./
[fall out]{v.} 1. To happen. •/As it fell out, the Harpers were able to sell their old car./ Compare: TURN OUT(6). 2. To quarrel; fight; fuss; disagree. •/The thieves fell out over the division of the loot./ 3. To leave a military formation. •/You men are dismissed. Fall out!/ Contrast: FALL IN. 4. To leave a building to go and line up. •/The soldiers fell out of the barracks for inspection./
[fall over backwards] or [fall over oneself] {v. phr.} To do everything you can to please someone; try very hard to satisfy someone. •/The hotel manager fell over backwards to give the movie star everything she wanted./ •/The boys fell over themselves trying to get the new girl’s attention./
[fall over yourself] See: FALL OVER BACKWARDS.
[fall short]{v.} To fail to reach (some aim); not succeed. •/His jump fell three inches short of the world record./ •/The movie fell short of expectations./ Contrast: MEASURE UP.
[fall through]{v.}, {informal} To fail; be ruined; not happen or be done. •/Jim’s plans to go to college fell through at the last moment./ •/Mr. Jones' deal to sell his house fell through./ Contrast: COME OFF.
[fall to]{v.} 1. To begin to work. •/The boys fell to and quickly cut the grass./ Syn.: TURN TO. 2. To begin to fight. •/They took out their swords and fell to./ 3. To begin to eat. •/The hungry boys fell to before everyone sat down./ 4. Begin; start. •/The old friends met and fell to talking about their school days./
[fall to pieces]{v. phr.} To disintegrate; collapse. •/After the death of Alexander the Great, his empire started to fall to pieces./
[fall wide of the mark] See: WIDE OF THE MARK.
[false] See: PLAY ONE FALSE, SAIL UNDER FALSE COLORS.
[family] See: RUN IN THE BLOOD or RUN IN THE FAMILY, IN A FAMILY WAY.
[family tree]{n.} Ancestry. •/My family tree can be traced back to the sixteenth century./
[famine] See: FEAST OR A FAMINE.
[fancy doing something] — An expression of surprise. •/Fancy meeting you here in such an unexpected place!/
[fancy pants]{n.}, {slang} A man or boy who wears clothes that are too nice or acts like a woman or girl; sissy. •/The first time they saw him in his new band uniform, they yelled "Hey, fancy pants, what are you doing in your sister’s slacks?"/
[fan] See: HIT THE FAN.
[fan out]{v. phr.} To spread in several directions. •/The main road fans out at the edge of the forest in four different directions./
[fan the breeze]{v. phr.} 1. See: SHOOT THE BREEZE. 2. To swing and miss the ball in baseball. •/The batter tried to hit a home run but he fanned the breeze./
[far] See: AS FAR AS or SO FAR AS, SO FAR also THUS PAR, BY FAR, FEW AND FAR BETWEEN, SO PAR, SO GOOD.
[far afield]{adj. phr.} Remote; far from the original starting point. •/When we started to discuss theology. Jack was obviously getting far afield from the subject at hand./
[far and away]{adv. phr.} Very much. •/The fish was far and away the biggest ever caught on the lake./ Compare: BY FAR, HEAD AND SHOULDERS(2).
[far and near]{n. phr.} Far places and near places; everywhere. •/People came from far and near to hear him speak./
[far and wide]{adv. phr.} Everywhere, in all directions. •/The wind blew the papers far and wide./ •/My old school friends are scattered far and wide now./ •/The movie company looked far and wide for a boy to act the hero in the new movie./ Compare: ALL OVER.
[farfetched]{adj.} Exaggerated; fantastic. •/Sally told us some farfetched story about having been kidnapped by little green men in a flying saucer./
[far cry]{n.} Something very different. •/His last statement was a far cry from his first story./ •/The first automobile could run, but it was a far cry from a modern car./
[far from it]{adv. phr.} Not even approximately; not really at all. •/"Do you think she spent $100 on that dress?" Jane asked. "Far from it," Sue replied. "It must have cost at least $300."/
[far gone]{adj. phr.} In a critical or extreme state. •/He was so far gone by the time the doctor arrived, that nothing could be done to save his life./
[farm] See: COLLECTIVE FARM.
[farm out]{v.} 1. To have another person do (something) for you; send away to be done. •/Our teacher had too many test papers to read, so she farmed out half of them to a friend./ 2. To send away to be taken care of. •/While Mother was sick, the children were farmed out to relatives./ 3. To send a player to a league where the quality of play is lower. •/The player was farmed out to Rochester to gain experience./
[far-out]{adj.} 1. Very far away; distant. •/Scientists are planning rocket trips to the moon and far-out planets./ 2. {informal} Very different from others; queer; odd, unusual. •/He enjoyed being with beatniks and other far-out people./ •/Susan did not like some of the paintings at the art show because they were too far-out for her./
