[fickle finger of fate] See: ACT OF GOD.
[fiddle] See: PLAY SECOND FIDDLE.
[fiddle around] See: FOOL AROUND(3).
[fiddler] See: PAY THE PIPER or PAY THE FIDDLER.
[fiddle with]{v. phr.} To carelessly play with something. •/If Jimmy continues to fiddle with our computer, he is liable to ruin it./
[field] See: CENTER FIELD, LEFT FIELD, OUT IN LEFT FIELD, PLAY THE FIELD, RIGHT FIELD.
[field goal]{n.} 1. A score in football made by kicking the ball over the bar between the goal posts. •/The Giants were not able to make a touchdown but they kicked two field goals./ Compare: EXTRA POINT. 2. A score in basketball made by a successful shot through the basket not made on a free throw. •/A field goal counts two points./ Compare: FOUL SHOT, FREE THROW.
[fifth] See: TAKE THE FIFTH.
[fifth column]{n. phr.} A group or organization within a country that works to bring about the country’s downfall, usually through acts of espionage and sabotage. •/The Communist party in the United States was considered by Senator McCarthy to be the Soviet Union’s fifth column./
[flfty-flfty(1)]{adv.}, {informal} Equally; evenly. •/The two boys divided the marbles they won fifty-fifty./ •/When Dick and Sam bought an old car, they divided the cost fifty-fifty./
[fifty-fifty(2)]{adj.}, {informal} 1. Divided or shared equally. •/It will be a fifty-fifty arrangement; half the money for me and half for you./ 2. Half for and half against; half good and half bad. •/There is only a fifty-fifty chance that we will win the game./ Compare: HALF AND HALF.
[fight against time] See: RACING TO STAND STILL.
[fight fire with fire]{v. phr.}, {slightly formal}, {of Biblical origin} To fight back in the same way one was attacked; make a defense similar to the attack. •/The candidate was determined to fight fire with fire in the debate./
[fight it out] See: SLUG IT OUT.
[fighting chance]{n. phr.} A chance that necessitates struggle and courage; a slim chance. •/The doctor told the family that Jack had a fighting chance to recover./ •/Our business lost a lot of money, but we have a fighting chance to stage a comeback./
[fight off]{v. phr.} 1. To struggle against someone so as to free oneself; push an attacker back. •/Suzy fought off her two attackers in Central Park with a couple of karate chops./ 2. To strive to overcome something negative. •/After twelve hours at the computer terminal, Jane had to fight off her overwhelming desire to go to sleep./
[fight shy of]{v. phr.} To avoid; escape from. •/Jack always fights shy of anything that even remotely resembles serious work./
[fight tooth and nail] See: TOOTH AND NAIL.
[figure in]{v.} 1. {informal} To add to a total; remember to put down in figures. •/We figured in the travel expenses but forgot the cost of meals./ 2. To have a part in; be partly responsible for. •/Joe figured in all our touchdowns./ •/Mary’s good grades figured in her choice as class president./
[figure on]{v.} 1. To expect and think about while making plans. •/We did not figure on having so many people at the picnic./ •/He figured on going to town the next day./ Syn.: PLAN ON. 2. To depend on; be; sure about. •/You can figure on him to be on time./ Syn.: COUNT ON.
[figure out]{v.} 1. To find an answer by thinking about (some problem or difficulty); solve. •/Tom couldn’t figure out the last problem on the arithmetic test./ •/Sam couldn’t figure out how to print a program until the teacher showed him how./ •/Mary couldn’t figure out why her cake tasted so funny until she found salt mixed in the sugar bag./ Compare: FIND OUT(1). 2. To learn how to explain; understand. •/Laurence is an odd boy; I can’t figure him out./ Compare: MAKE OUT(2).
[figure up]{v. phr.} To calculate; add up. •/If you can figure up how many phone calls I’ve made from your home, I will pay you right away./
[fill in]{v.} 1. To write words needed in blanks; put in; fill. •/You should fill in all the blanks on an application for a job./ 2. {informal} To tell what you should know. •/The new boy didn’t know the rules so Bob filled him in./ •/The teacher filled in Mary about class work done while she was sick./ 3. To take another’s place; substitute. •/The teacher was sick and Miss Jones filled in for her./
[fill (in) the gap]{v. phr.} To supply a missing piece of information; provide a clue during the course of solving a mystery. •/Sherlock Holmes said, "These fingerprints are bound to fill the gap in our investigation."/
[fill one’s shoes]{v. phr.} To take the place of another and do as well; to substitute satisfactorily for. •/When Jack got hurt, the coach had nobody to fill his shoes./ •/Joe hopes to fill his father’s shoes./ See: IN ONE’S SHOES.
[fill out]{v.} 1. To put in what is missing; complete; finish; {especially}, to complete (a printed application blank or other form) by writing the missing facts in the blank spaces; to write down facts which are asked for in (a report or application.) •/After Tom passed his driving test he filled out an application for his driver’s license./ •/The policeman filled out a report of the accident./ 2. To become heavier and fatter; gain weight. •/When Bill was nineteen he began to fill out./ •/The girl was pale and thin after her sickness, but in a few months she filled out./
[fill the bases] See: LOAD THE BASES.
[fill the bill]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be just what is needed; be good enough for something; be just right. •/The boss was worried about hiring a deaf boy, but after he tried Tom out for a few weeks, he said that Tom filled the bill./ •/I thought I would need a special tool, but this wrench fills the bill./
[fill up] or [fill it up] or [fill her up] {v. phr.} To fill entirely. (Said by the driver of a car to a gas station attendant). •/When the attendant asked Andrew how much gas he wanted in the tank, Andrew replied, "Fill her up."/
[filthy lucre]{n.}, {informal} Money, especially when thought of as bad or shameful. •/When the rich gambler tried to make Sarah marry him, she said, "Keep your filthy lucre — I shall marry the man I love."/ — Sometimes used in a joking way. •/"Come and let’s get rid of some filthy lucre."/
[filthy rich]{adj. phr.} Extremely rich but without cultural refinement; nouveau riche. •/"The Murgatroyds are filthy rich," Ted complained. "They are rolling in money but they never learned how to behave properly at a dinner table."/
[finders keepers] or [finders keepers, losers weepers] {informal} Those who find lost things can keep them. — Used usually by children to claim the right to keep something they have found. •/I don’t have to give it back; it’s finders keepers./ •/Finders keepers, losers weepers! It’s my knife now!/
[find fault]{v. phr.} To find something wrong; complain; criticize. •/She tries to please him, but he always finds fault./ •/They found fault with every box I made./ Compare: JUMP ON, PICK AT(3).
[find it in one’s heart]{v. phr.} To be able or willing because of your nature. •/He could not find it in his heart to tell her about her mother’s death./ •/Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?/ •/He could never find it in his heart to be mean to a dog./
[find one’s ---]{v. phr.} To become able to use (some power of the body or mind.) •/In the program for the parents, John was nervous and could not speak at first; then he found his tongue./ •/The young bird had just found its wings./ •/The baby was just beginning to find his feet./ •/The question surprised him, and it was a minute before he found his tongue./
[find oneself]{v. phr.} To find out what one is fitted for and succeed in that. •/Mary tried several lines of work, but at last found herself as a teacher./ •/Sometimes young people move around a long time from job to job before they find themselves./
[find] or [get one’s bearings] {v. phr.} To know where one is or where one is headed. •/"Without a compass," the sergeant warned the enlisted men, "you will never find your bearings in the desert."/
[find out]{v.} 1. To learn or discover (something you did not know before.) •/One morning the baby found out for the first time that she could walk./ •/I don’t know how this car works, but I’ll soon find out./ •/He watched the birds to find out where they go./ •/Mary was angry when Jane found out her secret./ 2. To get facts; to get facts about. •/He wrote to find out about a job in Alaska./ •/She found out how much the house would cost./ 3. To discover (someone) doing wrong; catch. •/Some children are bad when no one is watching them, but they are usually found out./ •/The boy knew that if he cheated on the test the teacher would find him out./
[find out the hard way] See: HARD WAY.
[fine feathers do not make fine birds]{literary} A person who wears fine clothes may not be as good as he looks. — A proverb. •/Mary is pretty and she wears pretty clothes, but she is very mean. Fine feathers do not make fine birds./ Compare: HANDSOME IS AS HANDSOME DOES.
[fine kettle of fish] See: KETTLE OF FISH.
[fine-tooth comb]{n. phr.} Great care; careful attention so as not to miss anything. •/The police searched the scene of the crime with a fine-tooth comb for clues./ •/My room is so clean you couldn’t find dirt if you went over it with a fine-tooth comb./ Compare: LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED.
[finger] See: BURN ONE’S FINGERS, CROSS ONE’S FINGERS or KEEP ONE’S FINGERS CROSSED, LAY A FINGER ON, LIFT A FINGER, PUT ONE’S FINGER ON also LAY ONE’S FINGER ON, SLIP THROUGH ONE’S FINGERS, SNAP ONE’S FINGERS AT, STICKY FINGERS, TWIST AROUND ONE’S LITTLE FINGER, WORK ONE’S FINGERS TO THE BONE.
[finger in the pie]{n. phr.}, {informal} Something to do with what happens; part interest or responsibility. •/When the girls got up a Christmas party, I felt sure Alice had a finger in the pie./ •/The Jones Company was chosen to build the new hospital and we knew Mr. Smith had a finger in the pie./ •/Jack is a boy with a finger in every pie at school, from dramatics to football./ Compare: HAVE A HAND IN, TOO MANY IRONS IN THE FIRE.
[fingertip] See: AT ONE’S FINGERTIPS.
[finish up] See: END UP(4).
[fire] See: BALL OF FIRE, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA or BETWEEN TWO FIRES, BUILD A FIRE UNDER, BURNT CHILD DREADS THE FIRE, CATCH FIRE, DRAW FIRE, FAT’S IN THE FIRE, FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE, HANG FIRE, HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON ONE’S HEAD, HOLD ONE’S FIRE or HOLD FIRE, IRON IN THE FIRE, KEEP THE HOME FIRES BURNING, LINE OF FIRE, ON FIRE, OPEN FIRE, OUT OF THE FRYING PAN INTO THE FIRE, PLAY WITH FIRE, PULL ONE’S CHESTNUTS OUT OF THE FIRE, SET FIRE TO, SET THE WORLD ON FIRE, TILL THE LAST GUN IS FIRED or UNTIL THE LAST GUN IS FIRED, UNDER FIRE.
[firebug]{n.} An arsonist; one who willfully sets fire to property. •/The police caught the firebug just as he was about to set another barn ablaze in the country./
[firing squad]{n.} A group of soldiers chosen to shoot a prisoner to death or to fire shots over a grave as a tribute. •/A dictator often sends his enemies before a firing squad./ •/The dead general was honored by a firing squad./
[first] See: AT FIRST BLUSH, AT FIRST SIGHT, CAST THE FIRST STONE, GET TO FIRST BASE or REACH FIRST BASE, IN THE FIRST PLACE, OF THE FIRST WATER.
[firsthand]{adj.} Fresh; genuine; from the original source. •/John says he got the information firsthand from the president himself./
[first and foremost]{adv. phr.} As the most important thing; first. •/First and foremost they needed food./ •/I want you to remember to pay that bill first and foremost./ •/First and foremost, we must keep America free./
[first and last]{adv. phr.} Most noticeably; all the time; chiefly. •/He was first and last a school teacher./ •/Steven joined the army because first and last he wanted to help his country./ Syn.: ABOVE ALL.
