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[fade back] <v.> To back away from the line before passing in football. * /The quarterback is fading back to pass./ Compare: DROP BACK.

[fail] See: WITHOUT FAIL.

[fail to do] <v. phr.> To neglect to do something that is expected of one. * /Tom waited for Jane for nearly an hour, but she failed to show up./

[fair] See: BID FAIR, PLAY FAIR.

[fair and square] <adv. phr.>, <informal> Without cheating; honestly. * /He won the game fair and square./

[fair catch] <n.> A catch of a kicked football by a player after he holds up his hand to show that he will not run with the ball. * /He saw that he would not be able to run with the ball, so he signalled for a fair catch./

[fair-haired boy] <n.>, <informal> A person that gets special favors; favorite; pet. * /If he wins the election by a large majority, he will become his party's fair-haired boy./ * /The local boy playing first base could do no wrong; he was the fair-haired boy of the fans./ * /Charles was a good student and behaved very well; he became the teacher's fair-haired boy./

[fair play] <n.> Equal and right action (to another person); justice. * /The visiting team did not get fair play in the game./ * /The judges decided against Bob, but he said that he had gotten fair play./ * /Sally's sense of fair play made her a favorite with her classmates./

[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./

[fashion] See: AFTER A FASHION, HIGH FASHION or HIGH STYLE.

[fast] See: HARD-AND-FAST, PLAY FAST AND LOOSE.

[fast and furious] <adj.> or <adv. phr.> Very fast; with much speed and energy. * /He was mowing the grass at a fast and furious rate./ * /When I last saw her she was driving fast and furious down the street./ Compare: GREAT GUNS.

[fast buck] or [quick buck] <slang> Money earned quickly and easily, and sometimes dishonestly. * /You can make a fast buck at the golf course by fishing balls out of the water trap./ * /He isn't interested in a career; he's just looking for a quick buck./

[fast talker] <n.>, <slang>, <informal> A con artist or a swindler, one who is particularly apt to get away with illegitimate transactions because of the clever way he talks. * /I wouldn't trust Uncle Joe if I were you, - he is a fast talker./

[fast time] See: DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME.

[fasten on] <v. phr.> To attach; tie something to make it secure. * /"Fasten on your life jackets when you get into the life boats," the captain said./

[fat] See: CHEW THE FAT.

[fat chance] <n. phr.>, <slang> Little or no possibility; almost no chance. * /A high school team would have a fat chance of beating a strong college team./ * /Jane is pretty and popular; you will have a fat chance of getting a date with her./ Compare: GHOST OF A.

[fat city] <n.>, <slang> A state of contentment due to wealth and position. * /Bully for the Smiths; they have arrived in Fat City./

[fate] See: TEMPT FATE or TEMPT THE FATES.

[father] See: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON.

[Father Christmas] <n.>, <British> The joyful spirit of Christmas; Santa Claus. * /English children look forward to the visit of Father Christmas./

[Father's Day] <n.> The third Sunday in June set aside especially to honor fathers whether living or dead. * /The children gave nice presents to their father on Father's Day./