Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[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.