Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[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.