Adam Makkai - Словарь американских идиом: 8000 единиц

[fort]See: HOLD THE FORT.

[forth]See: AND SO FORTH, BACK AND FORTH, CALL FORTH, HOLD FORTH, SET FORTH.

[for that matter] {adv. phr.} With regard to that; about that. •/ I don’t know, and for that matter, I don’t care. / •/ Alice didn’t come, and for that matter, she didn’t even telephone. / Compare: MATTER OP FACT,

[for the asking] {adv. phr.} By asking; by asking for it; on request. •/ John said I could borrow his bike any time. It was mine for the asking. / •/ Teacher said her advice was free for the asking. /

[for the best] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} good or best; not bad as thought; lucky; well, happily. •/ Maybe it’s for the best that your team lost; now you know how the other boys felt. / •/ John’s parents thought it would be for the best if he stayed out of school for the rest of the year. / Often used in the phrase "turn out for the best". •/ You feel unhappy now because you got sick and couldn’t go with your friends, but it will all turn out for the best. / Compare: TURN OUT(6). Contrast: FOR THE WORSE.

[for the better] {adj.} or {adv. phr.} With a better result; for something that is better. •/ The doctor felt that moving Father to a dry climate would be for the better. / •/ The new large print in the book is a change for the better. / Compare: TAKE A TURN. Contrast: FOR THE WORSE.

[for the birds] {adj. phr.} , {slang} Not interesting; dull; silly; foolish; stupid. •/ I think history is for the birds. / •/ I saw that movie. It’s for the birds. /

[for the books]See: ONE FOR THE BOOKS.

[for the devil]or [heck]or [the hell of it] {adv. phr.} For no specific reason; just for sport and fun. •/ We poured salt into Uncle Tom’s coffee, just for the heck of it. / See: DEVIL OF IT.

[for the hills]See: HEAD FOR THE HILLS.

[for the life of one] {adv.} , {informal} No matter how hard you try. — Used for emphasis with negative statements. •/ I can’t for the life of me remember his name. /

[for the moon]See: ASK FOR THE MOON or CRY FOR THE MOON.

[for the most part] {adv. phr.} In general; mostly; most of the time; commonly; generally. •/ European countries are, for the most part, tired of war. / Syn.: BY AND LARGE, ON THE WHOLE.

[for the nonce]See: FOR THE TIME BEING.

[for the ride]See: ALONG FOR THE RIDE.

[for the sake of]or [for one’s sake] {adv. phr.} On behalf of; for the benefit of. •/ For the sake of truth and freedom, Dr. Sakharov, the Soviet dissident, was willing to be banished from Moscow. / •/ "Do it for my sake, please!" Tom begged. /

[for the time being]also {literary} [for the nonce] {adv. phr.} For now; for a while; temporarily. •/ I haven’t any note paper, but this envelope will do for the time being. / •/ She hasn’t found an apartment yet; she’s staying with her aunt for the time being. /

[for the world]See: NOT FOR THE WORLD.

[for the worse] {adj. phr.} or {adv. phr.} For something that is worse or not as good, with a worse result. •/ He bought a new car but it turned out to be for the worse. / •/ The sick man’s condition changed for the worse. / Compare: TAKE A TURN. Contrast: FOR THE BETTER.

[for to] {prep. phr.} , {dialect} So that you can; to. •/ Simple Simon went a-fishing for to catch a whale. / Syn.: IN ORDER TO.

[forty winks] {n. phr.} , {informal} A short period of sleep; a nap. •/ When the truck driver felt sleepy, he stopped by the side of the road to catch forty winks. / Compare: SHUT-EYE.

[forward]See: BACKWARD AND FORWARD, LOOK FORWARD TO, PUT ONE’S BEST FOOT FORWARD.

[forward wall] {n.} The line of a football team. •/ Princeton 's line outplayed the Rutgers forward wall. /

[for you]See: THAT’S --- FOR YOU.

[foul ball] {n.} A batted baseball that lands outside the foul line. •/ Mickey hit a long foul ball that landed on the roof. /

[foul line] {n.} 1. Either of two lines separating fair from foul ground in baseball. •/ Willie hit the ball just inside the foul line for a double. / 2. A line across the upper end of a bowling alley across which a bowler must not step. •/ John bowled a strike but it didn’t count because he stepped over the foul line. / 3. A line on the floor in front of the basket in basketball, from which foul shots are made. •/ Tony scored eight points from the foul line. /

[foul out] {v.} 1. To make an out in baseball by hitting a foul fly ball that is caught. •/ He fouled out to the catcher. / 2. To be forced to leave a basketball game because of getting more than the limit number of personal fouls. •/ A professional basketball player is allowed six personal fouls before fouling out. /

[foul play] {n.} Treachery; a criminal act (such as murder). •/ After they discovered the dead body, the police suspected foul play. / •/ "She must have met with foul play," the chief inspector said when they couldn’t find the 12-year-old girl who had disappeared. /

[foul shot] {n.} A free throw given in basketball to a player who has been fouled. •/ Tony was given two foul shots when he was fouled while trying to shoot. / Compare: FIELD GOAL 2, FREE THROW.

[foul up] {v.} , {informal} 1. To make dirty. •/ The birds fouled up his newly washed car. / 2. To tangle up. •/ He tried to throw a lasso but he got the rope all fouled up. / 3. To ruin or spoil by stupid mistakes; botch. •/ He fouled the whole play up by forgetting his part. / 4. To make a mistake; to blunder. •/ Blue suit and brown socks! He had fouled up again. / 5. To go wrong. •/ Why do some people foul up and become criminals? /

[foul-up] {n.} (stress on "foul") 1. {informal} A confused situation; confusion; mistake. •/ The luncheon was handled with only one or two foul-ups. / 2. {informal} A breakdown. •/ There was a foul-up in his car’s steering mechanism. / 3. {slang} A person who fouls up or mixes things. •/ He had gotten a reputation as a foul-up. /

[foundation garment] {n.} A close-fitting garment designed for women to wear underneath their clothes to make them look slim; a piece of woman’s underwear. •/ Jane wears a foundation garment under her evening dress. /

[four]See: HIT ON ALL FOUR, ON ALL FOURS.

[four bits] {n.} , {slang} Fifty cents. •/ Tickets to the play are four bits," said Bill. / Compare: TWO BITS.

[four corners] {n.} All parts of a place. •/ People came from the four corners of the world to see him. / •/ He has been to the four corners of the country. / Compare: ALL OVER.

[four-eyes] {n.} , {slang} A person who wears glasses. — A rude expression, •/ Hey, four-eyes, come over here. /

[four-leaf clover] {n.} A small green plant with four leaves which many people think means good luck because clover plants usually have three leaves. •/ John has a four-leaf clover in his pocket. He thinks he will have good luck now. /

[fourth class] {n.} A class of mail that is not sealed and weighs a pound or more, that includes things that are bought and sold and sent in the mail, and printed things that are not second or third class mail. •/ Bill sent away 98 cereal box tops and a dollar and got back a sheriff’s badge and gun in the mail by fourth class. /

[fourth-class(1)] {adj.} Belonging to the fourth class of mail. •/ The package weighed a pound and a half, so it had to be sent by fourth-class mail. /

[fourth-class(2)] {adv.} By fourth-class mail. •/ How did the company mail the package? Fourth-class. /

[fourth world] {n.} , {informal} The poor nations of the world, as distinguished from the oil-rich nations of the third world. •/ Sri Lanka will never join OPEC, since it is a fourth world nation. /

[fowl]See: NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL.

[fox and geese] {n. phr.} A tag game in which the player representing the fox tries to catch one of the players representing geese as they run around the outside of a circle.

[fraidy-cat]or [fraid-cat]or [scaredy-cat]or [scared cat] {n.} , {informal} A shy person; someone who is easily frightened. — Usually used by or to children. •/ Tom was a fraidy-cat and wouldn’t go in the water. /

[frame of mind] {n. phr.} One’s mental outlook; the state of one’s psychological condition, •/ There is no use trying to talk to him while he is in such a negative frame of mind. /

[freak] {n.} , {slang} 1. A good, or well-liked person, the opposite of a square, someone with long hair and who is likely (or known) to be a marijuana smoker or a drug user. Also said of homosexuals. •/ Is Joe a square, establishment type? — Oh no, he’s a regular freak. / 2. [--- freak]An enthusiast, a person who does or cultivates something in excess. •/ Ellen is a film-freak. /

[freak-out(1)] {n.} , {slang} An act of losing control; a situation that is bizarre or unusual. •/ The party last night was a regular freak-out. /

[freak out(2)] {v. phr.} , {slang} To lose control over one’s conscious self due to the influence of hallucinogenic drugs. •/ Joe freaked out last night. /

[free]See: FOR FREE, MAKE FREE, MAKE FREE WITH, OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD or OF ONE’S OWN FREE WILL.

[free agent] {n.} A professional player who does not have a contract with a team. •/ The Giants signed two free agents who had been released by the Cardinals. /

[free and easy] {adj.} Not strict; relaxed or careless. •/ The teacher was free and easy with his students. / •/ He had a free and easy way of acting that attracted many friends. / •/ They were free and easy with their money and it was soon gone. /

[free ball] {n.} A ball in football that is in play, that is not in the possession of anyone, that is not a legally thrown forward pass, and that belongs to the first team which can grab it. •/ A Notre Dame player fell on a free ball and recovered it for his team. /