[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.