[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./