Fair Thee Well

Idioms and Phrases
These idioms are compiled from the Cambridge International Dictionary.The Cambridge
International Dictionary explains over 7,000 idioms current in British, American and other
English speaking countries, helping learners to understand them and use them with
confidence. The Cambridge Dictionary, based on the 200 million words of English text in the
Cambridge International Corpus, unlocks the meaning of more than 5,000 idiomatic phrases
used in contemporary English. Full-sentence examples show how idioms are really used.
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knowledge, education, learning and research. It was founded on a Royal Charter granted to
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Here is the list of idioms beginning with F.
Face like thunder: If someone has a face like thunder, they are clearly very angry or
upset about something.
Face the music: If you have to face the music, you have to accept the negative
consequences of something you have done wrong.
Face value: If you take something at face value, you accept the appearance rather than
looking deeper into the matter.
Face your demons: If you face your demons, you confront your fears or something that
you have been trying hard to avoid.
Facts of life: When someone is taught the facts of life, they learn about sex and
reproduction.
Failure is the mother of success: Failure is often a stepping stone towards success.
Faint heart never won fair lady: This means that you will not get the partner of your
dreams if you lack the confidence to let them know how you feel.
Fair and square: If someone wins something fair and square, they follow the rules and win
conclusively.
Fair crack of the whip: (UK) If everybody has a fair crack of the whip, they all have equal
opportunities to do something. Fair thee well: Meaning completely and fully: I am tied up
today to a fair-thee-well.
Fairweather friend: A fair-weather friend is the type who is always there when times are
good but forgets about you when things get difficult or problems crop up.
Fall by the wayside: To fall by the wayside is to give up or fail before completion.
Fall off the back of a lorry: (UK) If someone tries to sell you something that has fallen of
the back of a lorry, they are trying to sell you stolen goods.
Fall off the turnip truck: (USA) If someone has just fallen off the turnip truck, they are
uninformed, naive and gullible. (Often used in the negative)
Fall on our feet: If you fall on your feet, you succeed in doing something where there was
a risk of failure.
Fall on your sword: If someone falls on their sword, they resign or accept the
consequences of some wrongdoing.
Familiarity breeds contempt: This means that the more you know something or
someone, the more you start to find faults and dislike things about it or them.
Famous last words: This expression is used as a way of showing disbelief, rejection or
self-deprecation.’ They said we had no chance of winning- famous last words!'
Fast and furious: Things that happen fast and furious happen very quickly without
stopping or pausing.
Fat cat: A fat cat is a person who makes a lot of money and enjoys a privileged position in
society.
Fat chance! : This idiom is a way of telling someone they have no chance.
Fat head: A fat head is a dull, stupid person.
Fat hits the fire: When the fat hits the fire, trouble breaks out.
Fat of the land: Living off the fat of the land means having the best of everything in life
Fate worse than death: Describing something as a fate worse than death is a fairly
common way of implying that it is unpleasant.
Feather in your cap: A success or achievement that may help you in the future is a
feather in your cap.
Feather your own nest: If someone feathers their own nest, they use their position or job
for personal gain.
Feathers fly: When people are fighting or arguing angrily, we can say that feathers are
flying.
Fed up to the back teeth: When you are extremely irritated and fed up with something or
someone, you are fed up to the back teeth.
Feel at home: If you feel relaxed and comfortable somewhere or with someone, you feel at
home.
Feel free: If you ask for permission to do something and are told to feel free, the other
person means that there is absolutely no problem
Feel like a million: If you feel like a million, you are feeling very well (healthy) and happy.
Feel the pinch: If someone is short of money or feeling restricted in some other way, they
are feeling the pinch.
Feeling blue: If you feel blue, you are feeling unwell, mainly associated with depression or
unhappiness.
Feet of clay: If someone has feet of clay, they have flaws that make them seem more
human and like normal people.
Feet on the ground: A practical and realistic person has their feet on the ground.
Fence sitter: Someone that try to support both side of an argument without committing to
either is a fence sitter.
Fiddle while Rome burns: If people are fiddling while Rome burns, they are wasting their
time on futile things while problems threaten to destroy them.
Fifth columnist: (UK) A fifth columnist is a member of a subversive organisation who tries
to help an enemy invade.
Fifth wheel: (USA) A fifth wheel is something unnecessary or useless.
Fight an uphill battle: When you fight an uphill battle, you have to struggle against very
unfavourable circumstances.
Fight tooth and nail: If someone will fight tooth and nail for something, they will not stop
at anything to get what they want. ('Fight tooth and claw' is an alternative.)
Fighting chance: If you have a fighting chance, you have a reasonable possibility of
success.
Find your feet: When you are finding your feet, you are in the process of gaining
confidence and experience in something.
Fine and dandy: (UK) If thing's are fine and dandy, then everything is going well.
Fine tuning: Small adjustments to improve something or to get it working are called fine
tuning.
Fine words butter no parsnips: This idiom means that it's easy to talk, but talk is not
action.
Finger in the pie: If you have a finger in the pie, you have an interest in something.
Fair shake of the whip: (USA) If everybody has a fair shake of the whip, they all have
equal opportunities to do something.

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Idioms and Phrases

Here is the list of idioms beginning with F.

Fat head: A fat head is a dull, stupid person.

Fifth wheel: (USA) A fifth wheel is something unnecessary or useless.

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