American Popular Expressions "F"

                          
 

face the music: face reality; to understand the consequences of one's actions. My boss was caught stealing money from our company. Now he's going to have to face the music for what he did.
face to face: to talk to a person directly and in person. We need to meet face to face to discuss this situation. We can't do it over the phone.
fall over backwards: to make a great effort to do something, usually used when trying to help someone. Every day he falls over backwardstrying to please his customers.
fall between the cracks: to become lose or overlooked in a large system. Many kids who fall between the cracks in school eventually drop out.
fall off the wagon: to drink alcohol once again after stopping; to have an alcohol or drug problem that one returns to. Mark stayed sober for three years before he fell off the wagon.
famous last words: a prediction which turns out to be incorrect; a bad guess. "I don't need to wear a helmet when I skate." Those were Todd's famous last words spoken just before he fell off his skateboard, resulting in a serious head injury.
fate worse than death: a bad situation (usually this expression is used as an exaggeration. ) Margaret's eight-year-old daughter thinks that having to eat asparagus at dinner is a fate worse than death.
feast or famine: to have a lot or nothing; either very successful or suddenly unsuccessful. You never know what kind of money you'll make when working on commission. It's either feast or famine.
a feather in one's cap: a great accomplishment. (This expression comes from Native American culture) Being able to provide food and clothing to the needy in his community is a real feather in his cap.
feel it in one's bones: to believe something is true; to trust in one's own beliefs and ideas very strongly. We were meant to be together. I can feel it in my bones.
a few bricks shy of a load: this expression is used to describe someone who is really dumb. She's a few bricks shy of a load.
fight fire with fire: to solve a problem with a similar problem; to address a strong issue with equal strength. If we want to get rid of the criminals in our neighborhood, we're going to have to fight fire with fire.
fight tooth and nail: to fight very hard for something you believe in. People in our community are going to fight tooth and nail to keep the local school open. It might close if it doesn't get more financial support.
figment of one's imagination: something that a person imagines to be true. The monster hiding under his bed turned out to be a figment of his imagination.
fine and dandy: good; sometimes this expression is used sarcastically. Oh, this is just fine and dandy! My PC just crashed again.
first come, first served: the person or people who are the first to arrive benefit by being early, usually used for shopping and eating. There's a big sale at Herman's Department store tomorrow, but you better go early. Supplies are limited, so it's first come, first served.
a fish out of water: to feel out of place. (A fish is supposed to be in the water. When it is out of water for too long, it dies) When Kevin first went away to college, he felt like a fish out of water because he didn't know anyone. Gradually, he made friends and felt more comfortable.
flat as a pancake: very flat We saw a squirrel today that was run over by a car. It was as flat as a pancake.
a fly in the ointment: a problem; a small problem in contrast to everything else being okay. The new building is all set to open, but there's a fly in the ointment; the air conditioning for the building isn't working yet.
follow in one's footsteps: to do as a parent does in the future; to follow someone, a family member or mentor, in a career. Ashok is bound to follow in his father's footsteps as a leader in his community.
a fool and his money are soon parted: a foolish person can be easily tricked into spending money on something stupid. He paid someone five dollars to catch fish from a bucket, but there's only one small minnow in there. A fool and his money are soon parted.
footloose and fancy-free: to be carefree; not to have responsibilities; to be free from any romantic relationships. After his divorce, he felt footloose and fancy-free, so he started going out to a lot of nightclubs.
a foot in the door: to get started in a career; an entry-level position. Valerie finally got her foot in the dooras a fashion designer.
for all intents and purposes: in reality; actually; for every situation that applies here. (this is a popular expression, but it's very hard to use among people who learn English as a second language.) They've been living together for seven years, so for all intents and purposes they're practically married even though they don't have the legal documents for a marriage.
for better or worse: to enter into a situation knowing the outcome could be good or bad; this is often used in wedding vows. She promised to love her husband and be true to him, for better or worse, when they got married. He died after a long ten-year illness, but she always stayed by his side.
for crying out loud: this expression has many meanings. Some people say it when they're angry; some say it when they're happily surprised; some people say it when they're unhappy. Oh, for crying out loud! I haven't seen these old pictures in years!
for goodness sake: This is an expression of surprise, excitement, concern, anger. The meaning can change depending on the situation. This is a popular expression among older people in the U.S. Oh, for goodness sake. This cucumber isn't any good. It's rotten!
for the heck of it: said when doing something without a good reason; to do something without a purpose. A: Why did she dye her hair purple? B: She said she just did it for the heck of it.
from the bottom of one's heart: usually said as an expression of gratitude and thanks. From the bottom of my heart, I'd like to thank everyone who voted for me.
from the cradle to the grave: from the beginning of a person's life to the end of it. Some countries provide health care for their citizens from the cradle to the grave.
full speed ahead: do what you want to do; nothing is stopping you from doing what you want to do. Now that they have enough money to do their cancer research, it's full speed ahead.

American Popular Expressions "E"

                                           

(the) early bird catches the worm:This well-known proverb is found in many countries. If you get up early or arrive at a place early, you will be rewarded for your effort. We have to get to the sale right when the store opens tomorrow morning. The early bird catches the worm.
early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise: if you go to bed early and wake up early, you will be a successful and healthy person. This proverb is attributed to Benjamin Franklin, an important founder of the United States.
easier said than done: something looks like it's going to be easy, but then you soon realize it's more difficult once you start doing the work. Ronald thought it would take just a couple of weekends to attach a second-story deck on his house, but it was easier said than done. Instead it took him three months to do the work.
easy come, easy go: usually used with money. Money made easily is lost or spent easily. Oh well. I just made and then lost $50 at the horse track. Easy come easy go.
eat (or have) one's cake and have (or eat) it too: to consume or use something yet still have it as if it were not used. (Of course, this is impossible. This expression is used for impossible situations.) She's interested in buying the house but she refuses to make a reasonable offer. She wants to have her cake and eat it too. * eat = have
eating out of (one's) hand: one person can easily control another person. (This expression comes from situations in which a human being feeds an animal by hand and the animal does whatever necessary to get the food.) He's so in love with her, she has him eating out of her hand.
eat someone out of house and home: to eat so much that the cost of the food causes financial problems. (This is usually used as an exaggeration.) Jimmy is eating so much these days he's eating us out of house and home.
egg on one's face: to be embarrassed Bill had egg on his face when he said he thought Tammy was pregnant. In fact, she had just gained a little extra weight.
(an) embarrassment of riches: to have a lot of stuff (not always money) or benefits. (In most cases, it's not really embarrassing.) The company has an embarrassment of riches with all of the talented people it has been able to attract.
(the) end justifies the means: to do whatever is necessary to achieve an important goal. Andrew and Catherine aren't concerned that they had to lie on their loan application to get money for their house. They figured the end justifies the means.
(at the) end of one's rope: to be at the end of one's resources; to be in need of help. My unemployment benefits run out next month, and with all my expenses such as rent and credit card bills, it feels like I'm at the end of my rope.
(the) end of the line: the end of a situation. It also means that a location is the last stop for a train. This is the end of the line. Everyone off the train!
every cloud has a silver lining: in every bad situation there may be something good that can come from it. Tony lost his job, but every cloud has a silver lining. Now he's going back to college to study nursing.
every little bit helps: any extra money is helpful for a particular situation. Janet sold her old CDs at a used book store to help pay for her tuition* at school. Every little bit helps. *tuition: money paid for school
every man for himself: each person must defend himself or herself from the present danger. Oh no! The volcano just erupted! It's every man for himself!
everything but the kitchen sink: everything; many different things. They had everything but the kitchen sink at the electronics show. It was very impressive.
every time I turn around: very often; all the time. Every time I turn around, my son is playing in the dirt. He loves to get dirty.
(ones) eyes are bigger than (one's) stomach: to order more food or put more food onto a plate than can possibly be eaten. There's no way we can finish all this food we ordered. I guess our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.
eyes in the back of (one's) head: to be very aware of the situation around you; to be alert and perceptive. A teacher of elementary school children has to have eyes in the back of her head when her back is turned to the class.