Idioms F	Back to Vocabulary..
Face like thunder If someone has a face like thunder, they are very angry or upset about something
Face the music If you have to face the music, you have to accept the 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
Fair crack of the whip If everybody has a fair crack of the whip, they all have equal opportunities to do something
Fair weather friend A fairweather friend is the type who is always there when times are good but forgets about you when things get difficult
Fall from grace If a person falls from grace, they lose favour with someone
Fall off the back of a lorry 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 wagon If someone falls off the wagon, they start drinking after having given up completely for a time
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
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 is a way of telling someone they have no chance
Fat hits the fire When the fat hits the fire, trouble breaks out
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
Feel the pinch If someone is short of money or feeling restricted in some other way, they are feeling the pinch
Feet on the ground A practical and realistic person has their feet on the ground
Fight an uphill battle When you fight an uphill battle, you have to struggle against very unfavourable circumstances
Fight tooth and nail If someone fights tooth and nail for something, they will not stop at anything to get what they want
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 If thing's are fine and dandy, then everything is going well
Finger in the pie If you have a finger in the pie, you are involved in something
Fingers and thumbs If you are all fingers and thumbs, you are being clumsy and not very skilled with your hands
Fire away If you want to ask someone a question and they tell you to fire away, they mean that you are free to ask what you want
Firing on all cylinders If something is firing on all cylinders, it is going as well as it could
First port of call The first place you stop to do something is your first port of call
Fish out of water If you are placed in a situation that is completely new to you and confuses you, you are like a fish out of water
Fishy If there is something fishy about someone or something, there is something suspicious about them or it
Fit as a fiddle If you are fit as a fiddle, you are in perfect health
Fit for a king If something is fit for a king, it is of the very highest quality or standard
Flesh and blood Your flesh and blood are your blood relatives, especially your immediate family
Flogging a dead horse This is used when someone is trying to raise interest in an issue that no-one supports anymore
Fly in the ointment A fly in the ointment is something that spoils or prevents complete enjoyment of something
Fly on the wall If you are able to see and hear events as they happen, you are a fly on the wall
Fly the nest When children leave home to live away from their parents, they fly the nest
Food for thought If something is food for thought, it is worth thinking about or considering seriously
Foot in the mouth You put your foot in your mouth when you say something embarrassing, inappropriate, wrong or stupid usually accidentally
Foot the bill If somebody foots the bill, they pay for everybody
Forbidden fruit Something enjoyable that is illegal or immoral is forbidden fruit
Forgone conclusion If the result of something is a foregone conclusion, then the result is obvious before it's started
Foul play If the police suspect foul play, they think a crime was committed
Four eyes A person who wears glasses
Free rein If someone has a free rein, they have the authority to make the decisions they want without any restrictions
Freudian slip If someone makes a Freudian slip, they accidentally use the wrong word, but in doing so reveal what they are really thinking rather than what they think the other person wants to hear
From pillar to post If something is going from pillar to post, it is moving around in a meaningless way, from one disaster to another
From rags to riches Someone who starts life very poor and makes a fortune goes from rags to riches
From the bottom of the heart If someone does something from the bottom of their heart, then they do it with genuine emotion and feeling
From the horses mouth If you hear something from the horse's mouth, you hear it directly from the person concerned or responsible
From the word go From the word go means from the very beginning of something
Full bore If you go at something full bore, you give it everything you've got in the form of energy
Full monty If something is the Full Monty, it is the real thing, not reduced in any way
Full of hot air someone who is full of hot air talks a lot of rubbish
Full of ones self Someone who acts in a arrogant or egotistical manner is full of himself/herself
Full of the joys of spring If you are full of the joys of spring, you are very happy and full of energy
Fullness of time If something happens in the fullness of time, it will happen when the time is right and appropriate
Fur coat and no knickers Someone with airs and graces, but no real class is to have a fur coat and no knickers
Fuzzy thinking Thinking or ideas that do not agree with the facts or information available