English Idioms - F

English and American idioms starting with the letter F are a great example of English learning resources

A-Z of English Idioms

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B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

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M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

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W

X

Y

Z

Face like thunder
A person who looks very angry or upset has a face like thunder

Face only a mother could love
A person who is ugly to look at has a face that only a mother could love

Face the music
Having to face the music means that you can no longer run from the results of your bad actions

Face value
Taking something at face value means to accept it without seeking out deeper details

Face your demons
Facing your demons means to confront your fears and problems

Facts of life
The facts of life are all about reproduction and sexual intercourse

Failure is the mother of success
When failure is the mother of success, it means that often success comes as a result of failure

Faint heart never won fair lady
When you lack the confidence to speak to people you are interested in, then we can say that a faint heart never won fair lady

Fair and square
Winning without cheating is winning fair and square

Fair crack of the whip
When someone is given a fair whip of the crack, they have been allowed a reasonable chance of attempting something

Fair shake of the whip
A fair shake of the whip is everyone receiving an equal chance to do something

Fair thee well
Fair thee well is old English and means goodbye

Fairweather friend
A friend who sticks with you in good times but disappears when things become hard is called a fair-weather friend

Fall by the wayside
When someone falls by the wayside they have given up before they should have, or before something is completed

Fall from grace
A person who falls from grace loses their high reputation

Fall off the back of a lorry
When goods are most likely stolen property, you can say they have fallen of the back of a lorry

Fall off the turnip truck
A person who has fallen off the turnip track is a gullible and simple person, sometimes considered naive

Fall off the wagon
Falling off the wagon means failing to break an addictive habit after a period of success, such as alcoholics who stop drinking for a while and then start again

Fall on our feet
Falling on your feet means being successful and succeeding when you surrounded by troubling circumstances

Fall on your sword
If a person falls on their sword they accept their shortcomings and any punishments owed

Familiarity breeds contempt
Familiarity breeds contempt means that when you know people too well, their individual faults start to irritate you

Famous last words
Famous last words is an idiom which is tagged on to the end of a sentence which refers to when people were wrong and failed as a result, such as, ‘he thought he knew how to drive, famous last words’

Fast and furious
The fast and the furious are people or things which happen very quickly and erratically

Fat cat
A fat cat is usually the boss of a company, but really refers to rich people who live luxurious lives

Fat chance!
If you say ‘fat chance’ to someone, you are mocking their likelihood of success

Fat head
A fathead is an idiot

Fat hits the fire
As any cook knows, when the fat hits the fire there is a big reaction, so this idiom means that there will be trouble as a result

Fat of the land
When a person lives off the fat of the land they have a luxurious and wealthy lifestyle, and often work very little

Fate worse than death
A fate worse than death is a very bad fate indeed

Feast today, famine tomorrow
For people who live excessively and then don’t have enough the following day, you can say that they are experiencing feast today, famine tomorrow

Feather in your cap
A feather in your cap is a symbol of success. This is not a material object but a psychological boost in confidence

Feather your own nest
A person who feathers their own nest tries to benefit themselves personally by abusing their status or job

Feathers fly
Feathers fly when people argue or get upset with each other

Fed up to the back teeth
Being fed up to the back teeth means being so annoyed with someone that you can’t take any more

Feel at home
If you feel at home it means you feel very comfortable and relaxed in a new environment, as if you would at home

Feel free
When you ask to do something and the resulting advice is to ‘feel free,’ it means ‘go ahead, no problem’

Feel like a million bucks
Someone who feels like a million bucks is full of confidence in their appearance, most likely because they are wearing new and expensive clothes

Feel the pinch
Being short of money and becoming aware of the restrictions it brings, is feeling the pinch

Feeling blue
When someone is feeling blue, they are depressed and miserable

Feet of clay
A person who seems superhuman in some sense but who reveals a flaw which brings them down to everyone else’s level, is said to have feet full of clay

Feet on the ground
If you have your feet on the ground it means that you are making rational and sensible decisions

Fence sitter
Someone who supports both sides of the argument and never selects a preference, is sitting on the fence

Fiddle while Rome burns
Fiddling while Roe burns refers to the situation of people wasting time on irrelevant details whilst bigger problems threaten to do them harm

Fifth columnist
Someone who writes propaganda in newspapers with the intention of anarchy is a fifth columnist

Fifth wheel
When a person of thing is called a fifth wheel, it means that they are unnecessary and most likely in the way

Fight an uphill battle
Fighting the uphill battle means to attempt a challenge which is very difficult

Fight tooth and nail
Fighting tooth and nail means trying to win and never giving up

Fighting chance
If you have a fighting chance, there is at least some possibility of success

Find your feet
Finding your feet refers to the initial stage of a project where you are getting accustomed to your new situation, such as having moved into a new town

Fine and dandy
Situations which are fine and dandy are good (enough)

Fine tuning
Fine tuning is what you do when you make small changes to something in order to perfect it

Fine words butter no parsnips
When fine words butter no parsnips, it means that no amount of talking is as useful as actions

Finger in the pie
Someone with a finger in the pie has a share in something which can benefit them, such as an investment

Fingers and thumbs
Someone who is all fingers and thumbs is clumsy with their hands and often drops things

Fire away
If in a conversation someone says ‘fire away,’ it means that any question may be asked to them

Fire on all cylinders
When something is operating or functioning at maximum speed, it is firing on all cylinders

First come, first served
When you are told that its first come first served, it means that no special order or preference exists in a queue, and those who come first, get served first

First out of the gate
The person who is first out of the gate is the first to do something amongst many others

First port of call
The first port of call is the first place you should visit on your journey

Fish or cut bait
When making a decision which is necessary to do, you can ask to fish or cut bait. The choices are not as important as the need to make a decision

Fish out of water
A fish out of water is someone who finds themselves in a new environment and is uneasy or confused as a result

Fishy
When something is a bit fishy, it means that it seems suspicious

Fit as a fiddle
Being fit as a fiddle means to be in perfect health

Fit for a king
Something which is fit for a king is of the highest quality

Fit of pique
A fit of pique is what happens when someone overreacts after their pride is hurt

Fit the bill
When something fits the bill, it is a perfect for the job

Fit to be tied
Being fit to be tired is what happens if someone is extremely angry

Five o'clock shadow
A badly shaved man, or someone who hasn’t shaved for at least a day, has a five o’clock shadow

Flash in the pan
Someone or something which is very popular, but only for a short while, is a flash in the pan

Flat as a pancake
When a thing is completely flat, it is as flat as a pancake

Flat out
Working consistently hard on a task is the same as working flat out

Fleet of foot
Being very quick and nifty is the same as being fleet of foot

Flesh and blood
When referring to people, your flesh and blood are your blood relatives

Flogging a dead horse
When you are flogging a dead horse, it means that you are trying hard to make something succeed which never can

Flowery speech
A flowery speech, or flowery words in general, are words which sound fantastic in order to cover up the lack of useful content

Fly by the seat of one's pants
Flying by the seat of your pants means to do something hard without any experience, and making it up as you go

Fly in the ointment
When there is a fly in the ointment, an otherwise perfect thing is spoiled in some way

Fly off the handle
Someone who flies off the handle, becomes very angry and loses self control

Fly on the wall
Secretly observing something as a voyeur is being a fly on the wall

Fly the coop
Children becoming adults and leaving home is called flying the coop

Fly the flag
Flying the flag means representing their country in some way, in order to display their nationalism

Food for thought
Something which is worth thinking about or considering is food for thought

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me
This idioms is very straightforward in its meaning. ‘Fool me once, shame on you’ means you shouldn’t take advantage of a person who is naïve. ‘Fool me twice, shame on me’ means that you should always learn from experience, and not make the same mistake more than once

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread
When fools rush in where angles fear to tread, it suggests that inexperienced people take more risk than others

Foot in mouth
Someone who has put their foot in the mouth, has said something they shouldn’t which has probably caused embarrassment to another

Foot in the door
Getting your foot in the door means to start something at a basic level with the hope of more responsibility later on

Foot the bill
Footing the bill means paying the bill exclusively

Football's a game of two halves
When football’s a game of two halves, it suggests that no situation is completely certain and can change completely

For a song
Buying or selling something for a song, means to do it cheaply

For donkey's years
Something which takes donkey’s years, takes a very long time

For England
When something you do if referred to as for England, such as eating for England, it means you can do lots of it

For kicks
Doing something for kicks is to do it for fun or excitement

For my money
When offering your opinion about something, you can begin the sentence with ‘for my money’

For Pete's sake
A person who is annoyed and wants other to be aware of their feelings can begin their statement with ‘for Pete’s sake’

For the birds
When referring to the value of something, for the birds means that it is low quality

For the love of Pete
When truly annoyed at something you can say ‘for the love of Pete’

For the time being
A temporary situation can be referred to as for the time being

Forbidden fruit
Something which is prohibited and subsequently more tempting as a result, is forbidden fruit

Foregone conclusion
A foregone conclusion is something in which the outcome is certain before it has been reached

Forest for the trees
If you can’t see the forest for the trees, you are unable to see the total problem because of the small problems associated with it

Fortune knocks once at every man's door
Fortune knocks once at every man’s door suggests that everybody gets at least one chance to be successful in their lives, even if only a few take it

Foul play
When accidents are suspected of foul play, they are criminal in nature and often involve murder

Four corners of the earth
Going to the four corners of the earth means going everywheer

Four-eyes
A derogatory remark aimed at people who wear glasses is to call them four eyes

Four-square behind
Giving someone your full support is known as standing four squares behind

Fourth estate
The fourth estate is a colloquial term which refers to the media

Free rein
When someone is given free rein over a task, it means that they are given full control

Free-for-all
A competition with lots of people and no real rules is called a free-for-all

Fresh from the oven
A completely new thing can be called fresh from the oven

Freudian Slip
A Freudian slip is a mistake in your speech which reveals something personal about you, or an issue in your mind you are trying to ignore

Friendly footing
Friendly footing refers to relationships which are making progress and are happy

From a different angle
If trying to see something from a different angle, you are considering it from a fresh perspective

From Missouri
When you refer to someone as being from Missouri, it suggests that they are very sceptical

From pillar to post
Going from pillar to post means making several mistakes, one after the other

From rags to riches
A person who goes form rags to riches was poor and is now rich

From scratch
Starting from scratch means to begin from the beginning again

From soup to nuts
To complete a task completely from beginning to end is to do it from soup to nuts

From the bottom of your heart
Something which comes from the bottom of your heart is given with a strong sense of emotion, such as an impassioned speech

From the get-go
The get-go is the absolute beginning, so to do something from the get-go is to begin it from the start

From the horse's mouth
Hearing information straight from the horse’s mouth is to hear it directly from the source

From the sublime to the ridiculous
Something which goes from the sublime to the ridiculous gets more and more unbelievable and ridiculous

From the word go
When you start something from the word go, it means to do it from the absolute beginning

Full as a tick
When you have eaten too much, you can be said to be as full as a tick

Full bore
Full bore refers to actions done at maximum effort

Full circle
Something which comes or goes full circle, finds itself back at the beginning again

Full Monty
Something which is called the full Monty is the real deal and not a fake. It also refers to being completely naked

Full of beans
A person who is full of beans is full of energy and enthusiasm

Full of hot air
People who are full of hot air talk nonsense and tell lies

Full of oneself
Being conceited and in love with themselves, is known as being full of themselves

Full of piss and vinegar
A very energetic youth is known as being full of piss and vinegar

Full of the joys of spring
Someone in a happy mood is referred to as fully of the joys of spring

Full swing
A task which is happening at full speed is in full swing, such as a birthday party

Full throttle
Going full throttle means to be progressing at the greatest speed possible

Fullness of time
When things happen in the fullness of time, they will occur when the time is right

Fur coat and no knickers
A person who pretends to be upper class but is really lower class has a fur coat and no knickers

Fuzzy thinking
Fuzzy thinking means ideas which are not clear and well thought out