Phrases Beginning With F

Phrases Beginning With F

English Phrases, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They come up all the time in both written and spoken English. Because Phrases don’t always make sense literally, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with the meaning and usage of each idiom. That may seem like a lot of work, but learning Phrases is fun, especially when you compare English Phrases to the Phrases in your own language.

Phrases Beginning With F with Meaning and Example

Here’s a list of “Phrases Beginning With F” in English:

Face the music

• Meaning: To accept the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions.
• Example: It’s time to face the music and admit you made a mistake.

Feather in one’s cap

• Meaning: An achievement to be proud of.
• Example: Completing the marathon was a real feather in his cap.

Feel the pinch

• Meaning: To experience financial hardship.
• Example: With the recent rise in prices, many families are starting to feel the pinch.

Field day

• Meaning: An enjoyable day or time.
• Example: The children had a field day at the amusement park.

Fight tooth and nail

• Meaning: To fight very fiercely.
• Example: She fought tooth and nail to get her job back.

Fine-tooth comb

• Meaning: To search or examine something very carefully.
• Example: The detective went through the evidence with a fine-tooth comb.

Fish out of water

• Meaning: Someone who is in an unfamiliar situation.
• Example: He felt like a fish out of water at the tech conference.

Fit as a fiddle

• Meaning: In very good health.
• Example: Even at 70, she’s as fit as a fiddle.

Fly off the handle

• Meaning: To lose one’s temper suddenly.
• Example: He flew off the handle when he found out about the betrayal.

Follow suit

• Meaning: To do the same thing as someone else.
• Example: When the first player raised the bet, the others quickly followed suit.

Foot in the door

• Meaning: To get an initial opportunity.
• Example: An internship is a great way to get your foot in the door of this industry.

Fool’s paradise

• Meaning: A state of happiness based on false hope.
• Example: Believing they could win the lottery was nothing but a fool’s paradise.

For a song

• Meaning: Very cheaply.
• Example: I bought this antique table for a song at the garage sale.

Force of habit

• Meaning: Doing something automatically because it is a habit.
• Example: By force of habit, she always checked her email first thing in the morning.

From the horse’s mouth

• Meaning: Directly from the original source.
• Example: I heard the news straight from the horse’s mouth.

Full of hot air

• Meaning: Talking nonsense or boasting.
• Example: He’s always full of hot air about his achievements.

Funny bone

• Meaning: The part of the elbow that causes a tingling sensation when struck.
• Example: I hit my funny bone on the door, and it really hurt.

Fall flat

• Meaning: To fail completely.
• Example: His joke fell flat, and no one laughed.

Face the facts

• Meaning: To accept the truth.
• Example: It’s time to face the facts and realize we can’t afford the new car.

Feast or famine

• Meaning: A situation of extremes, either too much or too little.
• Example: Freelance work can be feast or famine; sometimes you have lots of work, and other times, none.

Feel blue

• Meaning: To feel sad or depressed.
• Example: He’s been feeling blue since his friend moved away.

Fill in the blanks

• Meaning: To complete something by adding missing information.
• Example: Please fill in the blanks on this form with your details.

Firing on all cylinders

• Meaning: Working at full strength or capacity.
• Example: The team was firing on all cylinders during the final match.

Flash in the pan

• Meaning: A brief success that is not repeated.
• Example: His hit single was just a flash in the pan.

Follow in someone’s footsteps

• Meaning: To do the same thing as someone else, especially a family member.
• Example: She decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and become a teacher.

Foot the bill

• Meaning: To pay for something.
• Example: The company will foot the bill for the business trip.

From rags to riches

• Meaning: To go from being very poor to being very wealthy.
• Example: His life story is a classic tale of rags to riches.

Fuel to the fire

• Meaning: Something that makes a bad situation worse.
• Example: His angry comments just added fuel to the fire.

Full circle

• Meaning: Returning to the original point or situation.
• Example: The conversation went full circle and we ended up discussing the same issues again.

Fair-weather friend

• Meaning: A person who is only a friend during good times.
• Example: He proved to be a fair-weather friend when he disappeared during my troubles.

Fall from grace

• Meaning: To lose favor or a good reputation.
• Example: The politician’s scandal led to his fall from grace.

Fast and furious

• Meaning: Happening very quickly.
• Example: The action scenes in the movie were fast and furious.

Fight fire with fire

• Meaning: To use the same methods as one’s opponent.
• Example: Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire in a competitive business environment.

Fit the bill

• Meaning: To be suitable for a particular purpose.
• Example: This candidate fits the bill for the position perfectly.

Flogging a dead horse

• Meaning: Wasting effort on something that is no longer useful.
• Example: Trying to change his mind is like flogging a dead horse.

Fly in the ointment

• Meaning: A minor flaw that spoils something.
• Example: The only fly in the ointment was the rainy weather.

From pillar to post

• Meaning: From one place or situation to another in a disorganized way.
• Example: They were sent from pillar to post before they finally found the right office.

Full of beans

• Meaning: Very energetic and lively.
• Example: The children were full of beans after the party.

Funny business

• Meaning: Dishonest or illegal activities.
• Example: I don’t want any funny business while I’m gone.

Fend for oneself

• Meaning: To take care of oneself without help from others.
• Example: At a young age, she had to fend for herself.

Fair game

• Meaning: A legitimate target for criticism or attack.
• Example: Public figures are often considered fair game by the media.

Find one’s feet

• Meaning: To become confident or comfortable in a new situation.
• Example: It took a few months, but I’ve finally found my feet at the new job.

Fit as a fiddle

• Meaning: In very good health.
• Example: Even at 70, she’s as fit as a fiddle.

Float one’s boat

• Meaning: To be what someone likes or is interested in.
• Example: You can choose the activity – whatever floats your boat.

Fly by the seat of one’s pants

• Meaning: To do something by instinct rather than by plan.
• Example: We had no idea what we were doing, so we just flew by the seat of our pants.

Foaming at the mouth

• Meaning: Extremely angry.
• Example: He was foaming at the mouth when he heard about the betrayal.

Foot in mouth

• Meaning: To say something embarrassing.
• Example: I really put my foot in my mouth when I mentioned her ex-husband.

From scratch

• Meaning: From the beginning without any prior preparation.
• Example: She baked the cake from scratch.

Face value

• Meaning: The apparent worth or significance of something.
• Example: Don’t take his promises at face value; he often exaggerates.

Fall short

• Meaning: To fail to meet expectations or standards.
• Example: The movie fell short of my expectations.

Feather one’s nest

• Meaning: To enrich oneself at the expense of others.
• Example: He was accused of feathering his nest while in office.

Fit the mold

• Meaning: To conform to a particular pattern or style.
• Example: She didn’t quite fit the mold of a typical lawyer.

Fly in the face of

• Meaning: To be in direct opposition to something.
• Example: His theories fly in the face of conventional wisdom.

From the ground up

• Meaning: Starting from the very beginning.
• Example: They built the business from the ground up.

Fur coat and no knickers

• Meaning: To have a glamorous appearance but lack substance or real value.
• Example: The new policy is all fur coat and no knickers; it looks good but won’t make a real difference.

Fish or cut bait

• Meaning: To make a decision or take action.
• Example: It’s time to fish or cut bait on this project.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread

• Meaning: Inexperienced or rash people tend to enter situations that wiser people avoid.
• Example: He decided to invest all his money in the scheme, proving that fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

List of Phrases Beginning With F

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