[fair and square]{adv. phr.}, {informal} Without cheating;honestly. •/He won the game fair and square./

[fair catch]{n.} A catch of a kicked football by a player after heholds up his hand to show that he will not run with the ball. •/He saw thathe would not be able to run with the ball, so he signalled for a fair catch./

[fair-haired boy]{n.}, {informal} A person that gets specialfavors; favorite; pet. •/If he wins the election by a large majority, he willbecome his party’s fair-haired boy./ •/The local boy playing first basecould do no wrong; he was the fair-haired boy of the fans./ •/Charles was agood student and behaved very well; he became the teacher’s fair-haired boy./

[fair play]{n.} Equal and right action (to another person); justice.•/The visiting team did not get fair play in the game./ •/The judgesdecided against Bob, but he said that he had gotten fair play./ •/Sally’ssense of fair play made her a favorite with her classmates./

[fair sex]{n.}, {informal} Women in general; the female sex.•/"Better not use four-letter words in front of a member of the fair sex,"Joe said./

[fair shake]{n.}, {informal} Honest treatment. •/Joe has alwaysgiven me a fair shake./

[fair-weather friend]{n.} A person who is a friend only when you aresuccessful. •/Everyone knows that John’s only a fair-weather friend./

[fairy godmother]{n.} 1. A fairy believed to help and take care of ababy as it grows up. 2. A person who helps and does much for another. •/Therich man played fairy godmother to the boys and had a baseball field made forthem./ •/Jane was a fairy godmother to her poorer friends./

[fairy tale] or [story] {n.} An inaccurate, even false account ofsomething; a result of wishful thinking. •/Jeff said he was going to bepromoted soon, but we all suspect that it is only one of his customary fairytales./

[faith] See: GOOD FAITH, ON FAITH.

[fall] See: BOTTOM DROP OUT or BOTTOM FALL OUT, RIDING FOR A FALL.

[fall all over]{v. phr.}, {informal} To show too much love orthanks toward (someone). •/She must love him. Every time you see them, she’sfalling all over him./ •/When Bob found the lady’s ring and returned it,she fell all over him./

[fall asleep at the switch]{v. phr.} To fail to perform an expectedtask; be remiss in one’s duty. •/The two airplanes wouldn’t have collided, ifthe control tower operator hadn’t fallen asleep at the switch./ •/The deanpromised our department $250,000 but the foundation never sent the moneybecause someone in the dean’s office fell asleep at the switch./

[fall away]{v. phr.} To decline; diminish. •/I was shocked to seehow haggard Alan looked; he seems to be falling away to a shadow./

[fall back]{v.} To move back; go back. — Usually used with a group assubject. •/The army fell back before their stubborn enemies./ •/The crowdaround the hurt boy fell back when someone shouted "Give him air!"/ Compare:DROP BACK, GIVE WAY.

[fall back on] or [fall back upon] v. 1. To retreat to. •/The enemymade a strong attack, and the soldiers fell back on the fort./ 2. To go forhelp to; turn to in time of need. •/When the big bills for Mother’s hospitalcare came, Joe was glad he had money in the bank to fall back on./ •/If Mr.Jones can’t find a job as a teacher, he can fall back on his skill as aprinter./

[fall behind]{v.} To go slower than others and be far behind them.•/When the campers took a hike in the woods, two boys fell behind and gotlost./ •/Frank’s lessons were too hard for him, and he soon fell behind therest of the class./ •/Mary was not promoted because she dreamed too muchand fell behind in her lessons./

[fall by the wayside] also [drop by the wayside] {v. phr.} To giveup or fail before the finish. •/The boys tried to make a 50-mile hike, butmost of them fell by the wayside./ •/George, Harry, and John enteredcollege to become teachers, but Harry and John fell by the wayside, and onlyGeorge graduated./

[fall down on the job]{v. phr.}, {informal} To fail to work well.•/The boss was disappointed when his workers fell down on the job./

[fall due] or [come] or [become due] {v. phr.} To reach thetime when a bill or invoice is to be paid. •/Our car payment falls due on thefirst of every month./

[fall flat]{v.}, {informal} To be a failure; fail. •/The partyfell flat because of the rain./ •/His joke fell flat because no oneunderstood it./

[fall for]{v.}, {slang} 1. To begin to like very much. •/Dickfell for baseball when he was a little boy./ 2. To begin to love (a boy or agirl.) •/Helen was a very pretty girl and people were not surprised that Billfell for her./ 3. To believe (something told to fool you.) •/Nell did notfall for Joe’s story about being a jet pilot./

[fall from grace]{v. phr.} To go back to a bad way of behaving; dosomething bad again. •/The boys behaved well during dinner until they fellfrom grace by eating their dessert with their fingers instead of theirforks./ •/The boy fell from grace when he lied./

[fall guy]{n.}, {slang} The "patsy" in an illegal transaction; asucker; a dupe; the person who takes the punishment others deserve. •/Whenthe Savings and Loan Bank failed, due to embezzlement, the vice president hadto be the fall guy, saving the necks of the owners./

[fall in]{v.} 1. To go and stand properly in a row like soldiers.•/The captain told his men to fall in./ Contrast: FALL OUT(3). 2. tocollapse. •/The explosion caused the walls of the house to fall in./

[fall in for]{v.} To receive; get. •/The boy fell in for somesympathy when he broke his leg./ •/The team manager fell in for most of theblame when his team lost the playoffs./

[falling-out]{n.} Argument; disagreement; quarrel. •/Mary and Janehad a falling-out about who owned the book./ •/The boys had a falling-outwhen each said that the other had broken the rules./

[fall in line] or [fall into line] See: IN LINE, INTO LINE.

[fall in love] See: IN LOVE.

[fall in] or [into place] {v. phr.} To suddenly make sense; findthe natural or proper place for the missing pieces of a puzzle. •/When thedetectives realized that a second man was seen at the place of the murder, thepieces of the puzzle began to fall into place./

[fall in with]{v.}, {informal} 1. To meet by accident. •/Maryfell in with some of her friends downtown./ 2. To agree to help with;support. •/I fell in with Jack’s plan to play a trick on his father./ 3. Tobecome associated with a group detrimental to the newcomer. •/John fell inwith a wild bunch; small wonder he flunked all of his courses./ Compare: PLAYALONG.

[fall into the habit of]{v. phr.} To develop the custom of doingsomething. •/Jack has fallen into the bad habit of playing poker for largesums of money every night./

[fall off] See: DROP OFF(4).

[fall off the wagon]{v. phr.}, {slang}, {alcoholism and drugculture} To return to the consumption of an addictive, such as alcohol ordrugs, after a period of abstinence. •/Poor Joe has fallen off the wagonagain — he is completely incoherent today./