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List of Popular Idioms and Usages Part F

By VJ

Hi all, the list of popular idioms and usages has now reached the part F. I hope you will really make use of this series. These new words added to your vocabulary will definitely help you in your blogging. Good writing is really important to your blogging, and new words added to the posts are really as important as the richness of keywords you are targeting for your blog. Here goes the series Part F.

  1. Face like a bulldog chewing a wasp: A repugnantly embarrassed face.
  2. Face like the back of a buss: An ugly embarrassed face.
  3. Face the music: Accept any unpleasant consequences of one’s actions.
  4. Fall from grace: To fall in esteem. His actions caused the president fall from grace.
  5. Fall guy: A stooge or scapegoat. The new recruit has been the fall guy of all actions of the manager.
  6. Fall on your sword: Commit suicide or bring up your resignation.
  7. Fancy free: Without any connections or relations.
  8. Far from the madding crowd: Away from the hustle, in quietude.
  9. Feeding frenzy: Furious commercial competition.
  10. Fellow traveler: Someone fully sympathetic to a certain point of view without becoming its active patron.
  11. Fiddling while Rome burns: Dealing with the unimportant things while important ones happen.
  12. Field day: A special or enjoyable time.
  13. Fighting fit: In good physical condition.
  14. Finger lickin good: Excellent – about food usually.
  15. First water: Of highest quality.
  16. Fish or cut bait: Either do the useful work or let others do it.
  17. Flash in the pan: Something that disappoints by being over too quickly.
  18. Flesh and blood: One’s family.
  19. Fly by the seat of your pants: Decide on a course of action with your intuitions and perceptions.
  20. Fly on the wall: Someone who observes the situation without being noticed.
  21. Foam at the mouth: Display rage.
  22. Fool’s gold: Iron Pyrite, which looks like gold.
  23. For crying out loud: For Christ’s sake.
  24. For ever and a day: For a very long time.
  25. Forbidden fruit: A prohibited article.
  26. Foul play: For a very long time.
  27. Four corners of the earth: All parts of the earth.
  28. Friday afternoon car: A faulty or sub-standard effort.
  29. From sea to shining sea: From one coast to another.
  30. Fruits of your loins: One’s children.
  31. Full of piss and vinegar: Rowdy and boisterous.
  32. Full tilt: At full speed.
  33. Funny farm: Mental institution.

More of the usages and idioms will be added in the coming days. Please comment on. If you find any mistake in here, do point me to it through comments. Also, double-check the entries with some reference dictionary.

Copyright © Lenin Nair 2008

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  1. EricMay 13, 2008 at 8:14 AM

    Excellent topic that requires considerable sophistication. Some of the idioms are very practical - face the music, fall from grace and field day - while others seem a bit too obscure to 21st century Americans such as "face like a bulldog chewing a wasp" and even the wonderful "fiddling while Rome burns" seem borderline given the low knowledge levels.

    Just a thought. Nice blog. Keep it up, but try to be more selective and practical.

    ReplyDelete
  2. VJMay 13, 2008 at 9:55 AM

    Indeed, Eric, some are outdated, and some are highly so. But when saying something, we have to say it all, right? So, I added them. Maybe they will all provide food for thought for the writers. When we read interesting new ideas, they affect our writing positively. Thanks for your comment.

    ReplyDelete

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