face the music
- face
- music
- pay
the piper
- carry
the can
- take
one's medicine
- pay
- piper
- carry
- can
- take
- medicine
To endure the consequences of one's actions; to
accept the unpleasant consequences of one's previous
actions; to take what you have coming to you.
Example:
He is going to have to face the music sooner or
later.
History:
This American saying was common in the mid-1800s.
There are two theories about its origin. It could
have come from the world of theater. Sometimes an
audience didn't like a show. It took courage for
a performer to stand on the stage and face the hostile
audience and also the orchestra pit ("the
music"). This idiom could also have come
from the military world. If a soldier did something
dishonorable, he was often dismissed from the army
as the band played, "facing the music."
Synonyms:
pay the piper, carry the can, take one's medicine
faction
[FAK-shuhn]
1. A usually contentious or self-seeking
group within a larger group, party, government,
etc.
2. Party strife and intrigue; internal dissension.
Examples:
1) For most of his colleagues, Leonid
Ilich Brezhnev, who had succeeded Khrushchev as
First (later General) Secretary, was a far more
reassuring figure -- affable, lightweight and patient
in reconciling opposing factions, though skillful
in outmaneuvering his political rivals. (Christopher
Andrew and Vasili Mitrokhin, "The Sword and
the Shield")
2) Leaders of the party's reform faction,
decisively defeated for top posts, have not heeded
the call for post-election unity. ("El Salvador:
Orthodox Faction Holds on to Power in the FMLN,"
NotiCen, December 6, 2001)
3) As Madison wrote in Federalist
no. 10, the purpose of the Constitution was to constrain
special interest politics, or what he called "the
violence of faction." (James T. Bennett
and Thomas J. Di Lorenzo, "CancerScam")
4) While Britannia Triumphans opened
with a scene in which rebellious citizens of past
reigns are dispelled by Heroic Virtue, faction,
disorder and rebellion were much harder to deal
with in British society. (John Brewer, "The
Pleasures of the Imagination")
Etymology:
"Faction" comes from Latin
"factio, faction-", from the past
participle of "facere" ("to
do, to make").
factoid
[FAK-toyd]
1. An invented fact believed to be true because
of its appearance in print.
2. A briefly stated and usually trivial fact
Example:
The show consists of entertainment news interspersed
with video factoids about Hollywood stars.
History:
We can thank Norman Mailer for the word "factoid";
he coined the term in his 1973 book "Marilyn",
about Marilyn Monroe. In the book, Mailer explains
that factoids are "facts which
have no existence before appearing in a magazine
or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies
as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent
Majority." In creating his coinage, Mailer
relied on "-oid," a suffix that
traces back to the ancient Greek word "eidos,"
meaning "appearance" or "form."
Mailer followed in a long tradition when
he chose "-oid"; English speakers
have been making words from "-oid"
since at least the 17th century.
faineant
[fay-nay-AWN, fay-nay-AHNG] (the final "NG"
is not pronounced, but the vowel is nasalized)
1. Doing nothing or given to doing
nothing; ineffectual.
Synonyms: idle; lazy; indolent.
2. A do-nothing; an idle fellow.
Synonym: sluggard.
1) Yet if nonhunters ever knew how
many properly dressed, entirely palatable big-game
carcasses wind up in dumpsters because someone was
simply too faineant to butcher and cook and eat
an animal he could find the time and energy to shoot
and kill, hunting would be in even greater jeopardy
than it is today. (Thomas McIntyre, "The
meaning of meat," Sports Afield, August 1,
1997)
2) According to Felipe Fernandez-Armesto,
Charles II was no faineant half-wit but a conscientious
and reflective king. (David Gilmour, "The
falsity of 'true Spain,'" The Spectator, July
22, 2000)
3) A faineant government is not the worst
government that England can have. It has been the
great fault of our politicians that they have all
wanted to do something. (Anthony Trollope, "Phineas
Finn")
4) David preferred a life of faineant
self-indulgence to the pressures of a career, and
his inheritance made such a life possible.
Etymology, more synonyms:
"Faineant" is from French,
from Middle French "fait-nient",
which literally means "does nothing,"
and ultimately traces back to the verb "faindre,"
or "feindre," meaning "to
feign." (The English word "feign"
is also descended from this verb, as are "faint"
and "feint.") "Faineant"
first appeared in print in the early 17th century
as a noun meaning "an irresponsible idler,"
and by 1854 it was also being used an adjective.
As its foreignness suggests, "faineant"
tends to be used when the context calls for a fancier
or more elegant word than "inactive"
or "sluggish."
fair-weather friend
- fair-weather
- friend
- a
friend in need
- friend
in need
- a friend in need is a friend indeed
- need
- indeed
A friends who cannot be depended on in difficult
times; a person who is a friend only when one is
successful; a person who is a faithful friend only
when everything is going well but who deserts you
in time of difficulty.
Examples:
1) He is a fair-weather friend only
and you can`t rely on him if you have a problem.
2) You can't count on Liz to help
you when you're in trouble. She's just a fair-weather
friend.
History, antonym:
It's good when the weather is fair and lovely, with
blue skies and mild breezes. It's bad when the weather
turns foul. Apply the same idea to a friendship
and you can see where this idiom came from. A fair-weather
(good-time only) friend is the opposite of
"a friend in need" (time
of trouble).
fait accompli
[fay-tah-kom-PLEE; fet-ah-kom-PLEE] (pl.
faits accomplis [same or -PLEEZ])
An accomplished and presumably irreversible deed
or fact.
Examples:
1) In 1991, with German reunification
a fait accompli and the European Community striding
toward full political and economic integration,
the future had seemed extraordinarily bright. (Richard
K. Lester, "The Productive Edge")
2) Olga, strict and tradition-minded,
marries a man her father has found for her in Greece:
she accepts the choice as a fait accompli, and falls
in love with him on sight. (Michiko Kakutani,
"After 'Eleni,' Life of a Woman's Children
in America", New York Times, October 17, 1989)
3) To argue that Napoleon could have
acted differently at Borodino is a meaningless wrestle
with a fait accompli. (James Wood, "The
Broken Estate")
Etymology:
"Fait accompli" comes from the
French, literally meaning "accomplished fact":
"fait", from Latin "factum"
("a thing done"), from "factus",
past participle of "facere" ("to
make or do") + "accompli",
past participle of "accomplir",
from Latin "ad-" + "complere"
("to fill up, to complete"), from "com-"
+ "plere" ("to fill").
faith
1. Belief (in a particular thing or person);
"an illogical belief in the occurrence of the
improbable" (H. L. Mencken)
2. Religion.
3. Trust, confidence.
4. Fidelity to one's promises; allegiance
to duty, or to a person honored and beloved.
Synonym: loyalty.
5. Word or honor pledged; promise
given.
Example:
He violated his faith. Synonym: fidelity.
6. That which is believed on any subject,
whether in science, politics, or religion;
especially (theol.), a system of religious
belief of any kind, as, the jewish or mohammedan
faith; the system of truth taught by christ;
as, the christian faith; also, the
creed or belief of a christian society or church.
Example:
Which to believe of her, must be a faith that reason
without miracle could never plant in me.
7. credibility or truth.
Example:
The faith of the foregoing narrative was absolute.
Etymology, quotations about faith:
"Faith" - c.1250, "duty
of fulfilling one's trust," from O.Fr. "feid",
from L. "fides" - "trust,
belief," from root of "fidere"
- "to trust," from PIE base *bhidh-/*bhoidh-
(cf. Gk. "pistis"). Theological
sense is from 1382; religions called faiths
since c.1300.
According to Mencken: "A man full
of faith is simply one who has lost (or never had)
the capacity for clear and realistic thought. He
is not a mere ass: he is actually ill." However,
Francis Bacon wrote: "A little philosophy
inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy
bringeth men's minds about to religion." (From
"Of Atheism" ) An interviewer
in the "Atlantic Monthly" (from "Atlantic
Unbound", May 20, 2004 - "The Universe
Made Simple") posed the following question
to physicist Brian Green: "As you
study all this [String Theory] in depth, do you
find yourself moving toward religion or away from
religion?"
The answer was: "It's hard to say. It really
depends on what one's definition of religion is.
Some people define religion in a rather abstract
way, as the order and the harmony and the wonder
of the universe. And from that point of view, yes,
string theory is revealing great order, great harmony,
and great beauty. So if you define religion in that
way, then we are going toward it... But if you use
a more conventional notion of religion, which involves
some divine being that set all things up, I think
the best we can say is that string theory has nothing
to say about it one way or another... We can't ever
rule a divine being out using science, because the
divine being, of course, could have set it up so
that we could discover what we have but see no direct
imprint of the work of that divine being... My own
feeling, therefore, is that if we are revealing
God's handiwork through our research, I'm happy
to be part of that journey. If, on the other hand,
all we're doing is revealing laws of physics that
have governed the universe from the beginning until
today, then I'm happy to be part of that journey,
too. So whichever framework it fits into, I think
the work itself is noble and interesting and very,
very worthwhile."
fall for
1. To become infatuated with somebody; to develop
intense feelings for someone.
Example: I think I fell for that cute guy
I met last night.
2. To be fooled; to believe a false story.
Example: You didn't fall for that advertisement
about making money on the Internet, did you?
fallible
[FAL-uh-bul]
1. liable to be erroneous
2. capable of making a mistake
Example:
As a little girl, Lucy idolized her father and believed
he was always right, but as she got older, she realized
that he was a fallible person who made mistakes
like everyone else.
Etymology, related words:
"Fallible" derives from
Medieval Latin "fallibilis", from
Latin "fallere" - "to deceive."
It is related to "fail", "false"
(from "falsum", the past participle
of "fallere"), "fallacy"
("a false notion"), "fault"
(from Old French "falte", from
"fallere"), and "faucet"
(from Old Proven?al "falsar" -
"to falsify, to create a fault in, to bore
through," from "fallere").
"Errare humanum est." That Latin
expression translates into English as "To err
is human". Of course, cynics might say that
it is also human to deceive. The word "fallible"
simultaneously recognizes both of these human character
flaws. In modern usage, it refers to one's ability
to err. "Fallible" has been
used to describe the potential for error since at
least the 15th century.
fanfic
- fan
fiction
- fanfiction
- fan
fic
- fic
Also: fan fic, fan fiction, fanfiction
Fiction written by fans as an extension of an admired
work or series of works, especially a television
show, often posted on the Internet or published
in fanzines; fiction written by people who enjoy
a film, novel, television show or other media work,
using the characters and situations developed in
it and developing new plots in which to use these
characters.
Examples:
1) Real Person Fiction (RPF) is a
type of fan fiction featuring celebrities or other
real people.
2) & the books have become a vehicle
for a worldwide outburst of collective storytelling.
& author J.K. Rowling has opened the door for fans
to imagine for themselves how it will develop, and
theyve seized the opportunity & Entire websites
are devoted to passionate Potter plot discussions
and "fanfic." ("Dallas Morning News",
15th July 2005)
3) & fans of the boy wizard may be
getting desperate for some fresh adventures from
the gang at Hogwarts & Help is at hand in the form
of fan fiction. In this curious literary genre that
is flourishing on the net, fans of a particular
book, TV series or film write their own stories
& ("The Guardian", 5th December 2002)
Etymology:
"Fan" + "fiction"
= "fanfiction" = "fanfic".
As a matter of historical interest, it should be
noted that in the pre-1965 era, the term "fan
fiction" was used in science fiction
fandom to designate science fiction written by members
of fandom and published in fanzines,
as distinguished from fiction professionally published;
this usage is now obsolete.
fanzine
An amateur or semi-professional magazine
published by members of science fiction fandom
or others.
Example:
The term "fan fiction" was used in science
fiction fandom to designate science fiction written
by members of fandom and published in fanzines.
Etymology:
The phenomenon has existed from the 1930s to the
present day. Those magazines were the earliest form
of a science fiction fanzine, and
at one time constituted the primary form of science-fictional
fannish activity ("fanac").
The term 'fanzine' is now also used,
by extension, to refer to fan-created magazines
in other areas; the earliest rock-and-roll fanzines
were edited by science fiction fans. A significant
fraction of modern computer/Web/Internet slang,
abbreviations, etc. is derived from the jargon of
the fanzine fans.
The fanzine movement is now well represented
on the Web, see webzines.
farrago
[fuh-RAH-go; fuh-RAY-go]
(Plural farragoes) A confused mixture; an
assortment; a medley.
Examples:
1) Ivan Illich writes "a farrago
of sub-Marxist cliches, false analogies, non sequiturs,
false or bent facts and weird prophesies."
("The Paul Johnson Enemies List," New
York Times, September 18, 1977)
2) Roy Hattersley will upset much of
Scotland by calling Walter Scott's lvanhoe "a
farrago of historical nonsense combined with maudlin
romance." ("Literary classics panned
by critics," Independent, January 18, 1999)
3) From the moment the story of the Countess
of Wessex and the Sheikh of Wapping broke, there
has been a farrago of rumour, speculation and fantasy
of which virtually every newspaper should be ashamed.
(Roy Greenslade, "A sting in the tale,"
The Guardian, April 9, 2001)
Etymology:
"Farrago" comes from the
Latin "farrago" ("a mixed
fodder for cattle," hence "a medley, a
hodgepodge"), from "far" (a
kind of grain).
fashion statement
Stylish or unusual clothing; clothes that cannot
be ignored or overlooked.
Example: That new suit of yours is quite
a fashion statement!
Etymology: 'Fashion' refers to the latest
styles in clothes, and 'statement' means that the
clothes are so bold that they speak for themselves.
fast food
Quickly prepared food, usually served by large chains
such as McDonalds.
Example:
I'm sick of McDonalds - can't we have something
besides fast food for a change?
Etymology: 'Fast' means quick, and 'food'
is anything you can eat. 'Fast food' is food you
order and get in a minute or two, without having
to sit and wait for it.
Synonym: junk
food
fat cat
- fat
- cat
- big
shot
- big
wig
- big
- shot
- wig
- VIP
- tycoon
1. A very wealthy person (who donates large
sums of money to political campaigns).
Example:
Maybe we can get some fat cats to contribute money
for the new gym.
Etymology: Cats that are well-fed and cared
for are seldom skinny; hence, a person living the
good life is a fat cat.
2. A person who has great wealth and power;
a distinguished or important person.
Examples:
1) Many of the city's fat cats eat
at that steak restaurant on First Avenue.
2) Those fat cats in Washington are
going to keep pressuring Congress to pass the tax
bill.
Etymology:
This term comes from the 1920s, when it was used
to describe wealthy contributors to American political
parties. "Fat" described
both the size of their waistlines (because they
could afford big meals) and the size of their wallets
(stuffed with money). Where did "cat"
come from? It rhymes with "fat",
and rhyming sounds often help a saying become popular.
Synonyms:
big shot, big wig, VIP, tycoon.
3. Affluent, wealthy, rich; fancy, luxurious.
Examples:
1) I've never seen him driving any
of those fat-cat cars.
2) I just have a bank account. No
fat-cat investments.
fat finger syndrome
- fat-fingered
- fat
finger
- syndrome
- fat
- finger
- fat
fingering
- fingering
- fingered
- have
fat fingers
- with
fat fingers
Noun: fat finger syndrome
Accidentally pressing the wrong button when entering
details on a computer keyboard.
Noun: fat finger
Any typo that produces dramatically bad results.
Noun: fat fingering
1. The process by which one makes an excuse
for a typo (the keys are too close and his/her
fingers are too fat).
2. Data entry.
Adjective: fat-fingered
1. Accidentally pressed; mistaken.
2. Two left feet; awkward.
Verb:
To introduce a typo while editing in such a way
that the resulting manglification of a configuration
file does something useless, damaging, or
wildly unexpected.
Examples:
1) It is known as fat finger syndrome
the occasional tendency of stressed traders working
in fast-moving electronic financial markets to press
the wrong button on their keyboard and, in the process,
lose their employer a mint& (The Guardian, 9th
December 2005) 2) I am the fat-fingered
fool who, overconfident of her online skills, recently
tried to order one litre of goats milk but ended
up with five& (The Telegraph, 20th December 2005)
3) Many reasons have been given for
Londons victory in the race to host the 2012 Olympics&
It seems a technophobic Greek sports administrator
with fat fingers may have been Londons secret,
albeit accidental, weapon. (The Guardian, 23rd
December 2005)
4) NSI fat-fingered their DNS zone
file and took half the net down again.
More examples, history, related expressions:
With the computer now an integral part of everyday
life, but a good percentage of the computer-using
population having no formal typing skills, the concept
of frequently typing the wrong thing and having
to correct it is something were all familiar with.
It now seems weve got a description for this daily
keyboard phenomenon: fat finger syndrome.
If were not just creating text but using the keyboard
to enter and submit details, fat finger syndrome
can have significant repercussions. Some of
us who enjoy the convenience of online supermarket
shopping might already be familiar with fat
finger syndrome. Sixteen cans of beans arrive
at our door, and as we come to terms with the situation,
we realise that we must have accidentally selected
four multipacks of four cans, instead of four individual
cans. Never mind, thatll keep us going for a while!
But the consequences of fat finger syndrome
in financial contexts can be rather more serious.
In December 2005, fat finger syndrome
was responsible for one of the most spectacular
financial errors in history, when a share dealer
on the Tokyo stock exchange pressed the wrong button
on his computer and landed his firm with a bill
for £128,000,000. The Japanese trader meant
to sell one share in a recruitment company for 600,000
yen about £3000. But a typing error meant
he sold 600,000 shares at a price of one yen, or
around half a penny! The significance of fat
finger syndrome is not just restricted to
financial transactions. In December 2005, it was
alleged that Londons victory in hosting the 2012
Olympics was partly attributable to a member of
the International Olympic Committee pressing
the wrong button during a crucial third-round vote.
One enterprising website offers a clever way to
take advantage of fat fingers. If
you're bidding on the auction site eBay <http://www.ebay.com>,
you can use fatfingers.com
<http://www.fatfingers.com> to search
for bargains that few other people will find and
bid for because of spelling mistakes in the descriptions
of the articles that are on sale. The expression
fat finger syndrome seems to have
originated from the jargon of computer programming,
where the term fat finger (also
spelled "fat-finger") is
used as a transitive verb to describe the action
of introducing a typing error which has very bad
or unexpected results. Though the verb "fat
finger" has spread to contexts
other than computer programming, the related participle
adjective "fat-fingered"
is more common as a way of describing significant
typing errors, or someone who makes them. Use of
the expression "fat fingers"
is also quite common, usually occurring as "have
fat fingers" or "with
fat fingers", and an instance
of "fat finger syndrome"
is sometimes referred to as "a fat
finger".
And here is the history of how "fat fingering"
has come to be defined as "data entry".
During a conference call one techie asks another
techie why X was A when it clearly should have been
B. The techie being questioned responded - "sorry,
I fat fingered it". A very non-techie
who is fond of sounding cool, hip, and "in
the know" is listening trying to pick up some
vocabulary in hopes of sounding more knowledgeable
than reality. He makes the conclusion that the error
came from manual data entry (fat fingering)
since the conversation just preceding it was how
to automate the data ingestion process. Time passes...
This non-techie happens to also very social politically
rubbing elbows every chance they get. Using the
term incorrectly, others in high places begin to
use it as well. Another conference call where the
aforementioned non-techie is not present. A techie
complains about the automated input feed being broken.
A manager indicates that the deadline can not slip
and that the techie is to fat-finger
it if need be. The techie says "you want me
to do what?". The manager thinking his authority
is being called into question indicates that if
the techie is not willing to do a little menial
labor and enter that data in manually - they can
look for work elsewhere. All of the techies do not
want to have the wraith directed their way and steer
clear of correcting the manager. Time passes...
Another conference call - mixture of participants.
The techies so want to please their superiors that
they begin intentionally incorrectly using the term
so that the managers feel cool, hip, and "in
the know". Nowadays, "fat fingering"
sometimes means any data cleaning/massaging/transformation/standardization.
fat tax
- fat
food tax
- fatty
food tax
- junk
food tax
- obesity
tax
- Twinkie
tax
- Twinkie
- obesity
- junk
- fatty
- fat
- tax
- food
A tax imposed on foods that are deemed to be unhealthy,
particularly those that contribute to obesity and
other health problems.
Examples:
1) Ontario has backed off a so-called
fat tax on doughnuts, burgers and other meals under
$4, saying paying more for fast food would not encourage
people to make healthier choices. (Keith Leslie,
"McGuinty rules out so-called fat tax after
protest from restaurant industry", The Canadian
Press, April 20, 2004)
2) A recent study in the British Medical
Journal, found that a "fat tax" could
help prevent up to 1,000 premature deaths from heart
disease a year in the UK. The plan will be welcomed
by the British Medical Association, which last year
debated a call for a tax on saturated fats to tackle
obesity. GPs argued that the tax would help to cover
the high cost of treating obesity and might change
people's behaviour. (David Charter and Sam Lister,
"Junk food under attack by fat tax", The
Times (London), February 19, 2004)
3) Smoking is indeed a costly health
problem. But so, for example, are obesity and overindulgence
in artery-clogging foods. Should there then be a
"fat" tax to help pay for the diseases
brought on by bad eating habits? ("Socking
it to smokers", Los Angeles Times, January
9, 1985)
History, synonyms:
The fat tax - a subset of the "sin
tax" (1901) - has been proposed and implemented
in many jurisdictions over the past 20 years or
so. It has also appeared under different names over
the years, the most popular of which are "fat
food tax" (1995), "fatty
food tax" (1994), "junk
food tax" (1981), "obesity
tax" (1993), and "Twinkie
tax" (1989).
fatidic
[fuh-TID-ik]
Of, relating to, or characterized by prophecy.
Synonym: prophetic.
Examples:
1) Throughout his very considerable
body of work, there is an obsession with time, with
dates, with temporal coincidences, with the fatidic
power of numbers over our birth and death. (James
Kirkup, "Obituary: Ernst Junger," Independent,
February 18, 1998)
2) With a fatidic clarity that comes
only occasionally and only to the young, she understood
that... this too was a sign, an omen. (Kathleen
Cambor, "In Sunlight, in a Beautiful Garden")
Etymology:
"Fatidic" comes from Latin "fatidicus",
from "fati-" (from "fatum"
- "fate") + "-dicus"
(from "dicere" - "to say").
fatuous
[FACH-oo-uhs] 1. Inanely foolish and
unintelligent; stupid. 2. Illusory; delusive.
Examples:
1) Publishers persist in the fatuous
belief that a little hocus-pocus in the front flap
blurb will so dazzle readers that they'll be too
dazed to notice the quality of what's on the pages
inside. ("A night in the city", Irish
Times, October 7, 1997)
2) No enquiry, however fatuous or
ill informed, failed to receive his full attention,
nor was any irrelevant personal information treated
as less than engrossing. (Michael Palin, "Hemingway's
Chair")
3) A British first amendment would
support religious freedom by having nothing to do
with Prince Charles's fatuous hope to be the 'defender
of all the faiths', but by disestablishing the Church
of England. (Nick Cohen, "Damn them all",
The Observer, October 7, 2001)
Etymology:
"Fatuous" comes from Latin
"fatuus" ("foolish, idiotic,
silly").
favonian
Pertaining to the west wind; soft; mild; gentle.
Examples:
1) With dusk came cool, favonian breezes.
(Ed Darack, "Wind, Water, Sun")
2) As God said to Adam on one of those
favonian edenic days, "Pick a bone, any bone".
(Norah Labiner, "Our Sometime Sister")
Etymology:
"Favonian" is derived from
Latin "Favonius" - "the
west wind". Favonius was the
Roman god of the gentle western wind, the herald
of spring. Favonius ("favorable")
is equal to the Greek Zephyrus.
fealty
[FEE-uhl-tee]
1. Fidelity to one's lord; the feudal obligation
by which the tenant or vassal was bound to
be faithful to his lord.
2. The oath by which this obligation was
assumed.
3. (Intense) fidelity; allegiance; faithfulness.
Examples:
1) He was re-elected Governor in 1855,
and his administration of the State affairs, both
in that and the preceding term of office, was marked
by a regard for the public interest rather than
party fealty. ("Andrew Johnson Dead,"
New York Times, August 1, 1875)
2) Barbour believed Christian conservatives
represented a critical constituency, and he looked
for opportunities to display his fealty to them.
(Dan Balz and Ronald Brownstein, "Storming
the Gates")
3) The aristocratic O'Sullivans were
enriched in return for their promise of fealty to
the mighty Democratic party and its rising new leader.
(Edward L. Widmer, "Young America")
4) Whether exploited by traditional religions
or political religions, psychological totalism -
the unquestioning fealty to one God, one truth,
and one right, embodied in one faith, one cause,
one party - has everywhere provided the tinder of
persecution. (Jack Beatty, "The Tyranny
of Belief," The Atlantic, September 13, 2000)
5) Out of fealty to his boss, who
had hired him after no other employer would, Jesse
stayed on with the struggling company.
Etymology, more examples, synonyms:
"Fealty" comes from Old
French "feelte," or "fealte",
"from Latin "fidelitas" ("fidelity"),
from "fidelis" ("faithful"),
from "fides" ("faith"),
from "fidere" ("to trust").
In 1626, Francis Bacon wrote, "Fealty
is to take an oath upon a book, that he will be
a faithful Tenant to the King." That's
a pretty accurate summary of the early meaning of
"fealty." Early forms of
the term were used in Middle English around 1300,
when they specifically designated the loyalty of
a vassal to a lord. Eventually, the meaning of the
word broadened. Fealty can be paid
to a country, a principle, or a leader of any kind
- though the synonyms "fidelity"
and "loyalty" are more commonly
used.
feast or famine
Great success or total failure; either too
much or too little of something.
Example:
Last week we made over $100 on our car wash; this
week only one car came. It's either feast or famine.
History:
This catchy phrase suggests the opposites of having
too much or too little of something. "Feast"
and "famine" are antonyms and also
begin with the same sound (alliteration). This expression
started out as "feast or fast"
in the 1700s, but later "fast"
was changed to "famine", which
means about the same thing but doesn't sound as
good with "feast". Why the switch
of words? Nobody today really knows.
feather in your cap
- a
feather in your cap
- a
feather in one's cap
- feather
in one's cap
- feather
- cap
This expression indicates a person has done something
to make him or her proud. Example:
Camille loved to play the violin. She practiced
every day. One day during orchestra rehearsal, the
string section was playing a piece that Camille
had practiced carefully. "Camille, let me hear
that measure again," said the orchestra conductor.
Camille played the measure perfectly. "Beautiful!"
the conductor said. "You deserve to be first
chair in next week's concert. That will be a feather
in your cap."
feather one's nest
- feather
one's own nest
- feather
- nest
To enrich oneself by taking advantage of one's position;
to be more interested in taking care of oneself,
providing for one's own comfort, and making money
rather than doing good for others.
Examples:
1) The congressmen feathered his nest
through his connection with big business.
2) The senator was accused of using
his office to feather his own nest.
History:
For millions of years birds have been lining their
nests with soft feathers to make comfortable homes.
Since the 1500s the expression "feather one's
nest" has been used to refer to greedy people
who use the power of high positions to make life
comfortable for themselves before they think of
the well-being of others. The saying can also be
used in a more positive way to mean decorating your
home to make it more pleasant and comfortable.
febrile
[FEB-ryle]
Marked or caused by fever.
Synonym: feverish.
Example:
He discovered febrile symptoms, and ... all farther
resistance became in vain; and she was glad to acquiesce,
and even to go to bed, and drink water-gruel. (Sir
Walter Scott, "The Heart of Midlothian")
History, related words and expressions:
Not too surprisingly, "febrile"
originated in the field of medicine. We note its
first use in the work of the 17th-century medical
reformer Noah Biggs. Biggs used it
in admonishing physicians to care for their "febrile
patients" properly. Both "feverish"
and "febrile" are from the
Latin word for "fever," which is "febris."
Nowadays, "febrile" is used
in medicine in a variety of ways, including references
to such things as "the febrile phase"
of an illness. And, like "feverish,"
it also has an extended sense, as in "a
febrile emotional state."
fecund
- fruitfu
- fertile
- prolific
- fecundity
[FEH-kund, FEE-kuhnd; FEK-uhnd]
1. Capable of producing offspring or vegetation;
fruitful; prolific.
2. Intellectually productive or inventive
(to a marked degree).
Examples:
1) For 21 years after the birth of
the Prince of Wales, the fecund royal couple produced
children at the rate of two every three years -
eight boys and six girls in all. (Saul David,
"Prince of Pleasure)
2) In her first novel she portrays
a lush, fecund landscape palpable in its sultriness
and excess. (Barbara Crossette, "Seeking
Nirvana," New York Times, April 29, 2001)
3) Miss Ozick can convert any skeptic
to the cult of her shrewd and fecund imagination.
(Edmund White, "Images of a Mind Thinking,"
New York Times, September 11, 1983)
4) Wainscott's book is ... focused
squarely and surely on probably the most astonishingly
fecund period in American theater history, 1914-1929.
(James Coakley, "Comparative Drama")
5) The phonograph and the electric light
were but two of the fruits of Thomas Edison's fecund
mind.
Synonyms: fruitfu, fertile, prolific
"Fecund" and its synonyms
"fruitful" and "fertile"
all mean producing or capable of producing offspring
or fruit - literally or figuratively. "Fecund"
applies to things that yield offspring, fruit, or
results in abundance or with rapidity ("a
fecund herd"; "a fecund imagination").
"Fruitful" emphasizes abundance,
too, and often adds the implication that the results
attained are desirable or useful ("fruitful
plains"; "a fruitful discussion").
"Fertile" implies the power
to reproduce ("a fertile woman")
or the power to assist in reproduction, growth,
or development ("fertile soil"; "a
fertile climate for artists").
Etymology:
"Fecund" - from the Latin
"fecundus" (minus the final "-us"),
meaning "fruitful, prolific". The noun
form is fecundity.
feel one's oats
To be in high spirits, energetic; to act in a proud
way.
Example:
Ms. Blumenthal was dancing, laughing, and feeling
her oats.
History:
This American expression from the early 19th century
originated when a writer noticed that his horse
always acted more lively and vigorous when it was
well-fed with oats. The writer applied the idea
to people, often older ones, and wrote that a peppy,
active person was "feeling his oats."
feet of clay
A hidden fault or weakness in an esteemed person;
a week point.
Examples:
1) The new Prime Minister has feet
of clay and and may not last very long in his new
position.
2) In American history we learned
that many Presidents had feet of clay.
Etymology:
In the Bible (Daniel 2:31-32), the king of
a great empire once dreamed of a statue with a head
of gold, a body of silver and brass, legs of iron,
and feet of iron and clay. The statue broke and
its pieces blew away in the win. The king's prophet
interpreted the dream to mean that the empire would
eventually break up. Even today, people who are
highly regarded may have secret flaws of character
("feet of clay") that could
ruin their reputation.
feign
[FAYN]
1. To give a false appearance of; induce
as a false impression.
2. To assert as if true.
Synonym: pretend.
Example:
Had Edward been intentionally deceiving her? Had
he feigned a regard for her which he did not feel?
(Jane Austen, "Sense and Sensibility")
History, related words:
"Feign" is all about faking
it, but that hasn't always been so. In one of its
earliest senses, "feign"
meant "to fashion, form, or shape." That
meaning is true to the term's Latin ancestor: the
verb "fingere," which also means
"to shape." The current senses of "feign"
still retain the essence of the Latin source, since
to feign something, such as surprise or an illness,
requires one to fashion an impression or shape an
image. Several other English words that trace to
the same ancestor refer to things that are shaped
with either the hands, as in "figure"
and "effigy," or the imagination,
as in "fiction" and "figment."
festinate
- festina
lente
- festinately
- hastily
[FESS-tuh-nut]
1. Hasty.
2. To hasten.
Example:
"Even [the company's] successes ... are vestiges
of 1990s thinking. They may halt a festinate death,
but you don't build a company around them."
(Fritz Nelson, "Network Computing",
August 21, 2000)
History, more examples, related words:
"Festinate" is one among
many in the category of words whose first recorded
use is in the works of Shakespeare ("Advise
the Duke where you are going, to a most festinate
preparation." - "King Lear", III.vii.10).
Perhaps the Bard knew about "festinatus",
the Latin predecessor of "festinate",
or was familiar with the Latin proverb "festina
lente" - "make haste slowly".
