List of English idioms starting with F

Showing 1-6 of 6

Generated image of a Scot shouting over a moor

A far cry

The phrase a far cry means very different from something else. It is often used to compare the present with the past, and often to compare something that is currently worse.
This idiom originated from Scottish messengers who would shout messages to each other and this was used as a way to communicate long distance, so a far cry was originally used as slang for a long distance.

This small house is a far cry from the mansion they expected.

Photo of a fish out of water

A fish out of water

You are a fish out of water if you are in a situation you are very uncomfortable with. This idiom has been in use since the 14th century.

When I first moved to the city from my parent's farm, I felt like a fish out of water.

Generated image of a night bonfire scene

Add Fuel to the Fire

The idiom add fuel to the fire means to make a bad situation worse. Instead of calming things down, it increases trouble or anger. This idiom is from the literal image of a fire jumping in size when you add extra fuel to it.

Arguing about it only added fuel to the fire.

Photo of a fiddle player

Fit as a fiddle

The phrase fit as a fiddle originally meant something fine and well crafted, like a quality musical instrument. Over the centuries it changed to mean someone who was physically fit.

He may be 83, but he's as fit as a fiddle!

Photo of a chicken escaping

Flew the coop

Flew the coop is old American slang for escaping, drawn from either the concept of a chicken escaping their coop or as slang for escaping jail. It is used to describe anyone abruptly leaving a situation.

My teenager got a girlfriend, and promptly flew the coop.

Generated image of a woman with no head leaving her house

Forget your head if it wasn't screwed on

The idiom "Forget your head if it wasn't screwed on" (or "would lose my head if it wasn't attached", or similar variations) is a funny way of saying someone is extremely forgetful, absent-minded or loses things a lot, suggesting that if their head wasn't attached to their body they'd forget that too.

You lost your keys again? You'd lose your head if it wasnt screwed on!