To fly Hie kite
To "raise the wind** by questionable methods, such as by sending begging letters to persons of charitable reputation or by means of worthless bills.
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to fly in one's face
To get into a passion with a person; to insult; as a hawk, when irritated; flies in the face of its master.
to fly in the face of
To oppose violently and unreasonably: to set at defiance rashly.
to fly off the handle
To fly into a rage, or lose one's head, as the head of an axe might fly dangerously off its shaft.
to follow one's nose
Tp go straight ahead; to proceed without deviating from the path.
to follow suit
To do as the person before you has done. A phrase from card-playing.
to fool about
To play the fool; to hang around in an aimless way. To fool away one's time, money, etc. To squander it, fritter it away.
to foot it
To walk the distance instead of riding it; also to dance. Lo how finely the graces can it foote to the Instrument. They dauncen deftly, and singen soote in their rneri- ment. SPENSER: Shepherd's Calendar; April.
to foot the bill
To pay it; to promise to pay the account by signing one's name at the foot of the bill.
to forbid the banns
To object formally to the proposed marriage. And a better fate did poor Maria deserve than to have a banns forbidden by the curate of the parish who published them. — STERNE: Sentimental Journey.
to forget wrong is the best revenge
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
to fox
To steal or cheat; keep an eye on somebody without seeming so to do. A dog, a fox, and a weasel sleep, as they say, "with one eye open.
to frig
Figuratively used for trifling.
to frisk
Used by thieves to signify searching a person
to funk
To use an unfair motion of the hand in plumping at taw. SCHOOLBOY'S TERM.
to fuzz
To shuffle cards minutely: also, to change the pack.
to gaff
To game by tossing up halfpence.
to gain ground
To make progress; to be improving one's position. To have the ground cut from under one's feet. To see what one has relied on for support suddenly removed.
to gain the cap
To obtain a bow from another out of respect. Such gams the cap of him that makes them fine, But keeps his book uncrossed.
to get a break
To have an unexpected chance; to have an opportunity of advancing oneself in business, etc.
to get a rise
Colloquial for to have an in- crease in salary, To take a rise out of one. To raise a laugh at his expense, to make him a butt. Hotten says this is a metaphor from fly-fishing; the fish rise to the fly, and are caught.
to get at
To tamper with, bribe, influence to a wrong end; especially used in horse- racing.
to get by
To get along all right, just satisfactorily.
to get down to brass tacks
To get down to the essentials, or the tacks which hold the structure together.
to get down to it
To set about your work or whatever it is you have in hand in down- right earnest.
to get into hot water
To get into difficulties, or in a state of trouble and anxiety.
to get into one's good graces
To insinuate oneself into the favour of.
to get it in the neck
To receive a thorough dressing down, beating, punishment, etc.
to get off
To escape; also (of a girl) to be- come engaged to be married, or to make acquaintanceship with a man.
to get one's back up
To be irritated. The allusion is to a cat, which sets its back up when attacked by a dog or other animal.
to get one's colours
To be rewarded for athletic achievement by the privilege of wearing some special garment, (as cap and blazer in cricket) decorated with or composed of one's school or college colours. See CAPPED, FLANNELS.
to get one's eye in
To adjust one's sight at cricket, billiards, golf, bowls, etc.
to get one's flag
To become an admiral. Cp. FLAG-OPFICER. I da not believe that the bullet is cast that is to deprive you of life, Jack; you'll get your flag, as I hope to get mine.— KINGSTON: The Three Admirals, xiii.
to get one's goat
An old Americanism for annoying one, making him wild. To separate the sheep from the goats.
to get one's hand in
To become familiar with the work in hand.
to get one's monkey up
To be riled or earaged; monkeys are extremely irritable and easily provoked.
to get one's second pip
To be promoted from second to first lieutenant. These army ranks are marked by "pips" on the shoulder- straps.
to get round one
To take advantage of him by cajoling or flattery; to have one's own way through deception.
to get the bird
To be hissed; to meet with a hostile reception. See BIG BIRD.
to get the drop on someone
To have him in your power., probably from the early method of pistol shooting whereby the weapon was raised high and then lowered, or dropped, towards its target.
to get the kick out
To be summarily dis- missed; given the sack or "the Order of the Boot.
to get the needle
To become thoroughly vexed, or even enraged, and to show it. A variant of the phrase is to get the spike.
to get the upper hand
To obtain the mastery. To give one's hand upon something. To take one's oath on it; to pledge one's honour to keep the promise.
to get the wind up
To become thoroughly alarmed and, in consequence nervous, over- anxious, funky.
to get the worst of it
To come off second best; to be defeated, worsted.
to get there
To succeed; to "arrive"; attain one's object.
to get up
To rise from one's bed. To learn, as "I must get up my history." To organize and arrange, as "We will get up a bazaar.
to gird with the sword
To raise to a peerage. It was the Saxon method of investiture to an earldom, continued after the Conquest. Thus, Richard I "girded with the sword" Hugh de Pudsey, the aged Bishop of Durham, making (as he said) "a young earl of an old prelate.
to give a basket
To refuse to marry. In Germany it was an old custom to fix a basket to the roof of one who had been jilted.
to give a leg up
To render timely assistance, "to help a lame dog over a stile," Originally from horsemanship — to help one into the saddle.
To give a sop to Cerberus
To give a bribe, to quiet a troublesome customer, Cerberus is Pluto's three:headed dog, stationed at the gates of the infernal regions. When persons died the Greeks and Romans used to put a cake in their hands as a sop to Cerberus, to allow them to pass without molestation.
to give a wide berth
Not to come near a person; to keep a person at a distance; literally, to give a ship plenty of room to swing at anchor.
to give and take
To be fair; in intercourse with others to practise forbearance and consideration. In horse-racing a give and take plate is a prize for a race in which the runners which exceed a standard height carry more, and those that come short of it less, than the standard weight.
to give away
To hand the bride in marriage to the bridegroom, to act the part of the bride's father. Also, to let out a secret, inadvertently or on purpose; to betray an accomplice.
to give chapter and verse
To give the exact authority of a statement, as the name of the author, the title of the book, the date, the chapter referred to, and any other particular which might render the reference easily discoverable.
to give charge over
To set one in authority over. I gave my brother Hanani .... charge over Jeru- salem.— Neh. vii, 2.
to give in
To confess oneself beaten, to yield. To give it anyone, to give it him hot. To scold or thrash a person. As "I gave it him right and left." "I'll give it you when I catch you.
to give in charge
To hand over a person to the charge of a policeman.
to give it the gun
In R.A.F. parlance during World War II, to open the throttle of an aeroplane suddenly and hard.
to give one a leathering
To beat him with a leather belt; hence, to give him a drubbing.
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