fagger
A little boy put in at a window to rob the house.
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faggot
A man hired at a muster to appear as a soldier. To faggot in the canting sense, means to bind: an allusion to the faggots made up by the woodmen, which are all bound. Faggot the culls; bind the men.
faggot
A bundle of bits of the "stickings" (hence probably its name) sold for food to the London poor. It is sometimes called a duck. In appearance it resembles a Scotch "haggis," without, however, being nearly so good as that fragrant article. Probably the FAG-END of a thing, the inferior or remaining part, the refuse.
faggot briefs
Bundles of worthless papers tied up with red tape, carried by unemployed barristers in the back rows of the courts to simulate briefs.
faggot votes
Votes obtained by the nominal transfer of property to a person whose income was not otherwise sufficient to qualify him for being a voter.
fail at life
To be unsuccessful in one's overall existence or daily affairs
fail to do something
be unable to accomplish something
fail upwards
To experience career advancement despite or because of failures
failing to plan is planning to fail
Lack of preparation leads to failure
failure is the stepping stone for success
English proverb; full definition pending editorial review.
failure to launch
Unable to become independent or start a career
faint heart never won fair lady
Timid people rarely achieve their desires
fair
A set of subterraneous rooms in the Fleet Prison.
fair and square
Honestly, justly, with straightforwardness.
fair coin
A coin that has an equal chance of landing on either side
fair crack of the whip
A fair chance or opportunity
fair enough
Acceptable or reasonable
fair exchange is no robbery
A trade can be mutually beneficial even if one side gets more
fair game
Legitimately targeted or criticized
fair game
A worthy subject of banter; one who exposes himself to ridicule and may be fairly made a butt of.
Fair Isle
One of the Shetlands where a special pattern of knitting is done.
Fair Maid of Anjou
Lady Edith Plantagenet (fl. 1200), who married David, Prince Royal ol Scotland.
Fair Maid of Brittany
Eleanor (d. 1241), granddaughter of Henry II,. and, after the death of Arthur (1203), the rightful sovereign of England. Her uncle, the usurper King John, imprisoned her in Bristol Castle, which she left to enter a nunnery at Amesbury. Her father, Geoffrey, John's elder brother, was Count of Brittany.
Fair Maid of Kent
Joan (1328-85), Countess of Salisbury, wife of the Black Prince and only daughter of Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of Kent. She had been twice married ere she gave Her hand to the prince.
Fair Maid of Perth
Katie Glover, heroine of Scott's novel of the same name, is supposed to have lived in the early 15th century, but is not a definite historical character, though her house is still shown at Perth.
fair play's a jewel
Honesty and fairness are valuable and admirable
fair sex
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
fair shake
A just and unbiased opportunity or treatment
fair share
a reasonable or just amount of something
fair to middling
Moderately good or satisfactory
Fair Trade
An old euphemism for smug- gling. In politics the phrase signifies reciprocity of protection or free trade; that is, free trade to those nations that grant free trade to us.
fair up
To clear
fair-haired boy
a favored or preferred person
fair-weather fan
A person who supports a team only when it is winning
fair-weather friend
A friend who only supports you when things are going well
fair-weather friends
Those that stick to you so long as all is going well, but desert you as soon as storms gather round your head and you look as though you might "go under.
Fairlop Oak
A huge tree in the forest of Hamault, Essex, blown down in 1820. Prior to that a fair was held annually in July beneath its spreading branches.
fairy loaves
Fossil sea-urchins, said to be made by the fairies.
fairy money
Money that is easily earned or requires little effort
fairy money
Found money. Said to be placed by some good fairy at the spot where it was picked up. "Fairy money" is apt to be transformed into leaves.
fairy of the mine
A malevolent gnome (#.v.) supposed to live in mines, busying itself with cutting ore, turning the windlass, etc., but effecting nothing.
fairy rings
Circles of rank or withered grass, often seen in lawns, meadows, and grass-plots,
fairy sparks
The phosphoric light from decaying wood, fish, and other substances. Thought at one time to be lights prepared for the fairies at their revels.
faith will move mountains
Strong belief can overcome enormous obstacles
faithful
One of the faithful; a taylor who gives long credit. His faith has made him unwhole; i.e. trusting too much, broke him.
fake
In the sporting world, means to hocus or poison. Fake is also a mixture supposed to be used for purposes of "making safe."
fake it till you make it
Pretend confidence to eventually gain it
fakement
A counterfeit signature. A forgery. Tell the macers to mind their fakements; desire the swindlers to be careful not to forge another person's signature.
fakement
A false begging petition, any act of robbery, swindling, or deception. FAKEMENT is a word of most general application among the lower classes. Any things strange, and most things not strange, are called FAKEMENTS, particularly if there is anything peculiar or artistic in their production.
fakement charley
The owner’s private mark. FAKER, is one who makes or FAKES anything. To "fake a cly," is to pick a pocket.
fakestine
Palestine.
fal-lals
Trumpery ornaments, gewgaws. Forby suggests as a derivation the Latin PHALERÆ, horse trappings.
Falcon and Falconet
Pieces of light artillery of the 16th century, the names of which are borrowed from hawks. Cp. SAKER.
falcon peregrine
See PEREGRINE. Fald-stool (Old High Ger. faldan, to fold). A portable folding chair used by a bishop in a church other than his own cathedral; a small desk at which the Litany is sung or said; also the place at the south side of the altar at which sovereigns kneel at their coronations.
fall apart
To lose strength or coherence and stop functioning
fall around
to collapse or fall down around something
fall asleep
to lose consciousness and enter a state of sleep
fall at the last hurdle
Fail after making good progress
fall back
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see fall, back.
fall behind
Fail to keep up with others or a schedule
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