Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts by Richard Spears

Go to (Is) everything okay?
    Everything will work out (all right) . Go to Things will work out (all right).
    Everything will work out for the best . Go to Things will work out (all right).
    Everything’s coming up roses . Everything is really just excellent.
Life is wonderful. Everything’s coming up roses
.
Q: How are things going? A: Everything’s coming up roses.
    Everything’s going to be all right . AND Everything will be all right . Do not worry—everything will be okay. (A number of other expressions can be substituted for
all right
, such as
okay, just fine, great
, etc.)
“Don’t worry, Fred,” said Bill. “Everything will be all right.
”
M ARY : I just don’t know if I can go on! B OB : Now, now. Everything will be just fine.
    Excellent ! Great!; Fine!
B OB : What’s happening? F RED : Hi! I’m getting a new car. B OB : Excellent!
B OB : All the players are here and ready to go. S UE : Excellent! B OB : When do we start the game?
    Excuse me . AND Excuse, please.; Pardon (me).; ’Scuse (me).; ’Scuse, please . (’Scuse is colloquial.) 1 . an expression asking forgiveness for some minor social violation, such as belching or bumping into someone.
J OHN : Ouch! B OB : Excuse me. I didn’t see you there
.
M ARY : Oh! Ow! S UE : Pardon me. I didn’t mean to bump into you
.
T OM : Ouch! M ARY : Oh, dear! What happened? T OM : You stepped on my toe. M ARY : Excuse me. I’m sorry
. 2 . Please let me through.; Please let me by.
T OM : Excuse me. I need to get past. B OB : Oh, sorry. I didn’t know I was in the way
.
M ARY : Pardon me. S UE : What? M ARY : Pardon me. I want to get past you.
    Excuse me? AND Pardon (me)?; ’Scuse me? What do you mean by that last remark?; I beg your pardon? (Shows amazement at someone’s rudeness.)
M ARY : Your policies seem quite inflexible to me. B ILL : Excuse me?
B OB : These silly people are getting on my nerves. M ARY : Pardon me?
    Excuse, please . Go to Excuse me.

F
    Fair to middling . a response to a greeting inquiry into the state of one’s health. (Colloquial and folksy.)
J OHN : How are you doing? B OB : Oh, fair to middling, I guess. And you? J OHN : Things could be worse
.
B ILL : How are you feeling? J ANE : Oh, fair to middling, thanks. B ILL : Still a little under the weather, huh? J ANE : Just a little.
    Fancy meeting you here ! I am very surprised to meet you here!
T OM : Hi, Sue! Fancy meeting you here! S UE : Hi, Tom. I was thinking the same thing about you
.
“Fancy meeting you here,” said Mr. Franklin when he bumped into Mrs. Franklin at the racetrack.
    Fancy that ! AND Imagine that ! I am very surprised to hear that.; That is hard to imagine or believe.
M ARY : My father was elected president of the board. S ALLY : Fancy that!
S UE : This computer is ten times faster than the one we had before. J ANE : Imagine that! Is it easy to operate? S UE : Of course not.
    far as I know Go to (as) far as I know.
    far as I’m concerned Go to (as) far as I’m concerned.
    Farewell . Good-bye.
M ARY : See you later, Bill. B ILL : Farewell, my dear. M ARY : Take care
.
B OB : Have a good trip. S UE : Farewell, Bob. B OB : Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.
    fat chance very little likelihood.
Fat chance he has of getting the promotion
.
You think she’ll lend you the money? Fat chance!
    Feeling okay . Go to (I’m) feeling okay. See also (Are you) feeling okay?
    field questions to answer a series of questions, especially from reporters.
After her speech, Jane fielded questions from reporters
.
The president’s press agents field questions from the newspaper.
    Fill in the blanks . You can figure out the rest.; You can draw a conclusion from that.
M ARY : What happened at Fred’s house last night? B ILL : There was a big fight, then the neighbors called the
police. M ARY : Then what happened? B ILL : Fill in the blanks. What do you think?
J OHN : They had been