Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts by Richard Spears Page A

lost for two days, then the wolves came, and the rest is history. J ANE : Yes, I think I can fill in the blanks.
    Fine by me . Go to (That’s) fine with me.
    Fine with me . Go to (That’s) fine with me.
    first of all first and perhaps most important.
“First of all, let me say how happy I am to be here,” said Fred, beginning his speech
.
H ENRY : How much is all this going to cost, Doctor? D OCTOR : First of all, do you have any insurance?
    Fire away ! Start doing something, especially to ask questions! (As if giving soldiers the instructions to start firing.)
A NDY : Dad, do you mind if I ask you a few questions? F ATHER : Fire away!
I DA : The mayor will now take a few questions from reporters. M AYOR : Fire away!
    Flattery will get you nowhere . You can praise me, but I’m not going to give you what you want.
A: You are beautiful and talented. B: Flattery will get you nowhere, but keep talking
.
Flattery will get you nowhere, but that doesn’t mean you should stop flattering me!
    Floor it ! Go to Punch it!
    for all intents and purposes seeming as if; looking as if.
Tom stood there, looking, for all intents and purposes, as if he were going to strangle Sally, but, being the gentleman that he is, he just glowered
.
M ARY : Is this finished now? J OHN : For all intents and purposes, yes.
    For crying in a bucket ! Go to For crying out loud!
    For crying out loud ! AND For crying in a bucket ! an exclamation of shock, anger, or surprise.
F RED : For crying out loud! Answer the telephone! B OB : But it’s always for you!
J OHN : Good grief! What am I going to do? This is the end! S UE : For crying in a bucket! What’s wrong?
    for free for no charge or cost; free of any cost.
They let us into the movie for free
.
I will let you have a sample of the candy for free.
    (For) goodness sake(s) ! Go to (Goodness) sakes alive!
    for instance for example.
I’ve lived in many cities, for instance, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit.
Jane is very generous. For instance, she volunteers her time and gives money to charities.
    for nothing for no purpose at all.
B OB : You sure put a lot of work into this project. It’s too bad it didn’t work out as planned. J AN : Yes, all that work for nothing
.
I worried all day about the dinner tonight, and it turned out to be a lovely event. All that worry for nothing.
    for openers AND for starters to begin with.
For openers, let’s discuss our plans for the coming year
.
Now, I want to talk about binomials today. Let’s look at the first paragraph on page 12 for starters.
    For Pete(’s) sake(s) ! Go to For pity(’s) sake(s)!
    For pity(’s) sake(s) ! AND For Pete(’s) sake(s) ! a mild exclamation of surprise or shock. (The extra
(s)
is colloquial.)
F RED : For pity’s sake. What on earth is this? A LICE : It’s just a kitten
.
J OHN : Good grief! What am I going to do? This is the end! S UE : What is it now, for Pete’s sake?
    For shame ! That is shameful!
S UE : Did you hear that Tom was in jail? F RED : For shame! What did he do? S UE : Nobody knows
.
M ARY : I’ve decided not to go to the conference. J OHN : For shame! Who will represent us?
    for starters Go to for openers.
    For sure . Yes.; Certainly. (Colloquial.)
S ALLY : Are you ready to go? B OB : For sure. S ALLY : Then, let’s go
.
J ANE : Are you coming with us? J OHN : For sure. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.
    For two cents I would do something ! With a little encouragement, I would do something.
For two cents I’d bust him right in the mouth!
I’m so tired of being treated like a servant rather than an employee. For two cents I would quit right now!
    for what it’s worth a phrase added to a piece of information suggesting that the information may or may not be useful.
M ARY : What do you think about it, Fred? F RED : Well, let me tell you something, for what it’s worth
.
J OHN : For what it’s worth, you’re doing great! S UE :