IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishfall for something
Meaning: To be deceived or believe an unlikely story.
Example: “I can't believe I fell for that fake lottery email.”
Origin: American slang from the late 1800s, with an early printed example in Joseph G. Baldwin's 1853 The Flush Times of Alabama and Mississippi. The likeliest source is a literal trap: an animal lured toward bait quite literally falls into the pit or snare set for it, and "falling for" a scam or a lie borrows the exact same physical image — someone walking straight into a deception they never saw coming, the same way an animal walks straight into a trap disguised to look harmless.
More English idioms
- feel the pinch To have less money than one used to have, and less than one feels is necessary.
- feather in one's cap An exceptional achievement.
- fill the bill To suit or satisfy a need.
- filthy rich Extremely wealthy.
- fits and starts In short bursts of motion or effort.
- fix someone's wagon To return an irritation caused by a person through some form of mild revenge.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
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