<B>faggot vote,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) a vote arranged dishonestly for party purposes, as by transferring to persons without voting qualifications the property or documents required to qualify them as electors. </DL>
<B>Fagin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a criminal in Charles Dickens' novel <I>Oliver Twist,</I> who trained boys to be thieves. <DD><B> 2. </B>any criminal who trains children to break the law. </DL>
<A NAME="fagmaster">
<B>fagmaster, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) (in certain public schools) a student who has a younger boy waiting on him. <BR> <I>Ex. Boys found it quite agreeable to be back in school, especially if they were fagmasters (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fagot">
<B>fagot, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a bundle of sticks or twigs tied together for fuel. <BR> <I>Ex. He built the fire with fagots. In dinner talk it is perhaps allowable to fling on any fagot rather than let the fire go out (James M. Barrie).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a bundle of iron rods or pieces of iron or steel to be welded. <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to tie or fasten together into bundles; make into a fagot or fagots. <DD><B> 2. </B>to ornament with fagoting. </DL>
<A NAME="fagoting">
<B>fagoting, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an ornamental, open, zigzag stitch used for loosely joining two finished edges. <DD><B> 2. </B>an ornamental stitch made by drawing horizontal threads out of the cloth and tying groups of the cross threads together in the middle. </DL>
<A NAME="faham">
<B>faham, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>an orchid grown in Reunion and Mauritius, whose leaves are used as a substitute for tea leaves. <DD><B> 2. </B>the leaves so used. </DL>
<A NAME="fahlband">
<B>fahlband, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Mining.) a belt or zone of rock filled with metallic sulfides. </DL>
<A NAME="fahlunite">
<B>fahlunite, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hydrated silicate of aluminum and iron resulting from an alteration of iolite. </DL>
<A NAME="fahr">
<B>Fahr.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> Fahrenheit. </DL>
<A NAME="fahrenheit">
<B>Fahrenheit, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> of, based on, or according to a scale for measuring temperature, on which 32 degrees marks the freezing point of water and 212 degrees the boiling point, at standard atmospheric pressure. (Abbr:) F, F. or Fahr. <DD><I>noun </I> the Fahrenheit thermometer or its scale. </DL>
<A NAME="faience">
<B>faience, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a glazed, highly colored and decorated earthenware usually of fine quality. </DL>
<A NAME="fail">
<B>fail, </B>verb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to not succeed; be unable to do or become what is wanted, expected, or attempted; come out badly. <BR> <I>Ex. After a long drought, the crops failed. He tried hard to learn to sing, but he failed. Our envious foe hath failed (Milton).</I> (SYN) miscarry, default. <DD><B> 2. </B>to be missing; be not enough; fall short. <BR> <I>Ex. The wind failed, so we could not sail home. When our supplies failed, we had no food. His speech failed in persuasiveness and proof.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to lose strength; become weak; die away. <BR> <I>Ex. The sick man's heart was failing.</I> (SYN) decline, sink, wane, deteriorate. <DD><B> 4. </B>to be unable to pay what one owes; become bankrupt. <BR> <I>Ex. The company lost all its money and failed in business.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to be unsuccessful in an examination or course; receive a mark of failure. <BR> <I>Ex. He failed because he didn't study hard enough.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to not do; neglect. <BR> <I>Ex. He failed to follow our advice.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to be of no use to when needed. <BR> <I>Ex. When we needed his help, he failed us.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to become weak or faint within. <BR> <I>Ex. The old man's memory failed him.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to be unsuccessful in (an examination or course); receive a mark of failure in. <BR> <I>Ex. Bill failed two examinations and did not pass into his senior year.</I> <DD><B> 5. </B>to give a mark of failure to (a student). <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>a failure. <BR> <I>Ex. Some college courses are graded in terms of either a pass or a fail.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the failure of a stockbroker to deliver purchased stock within a specified period. <BR> <I>Ex. Fails generally occur because brokers are unable to obtain stock certificates within the five-day period ... allotted for payment and delivery after every securities transaction (Time).</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>fail of,</B> </I>to be unable to have or get; lack. <BR> <I>Ex. The debater's argument failed of logical connection.</I> <BR><I>expr. <B>without fail,</B> </I>without failing to do, happen, etc.; surely; certainly. <BR> <I>Ex. You must do your homework without fail. I will pay my bill next week without fail.</I> noun <B>failer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="failed">
<B>failed, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> that did not succeed; unsuccessful. <BR> <I>Ex. a failed attempt, a failed actor. These twin compositions ... certainly constitute examples of failed satire (Louise Bogan).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="failing">
<B>failing, </B>noun, preposition, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B><B>=failure.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a fault; weakness; defect. <BR> <I>Ex. She is a charming girl in spite of her failings. His bigotry, the failing of age (William H. Prescott).</I> (SYN) shortcoming. <DD><I>prep. </I> <B>1. </B>in the absence of; lacking; without. <BR> <I>Ex. Failing good weather, the tennis match will be played indoors.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>in the event of failure in. <BR> <I>Ex. Failing election, he will return to his law practice.</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> that fails. <BR> <I>Ex. failing health, a failing grade.</I> adv. <B>failingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="faille">
<B>faille, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a soft, ribbed cloth of silk, rayon, cotton, or acetate with a plain or printed weave. </DL>
<A NAME="failsafe">
<B>fail-safe, </B>adjective, verb, <B>-safed,</B> <B>-safing.</B> or <B>failed-,</B> <B>failing-.</B><DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>having a built-in safety device that is automatically activated to protect the operator from injury or its parts from damage, in case of power failure or malfunction of some part of the machine. <BR> <I>Ex. A fail-safe reel brake prevents accidental spilling of tape in case of power failure (Science News). The authority said that subway trains were equipped with a fail-safe device that halts the train automatically if the brakes fail (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>guaranteed not to fail; safe from failure; foolproof. <BR> <I>Ex. A master plan was worked out, beautifully turned and fail-safe on paper (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> to stop or alter an operation automatically in case of some malfunction or power failure. <BR> <I>Ex. Those with gas central heating will have cursed the irony of a system which fails-safe when the electrical power supply is severed (Anthony Tucker).</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> to make or cause to be fail-safe. </DL>
<A NAME="failsafe">
<B>Fail Safe,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> a procedure of the U.S. Strategic Air Command in which a bomber may not proceed toward its target beyond a certain point until a final affirming order has been issued. <BR> <I>Ex. And even beyond Fail Safe point and all the way to bomb-drop point, the war order can be reversed and the aircraft called home (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="failspot">
<B>fail spot,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in forestry) a place where natural or artificial reproduction has failed. </DL>
<A NAME="failure">
<B>failure, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the fact of failing; lack of success; the fact of being unable to do or become what is wanted, expected, or attempted. <BR> <I>Ex. failure in one's work. When disappointment trips you up or failure barks your shin (Grantland Rice).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>the act or fact of not doing; neglecting. <BR> <I>Ex. Failure to obey orders on a ship is mutiny.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>the fact of lacking or being absent; being not enough; falling short. <BR> <I>Ex. a failure of crops, failure of supplies.</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>the fact or condition of losing strength; becoming weak; dying away. <BR> <I>Ex. a failure of eyesight.</I> (SYN) decline, decay, deterioration. <DD><B> 5. </B>the condition of being unable to pay what one owes; bankruptcy. <BR> <I>Ex. There were many bank failures during the depression.</I> (SYN) insolvency. <DD><B> 6. </B>a person or thing that has failed. <BR> <I>Ex. The picnic was a failure because it rained. The teacher announced that there had been only one failure in the final examination.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="fain">
<B>fain, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Archaic.) <DD><I>adv. </I> by choice; gladly; willingly. <BR> <I>Ex. I would fain die a dry death (Shakespeare).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1. </B>willing, but not eager. <DD><B> 2. </B>forced by circumstances; obliged. <BR> <I>Ex. Men were fain to eat horseflesh (William Gouge).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>glad; willing. <DD><B> 4. </B>eager; desirous. <BR> <I>Ex. Love coming towards me, fair and fain (Dante Gabriel Rossetti).</I> noun <B>fainness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="fainaigue">
<B>fainaigue, </B>verb, <B>-naigued,</B> <B>-naiguing.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (British Dialect.) <DD><I>v.i. </I> <B>1. </B>to fail to play a card of the suit that is led, when you have one; revoke; renege. <DD><B> 2. </B>to break one's word; evade duty; shirk. <DD><B> 3. </B>to use guile. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to get by guile. noun <B>fainaiguer.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="faineance">
<B>faineance, </B>noun. <B>=faineancy.</B></DL>
<A NAME="faineancy">
<B>faineancy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> faineant quality or condition. </DL>
<A NAME="faineant">
<B>faineant, </B>adjective, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> that does nothing; idle. <BR> <I>Ex. Perhaps he was more industrious than the obligation to appear faineant allows him to disclose (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <DD><I>noun </I> a person who does nothing; idler. </DL>
