false bottom
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false 'bottom n a piece of wood, cardboard etc that looks like the bottom of a box or chest but which in fact hides a secret space
false 'dawn n 1 light which appears in the sky just before DAWN 2 an expectation that something good is about to happen, but which in fact may not happen: I fear that this ceasefire may be yet another false dawn.
false 'friend n 1 a word in a foreign language that is similar to one in your own, so that you wrongly think they both mean the same thing 2 someone who seems to be your friend but is not
false·hood /'fɔ:lsʃʊd/ n.fml 1 [C] an untrue statement; lie 2 [U] the telling of lies; lying
false im'prisonment n [U] the putting of someone in prison for no legal reason
false pre'tences /,fɔ:ls prɪ'tensɪz/ n [P] under false pretences using actions or appearances intended to deceive: He obtained money from her under false pretences.
false 'start n an occasion in a race when a runner leaves the starting line too soon: (fig.) After several false starts, work on the new hospital finally got under way.
false 'teeth also dentures fml -> n [P] a set of artificial teeth worn by someone who has lost all or most of their natural teeth
fal·set·to /fɔ:l'setəʊ/ adv, n (with) an unnaturally high man's speaking or singing voice: We need a man who can sing falsetto.
fals·ies /'fɔ:lsiz/ n [P] infml pieces of material shaped to cover the breasts and make them seem larger
fal·si·fy /'fɔ:lsɪfaɪ/ v [T] to make (something, especially a written or printed paper) false by changing it: They suspected that he had been falsifying the accounts. ---fication /fɔ:ls'fɪkeɪʃn/ n [C;U]
fal·si·ty /'fɔ:lsti/ n [U] fml the quality of being false or untrue
false 'friend n another name for FAUX AMI
Fal·staff /'fɔ:lstɑ:fæf/ a character in the plays HENRY IV (Parts 1 and 2) and THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR by William SHAKESPEARE. His full name is Sir John Falstaff, and he is a friend of the prince who later becomes King Henry V. Falstaff is a fat friendly old man, who enjoys having fun, drinks too much alcohol, and is not always completely honest.
falter /'fɔ:ltər/ v 1 [I] to walk or move unsteadily through weakness, fear etc: When the sick man faltered, the nurse took his arm. | a baby's first faltering steps 2 [I] to lose strength of purpose or action; HESITATE: Don't falter in your resolve now that success is so near. 3 [I] to lose strength or effectiveness; weaken: The business faltered badly last year but it seems to be recovering now. | the President's faltering popularity 4 [T(OUT)] to say in a weak and broken manner: Trembling with shock, she managed to falter out a few words of thanks. ---ingly adv
Fal·well, the Reverend Jerry /'fɔ:lwel/ (1933-) a US Christian leader and TELEVANGELIST (=someone who talks about religion on television), who started a RIGHT-WING political group called the MORAL MAJORITY, which supported Ronald REAGAN in the 1980s
fame /feɪm/ n [U] the condition of being well known and talked about; RENOWN: She won overnight (=sudden) fame with her first novel. | The village's only claim to fame is that the Queen once visited it
'Fame A,cademy a BBC television programme in which ordinary young people AUDITION (=perform a song to test whether they are good) to join the Fame Academy. The people who are chosen must live at the Academy, attend all the singing and dancing classes, and follow all the rules, such as going to bed early and not smoking. Each week, they sing a song and their performance is judged by a group made up of people in the music business. The viewing public then vote for who should stay and who should leave, until there is a final winner, who receives a CONTRACT with a record company and a place to live, both for a year.
famed /feɪmd/ adj [(for)] well known; famous: This area is famed for its natural beauty. | Marianne Welch, daughter of famed novelist Henry Welch
fa·mil·i·al /fə'mɪliəl/ adj [A] fml (typical) of a family
fa·mil·i·ar¹ /fə'mɪliər/ adj 1 [(to)] generally known, seen, or experienced; common: St Paul's cathedral is a familiar sight (to all Londoners). | She looks very familiar (=I have seen her before) but I can't remember her name. | Her account of the breakdown of her marriage was a familiar story (=typical of marriage breakdowns) to the psychiatrist. 2 [F+with] having a thorough knowledge (of); CONVERSANT: I am not really familiar with the taxation laws here. -> opposite UNFAMILIAR 3 too friendly, especially in a way which shows lack of respect: She told the taxi-driver not to be so familiar. 4 without tight control; informal: He wrote in an easy familiar style. -> see also FAMILIARLY
familiar² n 1 also fa,miliar 'spirit — a spirit or devil that serves a particular person, such as a WITCH 2 old use a close friend; companion: the duke and his familiars
fa·mil·i·ar·i·ty /fə,mɪli'ærɪti/ n 1 [U+with] thorough knowledge (of): His familiarity with the language/the rules impressed us all. 2 [U] the freedom of behaviour usually only expected in the most friendly relations: They greeted each other with such familiarity that we thought they must be brother and sister. 3 [C usually pl.] fml an act or expression of such freedom: his unwelcome familiarities 4 familiarity breeds contempt saying knowing a person very well leads to knowing their faults, and allows disrespect and dislike to develop
fa·mil·i·ar·ize also -ise BrE /fə'mɪliəraɪz/ v.[T(with)] to make (someone, especially oneself) well informed (about something): You should familiarize yourself with the rules before you start to play the game.
fa·mil·i·ar·ly /fə'mɪliəli/ -liər-/ adv in an informal, easy, or friendly manner: Charles, familiarly known as Charlie
fam·i·ly /'fæmɪli/ n 1 [C+sing./pl. v] one's parents, grandfather and grandmother, brothers and sisters, uncles, aunts etc: My family is very large/close. | My family are all tall. | The whole family came to visit us at Christmas. | He's a friend of the family. | a family gathering/occasion 2 [C+sing./pl. v.] a group of one or usually two adults and their children living in the same home: Do you know the family who've just moved in next door? | It's a film for all the family/a family film. (=suitable for children as well as older people) | a single-parent family 3 [C+sing./pl. v.] all those people descended from a particular person (ANCESTOR): Our family has/have lived in this house for over a hundred years. | a noble family 4 [S;U] children: Have you any family? | We won't start a family (=begin to have children) until we've been married a few years. 5 [C] tech a group of related animals, plants, languages etc: The cat family includes lions and tigers. | Spanish belongs to the same language family as Italian, both being descended from Latin. 6 in the family way old-fash euph going to give birth to a child; PREGNANT
CULTURAL NOTE In the US and the UK, most people have a traditional idea of a typical family, called a nuclear family, which consists of a mother, a father, and children. Usually, the father goes out to work and the mother takes care of the home and the children. Although this type of family is often praised by politicians and often shown in advertisements, fewer and fewer real families are actually like this. Most married women now have jobs, and there are more one-parent/single-parent families, partly because of DIVORCE and partly because some women have children without being married. Divorce also leads to more complicated families, if parents get married to other people and have more children. Many families have half-brothers/sisters or step-brothers/sisters living in the same house. There are also some families in which the partners are HOMOSEXUAL people who are living together as if they were married. As a result of all these changes, there are now many different types of family. Another type of family, the extended family, which is a large family group all living together, including grandparents, COUSINS etc, used to be common in former times but is now very unusual in the US and UK.
family al'lowance n [U] the old name for CHILD BENEFIT
,family 'circle, the n [S] the closely related members of a family: Don't say anything about it outside the family circle.
,family 'credit n [U] (in Britain) money offered by the government to working parents on a low income. The amount varies according to the income and the number of