Finnegan's Wake 512
Finn, a character in the books The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by the 19th century US writer Mark TWAIN. Huckleberry Finn is a very independent young boy who runs away from his father with his friend Jim, who is a black SLAVE who has also run away. -> see also SAWYER, TOM
Fin-ne-gan's Wake /'fɪnɪgənz 'weɪk/ (1939) a book by James JOYCE which is known for its strange style and language, and for being very difficult to understand
Fin-ney, Sir Tom /'fɪni/ (1922-) a British football player who played many times for the English national team between 1947 and 1959. He scored 30 GOALS, which was a record for many years. He also played for Preston North End from 1946 to 1960.
Fin-nish¹ /'fɪnɪʃ/ adj from or connected with Finland or its language: Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki
Finnish² n [U] the language of Finland
fi-ord /'fiɔːd, fjɔːd||'fjɔːrd, fjɔːrd/ n a FJORD
fir /fɜːr/ also fir·tree n any of many kinds of straight tree that mostly keep their thin sharp leaves (NEEDLES) in winter, form their seeds in CONES, and grow especially in cold countries
fire¹ /faɪər/ n 1 [U] the condition of burning; flames, light, and great heat: Horses are afraid of fire. | Have you got fire insurance? (=in case your house burns down) | The pile of papers couldn't catch fire (=start to burn) by itself; someone must have set fire to it/ set it on fire deliberately. | The building had been seriously damaged by fire. | fire prevention measures | (fig.) Her performance was full of fire. (=very exciting and strongly expressed feeling) 2 [C] a mass of burning material, lit either on purpose for cooking, heat etc, or by accident: It's nice to have a real coal fire in the winter. | The hunters lit/made a fire to boil up some water. | Thousands of trees were lost in the forest fire. | It took them several hours to put out the fire. 3 [C] BrE a gas or electrical apparatus for warming a room, with the flames or red-hot wires able to be seen: to turn off the fire -> compare STOVE 4 [U] shooting by guns; firing (FIRE): We were under fire (=being shot at) from all sides. | We gave him covering fire (=protected him by shooting) as he dashed across the clearing. | If you stick your head up like that you'll draw the enemy's fire. (=make them shoot at you) | The captain ordered his guns to open/cease fire. (=start/stop shooting) 5 Fire burn and cauldron bubble quote part of a speech by the three witches (WITCH) in Shakespeare's play Macbeth -> see also Double, double, toil and trouble (TOIL) 6 go through fire and water (for) old-fash to face great hardship and danger (for) 7 keep the home fires burning a phrase from a British song popular during World War I, meaning that soldiers' families should remain cheerful and keep their homes ready to welcome the soldiers home at the end of the war 8 on fire (of something not meant to burn) burning: The house is on fire! 9 play with fire to take great risks 10 pull something out of the fire to make something successful in spite of difficulties: We just managed to pull the game out of the fire. (=win it) 11 -fired /faɪəd||-d/ operated by the stated FUEL: oil-fired central heating | a coal-fired power station -> see also hang fire (HANG¹)
If you want something to burn you usually light it: to light a cigarette/the kitchen fire/a candle. You set fire (either by accident or on purpose) to things which usually you do not want to burn: Who set fire to the house? When something begins to burn, especially by accident, it catches fire: Her dress caught fire.
fire² v 1 [I(@t)] (of a person or gun) to shoot off bullets: He's firing at us | The captain ordered his men to start firing. 2 [T@t)] (of a person) to shoot off bullets from (a gun): He ran into the bank and fired his gun into the air. 3 [T(@t)] (of a person, gun, or BOW) to shoot off (bullets or ARROWS): They fired poisoned arrows/antiaircraft missiles at us. 4 [T] infml to dismiss from a job; SACK: Get out! You're fired! 5 [T(with)] to produce (strong feelings) in (someone); INSPIRE: Her stories fired the little boy's imagination. | He was suddenly fired with the desire to visit China. 6 [T] to bake (clay pots, dishes etc) in a KILN
fire away phr v [I usually imperative] infml to begin to speak or do something: If anyone has any questions, fire away!
'fire a,larm n (an apparatus, for example a bell, that gives) a signal to warn people of fire, usually in a building: The fire alarm went off/sounded.
,fire and 'brimstone n [U] a phrase used in the Bible to describe Hell. It is often used by religious people warning other people about what will happen to them if they lead wicked lives.
'fire ant n a type of insect that lives in groups. They build large piles of earth to live in, and can give a very painful bite.
fire-arm /'faɪərɑːrm||-ɑːrm/ n [usually pl.] a gun, especially a small one
fire-ball /'faɪəbɔːl||-ɔːr-/ n a ball of fire, such as the very hot cloud of burning dust and gases formed by an atomic explosion, a very bright METEOR etc
fire-boat /'faɪəbəʊt||-ɔːr-/ n a boat which carries equipment for fighting fires
fire-bomb¹ /'faɪəbɒm||-ɔːrbɑːm/ n a bomb which can cause a fire when it explodes
firebomb² v [T] to attack a place with firebombs: His home was firebombed by animal rights activists.
fire-box /'faɪəbɒks||-ɔːrbɑks/ n the place for the fire in a steam engine or boiler
fire-brand /'faɪəbrænd||-ɔːr-/ n 1 a flaming piece of wood 2 a person who regularly causes anger and unrest among others; AGITATOR
fire-break /'faɪəbreɪk||-ɔːr-/ n a narrow piece of land cleared of trees to prevent forest fires from spreading
fire-brick /'faɪə;brɪk||-ɔːr-/ n a brick made of a substance which is not damaged by heat, used in fireplaces, chimneys etc
'fire bri,gade n BrE the British organization responsible for putting out fires and preventing them from happening, called the 'fire department' in the US
fire-bug /'faɪəbʌg||-ɔːr-/ n infml a person who purposely starts fires to destroy property; person who performs an act of ARSON
fire-crack-er /'faɪə,krækər ||'faɪər-/ also cracker n a small FIREWORK that explodes loudly
fire-damp /'faɪədæmp||-ɔːr-/ n [U] an explosive mixture of gases that forms in mines and becomes dangerous when mixed with air
'fire de,part ment n the US organization responsible for putting out fires and preventing them from happening, called the 'fire brigade' in the UK
'fire door n a door which is kept closed and helps to prevent the spread of a fire: Hotels are required to fit fire doors.
'fire drill n [C;U] (the act of doing) the set of actions that must be performed to leave a burning building safely, practised regularly by pupils in a school, workers in a factory etc: to hold/have a fire drill
'fire-,eater n 1 an entertainer who appears to put flaming material into his/her mouth 2 infml a person with violent opinions who likes to quarrel
'fire ,engine also fire truck AmE — n a special vehicle that carries equipment and the people that stop fires burning, especially the equipment that shoots water at a fire
'fire es,cape n a way by which people can escape from a burning building, especially a set of metal stairs leading down outside a building to the ground
'fire ,exit n a door for letting people out of a public building such as a cinema, hotel etc when there is a fire
'fire ex,tinguisher also extinguisher n a smallish metal container with water or chemicals inside for putting out a fire
'fire ,fight n a short battle between people, usually soldiers or the police, using guns
fire-fight-er, fire fighter /'faɪəfaɪtər ||'faɪər-/ n someone whose job it is to stop fires burning
'fire ,fighting n [U] 1 actions taken to put out large unwanted fires in buildings etc 2 actions taken to discover and remove causes of sudden trouble, in organizations, machines etc