515
fish and chips
first 'night n the evening on which the first public perform-
ance of a show, play etc is given
first of'fender n a person found guilty of breaking the law
for the first time
first past the 'post n [U] a voting system used in British
national and local elections, in which the person with more
votes than any other wins the election. The winner does not
need to have more votes than the losers have together. ➔
compare PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
first 'person n [the S] 1 tech a form of verb or PRONOUN that
is used to show the speaker: 'I', 'me', 'we', and 'us' are first
person pronouns. | 'I am' is the first person present singular of
'to be'. 2 a way of telling a story in which the teller uses the
first person: The story was written in the first person: it began
'I was born in...' ➔ compare SECOND PERSON, THIRD PERSON
first-'rate adj very good; of the highest quality: This is
first-rate beer! ➔ compare SECOND-RATE
First Read-ing /fɜːst ˈriːdŋ||fːrst-/ n 1 the first time
that a suggested new law is introduced in Parliament in the
UK: The new transport bill will get its first reading in the
House of Commons tomorrow. 2 the first time that a sug-
gested new law is introduced to CONGRESS in the US ➔ see
Cultural Note at BILL¹
first re'fusal n [(the) U] BrE the right to decide whether to
buy something before it is offered to other people: If you sell
your house, will you let me have first refusal on it?
'first school n (in Britain) a school for children between the
ages of five and eight
first 'strike n an attack made on your enemy before they
(can) attack you: a new weapon system that gives us a
first-strike capability
first-'string adj [A] being a regular member of a team, group
etc, rather than one who sometimes comes in to take the
place of another ➔ compare SECOND-STRING
first-time 'buyer n someone who is buying a flat or house
for the first time. In Britain, first-time buyers are often offered
favourable financial deals by banks and building societies
(BUILDING SOCIETY).
First 'World, the the rich industrial countries of the world.
Originally, this was used to describe the countries of Western
Europe, the US, Canada, and Australia, and the Second World
was the COMMUNIST BLOC. ➔ see also THIRD WORLD, THE
—First-World, first-world adj: a meeting of First-World
industrial nations
First World 'War, the ➔ see WORLD WAR I
firth /fɜːθ||fɜːrθ/ n (often cap. as part of a name) (especially in
Scotland) a narrow arm of the sea, or place where a river flows
out: the Firth of Tay
fir-tree /ˈfɜːtriː||ˈfɜːr-/ n a FIR
fis-cal¹ /ˈfskəl/ adj fml of or related to public money, taxes,
debts etc: the government's fiscal policy —-ly adv
fiscal² n infml for PROCURATOR FISCAL
fiscal 'year abbrev. FY AmE — n the yearly period over which
the amount of tax payable is calculated
CULTURAL NOTE in Britain, the fiscal year for companies
starts on 1st April and for private persons it starts on 6th
April. In the US, the government fiscal year starts on
October 1st; for INDIVIDUALS it is the same as the
CALENDAR YEAR. Businesses may start their own fiscal
years. ➔ compare FINANCIAL YEAR
Fisch-er, Bobby /ˈfɪʃər/ (1943-) a US CHESS player, who
became the youngest international GRAND MASTER in chess
history at the age of 15. In 1972, he became the first
American to win the World Chess Championship. In 1975,
he refused to play against Anatoly Karpov and did not play
chess in public again for many years. In 1992 he arranged to
play against Boris Spassky in Montenegro, but the US
government said he could not go because the US did not
approve of Yugoslavia at the time. He went anyway, won the
match and $3.3 million, and decided not to return to the US
because he would be arrested there.
fish
dorsal fin
tail fin
anal fin
scales
pelvic fin
pectoral fin
gill
mouth
eye
fish¹ /fɪʃ/ n pl. fish or fishes 1 [C] an animal which lives in
water, is covered in SCALES and uses its FINS and tail to swim:
We caught three little fishes/several fish. | to gut/fillet a
fish 2 [U] the flesh of a fish when used as food: We had
fish/some fish/a piece of fish for dinner. | What kind of fish is
this? 3 [C] infml a person of the stated kind (used especially
in the phrases a cold/odd/queer fish) 4 have other fish to fry
infml to have other affairs to attend to, especially that are more
important 5 like a fish out of water uncomfortable because
one is in a strange place or situation ➔ also COLD FISH, a
pretty kettle of fish (KETTLE) 6 neither fish nor fowl neither
one thing nor another 7 there are plenty more fish in the
sea (a phrase used to someone who has just suffered the
ending of a relationship) there are plenty of other people to
have a relationship with 8 a big fish in a little/small pond
also a big fish in a little/small pool someone who is important
or has a lot of influence only in a small organization, place,
company etc: I don't want to be a big fish in a little pond - I'd
rather run against the world champion and finish fifth or sixth
in the race. | If you want to be a big fish in a very small pool,
that's up to you, but I thought you had more ambition.
You may also hear people described as 'big fish' or
'small fish' according to how important they are compared
to other people in the same group: The skills that made
Schoffield a big fish in retailing helped him succeed as the
club's manager.
fish² v 1 [(for)] to try to catch fish: Let's go fishing. | We're
fishing for trout. ➔ compare ANGLE³ 2 [T] to catch fish in
(an area of water): This river has been fished too
much. 3 [I+ABOUT, AROUND, for] infml to search: She was fishing
around in her handbag trying to find the key. | From the way
he spoke I could tell he didn't know and was just fishing for
information. 4 fish for compliments to try to make some-
one say something admiring about oneself, usually by ask-
ing them a question: 'Did you like the play?' 'Stop fishing for
compliments. You know you acted brilliantly.' 5 fish in trou-
bled waters to try to gain advantage out of other people's
troubles 6 fish or cut bait AmE infml either do what you are
saying you will do, or stop talking about it: 'I'll show these
guys how the game is really played.' 'Fish or cut bait, buddy.'
fish sthg./sbdy. ⇔ out phr v [T] infml 1 to pull from the
water: Jean fell into the river, and we had to fish her out. 2 to
bring out, especially after searching: He fished out a coin/a
handkerchief from his pocket.
fish sthg. ⇔ up phr v [T] to pull up, as if catching a fish: He
fished up an old shoe out of the lake.
Fish, Michael (1944-) a British WEATHERMAN (=someone
who gives weather reports on television and radio) who
works for the BBC. Many British people remember how, in
1987, he said that there would definitely not be a storm, just
before the worst storm of the 20th century took place.
fish and 'chips n [U:P] a meal consisting of fish which is
dipped into a mixture of flour and milk (BATTER) and then
cooked in oil, served with long thin pieces of potato cooked
in oil (CHIPS)
CULTURAL NOTE Fish and chips are very popular in the UK,
and are considered to be a typically British meal. They are
bought in a FISH AND CHIP SHOP, which is also sometimes
called a CHIPPY, rather than cooked at home, and they
are a quick, fairly cheap meal. The food is usually