the box. 2. (of troops) retreat: The army began falling back to prepared lines of defense. 3. lag behind; be outstripped: We thought the horse would win, but he fell back halfway through the race. fall behind —1. = fall back 3: After about twenty miles the horse slowly but surely falls behind . 2. fail to maintain a sched- ule of payments, etc.: If your payments of rent fall behind , you will be asked to leave. fall behind in something • fall behind on something fall behind in something —1. fail to do enough of smth. and so move to a position behind others: The country has fallen behind its competitors in the manufacture of cheap cotton goods. 2. fail to maintain a schedule of payments, etc.: Jacobs began receiving letters from the bank threatening foreclosure when he fell behind in his payments. fall behind on something—(also: fall behind with something ) = fall behind in something 2: John fell behind on his car pay- ments so the bank took his car back. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase fall back on something— turn to smth. held as a reserve for help, etc.: They had some money in the bank to fall back on . fall below something • fall under something fall below something —(of a standard, etc.) fail to reach an agreed or required level: You should identify the reasons why your academic performance has fallen below expectations. fall under something—1. (of an item) be placed in the cate- gory mentioned: If a document falls under the physician- patient confidentiality clause, then this section may be withheld from public viewing. 2. (of a person) be strongly influenced or attracted by smth.: Though she was no longer young, she was still beautiful and John immediately fell under her charm. fall guy • fallen man fall guy —1. a loser or victim, especially smb. who is tricked into smth.: The president cannot be considered a “fall guy ,” since he is the commander in chief who ultimately ordered these military adventures. 2. a person who gets blamed when smth. goes wrong: They finally dismiss an employee in response to the scandal. Is he just a fall guy or will more dis- missals be forthcoming? fallen man —1. (the Bible) said of man after the time when he sinned: What is fallen man ’s solution to the approach of the Judge? He retains his pride and self-reliance and runs from God. 2. (liter.) smb. whose behavior is against the principles of morality: “Are you a wagering man, Dr. Waterhouse?” “I was brought up to loathe it. But my return to London is proof that I am a fallen man .” Cf.: fallen woman—(dated) a woman who has lost her respectability because of extramarital sex: Sappho runs away rather than lie to Will and trick him into marriage with a “fallen woman .” fall in for something • fall in with something fall in for something—be due for a share of smth., such as punishment, criticism, etc.: Sally fell in for a lot of trouble when she bought a used car. Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase fall for something—(coll.) 1. become very keen on or enthusiastic about smth.: I have quite fallen for this year’s purple colors. 2. be tricked into accepting smth. as genuine or true: Everyone seems to fall for his charming manner. fall in with something—1. happen to meet smth.: We shall fall in with plenty of boats if we coast it up to Palermo. 2. agree with smth.: It simply would not be understood if we did not fall in with this reasonable suggestion. fall into someone’s arms • fall into someone’s hands fall into someone’s arms—run up to a person to be held lovingly in both arms: With a cry of joy, she fell into his arms . fall into someone’s hands—1. be captured by a person: All those who fell into their hands alive were slain. 2. come into smb.’s possession: The two innkeepers had no idea what a treasure fell into their hands . 3. come under smb.’s control: Good citizens allowed politics to fall into the hands of mean men. fall leaf • leaf fall fall leaf —1. shedding of leaves by a plant; the autumn sea- son: Except during fall leaf season, leaves must be bagged and set out on your garbage collection day. 2. a hinged flap on a table which can be raised to increase the surface area: We unpacked a fall-leaf table which had been all sealed up and had all our cooking utensils. leaf fall — = fall leaf 1: Prune red and white currants at leaf fall (if bird damage is likely, pruning can be left until spring). fall off a truck • fall off the turnip truck fall off a truck —(U.S. euph.) said of an item that was prob- ably stolen or obtained by questionable methods (also UK: fall off the back of a lorry): It shouldn’t be surprising that in such circumstances a lot of those products will “get lost in ware- houses” or “fall off a truck .” Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase fall off the wagon—resume drinking after having stopped: Broderson fell off the wagon again. After a week of heavy drinking, he pawned the trailer to an acquaintance. fall off the turnip truck —(U.S. coll., usually negat.) be naive and gullible: I spent almost ten years in the private sector, so it’s not like I just fell off the turnip truck . fall out of something • fall outside something fall out of something —1. drop out of smth.: Suddenly, some- thing fell out of the Bible. What he saw was an old leaf that had been pressed in between the pages. 2. (used figuratively in phrases such as “fall out of love,” “fall out of use,” etc.): It is interesting how words fall out of favor or dramatically change in meaning over time. fall outside something —be beyond the scope of one’s respon- sibility, interests, etc.: What they are asking me to do falls outside my technical skill set. Cf.: fall within something—be part of one’s responsibility, interests, etc.: I am open for almost any type of work that falls within my expertise. fall through the cracks • fall through the floor fall through the cracks —(also: fall between the cracks) pass unnoticed; be neglected and not dealt with: In the past, many learning disabled children fell through the cracks . fall through the floor—(also: sink through the floor) 1. be very surprised: The Security chaps nearly fell through the floor when I walked into Parliament so early, so goodness knows what they were imagining. 2. suffer extreme embarrassment: We stood there with our hands crossed over our crotches in misery. I was about ready to fall through the floor with shame. 3. (of prices, sales, etc.) reach the lowest point: While some vegetable prices have fallen through the floor , domestic prices for crops are markedly higher than abroad. Cf.: hit the ceil- ing—(of prices, sales, etc.) increase very rapidly; surpass the expected limit (also: hit the roof ): The taxi drivers were aware that the buses were not running on this particular day, and prices hit the ceiling . Note: Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase fall through—(of plans, reforms, projects, etc.) not succeed; fail fall behind in something – 116 –