farm out
The phrase ‘farm out’ means ‘send work to someone to be done away from one’s normal place of business‘. In short, it means ‘subcontract work’.
features of interest
The phrase ‘features of interest’ can be used to mean ‘interesting features of a place‘.
finished for the day
Here is an example sentence that illustrates the usage of the phrase ‘finished for the day’: ‘I have done my work and am finished for the day. ‘
first-order estimated cost
The phrase ‘first-order estimated cost’ means ‘cost worked out from preliminary estimate‘.
fix up
One of the meanings of this phrase is ‘repair or refurbish‘, as illustrated by the sentence ‘If you fix this house up a bit, it will look nice.‘.
flat out
The phrase ‘flat out’ is an Australian slang term for being ‘extremely busy‘.
flow-on effect
‘Flow-on effect’ is an Austral and NZ variant of the phrase ‘knock-on effect’ which means ‘phenomenon resulting inevitably but indirectly from another circumstance or event‘.
Following on from
Let’s say A and B are two distinct events or activities. If someone says ‘Following on from A, B happens’, what he/she means is ‘B happens after A‘.
Note that the phrase ‘Following on from’ is often used in the context where A and B are consecutive stages or parts of a project.
for one
The phrase ‘for one’ has two meanings.
One of its meanings is ‘as the first of several instances or examples‘, as in the sentence ‘I don’t like this bed – for one, it doesn’t suit our bedroom, and it’s also too expensive.‘.
The other meaning is ‘as one person among other people who may not hold the same opinion‘, as in the sentence ‘I know you may not agree but I, for one, think we should not stay here.‘.
for starters
The phrase ‘for starters’ means ‘to start with‘ or ‘first of all‘, as illustrated by the sentence ‘That’s enough for starters‘.
for that matter
The phrase ‘for that matter’ is used to say that the second thing mentioned is just as important or true as the first thing.
The following sentences serve as examples that illustrate the meaning of the above-mentioned phrase:-
- ‘Don’t shout at your dad like that — or at anyone else, for that matter.‘
- ‘She thought that candy — and junk food, for that matter — was bad for kids.‘
freak out
The phrase ‘freak out’ has two meanings.
One of its meanings is ‘suddenly become emotional, excited or angry‘ as illustrated by the following sentences: ‘She freaked out when she heard she had won the lottery.‘; ‘My sister will freak out when she finds out I damaged her painting!‘
The other meaning is ‘frighten or startle‘ as illustrated by the sentence ‘The sight of that gun completely freaked me out‘.
From what I can tell
The phrase ‘From what I can tell’ means ‘From what I can discern‘ or ‘From what I understand‘.