- Home
- Idioms
- fan
fan
fair-weather fan
A person who is supportive of and enthusiastic about a sports team only when that team is performing well. I've been rooting for the home team in their playoff run, but I'll admit I'm just a fair-weather fan.
fan dance
1. Literally, a striptease or exotic dance employing the use of large fans to conceal, suggest, or slowly reveal the nudity of the performer. While striptease is often relegated in the public imagination to seedy bars and desperate women, the fan dances performed in this club are truly beautiful.
2. By extension, any incremental exposure or divulgence of information, especially that which is tantalizing or of great interest. The filmmaker has been doing something of a fan dance over the past few weeks, offering tiny bits of information about who will be in his upcoming blockbuster.
*fan of someone
to be a follower of someone; to idolize someone. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) My mother is still a fan of the Beatles. I'm a great fan of the mayor of the town.
fan out
Fig. to spread out over a wide area. The searchers fanned out, looking for the child lost in the woods. Let's fan out and search a wider area.
fan out (from some place)
to spread outward from a particular area. The paths seem to fan out from the wide trail that starts at the house. The trails fanned out and soon we were all separated.
fan something out
to spread something out so that all parts can be seen better. (As one opens a wood and paper fan.) Todd fanned the cards out so we could see which ones he held. He fanned out the cards.
fan the breeze
Fig. to chat or gossip. We're just fanning the breeze, so you didn't interrupt anything. Stop fanning the breeze and get to work.
fan the flames (of something)
Fig. to make something more intense; to make a situation worse. The riot fanned the flames of racial hatred even more. The hostility in the school is bad enough without anyone fanning the flames.
hit the fan
Inf. Fig. to become publicly known; to become a scandal. (From the phrase when the shit hit the fan.) I wasn't even in the country when it hit the fan. It hit the fan, and within ten minutes the press had spread it all over the world.
when the shit hits the fan
Sl. when all the expected trouble materializes. When the shit hits the fan, you had better be prepared to support those of us who are involved in this mess.
fan out
to spread over a wide area The police fanned out across the park.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of fan (a device you open and wave in front of you to cool yourself)
something hits the fan
(slang) bad things develop or suddenly become known After I learned I had cancer, I realized you need laughter more than ever when things hit the fan.
Related vocabulary: the shit hits the fanfan the flames (of something)
to cause an increase in negative feelings These images of war could be used to fan the flames of hatred against our country.
Etymology: based on the literal meaning of fan the flames (to cause air to flow toward a fire)
the shit hits the fan
(rude) extremely unpleasant things happen and become known The company's busy season was upon them once more, and the shit was hitting the fan.
Related vocabulary: something hits the fanfan the flames
to cause anger or other bad feelings to increase (usually + of ) His speeches fanned the flames of racial tension.
the shit hits the fan
(taboo) if the shit hits the fan, a person or an organization gets into serious trouble If Dad finds out how much money you spent, the shit will really hit the fan.
See scare the shit out offan the flames
Intensify or stir up feelings; exacerbate an explosive situation. For example, She already found him attractive, but his letters really fanned the flames, or His speech fanned the flames of racial dissension.
shit will hit the fan, the
Also, when or then the shit hits the fan . There will be major trouble, often following the disclosure of a piece of information. For example, When they find out they were firing on their own planes, the shit will hit the fan. This idiom calls up the graphic image of feces spread by a rapidly revolving electric fan. [ Vulgar slang; c. 1930]
fan out
v.1. To move or project outward from a central source or point: The troops landed on the beachhead and fanned out.
2. To lay out or place something in a fanlike shape: I fanned the cards out on the table. They fanned out the photos on the desk so we could see them.
fan
tv. to ignore someone or something; to cut a class; to blow someone/something off. (Fan = blow as in blow someone off. Fan, from fanatic meaning “devotee” or “admirer” is very old and is Standard English.) You have to meet with your teacher? Oh, fan that. It doesn’t matter.
fan the breeze
tv. to chat or gossip. We’re just fanning the breeze, so you didn’t interrupt anything.
hit the fan
tv. to become publicly known; to become a scandal. (From the phrase when the shit hit the fan.) It hit the fan, and within ten minutes the press had spread it all over the world.
when the shit hits the fan
tv. when all the expected trouble materializes. (Usually objectionable.) When the shit hits the fan, you had better be prepared to support those of us who are involved in this mess. We had one hell of an afternoon around here. Where were you when the shit hit the fan?
hit the fan
Slang To have serious, usually adverse consequences.
when the shit hits the fan
When the situation goes awry; when trouble starts.
Common Names:
| Name | Gender | Pronounced | Usage |
|---|
| Eda (1) | | - | Turkish |
| Rayna (2) | | - | Yiddish |
| ȘTefan | | SHTE-fahn | Romanian |
| Walter | | WAWL-tər (English), VAHL-ter (German, Polish, Italian) | English, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Polish, Italian, Ancient Germanic |
| Douglas | | ['dʌgləs] | |
| Palle | | - | Danish |