fall through
1. To physically plunge through something. Please don't stand on that rickety part of the floor—you're apt to fall through it! You just cover a hole with leaves and wait for some fool to fall through them. The child suffered minor injuries when he leapt from the burning building but fell through firefighters' arms.
2. To not be completed or come to fruition; to fail due to some outside circumstances. Oh, we're not going away next week after all—our vacation plans fell through. I had hoped to get a job where my mom works, but things fell through in the end. We did plan to expand our research project this fall, but that fell through when our funding was cut.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
fall through something
to fall and break through something. One of the skaters fell through the thin ice. A number of hailstones fell through the roof of the greenhouse.
fall through
[for something, such as plans] to fail. Our party for next Saturday fell through. I hope our plans don't fall through.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
fall through
Fail, miscarry, as in The proposed amendment fell through, or I hope our plans won't fall through. [Late 1700s]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fall through
v.1. To drop through some object or surface: The skaters fell through the thin ice.
2. To fail to occur: The trip fell through due to lack of interest.
3. To fail to be carried out: Our plans fell through at the last minute.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.