Chapter F to Faction of F by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

F to Faction

F F is written on his face. "Rogue" is written on his face. The letter F used to be branded near the nose, on the left cheek of felons, on their being admitted to "benefit of clergy." The same was used for brawling in church. The custom was not abolished by law till 1822.

F Sharp A flea. The pun is F, the initial letter, and sharp because the bite is acute. (See B Flats.)

ff A corrupt way of making a capital f in Old English, and used as low down as 1750; as ffrance for France, ffarrington for Farrington, etc.

F.E.R.T. The letters of the Sardinian motto.
   Either Fortitudo Ejus Rhodum Tenuit, in allusion to the succour rendered to Rhodes by the house of Savoy, 1310;
   Or, Fædere et Religione Tenemur, on the gold doubloon of Victor Amadeus I.;
   Or, Fortitudo Ejus Rempublicam Tenet.

F.O.B. Free on board; meaning that the shipper, from the time of shipment, is free from all risk.

F's The three f's. Fixed tenure, Fair rent, Free sale. The platform of the Irish League in 1880.

Fa' (Scotch). To get; to get a share of; to lay a claim to.

"Where is the laird or belted knight
That best deserves to fa' that?"
Burns: Whom Will Ye Send, stanza i.

Fabian Society An association of socialists.

"The Fabian Society aims at the reorganisation of society by the emancipation of land and industrial capital from individual and class ownership: and the resting of them in the community for the general benefit." - H.G. Wilshire: Fabian Essays on Socialism, June, 1891, p. 91.

    The name of the society is derived from Quintus Fabius, the Roman general, who won his way against Hannibal by wariness, not by violence, by caution, not by defiance.

"Fabian tactics lie in stealing inches, not in grasping leagues." - Liberty Review, May 19th, 1894, p. 395, col. 1.

Fabian Soldiers A complimentary phrase for Roman soldiers, the bravest of the brave.

"Quem [band of trained soldiers] quidem sic omni disciplina militari [Iphicratês] crudivit, ut quemadmodum quondam `Fabiani milites' Romani appellati sunt, sic `Iphicratenses' apud Græcos in summa laude fuerint." - Nepos: Iphicrates, ii.

Fabian Tactics or Policy - i.e. delay. "Win like Fabius, by delay." The Roman general Fabius wearied out Hannibal by marches, counter-marches, ambuscades, and skirmishes, without ever coming to an open engagement. Fabius died B.C. 203.

"Met by the Fabian tactics, which proved fatal to its predecessor." - The Times.

Fabianism The system called Collectivism. (See Collectivists .)

"It must be evident that the Fabian Society has a really gigantic task before it, the difficulties of which will not be lightened when the working classes come to understand that small ownership ... and small savings ... are just as strongly condemned by Collectivists as large estates and colossal fortunes." - Nineteenth Century (November, 1892, p. 686

Fabila's sad Fate The king Don Fabila was a man of very obstinate purpose and fond of the chase. One day he encountered a boar, and commanded those who rode with him to remain quiet and not interfere; but the boar overthrew him and killed him. (Chronica Antiqua de España, p. 121.)

Fabius The American Fabius. Washington (1732-1799), whose military policy was similar to that of Fabius. He wearied out the English troops by harassing them, without coming to a pitched battle. Duguesclin pursued the same policy in France, by the advice of Charles V., whereby all the conquests of Edward and the Black Prince were retrieved.
   Fabius of the French. Anne, Duc de Montmorency, grand constable of France; so called from his success in almost annihilating the imperial army which had invaded Provence, by laying the country waste and prolonging the campaign. (1493-1567.)