Fair-weather friend

Idiom: Fair-weather friend

Example: Fred Anderson won the lottery. Not long after that, Fred met Thomas Henry. Fred and Thomas became very good friends. Thomas went everywhere Fred went; they partied together, ate together and talked everyday.

About two months after Fred and Thomas had met, Fred was in a very bad car accident. All of Fred's lottery winnings went toward his medical bills. While Fred was in the hospital, he only received one call from Thomas, who claimed he was too busy to visit Fred in the hospital.

Once Fred was released from the hospital, his insurance company paid all of his bills and gave him an extra $200,000! News of Fred's recent good fortune spread quickly. Within a week, Thomas showed up at Fred's door to see how his friend was doing. However, Fred refused to answer his door. "I don't need fair-weather friends!" said Fred.

Meaning: A fair-weather friend is a person who only wants contact when you can help him. As soon as you need him, he's not around.

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To Be Floored

Idiom: “to be floored”

Meaning:  To shocked, surprised, or overwhelmed by something

Example #1:

Jenny: Hey, Johnny! Did you hear that Jane and Craig are getting a divorced?

Johnny:  No, I haven't heard that.

Jenny: Yes, apparently Craig found out that Jane has been having an affair with the next door neighbor! I was absolutely floored when I found out. They seemed like the perfect couple.

Johnny:  Well, I’m never floored by that kind of news. It’s just human nature.

 

Example #2:

Sarah: Guess what? Timmy won the lottery! I was just floored when I heard the news.

Jacob: Wow! That’s great. How much did he win?

Sarah: I think over a million dollars.

Jacob: I bet he was floored when he found out.

                            Sarah: Yes, he was. I think he still can’t believe it.

Meaning: “To be floored” means to be really shocked is floored by the news. In example 1, two people who seemed like the perfect couple are getting a divorce because of an affair.  Jenny cannot believe it and she is really shocked. In example 2, the two people are talking about their friend who won the lottery, which is very unusual and surprising.

For more information, please visit: www.languagesystems.edu