fair-weather friend
A person who is a friend only when you are successful.
Человек, который ведет себя как друг, только когда у вас все хорошо; ненадежный друг.
Everyone knows that John's only a fair-weather friend.
Все знают, что Джон всего лишь ненадежный друг.
I thought I could count on Bill, but I've discovered he's just a fair-weather friend.
Я думал, что могу рассчитывать на Билла, но выяснилось что он рядом только тогда когда все хорошо.
A fair weather friend isn't much help in an emergency.
Ненадежный друг не многим поможет в экстренной ситуации.
fairy godmother
A fairy believed to help and take care of a baby as it grows up.
The Fairy Godmother is equipped with a magic wand that she can summon from nothingness.
A person who helps and does much for another.
The rich man played fairy godmother to the boys and had a baseball field made for them.
Jane was a fairy godmother to her poorer friends.
fall asleep at the switch
To fail to perform an expected task; be remiss in one's duty.
The two airplanes wouldn't have collided, if the control tower operator hadn't fallen asleep at the switch.
The dean promised our department $250,000 but the foundation never sent the money because someone in the dean's office fell asleep at the switch.
fall by the wayside
drop by the wayside
To give up or fail before the finish.
The boys tried to make a 50-mile hike, but most of them fell by the wayside.
George, Harry, and John entered college to become teachers, but Harry and John fell by the wayside, and only George graduated.
fall down on the job
To fail to work well.
Потерпеть неудачу при попытке хорошо работать.
The boss was disappointed when his workers fell down on the job.
Начальник был разочарован, когда его работники не смогли хорошо выполнить работу.
fall into the habit of
To develop the custom of doing something.
Jack has fallen into the bad habit of playing poker for large sums of money every night.
fall off the wagon
To return to the consumption of an addictive, such as alcohol or drugs, after a period of abstinence.
Poor Joe has fallen off the wagon again - he is completely incoherent today.
fan the breeze
To swing and miss the ball in baseball.
The batter tried to hit a home run but he fanned the breeze.