Common American Phrases in Everyday Contexts (52 page)

for instance
for example.
I've lived in many cities, for instance, Boston, Chicago, and Detroit.
Jane is very generous. For instance, she volunteers her time and gives money to charities.

for nothing
for no purpose at all.
B
OB
: You sure put a lot of work into this project. It's too bad it didn't work out as planned. J
AN
: Yes, all that work for nothing
.
I worried all day about the dinner tonight, and it turned out to be a lovely event. All that worry for nothing.

for openers
AND
for starters
to begin with.
For openers, let's discuss our plans for the coming year
.
Now, I want to talk about binomials today. Let's look at the first paragraph on page 12 for starters.

For Pete('s) sake(s)
!
Go to For pity('s) sake(s)!

For pity('s) sake(s)
!
AND
For Pete('s) sake(s)
!
a mild exclamation of surprise or shock. (The extra
(s)
is colloquial.)
F
RED
: For pity's sake. What on earth is this? A
LICE
: It's just a kitten
.
J
OHN
: Good grief! What am I going to do? This is the end! S
UE
: What is it now, for Pete's sake?

For shame
!
That is shameful!
S
UE
: Did you hear that Tom was in jail? F
RED
: For shame! What did he do? S
UE
: Nobody knows
.
M
ARY
: I've decided not to go to the conference. J
OHN
: For shame! Who will represent us?

for starters
Go to for openers.

For sure
.
Yes.; Certainly. (Colloquial.)
S
ALLY
: Are you ready to go? B
OB
: For sure. S
ALLY
: Then, let's go
.
J
ANE
: Are you coming with us? J
OHN
: For sure. I wouldn't miss this for the world.

For two cents I would
do something
!
With a little encouragement, I would do something.
For two cents I'd bust him right in the mouth!
I'm so tired of being treated like a servant rather than an employee. For two cents I would quit right now!