for and to: These words are often added at the end of a sentence by careless speakers but are redundant. Do not say “Less than you think for”; nor “Where are you going to?”
forget it: When used as the equivalent of “don’t talk about it,” is a vulgarism that can not be too severely condemned.
fork over: Slang for “hand over,” a preferable phrase.
former: This word can refer to only one of two persons or things previously mentioned, never to any one of three or more. Avoid such construction as the following: “Mr. Henley says that had Rosetti and Byron been contemporaries, some of the former’s (meaning Rosetti) verses would have caused the latter (meaning Byron) to blush.” Here, former refers to Mr. Henley, but the context shows clearly the intention of the writer to refer to Rosetti.
forsake. Compare [ABANDON].
fort, forte: These two words similarly pronounced must be distinguished. In each case the derivation is the same (the Latin fortis strong), and although there is an alternative spelling of fort for “forte” it is not the favored form. A fort signifies a fortification held by a garrison; forte is that in which an individual chiefly excels.
fracas: A fracas is a brawl or an uproar, not a part of the human anatomy. Therefore, avoid such expressions as “He was stabbed in the fracas.” Say, rather, “During the fracas he was stabbed.”
fraud: Just as cheat has been made to do duty both for the act and the person committing the act, so in colloquial usage has fraud been made to represent not only the act but also its perpetrator. It has even been extended to “a deceptive or spurious thing.” These usages of fraud are, however, not to be recommended.
freeze: This word has nothing in common with frieze save the pronunciation. The former is an Anglo-Saxon term, whereas the latter comes from the French frise, for fraise, a ruff. To freeze is to convert into ice, congeal; to frieze is to provide with a frieze, which is, in architecture, the middle division of an entablature.