fall to
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English[edit]
Verb[edit]
fall to (third-person singular simple present falls to, present participle falling to, simple past fell to, past participle fallen to)
- (intransitive, dated) To enter into or begin an activity, especially with enthusiasm or commitment and especially in regard to the activities of eating or drinking.
- c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- Titus: Come, let's fall to; and, gentle girl, eat this.
- 1877, George MacDonald, chapter 54, in The Marquis of Lossie:
- In the middle of it, in front of the little public house, stood, all that day and the next, a group of men and women, for no five minutes in its component parts the same, but, like a cloud, ever slow dissolving, and as continuously reforming, some dropping away, others falling to.
- 1879, Anthony Trollope, chapter 7, in William Makepeace Thackeray:
- [H]e is interrupted by the arrival of a hamper of wine . . . upon the receipt of which he sends for three friends, and they fall to instantly, drinking two bottles apiece.
- 1910, Louis Joseph Vance, chapter 9, in The Fortune Hunter:
- [T]he floor was thick with a litter of rubbish. . . . Duncan surveyed it ruefully, but with the will to do strong in him, took off his coat, turned up his trousers, and fell to.
- 1934 March 26, "Books: Hurstwurst" (book review of Anitra's Dance by Fannie Hurst), Time (retrieved 1 May 2014):
- Many a reader whose appetite rejoices in hearty fare tucked in his napkin, smacked his lips and fell to with a will.
Usage notes[edit]
- Not to be confused with usages of the verb fall followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with to, as in:
- He fell to his knees.
- The responsibility fell to her.
Synonyms[edit]
References[edit]
- “fall to”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.