fall between two stools Definition

fall
verb, intr fell, fallen, falling

1. To descend or drop freely and involuntarily, especially accidentally, by force of gravity.

Thesaurus: plunge, descend, sink, drop, decline, subside, collapse, cave in; Antonym: rise, ascend, climb.
2. Said of someone, or something upright: to drop to the ground after losing balance.

Thesaurus: topple, stumble, trip, tumble, slip.
Form: fall over (also)
Form: fall down
3. Said of a building, bridge, etc: to collapse.
4. Said of rain, snow, etc: to come down from the sky; to precipitate.
5. Said eg of hair: to hang down.
6. Said of a blow, glance, shadow, light, etc: to land.

Example: The blow fell sharply on his jaw
Example: The light of the moon fell on the trees
Form: fall on something (usually)
7. To go naturally or easily into position.

Example: fell open at page 69
8. Said of a government, leader, etc: to lose power; to be no longer able to govern.
9. Said of a stronghold: to be captured.
10. Said of defences or barriers: to be lowered or broken down.
11. To die or be badly wounded in battle, etc.
12. To give in to temptation; to sin.
13. Said eg of value, temperature, etc: to become less.
14. Said of sound: to diminish.
15. Said eg of silence: to intervene.
16. Said of darkness or night: to arrive.
17. To pass into a certain state; to begin to be in that state.

Example: fall asleep
Example: fall in love
Example: fall unconscious
18. To be grouped or classified in a certain way.

Example: falls into two categories
19. To occur at a certain time or place.

Example: The accent falls on the first syllable
20. Said of someone's face: to show disappointment.

noun

1. An act or way of falling.

Thesaurus: tumble, slip, spill, plunge, plummet, nosedive.
2. Something, or an amount, that falls.

Thesaurus: decline, descent, drop; Antonym: rise, elevation, ascent.
3. A waterfall.

Form: falls (often)
4. A drop in eg quality, quantity, value, temperature, etc.

Example: A fall in interest rates was announced
Thesaurus: lessening, reduction, diminution, miniaturization; loss, collapse, decrease, decline, drop, downward spiral.
5. A defeat or collapse.

Thesaurus: capture, overthrow, ruin, destruction, resignation, capitulation, surrender.
(N Amer)
6. Autumn.

Form: Fall (also)
7. wrestling.
A manoeuvre by which one pins one's opponent's shoulders to the ground.

Idiom: break someone's fall

To stop them landing with the full impact of a free fall; to cushion their fall.

Idiom: fall between two stools

To be neither one thing nor the other.

To succeed in neither of two alternatives.

Idiom: fall flat on one's face

To come to grief; to fail dismally.

Idiom: fall from grace

Said of a person: to lose standing.

Idiom: fall foul of someone or something

To get into trouble or conflict with them or it.

Idiom: fall head over heels

To fall hopelessly (in love).

Idiom: fall on one's feet

To come out of a difficult situation advantageously.

To gain an unexpectedly good fortune.

Idiom: fall over oneself (fall over backwards)

colloq
To be strenuously or noticeably eager to please or help.

Idiom: fall short (fall short of something)

To turn out not to be enough; to be insufficient.
Thesaurus: be deficient, be lacking, come short.

To fail to attain or reach what is aimed at. See also shortfall.
Thesaurus: fail, be deficient, be lacking, come short.

Idiom: fall to pieces (fall to bits)

Said of something: to break up; to disintegrate.

Said of someone: to be unable to carry on or function normally, especially because of overwhelming grief, etc.
Example: fell to pieces when his wife died

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon feallan.

Phrasal Verb: fall about

To be helpless with laughter.

Phrasal Verb: fall apart

To break in pieces.To fail; to collapse.

Phrasal Verb: fall away

Said of land: to slope downwards.To become fewer or less.To disappear.

Phrasal Verb: fall back

To move back; to retreat.

Phrasal Verb: fall back on something

To make use of it in an emergency. See also fall-back.

Phrasal Verb: fall behind or fall behind with something

To fail to keep up with someone, with one's work, etc.To be late in paying instalments, rent, etc.

Phrasal Verb: fall down

Said of an argument, etc: to be shown to be invalid.

Phrasal Verb: fall down on something

To fail in a task; to do it unsatisfactorily, especially a particular part of a larger task.

Phrasal Verb: fall for someone

To become infatuated with them, or fall in love with them.

Phrasal Verb: fall for something

To be deceived or taken in by it; to be conned by it.

Phrasal Verb: fall in

Said eg of a roof: to collapse.Said of a soldier, etc: to take his or her place in a parade.

Phrasal Verb: fall into something

To become involved in it, especially by chance or without having put much effort into getting there.

Phrasal Verb: fall in with someone

To chance to meet or coincide with them.

Phrasal Verb: fall in with something

To agree to it; to support it.

Phrasal Verb: fall off

To decline in quality or quantity; to become less.

Phrasal Verb: fall on or upon someone

To attack them.To embrace them passionately.

Phrasal Verb: fall out

Said of soldiers: to come out of military formation. See also fall-out.To happen in the end; to turn out.

Phrasal Verb: fall out with someone

To quarrel with them, and then not talk to them or have contact with them for a period of time. See also fall-out.

Phrasal Verb: fall through

Said of a plan, etc: to fail; to come to nothing.

Phrasal Verb: fall to someone

To become their job or duty.
Example: It falls to me to deal with the matter

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stool
noun

1. A simple seat without a back, usually with three or four legs.
2. A footstool.
3. Faeces.
4a. A felled tree stump, especially one that has new shoots sprouting from it;
4b. The clump of new growth that sprouts from a felled tree stump.
(US)
5. A hunter's decoy.

verb stooled, stooling

intr
1. Said of a felled tree stump, etc: to send up shoots.
2. To lure (wildfowl) using a decoy.

Idiom: fall between two stools

To lose two opportunities by hesitating between them or trying for both or to fail to achieve something because of failing to decide between alternative courses of action, etc.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon stol.