fan

fair-weather fan

A person who is supportive of and enthusiastic about a sports team only when that team is performing well. I've been rooting for the home team in their playoff run, but I'll admit I'm just a fair-weather fan.See also: fan

fan dance

1. Literally, a striptease or exotic dance employing the use of large fans to conceal, suggest, or slowly reveal the nudity of the performer. While striptease is often relegated in the public imagination to seedy bars and desperate women, the fan dances performed in this club are truly beautiful.2. By extension, any incremental exposure or divulgence of information, especially that which is tantalizing or of great interest. The filmmaker has been doing something of a fan dance over the past few weeks, offering tiny bits of information about who will be in his upcoming blockbuster.See also: dance, fan

fan out

1. To spread out over a certain area. Fan out and search the entire neighborhood!2. To spread something out. Fan out all the pages so that I can figure out what's missing.See also: fan, out

fan the flames

To do or say something to make an argument, problem, or bad situation worse; to further incense an already angry person or group of people. The debate was going poorly for the senatorial candidate, and his strikingly uncouth comments simply fanned the flames. Revelations of the CEO's massive retirement package fanned the flames for consumers already furious over the company's dubious financial dealings.See also: fan, flame

hit the fan

To become more of a problem or more widespread or publicized. Once this scandal hits the fan, all of our investors are liable to pull out of the company.See also: fan, hit

the shit hits the fan

rude slang Things become suddenly very chaotic, disastrous, difficult, or controversial. The company has been trying to distance itself from the outspoken director before he says something horribly offensive and the shit really hits the fan. He seems qualified on paper, but how do you think he'll perform under pressure when the shit hits the fan?See also: fan, hit, shit

(the) shit is going to hit the fan

rude slang Some situation will become even more problematic, detrimental, or difficult to deal with. We're under a lot of scrutiny now, but the shit is really going to hit the fan if news of this payoff goes public. Shit is going to hit the fan if mom and dad find out I took the car out without their permission.See also: fan, going, hit, shit

(the) shit will hit the fan

rude slang Some situation will become even more problematic, detrimental, or difficult to deal with. We're under a lot of scrutiny now, but the shit will really hit the fan if news of this payoff goes public. Shit will hit the fan if mom and dad find out I took the car out without their permission.See also: fan, hit, shit, will

fan canon

Aspects or material that are not officially part of the source material (of a work of fiction) but that fans promote or think could logically exist or occur in the source material. Also known as "fanon" and "head canon" (although the latter can also be applied to an individual fan's ideas, as opposed to those that have gained widespread currency). That pairing must be fan canon because I definitely don't remember seeing those two kiss in any episode of the series.See also: canon, fan

fan service

The act (by writers, creative directors, etc.) of attempting to please the fans of a work of fiction (typically a TV show) by depicting or incorporating certain aspects or character pairings that fans have promoted, requested, or shown interest in. With all the callbacks to the previous 199 episodes, and allusions to the interests of the show's rabid fan base, the musical episode of Supernatural is total fan service—and I love it.See also: fan, service

a fan of (someone or something)

Someone who strongly likes, appreciates, supports, and/or is interested in someone or something. You might find this hard to believe, but Cheryl's a big fan of heavy metal. I'm a big fan of Jen's new boyfriend—especially after the parade of losers she's brought home over the years! Sorry, but I'm not really a fan of Art Deco.See also: fan, of

be a fan of (someone or something)

To strongly like, appreciate, support, and/or be interested in someone or something. You might find this hard to believe, but Cheryl's a big fan of heavy metal. I'm a big fan of Jen's new boyfriend—especially after the parade of losers she's brought home over the years! Sorry, but I'm not really a fan of Art Deco.See also: fan, of

become a fan of (someone or something)

To begin to like, appreciate, support, and/or be interested in someone or something. You might find this hard to believe, but Cheryl's become a big fan of heavy metal over the years. I've become a fan of Jen's new boyfriend, and, yes, the fact that he brought me fancy chocolates did help!See also: become, fan, of

fan the breeze

To chat or converse aimlessly or casually, without any serious topic of conversation. Customers always want to fan the breeze with me in the store before they buy something. I just fanned the breeze with John for a while when he passed me on the street.See also: breeze, fan

*fan of someone

to be a follower of someone; to idolize someone. (*Typically: be ~; become ~.) My mother is still a fan of the Beatles. I'm a great fan of the mayor of the town.See also: fan, of

fan out

Fig. to spread out over a wide area. The searchers fanned out, looking for the child lost in the woods. Let's fan out and search a wider area.See also: fan, out

fan out (from some place)

to spread outward from a particular area. The paths seem to fan out from the wide trail that starts at the house. The trails fanned out and soon we were all separated.See also: fan, out

fan something out

to spread something out so that all parts can be seen better. (As one opens a wood and paper fan.) Todd fanned the cards out so we could see which ones he held. He fanned out the cards.See also: fan, out

fan the breeze

Fig. to chat or gossip. We're just fanning the breeze, so you didn't interrupt anything. Stop fanning the breeze and get to work.See also: breeze, fan

fan the flames (of something)

Fig. to make something more intense; to make a situation worse. The riot fanned the flames of racial hatred even more. The hostility in the school is bad enough without anyone fanning the flames.See also: fan, flame

hit the fan

Inf. Fig. to become publicly known; to become a scandal. (From the phrase when the shit hit the fan.) I wasn't even in the country when it hit the fan. It hit the fan, and within ten minutes the press had spread it all over the world.See also: fan, hit

when the shit hits the fan

Sl. when all the expected trouble materializes. When the shit hits the fan, you had better be prepared to support those of us who are involved in this mess.See also: fan, hit, shit

fan the flames

Intensify or stir up feelings; exacerbate an explosive situation. For example, She already found him attractive, but his letters really fanned the flames, or His speech fanned the flames of racial dissension. See also: fan, flame

shit will hit the fan, the

Also, when or then the shit hits the fan . There will be major trouble, often following the disclosure of a piece of information. For example, When they find out they were firing on their own planes, the shit will hit the fan. This idiom calls up the graphic image of feces spread by a rapidly revolving electric fan. [ Vulgar slang; c. 1930] See also: hit, shit, will

fan the flames

COMMON If something that someone says or does fans the flames, it makes a bad situation worse. There are several specific and new issues that are fanning the flames in this dispute. Lee's latest film, based on the life of Malcolm X, is set to fan the flames of controversy even higher. Compare with add fuel to the fire. Note: To fan flames means to make them burn more strongly by waving a fan or other flat object next to them. See also: fan, flame

the shit hits the fan

INFORMAL, VERY RUDEIf the shit hits the fan, serious trouble suddenly starts. If I was them, I'd be planning to pull out before the shit hits the fan. Then Gene heard about the matter and the shit really hit the fan. Note: People sometimes replace shit with a less offensive word. Tom visited us in Canada shortly before the stuff hit the fan.See also: fan, hit, shit

when the shit hits the fan

when a situation becomes critical; when the disastrous consequences of something become public.See also: fan, hit, shit

fan the ˈflames (of something)

make a feeling such as anger, hatred, etc. worse: His writings fanned the flames of racism.See also: fan, flame

(when) the ˌshit hits the ˈfan

(taboo, slang) (when) somebody in authority finds out about something bad or wrong that somebody has done: When the committee finds out what actually happened, the shit will really hit the fan.See also: fan, hit, shit

fan out

v.1. To move or project outward from a central source or point: The troops landed on the beachhead and fanned out.2. To lay out or place something in a fanlike shape: I fanned the cards out on the table. They fanned out the photos on the desk so we could see them.See also: fan, out

fan

tv. to ignore someone or something; to cut a class; to blow someone/something off. (Fan = blow as in blow someone off. Fan, from fanatic meaning “devotee” or “admirer” is very old and is Standard English.) You have to meet with your teacher? Oh, fan that. It doesn’t matter.

fan the breeze

tv. to chat or gossip. We’re just fanning the breeze, so you didn’t interrupt anything. See also: breeze, fan

hit the fan

tv. to become publicly known; to become a scandal. (From the phrase when the shit hit the fan.) It hit the fan, and within ten minutes the press had spread it all over the world. See also: fan, hit

when the shit hits the fan

tv. when all the expected trouble materializes. (Usually objectionable.) When the shit hits the fan, you had better be prepared to support those of us who are involved in this mess. We had one hell of an afternoon around here. Where were you when the shit hit the fan? See also: fan, hit, shit

hit the fan

Slang To have serious, usually adverse consequences.See also: fan, hit

when the shit hits the fan

When the situation goes awry; when trouble starts.See also: fan, hit, shit

fan the flames, to

To exacerbate an already inflammable situation, or to revive a flagging situation. The fact that wind stirs up a fire has, of course, been known since ancient times, but the precise metaphor here, with its alliterative lilt, is considerably newer. Dickens used it in The Old Curiosity Shop (1840): “Fan the sinking flame of hilarity with the wing of friendship.”See also: fan

shit hits the fan, (when) the

There’ll be a violent reckoning, big trouble. This vulgar slangy term dates from about 1930. Some believe it alludes to feces being thrown about by a revolving fan. Morris West wrote, “We’ll have it back on the wires in time for the Monday editions . . . Then the shit hits the fan. It might be wise if you went away” (Harlequin, 1974; cited by Eric Partridge).See also: hit, shit

fan

fan,

device for agitating air or gases or moving them from one location to another. Mechanical fans with revolving blades are used for ventilation, in manufacturing, in winnowing grain, to remove dust, cuttings, or other waste, or to provide draft for a fire. They are also used to move air for cooling purposes, as in automotive engines and air-conditioning systems, and are driven by belts or by direct motor. The axial-flow fan (e.g., an electric table fan) has blades that force air to move parallel to the shaft about which the blades rotate. The centrifugal fan has a moving component, called an impeller, that consists of a central shaft about which a set of blades form a spiral pattern. When the impeller rotates, air that enters the fan near the shaft is moved away perpendicularly from the shaft and out of an opening in the scroll-shaped fan casing. As a light, flat instrument manipulated by hand to cool the body or ward off insects, the fan is of tropical origin and probably stems from the primitive use of palm or other leaves. The long-handled, disk-shaped fan carried by attendants was from ancient times associated with regal and religious ceremonies. In China an early form of the hand fan was a row of feathers mounted in the end of a handle; in Greece linen was often stretched over a leaf-shaped frame; and in Rome wooden fans, gilded and painted, were used. In Europe during the Middle Ages the fan virtually disappeared until the 13th and 14th cent., when fans from the Middle East were brought back by Crusaders and became fashionable for the wealthy. After 1500 the fan became generally popular; flag fans, disk-shaped fans, and tuft fans of ostrich plumes or peacock feathers, with handles of carved ivory or gold set with jewels, were common in women's wardrobes. In c.1600 the folding fan, developed in medieval Japan and introduced into Europe by way of China, became popular. The slats, of ivory, bone, mica, mother-of-pearl, or tortoiseshell, were delicately carved and covered with paper or fabric. The fan reached a high degree of artistry, especially in France, in the 17th and 18th cent. Delicately folded fans of lace, silk, or parchment were decorated with original designs and paintings by contemporary artists. The management of the fan became a highly regarded feminine art. The function and employment of the fan reached its high point of social significance in Japan.

Fan

known since antiquity in countries with hot climates (Egypt, India, China, and others). The first fans were made of palm, lotus, and other leaves. Later, wicker (widespread in Polynesia and Indonesia and among the peoples of South America, Africa, and so on), wooden, and metal fans and fans made of cloth or paper stretched over a firm frame were made in the form of leaves. Paper fans are especially characteristic of Japan and China, where fans were an important article in daily life and in religious and court ceremonies; later folding fans appeared there (made of separate parts fastened at the base with a pin and with the upper ends joined by a ribbon, fine cloth, paper, or parchment cut in the shape of an arc and allowing the fan to be opened into the shape of a half circle). This type of fan was transmitted to Europe (where rigid fans and fans made of feathers had predominated until then) and became extremely widespread in the 17th to 19th centuries in all European countries. In addition to simple fans for everyday use, ceremonial, often highly artistic, fans made of precious materials (ivory, turtle-shell, mother-of-pearl, precious metals, ostrich feathers, silk, lace, and so on) were made and ornamented with extremely fine fretwork, incrustations, enamel, precious stones, embroidery, and painting. Famous artists (for example, F. Boucher, J. A. Watteau, and N. Lancret in France) and jewelers created unique fans. The materials and the type of ornamentation used in making fans changed with changes in epochs, styles, and fashions.

REFERENCES

Troinitskii, S. N. Katalog veerov XVIII veka. Petrograd, 1923.
Percival, M. I. The Fan Book. London, 1920.
The Fan: Catalogue of an Exhibition Held in Copenhagen, 1957, Under Auspices of Societeten Haandarbejdets Fremme. … [Copenhagen, 1957.]

Fan

(mechanical), ventilator, a machine for supplying air or other gases at pressures no greater than 12-15 kilonewtons per sq m (0.12-0.15 kilograms-force per sq cm). Fans are used for the ventilation of buildings and mines, for supplying air to and removing flue gases from boiler and furnace units, for drying materials, for cooling machine parts and machinery, for creating air curtains, for the pneumatic conveyance of bulk and fibrous materials, for performing certain production processes, for cooling radiators and condensers, and for air supply. In addition to industrial fans, desk and suspended fans of various types are widely used.

The centrifugal blower, or radial fan, has an impeller mounted within a spiral casing; when the impeller rotates, the gas entering through an inlet is directed into the channels between the impeller vanes where, under the influence of centrifugal force, it passes into the spiral casing for discharge through an outlet. The axial fan has an impeller mounted within a cylindrical casing; when the impeller rotates, the incoming gas is displaced axially. Axial fans are simpler and more efficient than centrifugal blowers; they are also reversible (the direction of the gas flow is changed by changing the direction of rotation of the impeller wheel), but they do not provide greater pressures.

Diametric or transverse-flow fans have a centrifugal impeller with curved blades, partially enclosed in a housing. An asymmetrical rotational (curl) field is created upon rotation of the impeller wheel, causing the air to flow in a transverse direction. In addition, the flow passes through the lattice of the rotating impeller vanes twice. Transverse-flow fans are more efficient and can create greater pressures than centrifugal and axial fans. Fans used for moving flue gases are called flue-gas exhausters, those used for moving air laden with mechanical impurities are called dust-collecting fans, and those built into a roof are called roof fans. Explosion-proof and acid-resistant fans are manufactured for specialized applications.

The fan is driven by a motor through a belt drive or directly by means of an elastic coupling. The impellers of small fans may be fastened to the motor shaft. Large fans also have control devices and vibration dampers.

The following criteria are utilized for the classification of fans: the high-speed criterion n_u, which expresses the relation between efficiency, pressure, and angular speed; and the pressure criterion Ψ, which depends on the shape and number of impeller vanes (rotor blades). Their values are incorporated in the fan designation. For example, some general purpose centrifugal fans make use of such designations as Ts4-70, TsP7-40, and P8-18.

The letters Ts indicate “centrifugal,” the letter P indicates

Figure 1. Characteristic curve for a fan

“dust-collecting,” the next figure or number is the Ψ criterion multiplied by 10, and the final number is the n_y criterion. Fans (for example, axial fans for mines and subways) are connected in parallel or tandem respectively to increase output and pressure. Fan development seeks to improve aerodynamic configuration and construction design in order to provide greater efficiency and output within existing unit dimensions.

Fans are selected according to the characteristics arranged for the most efficient operating conditions (see Figure 1). The lines of the constant angular speeds ω and the efficiency η for various model sizes are plotted on the graph in (p, L) coordinates (p = pressure in newtons per sq m; L = capacity in cu m per sec). The point defining the desired angular speed and efficiency is located in accordance with L and P on the characteristic curve, after which the rating is calculated.

REFERENCES

Ekk, B. Proektirovanie i ekspluatatsiia tsentrobezhnykh i osevykh ventiliatorov. Moscow, 1959. (Translated from German.)
Kalinushkin, M. P. Ventiliatornye ustanovki, 6th ed. Moscow, 1967.

M. P. KALINUSHKIN

fan

[fan] (agriculture) A mechanical device used for winnowing grain. (biology) Any structure, such as a leaf or the tail of a bird, resembling an open fan. (electromagnetism) Volume of space periodically energized by a radar beam (or beams) repeatedly traversing an established pattern. (geology) A gently sloping, fan-shaped feature usually found near the lower termination of a canyon. (mechanical engineering) A device, usually consisting of a rotating paddle wheel or an airscrew, with or without a casing, for producing currents in order to circulate, exhaust, or deliver large volumes of air or gas. A vane to keep the sails of a windmill facing the direction of the wind.

Fan

A fan moves gases by producing a low compression ratio, as in ventilation and pneumatic conveying of materials. The increase in density of the gas in passing through a fan is generally negligible; the pressure increase or head is usually measured in inches of water.

Blowers are fans that operate where the resistance to gas flow is predominantly downstream of the fan. Exhausters are fans that operate where the flow resistance is mainly upstream of the fan.

Fans are further classified as centrifugal or axial (see illustration). The housing provides an inlet and an outlet and confines the flow to the region swept out by the rotating impeller. The impeller imparts velocity to the gas, and this velocity changes to a pressure differential under the influence of the housing and ducts connected to inlet and outlet.

Fan types

fan

1. An air-moving device composed of a wheel or blade and housing or orifice plate. 2. During construction or demolition of a building, an upwardly projecting arrangement of scaffolding and netting that is intended to catch any debris that might otherwise fall to the ground. Also see axial-flow fan, centrifugal fan, plenum fan, propeller fan, return fan, supply fan, tubeaxial fan, vaneaxial fan.

fan

i. A combination of three or more cameras that provides wide lateral coverage with adequate overlap. See fan-camera photography.
ii. The rotor in the beginning of a turbofan engine.
iii. A propeller, especially when the emphasis is upon its function of moving air rather than propelling.
iv. Any vaned rotary device for producing a current or stream of air. Specifically, a multivaned wheel or rotor used to take in air in a bypass engine or a ducted-fan engine. It can be either a mere blower or a low-pressure compressor.

fan

symbol of coquetry. [Folklore: Jobes, 370]See: Flirtatiousness

fan

Engineeringa. any device for creating a current of air by movement of a surface or number of surfaces, esp a rotating device consisting of a number of blades attached to a central hub b. a machine that rotates such a device

fan

A device that uses motor-driven blades to circulate the air in a computer or other electronic system. Today's CPUs run extremely hot, and large computer cabinets use two and three fans to reduce temperature. See FanCard.

fan

fan 1

fan 2

fan

fan

fan1

fan2

Fan

fan

fan

fan

fan 1

fan 2

fan1

fan2

fan

fan

fair-weather fan

fan dance

fan out

fan the flames

hit the fan

the shit hits the fan

(the) shit is going to hit the fan

(the) shit will hit the fan

fan canon

fan service

a fan of (someone or something)

be a fan of (someone or something)

become a fan of (someone or something)

fan the breeze

*fan of someone

fan out

fan out (from some place)

fan something out

fan the breeze

fan the flames (of something)

hit the fan

when the shit hits the fan

fan the flames

shit will hit the fan, the

fan the flames

the shit hits the fan

when the shit hits the fan

fan the ˈflames (of something)

(when) the ˌshit hits the ˈfan

fan out

fan

fan the breeze

hit the fan

when the shit hits the fan

hit the fan

when the shit hits the fan

fan the flames, to

shit hits the fan, (when) the

fan

fan,

Fan

REFERENCES

Fan

REFERENCES

fan

Fan

fan

fan

fan

fan

fan

FAN

fan

Synonyms for fan

noun blower

Synonyms

verb blow

Synonyms

verb stimulate

Synonyms

phrase fan out

Synonyms

noun supporter

fan¹

fan²

fan¹

fan²

fan¹

fan²

fan¹

fan²