face first
How pratfalls end
Face first describes leading with the face, typically during a fall or dive.
Someone who trips might land face first on the pavement.
The phrase often implies sudden, ungraceful contact: He fell face first into the mud, She dove face first onto the bed.
It can suggest recklessness or lack of control.
- belly flopFlat, painful dive
- bellyflopFlat-front water landing
- diveHeadfirst water entry
- swan diveArched forward plunge
- plungeSudden steep descent
headlong · tumble · take a tumble · trip and fall · collide · brace for impact · prone · wipeout · chin · crash · directness · confrontation · fall · boldness · initiative · misstep · impact · hard landing
face firstfeet first
Lower extremities leading
backwards · on one's back · butt first · upright · sideways
face firstcautiously
In a guarded manner
tentatively · hesitantly · gingerly · carefully · timidly
face firstbackward
Toward what's behind
backwards · in reverse · ass-backward · backing in · face away
face, first, faces, faced, facing, facial, facially, surface, deface