fall away

fall away

1. To fall from a particular surface, thing, or place. Glitter keeps falling away from those darn Christmas cards.
2. To decline or lessen. Because this project is taking so long to complete, people's excitement about it has really fallen away.
3. To stop supporting or interacting with someone. After I got that big promotion, I found that a lot of my old friends at work fell away.
4. To stop adhering to the beliefs of a particular person, cause, or group. I fell away from my parents' political views as I got older.
5. To stop following a particular course of action. I fell away from our original plan for the experiment when it didn't produce the results we'd hoped for.
6. To create physical distance between oneself and someone or something. I fell away from the trail as soon as I noticed a big beehive up ahead.
7. To reach a higher incline further away. Be careful because the street falls away in about a mile.
8. To disappear. When I'm with him, the hours just fall away—I've never had such a good time with anyone in my life!
See also: away, fall
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

fall away

 (from someone or something)
1. Lit. [for something] to drop away from someone or something. The paint is falling away from the sides of the house. Over the years, all the paint fell away.
2. Fig. [for someone] to move back or retreat from someone or something. The soldiers fell away from the line of battle.
3. Fig. to distance oneself from someone; to end an association with someone. The candidate's supporters fell away from her when they heard about the scandal.
See also: away, fall
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

fall away

1. Also, fall off. Withdraw one's friendship, support, or allegiance. For example, After the divorce, her friends slowly fell away. [Early 1500s]
2. Also, fall off. Gradually decline in size or strength, as in The breeze slowly fell away, or, as Shakespeare put it ( King Lear, 1:2): "Love cools, friendship falls off, Brothers divide." [Early 1500s]
3. Drift from an established faith, cause, or principles. For example, I fell away from the Catholic Church when I was a teenager. [Early 1500]
See also: away, fall
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

fall away

v.
1. To become gradually diminished in size, amount, or intensity: Company revenues have been falling away in recent years. The sound of the car fell away into the distance.
2. To drift off an established course or pattern: I slowly fell away from my work in chemistry and spent more time writing fiction.
3. To be shed, lost, or discarded: Before we knew it, the summer days had fallen away. As I exercised, inches fell away from my waistline.
4. To drop off or become steeper at a distance: The road falls away just past the meadow.
See also: away, fall
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • flake away
  • flake away from (something)
  • flake off
  • flake off of
  • flake off of (something)
  • darn tootin'
  • darn tooting
  • dwindle away
  • darn it
  • darn it!
References in periodicals archive
I believe the quickest and most dramatic way is to install a good fall away arrow rest.
For more than a year, I observed, listened and considered the value of a fall away arrow rest.
Here are the reasons a fall away arrow rest can improve accuracy and thus bolster your shooting confidence.
Also, since the arrow rest prongs fall away during the shot cycle, you can use more helical and or larger fletching.
Also, nock-to-fletch orientation is not as critical when using a fall away arrow rest.
To boost confidence even more, I've learned a few tricks in setting up a fall away rest.
Fall away: rest easy; A perfect shot requires a flawless launch--don't let anything get in the way
Moreover, he notes that while a pure synthetic will melt and fall away from the body as it burns--tending to self-extinguish --the blends hold together, giving flames and heat a greater chance of causing body burns.
The danger of polyester-cotton blends
What's the betting that as the pounds sterling pile up, so the pounds in weight will fall away.
Government plans
Llandudno face a daunting task at Llangefni, who still have an outside chance of the league title, should leaders Ruthin or second placed Nant Conwy fall away.
RUGBY UNION: Seasiders' revenge bid
In practice, the solid bits tend to fall away from the liquid, so Herzberg and others have proposed instead that komatiites could come from peridotite with only a small degree of melting but at very high pressures.
Under the volcano: lava in the lab
But Darlo clung on and Hodgson said: "We're now in a great position but I've seen teams fall away at this stage too.
Sports Letter: JUSTE THE JOB; Grimsby 0 Darlington 1
About as surprising, then, as one telling us chocolate gives inner peace of mind, a fabulous complexion and makes the pounds fall away...
Sue Carroll Column: Choc and bull story
Once we got the second they seemed to fall away. And we were unlucky not to score more."
He's two good