English

Alternative forms

• fair weather friend, fairweather friend

Noun

fair-weather friend ‎(plural fair-weather friends)

1. (idiomatic) One who is friendly, helpful, or available only when it is advantageous or convenient to be so.
   • 1871, Louisa May Alcott, Little Men, ch. 14:

     She put little nosegays from her garden on his desk, and tried in every way to show that she was not a fair-weather friend, but faithful through evil as well as good repute.

   • 1982, "Italy: New Image, New Influence," Time, 5 April:

     Pertini is being embraced as the leader of a staunch and increasingly important ally—a country that, as Reagan put it, "is no fair-weather friend but instead is an indispensable partner."

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