Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
DALE HEAD , Martindale . GREENROW , Penruddock . This property is situated on the western edge of Little Mell Fell , overlooking the Matterdale Valley . The original part of the farmhouse dates from the 17th Century . The date above the front door , 1772 , refers to the year when alterations were made .
Idiom: see eye to eye (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I left in exasperation,’ he declared . Angered by suggestions that his conduct was inexplicable and that he had not offered any constructive criticism during a 3½ hour inquest into Yorkshire 's dismal summer , Boycott claimed that the cricket sub - committee would not accept any form of responsibility : ‘ They have been in charge for five of the last six years but will not agree that they are at least partly to blame for the fact that Yorkshire cricket is in a mess.’ He said he could not serve on that sub - committeee ( consisting of Brian Close , Bob Appleyard , Phil Sharpe , Bryan Stott , Tony Woodhouse)‘when I do not see eye to eye with them on any subject’ . He also attacked Brian Walsh , the chairman , whom he called ‘ a clever dick’ , a somewhat foolhardy reference to a Queen 's Counsel . ‘ The hierarchy are now under fire because of the team 's performance and are seeking to deflect criticism by blaming me .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
The maid smiled . By the look of this young girl in black , she 'd have some explaining to do to someone . Serve her right . ' Cloakroom 's over there , ' she said , pointing . Kelly found her coat without too much difficulty .
Idiom: join the club (used idiomatically: yes)
We 'd never have been able to build a club up . Yes . And we we really decided that we would be much better not having all the hassle and just all joining or joining another club . Yes quite quite . It 's much easier just belonging to a club and not having
Idiom: odd one out (used idiomatically: yes)
Bryant and Bradley were not the first to notice that poor readers were also insensitive to the sounds of words , but their study is the first to establish the causal connection between the two . They achieved this by combining two different methods : a longitudinal study , following the same children for four years from before they were able in read until they had been at school for two or three years ; and a training programme that looked at the effect of giving pre - school children specific training in categorising sounds . They began by testing 403 children on their ability to pick the odd one out of a list like ‘ hill , pig , pin’ . None of these four and five - year - olds could read at that stage . Four years later they gave the 368 children left in the study standard reading and spelling tests .
Idiom: make ends meet (used idiomatically: yes)
That 's , that 's that 's what Kath thought . No ! We were having to make ends meet . What have you got to worry about ? Well I 'm saying what Kath 's
Idiom: old hat (used idiomatically: yes)
Tom was easy to spot in the crowd wearing his daggy old bucket hat .
Idiom: know the score (used idiomatically: yes)
Very hush - hush . Not many people know about it.’ Alec glared warningly at him , but Durkin replied with a broad conspiratorial wink , and slurred , ‘ We know the score , do n't we , Alec?’ Alec was appalled ; he swore under his breath . No one , not even his uncle , knew that he was attached to Military Intelligence .
Idiom: get lost (used idiomatically: no)
Who 's been painting my chair Oh!if I come into your bedroom in the night and pee on you , Yeah ? It 's nothing personal just I get lost ! have n't we ? We 've got but it 'll be alright
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: yes)
THE THREAT TO THE ENVIRONMENT Development pressures in the south east are perceived by many ordinary people , as well as pressure groups , as a threat to the physical and social nature of the traditional English countryside . Although the government remains committed , at least on paper , to the preservation of high quality agricultural land and open countryside , the demands for more housing , roads and industrial development in other areas are frequently unpopular . The industrialisation of agriculture and the spread of commercial forestry also arouse opposition because of their impact on rural landscapes , wildlife , the welfare of farm animals and , most recently , the safety and quality of food . Critics of opponents to development frequently accuse them of being blinded by nostalgia and motivated by personal vested interest .
Idiom: put two and two together (used idiomatically: yes)
One day , however I noticed that one of the zoanthids had disappeared . Keeping an eye on the colony over the next fortnight I saw that another half - dozen polyps had followed the first . I also noticed that the chiton was growing rather quickly , so put two and two together and removed it , whereupon the polyps stopped disappearing . It just goes to show that you ca n't believe all you read . Scavengers
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: no)
MASSIVE WALL FOR SHEFFIELD by Chris Craggs Sheffield has always lagged behind other areas in the provision of a good climbing wall . After a long battle one was opened in the Polytechnic gymnasium , with the BMC footing the not inconsiderable bill . In mid - December last year the Foundry opened in an old mill building and the balance has been redressed in favour of the city with the highest density of climbers in the country . This place is so good that some Peak activists reckon they will take their holidays indoors next year !
Idiom: on the wagon (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I quit drinking,’ he says . ‘ It was a social habit that started to get in the way.’ When boozing has led to brawling , some hellraising stars , like Willis , have gone on the wagon . It was n't that long ago that John Hurt was drinking heavily , and had been doing so for years . It was only when his drunken behaviour led to blows that he started to reform .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
The decision here will depend on whether or not you want to be able to watch broadcast TV . ( c ) Colour or black and white ? This question is almost obsolete as far as the classroom is concerned , since almost all programmes are made in colour and you are likely to lose impact and sometimes visual information by viewing them in black and white . It is however worth remembering that black and white TV sets are now very cheap , and if , for instance , you are setting up previewing facilities for teachers a small black and white monitor or TV set is all you need . ( a ) Remote control keypads
Idiom: not on your life (used idiomatically: yes)
And tell this steaming wet nelly that we are , in fact , THE QUIREBOYS and that we have a terrible punishment planned to chastise such arrant , nay , wanton sexism ? Not on your life , mate ! ! ! ' JACQUI ' : Pucker up , luvva . 3 .
Idiom: under lock and key (used idiomatically: yes)
THE Queen 's speech was leaked less than 24 hours after it was recorded . Here is how events unfolded : Monday 9 pm : Finished tape is taken to BBC events unit at Kensington House , Shepherd 's Bush , west London , where it is kept ‘ under lock and key’ , according to a BBC spokesman . Tuesday 9 am : Tape delivered under tight security personally to BBC TV Centre , then handed to duty presentation editor . Seven copies were made .
Idiom: down the drain (used idiomatically: no)
A tanker driver on his way to an illegal dump in Co. Dublin , with a load of chromium - polluted effluent , decided that going home for his tea was a more attractive proposition than completing his run . So , he tipped the load down a drain in Co. Cork . Unfortunately for him , the drain led to the River Gradouge and killed the fish in it .
Idiom: take it or leave it (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's quite easy to see where clichés come from . They 're very often no more or less than the exact truth . Her mouth was like a rosebud — take it or leave it . She was always quiet , which I liked because it gave me a chance to talk without interruption . She was the ideal audience .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah , what did he say ? Oh I think he was just surprised , I do n't think he knew , you know , I mean Because I 'm on a district executive committee at the moment and I do n't , that name does n't ring a bell He 's erm he 's about , I suppose he 's about my height probably slightly slimmer
Idiom: out of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
The stony - hearted shore upon which she had been washed up was always in sight of a fretting , dull , menacing sea : potentially dangerous , urged on by the tide , looking for a killing . And the vigorous , life - enhancing breakers that plunged inland , that might have deposited her on soft , rich , regenerative soil , were involved in a never - consummated effort , frustrated by the moon . She climbed out of the wood by means of a stile and took the path that led round the cornfield . She saw the Colonel coming towards her , his gun tucked under his arm . ‘ Did you realise who it was?’
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: yes)
Resist the temptation to blame herbicides Many things are blamed for poor blackgrass control and there is a growing tendency to condemn herbicide resistance . But before jumping to that conclusion it is worth pondering whether the weed is more resistant to husbandry practice rather than the herbicide . Poor seed - beds , dry conditions and spraying at the wrong time or the wrong rate could all explain the appearance of the yield - sapping weed . Consider those possibilities before writing the problem off as resistance .
Idiom: fall off the back of a lorry (used idiomatically: yes)
He did n't he did What they do fall off the back of a lorry ? Huh , it was a bloody gardener Expensive one that
Idiom: too clever by half (used idiomatically: yes)
Tom Shone , writing in the Sunday Times , was also struck far from dumb by Mr Meades ' novel : ‘ This novel bristles , like a Swiss army knife , with an array of pre - emptive critical barbs , with the result that there 's no abuse you can hurl at it which it has n't already hurled at itself . The word ‘ pyrotechnic’ recurs from page to page with studied insouciance , a covert challenge from Meades as he sits back paring his fingernails : tell me something I do n't know already .’ The review continued : ‘ The novel positively courts the charge of ‘ too clever by half’ with a series of condescending footnotes to some of its more arcane vernacular ; and it hugs failure to its chest in the form of Guy Vallender 's motto : ‘ Fireworks thrill because they disappoint.’ By this standard Meades ’ standard , Pompey is a work of some genius . By any other it seems , well , pyrotechnic , condescending and too clever by half.’
Idiom: on the trot (used idiomatically: yes)
2 DESERT ISLAND DISCS Gustave used to look back on his summer holidays at Trouville — spent between Captain Barbey 's parrot and Mme Schlesinger 's dog — as among the few tranquil times of his life . Reminiscing from the autumn of his mid - twenties , he told Louise Colet that ‘ the greatest events of my life have been a few thoughts , reading , certain sunsets by the sea at Trouville , and conversations of five or six hours on the trot with a friend [ Alfred k Poittevin]who is now married and lost to me.’ In Trouville he met Gertrude and Harriet Collier , daughters of a British naval attache . Both , it seems , became enamoured of him .
Idiom: meet someone halfway (used idiomatically: no)
Mama has not done that . She has n't softened , she is n't resigned . ' ' So Constanza went and met her mother halfway at Nice . She came back defeated ; she had not been able to move her . ' Constanza 's next task would have been to get her to leave Italy … without too much pain .
Idiom: make a meal of (used idiomatically: yes)
( II.iii.86ff . ) . This is what any innocent hostess would say in those circumstances : Lady Macbeth knows exactly how things ought to look ( scheinheilig , as one says in German ) . Her husband makes a veritable meal of professing his regrets : The multiple functions of dramatic irony are apparent here , for this speech is both self - fulfilling — Macbeth will not enjoy any ' blessed time ' from this point onwards — and literally true , since ' grace is dead ' , and Macbeth has killed it ( one of its forms is sleep , which he has also murdered ) . ' The spring , the head , the fountain of your blood / Is stopped ' , he says to the king 's sons , but as Shakespeare soon makes clear , the lifeblood of the whole state has been dammed and perverted . The effects of hypocrisy in Macbeth , compared to Richard III , are far greater , spreading outwards from the king 's murder , creating correspondent perversions in the whole realm of nature .
Idiom: Jekyll and Hyde (used idiomatically: yes)
Some inevitably left a much less favourable impression . One grandfather ‘ was a very wicked man … whom we disliked.’ A Jekyll and Hyde journalist , who ‘ never drank tea or coffee — he believed in water , ‘ God 's ale’ as he called it , he was a natural vegetarian , he did n't believe in killing anything.’ Despite these high principles he had driven his wife to drink by abandoning her , and a crippled daughter into prostitution by making her pregnant : ‘ You see , our history 's really rather dreadful . And all that we dare n't say anything about ; I did n't even know until long afterwards.’
Idiom: go straight (used idiomatically: no)
Conversation at breakfast . Anna says : " We must be more systematic . We must know what we want , what kind of person we want to meet , and go straight for them . " I say : " I do n't know how you think we 'll do that . Dropping hankies is out and we can hardly leer at gentlemen from behind our fans , can we ?
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
There is a personal concern in all this for me , I ai n't a miner , but I do work and represent G M B and Apex members working directly for British Coal . We manufacture the conveyer belts that carry the lads to the face and bring the coal out . Between six and ten years ago , there was a hundred and eighty pits in this country , yes a hundred and eighty pits , now we have a handful left and it has been leaked that all thirty one pits will still be closed within twelve months , done quietly and by the back door ignoring procedures and over the years this is what has been done . Arthur Scargill , love him or loathe him , has been telling us but nobody listens . Well we know that in our company by the jobs lost , we know that in the Midland region because it could be a loss of up to ten percent of our membership , six thousand members .
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
In the first place , the tone in which advice is given changes from the strictly authoritarian to the friendly , neighbourly , perhaps big - sisterly approach . The old bullying manner is completely gone ; we now find a persuasive , informal atmosphere , supported by illustrations which reflect the text in their message that bringing up babies is hair - raising , maybe , but lots of fun for everyone — just as the clinical photographs and chaste drawings of the old baby books reflect their atmosphere of stern duty . Where in the 1930s the mother was given solemn warnings as to what would happen if she disobeyed the rules , the mode now is to refer her , with continual reassurances however , to what might possibly result from some mistaken handlings : ‘ Here 's what happens once in a while when the needs of the child are n't recognized’(Spock , 1946 , chapter on ‘ The Two Year Old’ ) . Where formerly she was told that ‘ the leading authorities of the day all agree … , now it is no more than suggested that ‘ many doctors feel … ’ . Spock is the supreme example of the friendly , conversational approach : just paternalistic enough to give confidence and reassurance , he is otherwise prepared to talk to the mother on equal terms .
Idiom: go the distance (used idiomatically: yes)
Chocolate . There was one fourteen - year - old . He was the nastiest , really dangerous because he felt he had to go that extra distance . Then they wanted cigarettes . I do n't smoke , for my health .
Idiom: go under the hammer (used idiomatically: no)
By George Campbell , City Editor THE pace is hotting up at Sotheby 's , the world 's top auction house . The personal wine collection of fraudster Robert Maxwell goes under the hammer on Wednesday and 237 cases of rare wines should fetch over Pounds 40,000 . Coming up for sale on Thursday is John Constable 's Harnham Bridge Looking Towards Salisbury Cathedral , with a price tag of £ 1 m plus eight magnificent water colours by Turner which are pitched at about £ 365,000 . In Geneva , Europe 's rich will congregate tomorrow to bid for the jewellery and precious objects belonging to the Princess of Thurn und Taxis of Bavaria .
Idiom: run riot (used idiomatically: yes)
We left Wick at five in the morning the following day to catch the tide through the Pentland Firth , on passage to Stornoway . We had just passed Duncansby Head when there was a very expensive noise from the engineroom , the port engine revs rose to a crescendo , then the engine stopped with a sickening crash . Apparently a crankshaft bearing on the port engine had gone , the crankshaft snapped and ran riot in the engine completely wrecking it before the fuel could be shut off . Glumly we returned to Wick on one engine knowing that it would probably be a pay off job in the middle of our tour . It was , and Venturous was laid up at Buckie for nearly ten months while new Cummins engines were fitted .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
That Mrs Aggie no longer went ragging in The Courts , but , instead , encouraged the children to bring what rags they had to the yard , there to receive their candy rock , and also the women to come on a Sunday morning to the barn and buy what they wanted , she knew was very wise . She also felt somewhat pleased , feeling that it was better for Mrs Aggie to concentrate her collecting efforts in the nicer part of the town . Ben called it breaking new ground ; she herself would have put it ‘ widening her scope’ . She had read the words , widen your scope , in a phrase book . She liked it .
Idiom: make heavy weather of (used idiomatically: yes)
That would be a fundamental change from the practice of Labour Governments of which the right hon . Member for Sparkbrook was a member . Mr. Hattersley I do not know why the Minister is making such heavy weather of this matter . I suspect that he is doing so because he believed what the Home Secretary said when he intervened . The statement made by the right hon . Gentleman on 2 July included the following two sentences : ' At present advice and assistance but not representation are available to those whose means qualify them under the legal aid green form scheme .
Idiom: by the book (used idiomatically: no)
From this stage I proceeded to a more general sense of superiority , which can only be described as moral . At school I would follow certain rules in an ostentatious manner ( while breaking others in secret ) and become severe , even morally censorious , towards those who lapsed from my hypocritically high standards . Most of these rules , I should point out , were petty , automatic ones relating to punctuality or tidiness and can generally be described as ‘ going by the book’ . At home I ‘ rationalised’(the word used in my diary ) the kitchen cupboards , according to a system in which items most frequently used were most accessible , and vice versa . I cleared out the forgotten corners which exist in every family home , sending old clothes to jumble sales , and asking boy scouts to collect useless piles of old newspapers and magazines .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
6 I 'm not too sure of the reception I 'll get . i ring her bell and stand looking pitiful , clutching my possessions in a Marks & Spencer bag . She opens the door . She 's been hacking at her hair again .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
The customer can get help round the clock , 365 days a year by calling a hotline .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
Hrun was one of the Circle Sea 's more durable heroes : a fighter of dragons , a despoiler of temples , a hired sword , the kingpost of every street brawl . He could even — and unlike many heroes of Rincewind 's acquaintance — speak words of more than two syllables , if given time and maybe a hint or two . There was a sound on the edge of Rincewind 's hearing . It sounded like several skulls bouncing down the steps of some distant dungeon . He looked sideways at his guards to see it they had heard it .
Idiom: strike a chord (used idiomatically: yes)
Still , I do not believe these scenes of cruelty are there to titillate or entertain . They reflect quite accurately the rough intimidating East End world which nurtured the Krays and made their brutish power possible . East London during and just after the war is lovingly portrayed , with an eye and ear for detail which strike a nostalgic chord . The milk bottle on the kitchen table , the women knitting and despising their menfolk with brilliant bitter humour , the crowded nights in the Underground station , all capture that incomparable spirit of the Londoner , and one of glorious Londoner in particular— Vi , the courageous mother of the Kray twins . Violet Kray is the heroine of the film , and she is played by Billie Whitelaw with a warmth which is completely credible and endearing .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: no)
He had stopped to put off his shoes , that was all . The long feet in their well - fitted brown chausses made no sound . He was smiling , if that could be called a smile that drew his long mouth out of line , plucking the left corner obliquely upwards . He said in the same low , intent voice : ‘ Is this what you expected of me , Harry ? Should I rather have brought with me the cross from the altar?’
Idiom: give it a whirl (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ One more night,’ I murmured to myself . ‘ OK,’ I said . ‘ Let 's give it a whirl.’ ‘ Brilliant!’ The next thing on Jenny 's mind was food .
Idiom: behind the scenes (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh dear . So we 'll have to put them Even if they do n't you can sometimes find that if you get behind the scenes that there is a way of doing it . Yes . Yes .
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: yes)
None of Cecilia 's ‘ placements’ , for example , managed to create anything vaguely resembling the warmth and informality of a real home . She was forced time and again to face the fact that , for so many of those into whose care she was put , it was just a job . ‘ What I would like to see,’ she says , ‘ is more regular checks done on those who work in care or offer homes to young people , because once they get through the vetting , if anything goes wrong , then it 's always you who 's to blame . Nobody ever points the finger at them.’ See Young Guardian on page 17 for more on coping with life after care .
Idiom: steal the show (used idiomatically: no)
An inquest opened and adjourned yesterday into the death of Charles Pratley , 78 , of Berry Court , Sadberge , who died on February 23 . Top band : Stockton band The Motive stole the show at The Northern Echo 's Talent 92 Search for a Star contest held at The Mall nightclub . The musicians will now go through to the final on April 20 . Meanwhile , the search for a star continues with the second heat on Monday , March 9 .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
We 're talking about a thousand covers , cos the actual extra cost of print once once you start printing it the run on cost is is negligible . Erm We 're having a few extra of these if you want to send something else out It cost five hundred and forty five to print two hundred of those , and cost eight hundred and fifty pounds to print A thousand .