Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: play ball (used idiomatically: yes)
' The same will apply to a ruck if the ball becomes unplayable except when the referee is unable to determine the team responsible . ' Many of these proposals have been looked at together as being inter - related . The more significant changes concern the activities of offside players who until now have not been penalised if they do not advance closer than 10 metres from a player waiting to play the ball . In future they will be out of the game until they have been put on - side . Dropped goals from free kicks are no longer permissible ; hookers may raise their feet the moment the ball leaves the scrum - half 's hands ; and in the tackle the next player ( other than the tackler ) must be on his feet when he plays the ball .
Idiom: no man's land (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ This is what this song is all about / This is what this song is all about’ rants Andy in the voice of a grizzly bear with PMT . Nobody has any idea what he 's on about in the mangled trance opening song ‘ Bong’ , but at least there 's some conviction and fire . The new songs , which follow the brief rewind through absurdo oldster ‘ Fishes Eyes’ , are big , bold rough - house dance things which actually cohere rather than drift into percussive jam no - man 's - land . The single ‘ It 's Not What You Know’ , a remarkable welding together of headband aesthetics and hypnotic syncopation , is a curmudgeonly diamond of a song . ‘ American Money’ , ‘ Kyphos’ and ‘ Patchwork Lives’are tunes of distinction too , super imposing , thanks to a phrase here and a lugubrious melodic twist there , a veil of real - life grime over the swaying dance beats .
Idiom: home and dry (used idiomatically: yes)
The courts would not grant an injunction to force people to work somewhere they do not wish to work . One solution is to state that any financial benefits are only paid when the move has taken place . But even then employers are not necessarily home and dry . Employees may try working at the new location for a short time and then decide not to continue . The redundancy payments legislation allows employees a four - week trial period in which to make up their minds .
Idiom: show the flag (used idiomatically: yes)
Like a charm.’ ) was not original , but at least she had met Norman Fowler and Jeffrey Archer . She had , as her Petty Officer father would have put it , ‘ shown the flag’ . Her every move had been followed by jaundiced and world - weary senior politicians ; she had noticed a gleam of lust in the good eye of a privy Councillor , and Peter Riddell of The Times had made a note of her name . The food was not at all bad , either .
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: yes)
Challengers save deepest blushes of San Diego organisers By Tim Jeffery in San Diego WHEN it comes to marketing the greatest sailing regatta in the world — the America 's Cup — the visiting nations in San Diego have beaten the host city hands down . By any yardstick , starting even with television , the visiting countries have shown more initiative . The defenders ' and challengers ' Cup trials , for example , have been covered by only ESPN , the sport cable channel , in the United States .
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: yes)
NED 'S ATOMIC DUSTBIN 's debut LP ‘ God Fodder ’is released on Furtive , through Sony Music on April 1 . Featuring their current hit ‘ Happy’ as well as previously released singles ‘ Kill Your Television’ , ‘ Until You Find Out’and ‘ Grey Cells Green’ , the album is available in all formats , with no bonus tracks on CD or cassette . The LP is produced by Jessica Corcoran in tandem with the band and coincides with the tail end of their current tour , a sell - out but for a few tickets for their London show at The Kilburn National on April 4 . NED 'S , CARTER / USM , THE WONDER STUFF and SENSELESS THINGS have joined forces to voice their opposition against a team of merchandise bootleggers currently operating outside their gigs . A spokesperson told NME : ‘ The stuff they 're selling is unbelievably shoddy and the T - shirts wash out after two or three washes .
Idiom: go it alone (used idiomatically: yes)
For example , after the election of 1983 the Conservatives had an overall majority in the House of Commons of 144 seats and the Liberals and Social Democrats had only 23 seats . However , if that election had been fought under some system of proportional representation then the Conservatives would have had a majority over Labour but would have been in a very substantial overall minority since the Liberals and Social Democrats would have held 160 or so seats . The Conservatives may have tried to go it alone and form a minority government , but some kind of party - splitting coalition government could well have been more likely . Coalitions are not alien to British political experience but it is as well to consider the implications of this form of government . In a situation in which no one party is likely to be in an overall majority in the Commons then the electorate is just not in a position where it can realistically choose between alternative programmes and alternative teams of leaders sure in the knowledge that the winning team will be available to form a government and eager to try and implement its electoral programme .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: yes)
To assuage the tension resulting from linguistic warfare , you have to go on humouring group A or group B or group C or group D , and conceivably all of them together . Resources have also to be diverted to strengthen the police and para - military forces who need to be used to subdue the language rioters . But , have a heart , you have to first keep the nation together before you can think of developing it . Home - truths About Homework At 12.30 everyone stops for lunch in Mary 's kitchen : Jane leaves her word - processor ; Mark and Lily their picture - framing ; Mary her computor ; Jean her sewing machine .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
HOSPITAL WATCH ‘ Working in an environment like a hospital , pre - planning is vital to ensure the least possible disturbance,’ says Dave Lomas , senior project manager . ‘ Where patient health can be at risk , you simply can not afford to be out of line with the programme of works.’ That was the case at North Manchester General Hospital , where Wimpey Construction UK Northern worked alongside staff and patients to build a new £ 18 million wing to the existing hospital . Disturbance to the day - to - day activities therefore had to be kept to a minimum .
Idiom: at a snail's pace (used idiomatically: yes)
There are no hansoms ; and if there were , a file of them would be needed to transport a very ordinary Sahib 's effects . The amount of luggage which people take with them , even on comparatively short journeys , would amaze those austere travellers who believe that the trunk and a handbag should be enough to carry them anywhere . [ In India]every white traveller … must move rather like a snail , and sometimes at a snail 's pace , with his house , or a good part of it , on his back . When he arrives at his destination he can not rely upon finding effective substitutes not merely for the luxuries , but for the common necessaries , which he may have left behind . Thus , like an army in campaigning order , or a ship on the high seas , he must have sufficient in his own stores to be equal to all emergencies.’
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
TSB Direct will offer personal loans , mortgages and insurance advice to the TSB 's seven million customers and customers of other banks who wish to apply . There will be two direct channels — a fast - answer telephone service for sophisticated customers and a postal service for the less sophisticated . The TSB claims it will offer better and cheaper financial services than can be bought over the counter in TSB branches . Essentially three loan packages are available for different income groups . They are : TSB Choice , which tailors interest rates to individuals credit scoring , UDT Direct , primarily for existing customers of the TSB 's finance house , and TSB Direct .
Idiom: on the cuff (used idiomatically: yes)
Who better to play Colonel North than North himself ? And who better to play Ronald Reagan than that old B - movie actor , the president ? They could always write his lines on his shirt - cuff . An absurdly large raft of congressmen and senators was set to question the witnesses , sitting on a specially constructed double dais draped with burgundy cloth ; none wished to drop out of the committees and forfeit a screen appearance . Witnesses beneath the principals were picked for their ability to present a simple , and therefore televisually satisfying , picture of the case .
Idiom: sign on the dotted line (used idiomatically: yes)
THE Ulster Grasscourt championships will be bigger and better than ever this year . That was the promise made by tournament referee Robin McDonough at today 's formal launch of the event at Belfast Boat Club . Already a number of British and overseas players have indicated that they will be in action at the championships and Robin is still hopeful that others will sign on the dotted line before entries close . The standard of play over the past few years has shown a considerable step - up and the cream of the local talent now face a daunting challenge in their bid to reclaim the title for ‘ home’ keeping . Most of the leading Ulster players will participate and with Carslberg underwriting the championships the prize fund has been increased .
Idiom: second nature (used idiomatically: yes)
Martin Grace had to run along the top of a train doubling for Roger Moore in Octopussy . ‘ It was child 's play . It was like second nature to me and I was enjoying it,’ he recalled . Then the 40 mph train made an unrehearsed diversion under a bridge and WHAM — Martin 's body slammed into the concrete parapet . ‘ I was very lucky I did not get wiped out completely,’ he says .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
In Inverness , Chris Nicholls was reported to be recovering well in Raigmore Hospital after being stranded for a week without food or water on top of the 3000 ft Slioch peak in Wester Ross . Rescue specialists said he would have died if the weather in the area had not been unusually mild . Mr Nicholls , 30 , a telecom network engineer from Warrington , went on to Slioch last Thursday , then spent most of the week wrapped in a polythene survival bag after twisting his ankle on the summit . Although well equipped , he had intended being on the mountain for just one day , and had taken only a packed lunch , water , and some chocolate with him . His main problem , however , was that he had not told anyone of his trip , and his predicament went unnoticed .
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: yes)
When we defend ourselves too rigidly against threatening aspects of change we can precipitate the very situations we seek to avert . If the fear of being alone causes us to cling ever more insistently to others we are , at some point , likely to be left more on our own than we would otherwise be . Here an inner momentum brings us face to face with ourselves and we can choose between perpetuating the old pattern or learning from our experience . Alternatively , an external event like the death of a loved one can precipitate change . Then we simply can not carry on our lives as if nothing has happened .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
NORTH WALES AND CENTRAL ENGLAND MOEL SIABOD A pyramidal mountain on the eastern edge of Snowdonia , with particularly good views . Easy first few miles before the start of the ascent with the formidable wall of Siabod in your right . Route to summit requires some tough scrambling , before a descent on the grassy northern slopes .
Idiom: touch and go (used idiomatically: yes)
The last 16 players will bid for the championship which was won last year by Mark Howe . Grounds are bog standard I SHOULD like to have your opinion regarding a touch and go subject : namely toilet facilities at football grounds . Who are the guilty clubs and who are the guilty men in charge of such matters ? At our club Linfield , the North Stand toilets are abysmal .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
Nor is there anything to suggest that Gregory was attempting to create a new genre of national historiography , although his History is often , misleadingly , described as a history of the Franks . He himself emphasized his concern to record the good and bad that was being done in his own day , especially in so far as it concerned the Church , and he noted among the principal actors , kings , catholics and heretics . His concerns are moral and religious , and in certain respects , therefore , although they appear to be out of line with the literary culture of Sidonius and his sixth - century followers , they do look back to the moral response which met the first wave of the barbarian invasions . Gregory 's moral and religious concerns were unquestionably a significant factor in leading him to write history . Arguably they are more apparent in the early books of Histories than in the later ones , where his commentary on events was constrained by political circumstances .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
' What ? ' ' I 'm saying , you 're going about this all the wrong way . They might turn up on time and do all the right things , or they might not . But having read out your little list of instructions , I now know exactly what you 're up to . And if you 'll just let me handle it , I also know exactly how you can get everything you want .
Idiom: nuts and bolts (used idiomatically: no)
To emphasise this safety point , Qualcast is offering its Power - Safe RCD at half - price when you buy one of the company 's mowers . The Turbo 30 came boxed with the handle in four parts , and the grass box in two , and was easy to assemble . A nut and bolt fixed the handle shafts to the top section : the blade spanner incorporates a small spanner for the nut , so only a screwdriver was needed here . Plastic pins simply pushed in to secure the lower half of the handle to the body of the mower . Instructions for the folding part of the handle referred to an earlier model with a spindle ; but the wingnut handles were obviously fixed by a bolt , and released by a few turns when the handle needed to be folded for storage .
Idiom: off the cuff (used idiomatically: yes)
Your solos with Elvis are legendary . Were they completely off the cuff or did you have some idea of what you were going to do ? ‘ No , they were all completely off the cuff . I never sat down and played the same thing twice . You might get a bass riff or something , as a hook for the song , but the solos were strictly ad lib .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: yes)
Kavelin had caught the empress with the second number in her hands as early as August 1857 , and by the end of 1858 the head of the Third Department was passing copies from the tsar to Prince Menshikov . Lanskoi and Rostovtsev read the magazine avidly . Although the first issue for 1858 welcomed the Nazimov Rescript with a banner headline , and although Herzen freely acknowledged that Alexander II had earned his place in history by setting the process of emancipation in train , by May 1858 The Bell had restarted its pressure for emancipation with land and soon it was insisting that much remained to be done before the process of reform bore fruit . Thus Herzen , in London , filled the gap created by the government 's response to the appearance of Kavelin 's essay in April . Meanwhile , reformers within the bureaucracy were coming into their own because they were concentrated in the ministry whose expertise was now at a premium .
Idiom: bells and whistles (used idiomatically: yes)
Recent MS - DOS and Windows users will already have an example , SMARTDRV.SYS . Although much improved in version 4 , I 've always preferred HyperDisk . This shareware disk caching utility has more bells and whistles than the Microsoft freebie , not least of which is the ability to cache floppy drives too . Add to this the numerous configuration options , hot key support for changing parameters once loaded and something called Staged Write , and you have a real winner . The latest version I 've seen is 4.32 , issued this May.
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
Asked me to help . ' ' What kind of sick ? ' She points a finger to the bedroom door . She wears red nail varnish . ' Take a look . '
Idiom: take someone for a ride (used idiomatically: no)
Dunnie A mischievous fairy - beast who , like the COLT PIXY , most usually takes the form of a horse , although also as an old man or woman . The dunnie , or doonie , most especially delights in taking an unsuspecting victim for a wild ride and then tossing him into a pile of mud or manure . It does have a benevolent side to its nature , though , and will guide lost children home and rescue sick or trapped forest animals . Dunter
Idiom: round the bend (used idiomatically: yes)
Love was weakness , compassion was weakness , attachments were weakness ; forgiveness , guilt , generosity , mercy — all weakness . He thought of Carey and fury bubbled up in him again like black lava . as if summoned by that anger , Tom Carey rounded a bend in the path , rod in hand . He passed under the rock where Ellwood was sitting and went down to the narrow spit where he always stood to fish . Ellwood stayed still for a while , letting the priest set up his tackle and make a couple of casts , then he slithered down to the path .
Idiom: out of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
' I would go myself if I thought it would serve any purpose to be killed before a blow had been struck . He 'll have to be quick . They 'll be out of that wood very soon . ' He saw the man Eochaid picked , and watched him ride out to mid - field with two unarmed monks and the biggest cross they could find , drawing men 's eyes from Thorfinn himself . It was as if a looking - glass had been diverted .
Idiom: take the mickey (used idiomatically: yes)
I mean , if you 'd been talking to him during the lesson he 'd say , well , if you want to talk about it , leave it till after the lesson . I mean , we used to talk about anything to him . Mostly he always used to take the mickey out of the girls because they always used to talk about their boy - friends and what they were doing on different nights and that , because you see , most of them went out with boys from the same school , see , and he knew them . He used to sort of let the girls know what they 'd been at . Mind you , he used to tell the boys about the girls as well .
Idiom: song and dance (used idiomatically: no)
But it was a roller - coaster ride for Swindon Town . The match had it all . The excitement ; the tension ; the disappointments ; the drama and even the song and dance act . The volume was on full blast . The fans at fever pitch .
Idiom: buy the farm (used idiomatically: yes)
Shrimp farmers dig canals to bring salt water to enclosed areas where shrimps are cultured . This salinates the surrounding land , reducing its fertility and rendering it completely unfit for rice cultivation in a couple of years . The rich shrimp cultivators then buy the farms at throwaway prices , creating widespread landlessness and unemployment ( as shrimp farming requires fewer workers than rice ) . A survey conducted by Chittagong University 's Economics Department showed that the Satkhira region , which produced 40,000 tonnes of rice in 1976 , yielded only 360 tonnes ten years later . About 40 per cent of the 300,000 inhabitants have been driven off the land by the shrimp firms mainly in the direction of the overcrowded cities .
Idiom: on the nose (used idiomatically: yes)
' I 'll know what you two talk about when you 're alone now , ' he grinned . He looked very handsome when he smiled , his mother thought fondly . Despite reddish - brown hair which would n't stay flat , those freckles on his nose , he really was classically good looking , and when Jack Foley smiled he would break any heart . Lilly Foley wondered would he fall in love easily , or did the rugby take so much time that he would just be satisfied with the distant adulation of the girls who watched and cheered the games . She wondered would he be as hard to catch as his father had been .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
A wide ranging environmental strategy , which has been supported by LDC board members , has implications for corporation staff , local residents and firms . The main priorities are : A comprehensive transportation study with a view to reducing the level of dependence on private cars . A guide prepared by LDC for environmentally responsible practice in site planning and construction for all developments . It is proposed the corporation should introduce a ‘ green’ award for good practice .
Idiom: cut corners (used idiomatically: yes)
Moisture Run your finger along the furthest edge of the rail . If it 's rough , the manufacturer has cut corners by not sealing the back edge . It saves a few pence but it is a weak point that could allow moisture to penetrate . Now for the drawer itself .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
' Heh - heh ! ' Ranald was n't sorry . ' Serve him right . He should n't leave it lying about . He near killed Patrick Glas two days past on the big birlinn at the far side of the bay , him and his dallta , for slipping and falling in front of his lordship when he was in a hurry .
Idiom: tread water (used idiomatically: yes)
He bought 250,000 shares lastMonday at 180p — currently they are 168p — and has spent £ 500 million in the past 18 months buying mostly retail properties in the provinces . ‘ I do not think there is any element of risk in British Land , or companies such as Land Securities , MEPC , Hammerson , Great Portland or Slough . In these times well financed companies can afford to tread water and pick off suitable acquisitions without pressure . Property shares have no friends at the moment so the stock market is just a panicky picture — exaggeratted as always.’ Great Portland chairman Richard Peskin also bought 75,000 more shares in his company last week .
Idiom: over my dead body (used idiomatically: yes)
You need a keeper — ' ' Huh , ' she snorted . ' Over my dead body ! ' ' Yes , well , you nearly managed that just now ! ' ' I did not ! '
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ He 's religious too,’ explained Camille . ‘ So why 'd she say that thing about ferrets?’ inquired Sam further . ‘ I dunno,’ said Camille , ‘ I expect she was making a what - d'you - call - it?— one of those things.’ ‘ A simile?’ said Sam . ‘ Something like that,’ said Camille .
Idiom: with a will (used idiomatically: yes)
Nora stared at him , hoping her confusion did not show . It was true ! Every word he spoke was true ; but she fought with all her will against the impulse to agree to his face . What was his game ? John had no such inhibitions .
Idiom: good riddance (used idiomatically: yes)
The most significant move in his cabinet reshuffle on April 21st was to shift Joe Clark from external affairs , where he had been nimble and sensible , to be the minister responsible for constitutional affairs — that is , in charge of saving Canadian unity . First , Mr Clark must roll back Preston Manning 's Reform Party , which has spread rapidly through western Canada from its base in Mr Clark 's native province of Alberta . The job is to purge the good - riddance - to - Quebec attitude among Reform Party supporters , and to get backing in the western provinces for a further set of constitutional changes , incorporating Quebec 's insistent claim to be recognised as a distinct society . Then the government must offer the French - speaking Quebeckers an alternative to their demands for political sovereignty , which have grown in volume ( if not in clarity ) during the past winter . In effect , Mr Mulroney is asking the man he supplanted as Conservative prime minister to complete the job which , after last year 's fiasco about the Meech Lake constitutional reform package , he himself has no longer the credibility to perform .