Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: yes)
We have slipped back to a state of affairs which would be intolerable even in Naples.’ Other sections of the press reflected the same feeling , as when The Spectator entertained the view that ‘ roads like the Bayswater Road are as unsafe as Naples’ , or The Observer lamented how ‘ the ‘ gentlemanly ’’ highway - man ' had ‘ degenerated into a coarse , brutal ruffian’ . Charles Dickens had something similar on his mind when , in an embittered flogging essay of 1860 , he accused ‘ The Ruffian’ of making London 's streets as perilous as a ‘ solitary mountain - spur of the Abruzzi’ . During an earlier panic about garotting robberies and stabbing incidents in 1856,The Times had enjoyed the good fortune actually to discover some real foreigners to blame for the outrages , pointing the accusing finger at ‘ men who have been discharged from the foreign legions’ . The use of the knife , identified as an un - English custom , was the most worrying sign .
Idiom: make history (used idiomatically: yes)
But , in the end , it is the caddie who is indispensable . Opens have been won or not won by the bag - man 's performance before and during the world 's oldest major championship week . That the winning of a British Open championship is a two - man team even can best be illustrated by two of the great tournament 's champions of the past — two immortals who owe a little of their immortality to the men who strode beside them when they made history : when Henry Cotton won his first Open in 1934 , he paid tribute to Ernest Butler of Sandwich , a caddie who was ‘ uncanny with his advice concerning the line of the hole’ . Sir Henry had trouble with the links greens of St Georges , and let Ernest virtually take over . When Henry went to collect the famous old claret jug , he said , ‘ Butler was a great help all week .
Idiom: at sea (used idiomatically: yes)
Breakfast I 'd say and Oxbridge fare And Oxbridge talk we 'd often share ; We 'd speak of ships and times at sea Of missing wives and family , Of God and Buddha , bears and bulls
Idiom: hold court (used idiomatically: no)
From his father he had inherited the leadership of that association of Protestant princes known as the Party of the German Liberties . Their aim was to keep the Catholic Habsburgs from swallowing them up . Frederick and his queen , Elizabeth , daughter of James VI and I , held court in Prague for a brief season as The Winter King and Queen . Through his mother , a daughter of William the Silent , Frederick was also a prince of the House of Orange . At the battle of The White Hill , near Prague , Frederick 's forces were utterly crushed .
Idiom: a hair's breadth (used idiomatically: yes)
He fell , and the Manchu 's final stroke seemed to descend with unstoppable fury . Then Yuan froze . The cutting edge of his sword was a hair 's - breadth from Barakai 's forehead . Burun held his breath . He had forgotten that he was watching an exhibition .
Idiom: throw in the towel (used idiomatically: yes)
Tension mounts . Finally , the actor 's gaze shifts across screen to fix imperiously on the audacious fluff . At that very instant the fluff throws in the towel and sashays from view . The audience stamps and cheers . It 's at moments like this that something magical happens .
Idiom: right as rain (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'll give you a jar full of poppy seeds . Crush them to a powder and boil them , then soak the ankle when the water 's cooled enough to bear . That 'll bring the bruising out and the ankle will be as right as rain in a week or two.’ ‘ I ca n't afford to be off work for a couple of weeks ! There 's too much to be done about the farm.’
Idiom: fall into place (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I see.’ Ronni nodded . Things were falling into place . What Guido had just told her coincided with Jeff 's story . It was only in the last week or so that the two of them had fallen out .
Idiom: wide of the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
Some observers suggested that the timing of the announcements reflected the government 's desire to be seen to be spending money on the countryside in the run - up to the April general election . The announcement coincided with the publication of a government policy review , Action for the Countryside . This stated that : " Any notion that the economy of the countryside is fundamentally different to that in towns is now wide of the mark . Some rural areas have an employment and industrial structure which is akin to that of successful urban areas . " Speaking at the launch , Environment Secretary Michael Heseltine said : " There has to be development if the countryside is to survive .
Idiom: flog a dead horse (used idiomatically: yes)
Fortunately you can hear that voice right away in ‘ Rock ‘ N’ Roll Part One’an excruciating , honky bellow like the last breath of a dinosaur . It warns you that it 's time to reach for the stop button . Glitter is Dot Cotton in foot - thick panstick , flogging a dead horse until its bones are a pile of dust . The joke has gone on long enough . Marc Almond : angst in the sort of leather jacket your kid brother bought down the market for £ 39.99 , live at the Astoria with , apparently , three camera shots on offer .
Idiom: over the hill (used idiomatically: yes)
Reaching the top , Ruth looked eastward ; she could see beyond the forest to purple hills and faint mountains . If only , she thought ; but it was no good wishing , especially when she did n't even know what she was wishing for . She watched the swallows that had begun to fly over the hill in the last of the light ; they skimmed close , almost round her feet . ‘ Come,’ said Jake , ‘ we must go into the Treasure House.’ The Treasure House was cool and dim , with only the doorway and one small window to admit the light .
Idiom: play fast and loose (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ This is a sad and tragic business , with one young lady dead and the other knowing she has to accept responsibility for that death,’ he said . The crucial evidence was that there was no indication that the manner of Williams ' driving had been unsuited to the road conditions , and she had not been drinking . ‘ You are not dealing with someone playing fast and loose with other people 's lives,’ he added . Airports to lose firm A parcels carrier is pulling out of Stansted and Southend airports , putting 150 jobs in jeopardy .
Idiom: fall by the wayside (used idiomatically: yes)
There is little to say about this except that if living alone is a new experience for you you will tend to buy too much at first and waste a lot unless you cook and freeze . The way to guard against this really is to buy little and often . Too frequently I have made the mistake of buying fresh food once a week and either running out of organisational steam halfway through the week , so all the meals I had planned to cook have fallen by the wayside , or being held up at work or in some other way and grabbing fish and chips on the way home instead . Either way half the food I had bought at the weekend was wasted . If you are unused to living alone you will also find that you cook too much food .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: no)
TREVOR FRANCIS last night prepared to pile on the torment for German football . The Sheffield Wednesday player - boss was handed a tough UEFA Cup second round draw with former German champions Kaiserslautern . But after seeing Celtic sensationally overturn a two - goal deficit against Cologne and Stuttgart land in the dock for fielding too many foreigners against Leeds , Francis said : ‘ Their League has suffered a bit from an exodus of top stars to Italy . And my players can be greatly encouraged by what happened during the week . ‘ Although any draw against German opposition represents a big challenge , because I 've got the greatest respect and admiration for what they 've done at club and international level for over 20 years .
Idiom: piping hot (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ How are things at 6 Commando area , Piper ? ’ he enquired , ‘ The attack by the Black Watch has not gone too well judging by the number of wounded passing through here ! ’ A flare lit up the sky as Taff was talking , casting eerie shadows among the trees . I got into the trench and opened my tin of soup , pouring the piping hot liquid into a mess tin . ‘ You 're right , Taff . The attacking troops are certainly not getting it all their own way and the shelling from both sides is causing casualties in the Commando positions . ’
Idiom: twist someone's arm (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ No , Hilary , I have not finished , and you are going to stand there and listen until I have . I did not have to be persuaded to come and see you . No one twisted my arm . I had n't been planning to come to England , but I wanted to meet you . Gwen was just an excuse , and she lived in Norfolk .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: no)
And they are trapped and killed for food , or sold by poachers . Baby chimps are captured by killing the mother , which is brutally wasteful : the infant often dies , along with other chimps trying to defend the mother . Some small captives become pets but within five years they are potentially dangerous and have to be put behind bars . Others are smuggled abroad for circuses or tourist entertainments or sold for medical research : there are 1,500 chimps in American labs . The Jane Goodall Institute is fundraising and campaigning for more humane treatment of these pathetic captives , as well as for those in the wild .
Idiom: lose face (used idiomatically: no)
From Our Correspondent in Tokyo WHEN Sara Gomer , Clare Wood and Julie Salmon collapsed to a 2-1 defeat to Indonesia in the first round of the Federation Cup in Melbourne last December , they were the laughing stock of the tennis world , writes our correspondent from Tokyo . Tomorrow at the sprawling Ariake Tennis Centre here a changed , but not new , British team will face the same opponents , desperate to restore some of their lost pride . Wood remains , but Jo Durie replaces Gomer while Anne Hobbs will take over from Salmon . Although last year 's result shocked most people in the sport the British team captain , Ann Jones , claims she was not among them and therefore she had a firm eve-of-play warning for her players .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
Fifteen feet . Perhaps it was a tiredness resulting from the previous 14 pitches , but I could see no way of free climbing it at less than E5 , and I was n't good enough for that , not now . I fixed a poor nut in a flared pocket , and although it seemed unlikely to hold , attached a sling and stood in it . Ten feet . There seemed no hope now , nothing to go for except a curiously marked pocket which fitted two finger tips .
Idiom: bear in mind (used idiomatically: yes)
Even the early varieties developed in the time of Browning and Tennyson were nothing like the splendours of today , and one wonders what the genius of their poetic expressions would have made of the ethereal glow in the half light of ‘ Super Star’(see page 129 ) , the exquisite shape and deepest of all crimson - black red of ‘ Charles Mallerin’ or a hundred and one other modern marvels . As we have said , the ancestry of the modern H.T. is a genealogical maze — not to say minefield — and although tracing parentage is an absorbing passion for some , going to that extent is not the purpose here . The point to bear in mind is that all that glisters is not gold , and there has been a price to pay for all the splendour . The more the hybridizing and crossing back and forth has concentrated on the spectacular , the further it has taken the plants from the vigour of their natural origins , and the less resistant many have become to pest and disease . Evolved in the cut and thrust of nature , ‘ wild’ plants have to fight and resist — or perish .
Idiom: brownie point (used idiomatically: yes)
Somewhat gloomily we fall back on our beds in the room I have by now christened the Cell Block . There 's nothing actually wrong with it , but it 's soulless . Brownie points , though , for the clock radio , iron and bathrobes — if none for the heating , which consists of a Dimplex convector - cum - night storage heater . We try in vain to turn it up . ' Totally unsuitable for a hotel room , ' mutters my husband .
Idiom: marching orders (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ If he had walked away we would have been left with 11 men to their 10.’ Established to rekindle Anglo - Italian relations after the Heysel disaster , the tournament has only served to blacken the name of soccer . The red card shown to Walsh and Marta meant that a total of 12 players have now received their marching orders in a competition that has yet to reach its semi - final stages . Last night , in the rare intervals between bone - crunching tackles , there was some enterprising football . A speedy , sixth - minute break saw Roberto Paci intercept Warren Neil 's desperate back pass to give Lucchese the lead .
Idiom: go to the wall (used idiomatically: no)
After a few paces I stopped and looked around . Lovat had gone , probably tied to a stretcher , placed on a jeep and taken at full speed to the First Aid post . The attack on the village along the road was still going on , wounded and dead Commandos were being placed against the walls of the cobbled farmyard , waiting their turn as the jeeps ferried to and fro through the village . About twelve midnight the German positions in the village were over-run , and for about an hour the enemy mortaring in the farm area ceased . I had time to enquire about Taff .
Idiom: shoot from the hip (used idiomatically: yes)
Light shone full on Damian 's face , sharpening it , enhancing the tough angularity of his cheekbones , the winged black brows above glittering blue eyes fringed by black lashes , and the cool , ruthless line of his mouth . His lean and powerful body was relaxed in the black suit , long legs crossed towards her , chest turned towards her , and he was watching her with narrowed eyes , obviously rearranging his thoughts about her at a rate of knots . ‘ OK , Miss Swift,’ he said softly , ‘ shoot from the hip.’ Her lashes flickered . She paused , unnerved by the way he spoke and the words he chose .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
No it 's not the soap in that box is lying down in the coal hole . What ? The soap out of the box is lying in the coal hole , the empty box is in the bin . Okay . Hey listen you see these er the stuff you have in that cupboard there , the hot press .
Idiom: in the red (used idiomatically: no)
It stands in a small square , now some five feet below the present ground level , surrounded by cypress trees . The Turkish buildings which had adjoined its walls have now been removed and the church can be seen clearly . It is made of polychrome brick in richly decorated patterns in reds , browns and yellows . It has five domes on high drums with projecting cornices on each of their sides . The high quality of the brickwork is unique in the typical late Byzantine patterns of zig - zags , frets and diamonds ( 180 and 221 ) .
Idiom: lead someone up the garden path (used idiomatically: yes)
Nobody dares to interfere . It 's like some marriages — you just ca n't say ‘ That bitch has led you up the garden path!’ Some wives or husbands quite enjoy the times their pompous partners put a foot in it .
Idiom: bear in mind (used idiomatically: no)
Retrieve your old dreams and dust them off . While there is breath in your body , it is never too late to change . In the words of Abraham Lincoln ' Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing ' . Do n't self - destruct . Do n't be afraid to be different .
Idiom: Bob's your uncle (used idiomatically: yes)
Telephone number of one referee ? After that , the manager went through the procedure adopted : a telephone call to the reference number cited ; verification of credit card ; verification of driving licence ; verification of home address ( the last three usually completed within ten minutes or so on the International Information Computer ) ; preparation , presentation , and signing of the contract ( including appropriate insurance clauses ) ; then , paperwork now completed , the car brought round to the outer forecourt , with an assistant to give the client a quick run - over of the controls , and to hand over the keys . Bon voyage , cheerio , and Bob 's your uncle . By good fortune it had been the manager himself who had effected this particular transaction , and who remembered the occasion reasonably clearly . Well , it was only five days ago , was n't it ?
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: no)
This is that city which readers of Crime and Punishment carry with them for the rest of their lives . The novelist stayed away from‘stinking petersburg’ during the unbearably hot summer of 1866 , to avoid his creditors but also on his guard against what he called ‘ false inspiration’ . He relied on his mind 's eye and ear — and nose . The result is a townscape of ‘ terrible despairing cries’ which mean , and mean more than , that the drunks are leaving the pubs between two and three o'clock in the morning , the pubs that reek of alcohol and cucumber and fish . A townscape of nightmare yellows : sky , buildings , furniture , wallpaper , faces — the colour of age , heat , pestilence , bile and jaundice , bruisings and stainings , with a stronger connotation of dirt in Russian than in English ; the colour of the tickets of identification which prostitutes were required to carry ; the colour of Raskolnikov 's ‘ cubbyhole’ of a room ; and the colour which greets him when he comes to after fainting at the police station and sees a man ‘ holding a yellow glass filled with yellow water’ .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Did he leave a message?’ ‘ Said he 'd ring back later . Hope I did the right thing?’ ‘ Yes , fine,’ Ginny said , and her irritation with Ralph was suddenly replaced by pity . ‘ I think I 'll have a drink .
Idiom: fit the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
How particularly English that question of whether a chap will ‘ fit in’ . This is the dry sherry end of the appointments business . Many other jobs get handed out simply because a minister happens to know someone who might fit the bill . Sir Ian Trethowan slid comfortably out of the director - generalship of the BBC to become chairman of the Horserace Betting Levy Board because the Home Secretary , William Whitelaw , happened to know he was interested in racing . Others rise because they are politically congenial .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
This morning , Board of Trade President Michael Heseltine is expected to cave in to City pressure , and commit the Government to contributing money to an insurance pool to cover commercial property against terrorist attack . New Lord Mayor of London Francis McWiliams is said to have played a key role in persuading Mr Heseltine to turn again . The Government 's earlier reluctance to put its hand in its pocket had led property experts to accuse it of unwittingly aiding and abetting the IRA 's efforts to disrupt the City . They feared that , without proper cover , the City would lose out as an international financial centre as large overseas institutions moved their European offices to less-exposed capitals . London , City workers , and Britain 's balance of payments , all stood to lose billions if that happened — something the Government , in its desire to cut public spending , seemed remarkably slow to grasp .
Idiom: walk all over (used idiomatically: yes)
DAVID MAGEE saved the defending Torrie Stockbrokers National League champions , Kelburne , from an embarrassing defeat at Touche Ross yesterday . He scored twice in the closing eight minutes to force a 4 - 4 draw , a result which helped the Paisley men increase their lead at the top of the table to two points . Earlier however Kelburne looked as though they were going to walk all over the young Aberdonians when they raced into a 2 - 0 advantage from scores by David McKay and Michael Starling but a goal by Philip Webster just before half time gave the northerners a timely boost . They came out in the second half a much more committed side and proceeded to alter the whole complexion of the game with two goals from Paul Doney and Andrew Milne . Kelburne , winners of the title for the past three years are always at their best when forced into a tight corner and so on this occasion Magee was the man responsible for getting them out of jail .
Idiom: make tracks (used idiomatically: no)
CBS Records Raybans Lane Aylesbury HP19 3BX Dear Sir/Madam I am writing to ask if it might be possible for Oxford University Press to make use of the track ‘ The Chocolate Girl ’ by Deacon Blue in a non-broadcast educational video . The video programme is titled Project Video and will be distributed on cassette to secondary schools worldwide for use in teaching English as a foreign language . Project Video is provisionally scheduled for publication in September 1989 and we anticipate sales over the first three years to be in the region of 2,000 cassettes .
Idiom: home and dry (used idiomatically: yes)
The author of this disk has put the editor to good use designing a challenging collection of maze like levels . Get to level eight and nine and you go into pure shoot - em - up mode . Level 10 has the awesome super guard , kill him and your home and dry , if only you could kill him ! Level 10 is a challenging game in itself . Wolfenstein is so addictive you will probably attempt to play it to a conclusion by staying up all night .
Idiom: go for the jugular (used idiomatically: yes)
She flinched , caught on the raw by the starkness of the question . Anyone else would have had tact enough to at least dress it up a little , she thought wryly . Not Adam Burns , though — oh no , he had to go straight for the jugular . But then she should have anticipated that , since Candy had already warned her of the Scorpio ability to be cruel . She gestured towards the books lying open on the desk .
Idiom: easy does it (used idiomatically: no)
In some modern classical ballets too little attention is paid to the momentary holding of a pose as the focus of a picture to sum up — as it were — what has gone before . Similarly , few choreographers make use of a sudden change of épaulement to make an emphatic statement . It is not easy to achieve this effect if they do not take into account the dimension and spacing of the steps as well as their particular quality , which must be in tune with the music if it is to make sense . A contradiction in style during this change of éaulement or alignment can distort the design . Nevertheless an unusual change of éaulement or alignment can add interest and draw attention to a dancer 's statement .
Idiom: pick someone's brain (used idiomatically: yes)
The two of you , that is.’ She did n't believe a word of it . ‘ Well , I do want to pick your brains , just slightly.’ ‘ What about?’ She turned half away from me as she had , rightly , detected a brace of customers approaching down the aisle of tables .
Idiom: yesterday's news (used idiomatically: yes)
He said : ‘ What we have seen is the devaluation not just of a currency but of a Prime Minister and an entire Government . ‘ What started out on Black Wednesday as a tragic - comedy has degenerated into Whitehall farce.’ He detailed recent job losses including yesterday 's news that 2,000 workers from the Government 's Defence Research Agency are heading for the scrapheap . Then , returning to the weapon of ridicule , he wondered why ministers refuse to use the management techniques they want others to apply . ‘ They keep saying the idle and incompetent must be weeded out,’ said Mr Smith .
Idiom: for crying out loud (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Doctors do n't have time to be beautiful,’ Charity informed her ruefully . ‘ Besides it seems … superficial , somehow.’ ‘ Well , you 'll have all the time you need to be beautiful this summer — and that 's what summer is about , for crying out loud . Being superficial . I have a lot to teach you about having fun , Char!’