Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: go to the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
Slump forces Norma 's shop to shut down by Sarah Grady THE village shop used by Norma Major and her son has gone to the wall — the latest victim of the recession . Owners Doug and Eileen Belcher say Premier John Major could have offered more support , both as an MP and a customer . Debts of more than £ 150,000 have forced them to close the tiny store in the village of Great Stukeley in Mr Major 's Huntingdon constituency .
Idiom: on the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
There is evidence for significant human influence on the vegetation from about 4000 B.P. , leading to further expansion of heather moor , reduction of willow scrub and tall-herb stands , and spread of grassland and pasture with Plantago lanceolata . There is evidence for some cereal cultivation between 1700–1100 B.P. , the time of colonisation of the Hebrides by Scots and Picts . The above interpretation of the former extent of trees on Lewis has been challenged by Wilkins ( 1984 ) on the grounds that birch , pine , and willow wood-remains occur in peats near Little Loch Roag and these indicate ‘ the extensive growth of Pinus on Lewis prior to 4500 B.P. ’ ( Wilkins , 1984 , p. 258 ) . Remains of birch , hazel , and , more rarely , alder and pine have been recorded from Lewis , Harris , Benbecula , and the Uists ( see references in Birks and Madsen ( 1979 ) as well as Wilkins ' ( 1984 ) own records ) , although the status of the pine records from the Uists is unclear ( K. D. Bennett personal communication ) . There is , however , no ‘ disparity ’ ( Wilkins , 1984 ) between the wood-remains on Lewis and our interpretation of the Roag pollen data .
Idiom: get on someone's wick (used idiomatically: yes)
quite , do n't keep on what 's on the news ? , see who 's died died , given birth and oh this stupid bloke gets on my wick , lovely boy Neil strikes again all this fuss about there 's a it 's only a horse
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'd still like to have Dagmar . ' ' He was bloody to you , that man . ' ' I 'm the goat in this business , Gaby . There 's always a goat ; the one that 's going to get its throat cut . You 're from Paradise Street , you ought to know about that . '
Idiom: rough and ready (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's the smell , the touch , the feel . But you 've got to avoid looking too slick . I like the more rough - and - ready , tough , biker look . They 're a design classic and they 'll never go away . I love leather to design with : it 's an absolute twat to sew , but brilliant on the body’— David Cooper
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: no)
Types of containers The display can be even more eye - catching if use is made of the wide choice of containers now available . Anything goes , from redwood timber boxes and troughs , to highly sophisticated and decorated lead urns , cisterns and tanks . Bowl - like concrete planters enhance such herbs as wallflowers , followed by chamomile , mignonette , cotton lavender , and dill or fennel for height . Lead urns are elegant with trailing jasmine , catmint , rue and lavender ; clay parsley pots could alternatively have small plants of feverfew pushed into all the openings , to flower all summer .
Idiom: fall from grace (used idiomatically: yes)
Anger was , above all , a theatrical phenomenon and Coward exemplified the type of theatre that was under attack . The films made from ‘ Angry’ texts seemed to mark a similarly definitive rejection of the previous orthodoxies , with Brief Encounter acquiring an unenviable figurehead status as the paradigmatic sexless , middle - class , British film — hence the scorn of the audience that contained Raymond Durgnat . As Durgnat himself put it , to explain the film 's fall from grace , ‘ Jimmy Porter came along’ . There are subtexts here concerned with gender and sexuality . It is Coward who is singled out for specific blame by Durgnat , his screenplay compared explicitly / dismissively to women 's romance fiction as if that , by itself , was a confirmation of worthlessness .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
Mhm . And so your lungs get a bit of fluid on the lungs , you get a bit breathless with it , and that 's often the first sign . Now you have had a few crackles but they 've been fairly easily sorted out . And you 're actually not on anything at the moment are you ? Just water tablets .
Idiom: in the raw (used idiomatically: no)
Her clothes had just melted away . She offered the apple to Adam — he took it not wishing to be rude Bit right to the core , saw poor Eve in the raw And immediately told her , ‘ You 're nude!’ The Devil was laughing his horns off — looked into the future and saw
Idiom: laughing stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Charity managed to croak . ‘ He feels as if you played him for a fool . Set him up to be a laughing - stock . A doctor working as a waitress . It is really weird.’
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
In their rejection of God , the people of Israel had tried to find help all over the place — in Egypt , in Assyria , by making themselves subject to foreign military strength . It had been fruitless . Most newspapers have a few pages of features , and that 's another kind of readership . Let 's look at what Jeremiah had to say to people who were trendy thinkers , concerned about the world about them ( with a little sex thrown in to make sure that the readers were suitably titillated ! ) Verses 20 to 25
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
In my , in , in Manchester we 've got two hundred and fifty odd in our Council which means we 've two hundred and fifty different employers . It 's when they start getting round to looking at our facility agreements , start looking at how we 're organizing , the councillors , even if it 's the Labour Council as it is Manchester , will soon cotton on to the , in the , soon cotton to their , their , their potential power in terms of threatening our ability to organize and UNISON wo n't actually be that far behind persuading them to do , to do that because they want to see the G M B getting smashed in local authorities up and down the country which means as far as I can see , we need some resources coming in to assist in our branches with local authority membership pretty damn quick , because otherwise we , come July the first , we 're gon na find we 'll be up against it . Already we 're seeing sector the er , those er new independent colleges coming along and saying do you recognize , er G M B and er during the single union agreement with UNISON and we 've got ta get our act together cos the only with thing that 's going on , we 're seeing local authorities getting smashed up and we 're seeing UNISON which will be going right across the board . It 'll put us when we 've been in the majority er in manual workers in local authorities . If we 're not careful they 'll be demanding single table bargaining and they 'll be then putting us in the minority in local authorities and we 're gon na see this union under tremendous offensive as a quarter of our membership in local authorities , so we need to get our act together and get on top of this now .
Idiom: kick the habit (used idiomatically: no)
It will run a sports injury clinic and counselling on stress , bereavement and tranquilliser addiction as well as the usual GP services . Health visitors and district nurses will also be on site . Chris Boardman has warned youngsters to kick the drugs habit and find another way of getting ' high . ' He spoke at the launch of a new antidrugs campaign in Wirral . The poster is a joint initiative between Wirral Drug Prevention Team and the Mersey Regional Health Authority .
Idiom: seen better days (used idiomatically: yes)
My grandfather , George Hey ( 1854–1916 ) , worked in a Thurlstone cloth mill as a dresser or finisher when he was a young man , but on the occasion of his second marriage in 1900 he gave his occupation as waggoner . He had moved a mile or so up the valley to live at Bullhouse Lodge and work at the nearby corn mill . The lodge was an old farmhouse that had seen better days . Like many a similar building it had declined in status but in recent years it has been handsomely restored to its former glory . The family historian who visits such a place would find it hard to believe that it was once the home of a mere waggoner if he had not seen old photographs that show its condition before the First World War .
Idiom: wipe the floor with (used idiomatically: yes)
Teena , Sams ' third wife , also rejected newspaper suggestions that she was offering to sell a book written by him about his killing of teenage prostitute Julie Dart and abduction of estate agent Stephanie Slater . Mrs Sams ( 44 ) from Birmingham , said : ‘ I do not normally swear but he has driven me to it . He is a lying bastard and he has just used me and wiped the floor with me . I expect he is going to die in prison and he deserves it for what he has done.’ Mrs Scargill arrested
Idiom: out on a limb (used idiomatically: yes)
And they say they have the support of Station Road traders for the scheme . Management of the nearby Colwyn Centre have also offered car parking space . A spokesman said yesterday that in view of the support from traders and shoppers , it appeared that the town 's chamber of trade was ‘ out on a limb’ in opposing an open air market . The chamber of trade responded that over 70 people objected to the Ivy Street scheme in a petition . Cigarette ' rewards ' at special schools
Idiom: tongue in cheek (used idiomatically: yes)
I AM proud of my mum for her courage . Over the years , she has written many letters to the News . Mostly she deals with moral issues , though some are topical or ‘ tongue in cheek’ . Like anyone else who writes , she is open to criticism . Justly so .
Idiom: nine times out of ten (used idiomatically: yes)
but squirted on , that would be it you know those orange drinks , which it says real oranges in nine times out of ten , it is n't there 's always some additives and what have you Yeah . because I used to have when I used to go around these for breakfast I 'd always have an orange juice and my cereal and then my fried breakfast it 's the only time I 'd eat a fried breakfast .
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
The other option for a Warlord is to put him on a wyvern or other big monster , but this is n't recommended . You need your Warlord near his troops to pass on the benefits of his leadership and to get stuck in alongside the Boyz . If you put him on a wyvern there is a temptation to spend half the game flitting about behind the enemy lines or stuck up in the air . By the time you 've bought a Warlord , a Battle Standard Bearer , Bosses for your units , and Big Bosses for vulnerable Goblin units , plus magic weapons and armour for the most important characters , the chances are you wo n't have many points left . In fact , the chances are you 'll have to go back and pare down your heroes to give you enough points for Shamans .
Idiom: all over the place (used idiomatically: yes)
JOKES NOT TO TELL AT THE TABLE On no account ever tell these jokes during a meal . People will puke up all over the place and since it 's your fault , you 'll have to clear up the mess . You probably would n't be able to finish your pizza after all that , either . Waiter !
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: no)
' No ! ' he said adamantly . ' I take you . I have no intention of letting you out of my sight . ' Maggie felt annoyance mounting . It would be easy enough to let this go in view of his problem , but she refused to be dictated to in any way at all .
Idiom: spring to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
The frequently mistranslated motto of the Garter , Honi soit qui mal y pense , derives from an incident at the ball to celebrate the capture of Calais when the Countess of Salisbury , either accidentally or otherwise , dropped a garter . King Edward bent to pick it up amid suggestive laughter , declaring ' shame on him who thinks evil of it ' , and prophesying that he would make it the most sought - after badge of honour in Britain . They are not words which spring immediately to mind when considering the honours system in general . Apart from the Garter , the Order of the Thistle , the Order of Merit , and the Royal Victorian Order , other decorations come not from the fount of honour but from the desk of a Whitehall functionary or the nudge of a political friend . Many of the most apparently distinguished honours are a reward for little more than longevity or political servitude .
Idiom: up to speed (used idiomatically: yes)
The rates of acceleration and deceleration depend on the load torque and inertia and are controlled by the timing resistors RA and Rp , which must be set accordingly . Finally the number of Steps needed to decelerate from the maximum stepping rate to zero must be estimated and the downcounter set to generate the DECELERATE signal when the system is that distance from the target . A linear ramp velocity profile is only optimal if the pull - out torque of the motor is constant up to the maximum required operating speed . In many systems the optimum profile is more involved , e.g. an exponential form may be needed for acceleration and an inverse exponential for deceleration . These profiles can be approximated by diode.shaping circuits ( Maginot and Oliver , 1974 ) which " round - off " the linear ramp up / down signal before it is input to the voltage.controlled oscillator .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
In return for these demands , the Blood/ Crips Organisation will : 1 ) Request the drug lords of Los Angeles take their monies and invest them in business and property in Los Angeles 2 ) Encourage these drug lords to stop the drug traffic and get them to use the money constructively .
Idiom: steer clear of (used idiomatically: yes)
From the gun he ran straight for his favourite place — the front — and stayed there until sprinting away from Burundi runner , Charles Nkazamyampi , in a time of 1:47:29 . Ironically , while McKean buried his accident - prone reputation , Brazil 's Jose - Luis Barbosa tripped up on the penultimate lap . The Scot , however , steered clear of trouble and maintained a three - stride advantage till the line . ‘ I came here under a lot of pressure , knowing I had to succeed,’ he said . ‘ I was here in good shape , but I 've been in good shape at other championships and failed .
Idiom: get a life (used idiomatically: yes)
My client 's reaction is one of total relief . He 's been on remand for twenty months and always protested his innocence . Obviously now he 's got his life to put back together which will be very hard after so long . He could n't get bail and he 's now lost those twenty months Male speaker
Idiom: on the ropes (used idiomatically: yes)
Probably not . Prevaricating woman . He sighed and set off up the stairs again , pulling himself up by his hands on the thick , frozen rope fixed to the outside of the staircase , the castle 's concession to their earlier request for a handhold on the often ice - slicked steps . Ajayi was in the games room still , hunkered over the small table in her furs , huge as a bear , perched on a small stool all but hidden beneath the furs and cloths which smothered her old frame . She did n't look up as Quiss —panting heavily —appeared at the top of the stairs and made his way down the length of the dimly lit room .
Idiom: on a roll (used idiomatically: no)
The Governors wrote again , to say that they considered that the School 's present difficulties and deficit of £ 170 6 4d were due to the introduction of the previous Scheme ( by then only six years old ! ) and to the establishment of Higher Grade Schools in connection with Elementary Schools . The average attendance at the Grammar School in the six years to 1881 was 138 , but in 1882–86,78 . Of the 1,500 scholars on the roll at St. Thomas 's Elementary School , no fewer than 240 were in the Higher Grade classes . The Higher Grade Schools charged only 9d a week , and the Grammar School fees were now £ 9 a year , or more than four times as great . NADIR AND REBIRTH
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Oh , but … ’ She was wasting her breath , she saw , for Ven was already out of the car and coming round to the passenger door . She got out and looked about to see that there across the road , in an area where buildings were few and far between , stood the welcoming sight of a small hotel and restaurant . A little startled , she looked up , and was more startled because Ven was much closer than she had thought , and she found she was staring straight into a pair of inscrutable and penetrating dark eyes . She saw his glance flick to her mouth , then back to her eyes , and as her heart suddenly started to thunder , so she felt a desperate need to say something — anything .
Idiom: in the short run (used idiomatically: yes)
The two principal schools of thought were “ roll back ” and “ containment . ” The former argued that nothing less than overthrowing communism – “ regime - change ” in today ’s parlance – would do . The latter approach held that efforts to roll back Communism in the short run were too risky , given the Soviet nuclear arsenal , and that the United ~ States and the West should content themselves with limiting the spread of Soviet power and influence . Containment prevailed , but this hardly settled the debate , as there were intense arguments both over where it should be applied ( Vietnam , Central ~ America , and the Middle ~ East all come to mind ) and how it should be carried out , i.e. , the right mix of military force , covert action , diplomacy and arms control , and economic sanctions and assistance . And now , exactly 20 years after the Berlin ~ Wall came down , we are well into the third phase – the debate over why the Cold ~ War ended when it did and how it did .
Idiom: send someone packing (used idiomatically: yes)
Hari took the tea Beatie handed her and set it down quickly on the scrubbed wooden table . ' There 's nothing I 've done that I 'm ashamed of , Cleg , ' she said softly , ' my father brought me up to be respectable and that 's what I am . ' ' I know , ' Cleg 's big hand covered hers , ' but , for your own sake , send your cousin packing packing or marry him out of the way , then no - one will have room to talk . ' Hari smiled ruefully at the thought of Craig marrying her and yet there was a sadness deep inside her , a longing that she knew would never be fulfilled . ' You 're right , Cleg , ' Hari sipped the hot weak tea , enjoying every mouthful , the Jones family were one of the few families in Greenhill who could afford tea at all .
Idiom: run a mile (used idiomatically: no)
Well yes , training , I mean it 's more of a jog , I 've had a little injury problem with a knee , but er like I say er , it really is a challenge and I 'm not going to let anything get in my way . I 'm having physiotherapy as well at the moment . Any of my old school friends in Wallingford that know me er well they 'll just never believe that I can run 26 miles because I do n't know if when you were at school , but when er when we used to have a cross - country run I was the one at the back and usually the P E instructor used to go round and whack us with a slipper , you know the slow ones and I was unfortunately one of those , but er now I 've been running with the Bicester Road Runners for what 2 years , er half , I 've done a few half marathons , nothing anywhere near 26 miles , I 've , my furthest run until yesterday was 16 miles , and yesterday , injured , with a bandage round my knee , I managed 18 miles , and I 'm pleased to say it 's still holding out and I 'm quietly confident that I 'm going to complete this , and like I say , if I can er well , just get the local businesses in Bicester interested and to support me , I say however small , just a , you know , if they , a penny a mile from just a few of the businesses in Bicester and , well , the Bible school could have , you know , a few pounds coming to them , which I 'm sure they 'd be , you know , greatly received . You sound as if you 're a bit of a masochist really after all this . Well , crazy , I suppose I 'm crazy , I 've always thought runners were crazy , I 've always , you know , said friends and colleagues that used to run were mad , it only started off to get fit for skiing , and well , I hit , you know , I 've got the bug , and er well it 's going to be my first marathon and it 's definitely going to be my last marathon .
Idiom: nip and tuck (used idiomatically: no)
Turning to see an intruder in our paradise , sharp disappointment falls into place . I see an overweight middle - aged man struggling to close it again whilst trying to hold his towel around his middle . Lucker and I glance across the nipped and tucked waves , no longer King and Queen in a divine state . He runs into the water with the wind behind him . Crash goes his belly and his arms flap up like a corkscrew lever .
Idiom: down the road (used idiomatically: yes)
I do n't know why . But it used to be called a ragged school . Well it used to be er one road used to be called Meadow Flats , and then you go a little way down another road and it used to be called the bottoms . One used to be called the bottoms and one used to be called the Meadow Flats and yet they both led to the same place . You could go right along there and th and it 'd land you right into the Victoria nearly .
Idiom: come to think of it (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ And I rather thought Ian was a friend of young Thomas , the Bishop 's son . They must have been up at Cambridge about the same time . In fact , now I come to think of it , was n't there some business they were all involved in with young Cumbermound . What 's his name , Geoffrey ? Not an entirely desirable young man but I 'm sure all that 's in the past now.’
Idiom: nothing to it (used idiomatically: yes)
Blanche chewed thoughtfully . ‘ Perhaps you 're right . There 's probably nothing to it.’ The sergeant called across one of the waiters to order another pint of lager . A glint of panic flashed in the boy 's eyes because he did not speak English very well .
Idiom: cook the books (used idiomatically: yes)
me a mint — Grist to the Mill . He said that now he 'd ' scaped Mah Hooks He was prepared for me to Cook The Books For the slander and the lies , any ' mount That I 'd dredge up to dress my ' count
Idiom: crocodile tears (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr. McLoughlin What we see from the Opposition spokesman is more confusion in the Labour party . At one stage , Labour sheds crocodile tears for the decline in the merchant fleet , yet in the next breath , it says how much more regulation it would like to be applied to the merchant fleet . The simple fact is that we believe , as the Opposition have so far , that the best way to make movements along those lines is through international agreement and through the International Maritime Organisation . That is what we are trying to do .
Idiom: come clean (used idiomatically: yes)
PALACE SILENT OVER DI SMEAR STEPHEN WHITE /DON MACKAY BUCKINGHAM Palace still refused to come clean last night on the Di smear letter . Top members of the royal household refused to name the person they believe wrote the ‘ fake’ note . But they hinted they knew who forged it .
Idiom: to a turn (used idiomatically: no)
Off the start line at Hayling Island Tony Marston and George Gyngell take opposing lines Mark Goodchild leads the approach to a turn A helmeted Chris Eyre Overall winner Mark Goodchild
Idiom: sleep rough (used idiomatically: yes)
He has to hoist me up . Mm . Well as I say I went out and erm I thought , well Jill phoned and she said at the time my mum had got a boy that was sleeping rough down the sandpits . Erm , with nothing . No no covering or nothing .
Idiom: white hat (used idiomatically: yes)
There was scaffolding rearing up the face of the house from the front garden and , next to the front door , a large notice saying : GORDON BRUNT GENERAL BUILDER SINCE 1964 SERVING SOUTH LONDON Next to the notice was a fat man in blue dungarees and a white hard hat . He looked as if he might well be Gordon Brunt . He also looked as if his mission might be to make South London completely and utterly miserable .