Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
We 've had some discussion with the College to seek to resolve this , and the proposals erm , are set out in paragraph four , three , er , in that it would mean that the College would not take over the ownership of the site , er , and it , but , but they would continue to occupy their part of the site er , effectively rent free from the County Council , but if , at any time , they decided they , the College wanted to move away from the site , it would revert to the County Council , it would n't actually become a College asset . I think probably Chairman , it 's the best deal that we could get in the circumstances . I think , Chairman , that 's still subject to approval by the E A B , erm , which is at the end of the day , the important party that has to be satisfied , so , these are very successful negotiations , but we , we 're still awaiting erm , confirmation they 've been accepted . By whom ? By the Education Assets Board .
Idiom: do me a favour (used idiomatically: no)
Date : Fri , 19 Nov 1993 15:48:40 GMT0BST Subject : Re : meeting at spurs Can any of you who are meeting up for the spurs game do me a favour , please ? I 'm supposed to me meeting up with halvard on sunday when he comes up to newcastle , but I think he left for england before I had time to mail him my phone number . If you see him , can you let him know that it 's 091 224 1671 , and that I should be in tomorrow evening until around 7:30
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: no)
As she filled in the forms for him , the girl in Despatch , big and black and at last a friendly face , told him she was from Mississippi , and sure as hell she hated Greeks , Athens , moussaka and retsina . In front of him , she sealed the cigar butt in the plastic sachet into a small tin box and then into the padded envelope . The package was addressed to the Laboratory Division of F.B.I.H.Q. Erlich , like every other Fed , had plenty to grumble about in the running of the Bureau , but the Laboratory was the best . ‘ You okay , Mr Erlich?’ He 'd slept poorly .
Idiom: come to a head (used idiomatically: yes)
From below the Welsh dresser , the cat watched with sulphurous eyes , disturbed by this small change of routine . Her son would be annoyed . His hand would come up to his head and he would wipe back his hair in a little , unconscious gesture of annoyance . Ada Gaily grinned , squatting on the kitchen chair . Let him be .
Idiom: put someone in mind of (used idiomatically: no)
What d'ya you were saying Karen how d'ya have to how did you manage to do it ? You may just sort of er form a picture in your mind just sit there and lip read sort of concentrate . Look at the floor put a picture in your mind of what they 're saying and it seems sort of . What about getting the do you do you get the gist but not the details . Yes .
Idiom: bow and scrape (used idiomatically: no)
God knows how long the poor bastard has been lying there . Now move it before I kick both your arses!’ The beadles backed off , bowing and scraping as if the coroner was the Regent himself . Cranston turned and flicked his fingers at the urchin . The boy , arms and legs as thin as sticks , his eyes dark and round in a long , white face , came over , his thumb stuck in his mouth .
Idiom: fun and games (used idiomatically: yes)
Late that afternoon she had a telephone call from Joe Martin , just back from a trip to New York . ‘ Hi , Mel!’ he said breezily . ‘ I see you 've been having more fun and games!’ ‘ What 's that supposed to mean?’ ‘ I 've been catching up on the week 's news , and who do I find hitting the headlines yet again?’
Idiom: odds and ends (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I just wondered.’ After a moment she went , closing the door behind her . Wycliffe had a little room where he kept his books and papers , his photographs and odds and ends he valued . It had a desk , a chair , bookshelves and cupboards . The contents of that room had grown with him ; they were an extension of his personality , intimate and revealing .
Idiom: on the blink (used idiomatically: yes)
Sir : Can nothing be done to stop these wildcat strikes by escalators on the Underground ? I do not know how they communicate with each other , but their organisation is formidable . No sooner does one learn to avoid one station than another goes on the blink . No prior warning can be given to travellers as it is obvious that the public address system has been infiltrated and now issues an even worse form of gobbledygook than hitherto . Some say the escalators are controlled by the cones which march up and down the M1 , but I find this fanciful .
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: no)
The answer came with a laugh . ‘ Well , New Zealanders ruck and you do n't . If a man lies on the ball and is given a good rucking he will think twice about doing it next time . As long as the feet are moving backwards it 's fair — providing you leave the head alone . It slows the game down so much when you have people killing the ball , but it 's not the fault of the players , it 's the referees who allow it’ .
Idiom: take it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
Sowing a new lawn can be done from late August . Prepare the seedbed thoroughly first , being sure to eliminate all weeds . Take it easy Martin Latimer BBC Radio Derby The flower garden in August is reaching its climax .
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: no)
Intended to support economic reforms over a 10-month period , the credit would be issued in four tranches . In addition , SDR76,800,000 were made available under the compensatory and contingency financing facility ( CCFF ) to offset the increased cost of Romania 's oil imports . In tandem with the IMF credit , Romania was granted a structural adjustment loan worth $ 400,000,000 from the World Bank . EUROPE CIS
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
I would n't 've talked that way if I knew that.’ They were in Blenheim now . Nathan leaned forwards , stared at scenery that , even in the dark , he knew off by heart and could recite . That tree , that store , that view . And there was the gatepost Dad had driven into because he 'd been eyeing some young girl instead of looking where he was going .
Idiom: sign on the dotted line (used idiomatically: yes)
This fund - raising sideshow will now take place in January . LEVITATION , Terry Bickers ' experimental spacerock outfit , are to sign to Chrysalis . The band , who recently left the Rough Trade label despite having signed what was rumoured to be the indie label 's largest deal since The Smiths , are set to sign on the dotted line with Chrysalis within the next two weeks . Levitation , who became the subject of intense interest from major labels on leaving Rough Trade , plan to play low - key shows at the end of November before going into the studio to record material for New Year release . ICE CUBE issues his third solo LP at the end of the month , despite rumours that the record would not be released in the UK .
Idiom: tell tales (used idiomatically: yes)
By Betty Jerman LIVE theatre , as we have come to call it since the advent of television , is a feature of Christmas , never forgotten . Theatres specialise for children , ready to tell us tales , ancient and modern , in spectacular fashion . Of course there is also pantomime and now in a museum ! London 's Theatre Museum could rout its critics by putting on its very first , entitled Cinderella And Her Very Ugly Sisters , as well as a Panto Fun Week of workshops where families can find out how Daisy the Cow negotiates the stage or how a handsome actor is turned into an Ugly Sister , or personally seem to be a Dame or a Principal Boy by being photographed with face beaming through a cut - out stylised figure .
Idiom: leave someone in the lurch (used idiomatically: yes)
A perfunctory handshake with Mr Kennedy before the meeting betrayed Mr Kilfedder 's disdain for the Conservative 's presence . Beside him on the platform was another cause of Mr Kilfedder 's beleaguered countenance : the burly figure of Denny Vitty of the Democratic Unionist Party , a self - styled bible basher and ' big Ian 's ' man in North Down . Such is the bewildering complexity of sectarian politics in Northern Ireland that Mr Vitty — who draws his support from the gut Loyalist working class housing estates on the eastern outskirts of Belfast — has been left in the lurch by the Official Unionist Party despite campaigning on a United Unionist ticket . The Official Unionists , who are not contesting North Down , have thrown their support behind Mr Kilfedder . The non - sectarian Alliance Party , represented in North Down by deputy leader Addie Morrow , hopes with its message of peace and reconciliation to benefit from public weariness at the squabbling of traditional Unionists .
Idiom: talk the talk (used idiomatically: yes)
Putin ’s background was in the KGB , while Medvedev is a lawyer who has attacked Russia ’s “ legal nihilism ” and denounced the fashionable concept of “ sovereign democracy . ” Medvedev is familiar to the business world after seven years as Chairman of the Board of Gazprom . He can talk the talk at Davos . He wears nice suits . He does not look like an archetypal post - Soviet bureaucrat or KGB agent .
Idiom: close to home (used idiomatically: no)
So the fact that Bolton before tonight had got three points as too had Notts , is er indicative of the fact that Notts need to win tonight and they could do with Bolton losing . Middlesbrough and Charlton make up the group , Charlton tonight away to , Middlesbrough do n't play this evening , er no details as yet about how the game is going in Italy and we do n't expect to have any details either er because of the difficulties getting the score from Italy . We can go to Shrewsbury though because er that 's much closer to home is n't it ? We can now go live to . a great great save at this time in the game , they certainly do n't wanna concede a goal now .
Idiom: burn the midnight oil (used idiomatically: yes)
HALLAX — First there was Breakout , then came Arkanoid — now play Hallax ! SHYMER — Curses ! This tricky adventure should have you burning the midnight oil … BREAKDOWN — A pulse - pounding reader 's game makes its Megatape debut ! FRENZY — Weird ?
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh that 's terrible Well not bad . That 's not too bad this woman well I think its always when it 's in black and white you know Oh that 's the most terrible figure . Look at her feet !
Idiom: Bob's your uncle (used idiomatically: no)
" Well I do n't say yes and I do n't say no , I say , well , yes , perhaps , " Aunt Tossie gave the matter further consideration . " No , " she said at last , " the lace corsage and the boned neck , a bit ageing , do n't you rather think ? " She strained the black velvet across her distinguished breasts , then turned from the looking - glass,"Nip out all this lace and fuzz and , Bob 's your uncle , what do you get ? A sweetheart neckline . " " Oh , you 've got a Kestos brassière — quel absolute chic , " Lally picked the bust - bodice out of the pile of underclothes Lizzie had folded and laid , a picture of precision , on Nicandra 's bed .
Idiom: chapter and verse (used idiomatically: yes)
Like so many men he sneered at women 's intuition but conferred a quasi - biblical authority on his own . ‘ Little things,’ he 'd said when , just before he fell asleep , she 'd asked him the question once more . ‘ Do n't ask me for chapter and verse . You have to trust your gut - feelings.’ Barbara remembered last Wednesday and the odd little incident in Harrods .
Idiom: under fire (used idiomatically: yes)
GRAHAM KELLY , the Football Association chief executive , last night defended himself against the barrage of criticism that greeted his evidence in the Gary Blissett trial . Kelly revealed his anguish over the case that sparked a fierce debate in soccer and said : ‘ Would the game 's interests have been better served by Blissett spending Christmas in jail ? ’ Under fire from referees for his comments as a defence witness at Salisbury Crown Court last week , Kelly retorted : ‘ When someone is facing a prison sentence and all the immediate trauma that it involves for his family , I believe the sensitivities of referees should come second rather than first . ’ Kelly was talking for the first time since Brentford striker Blissett was acquitted of assaulting Torquay defender John Uzzell last week . Torquay chairman Mike Bateson was outraged by Kelly 's remark in court that Blissett 's was an ‘ ordinary aerial challenge . ’
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
You would n't help us if you could , would you ? But did you help him ? Your brother had a piece of paper in his pocket with Billy Egan 's hiding place on it . That 's what I think it is . And from the forensics , I believe Egan wrote it himself , perhaps to remember the address , and the paper somehow came into the hands of your brother so he knew where Egan was .
Idiom: at a pinch (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Perfect comfort . Can manage three . Even four at a pinch.’ He turned to Schellenberg . ‘ I thought of it at once when you made your enquiries .
Idiom: hold court (used idiomatically: yes)
The one place where you did n't need a reason for being . Being there was reason enough , strolling back and forth greeting your friends and acquaintances , window shopping , showing off your new clothes or your new lover , occasionally dropping into one of the bars for a coffee or an ice - cream . For about fifteen minutes he did nothing but sit there contentedly , sipping his coffee and watching their restless , flickering scene around him through half - open eyes : the tall , bearded man with a cigar and a fatuous grin who walked up and down at an unvarying even pace like a clockwork soldier , never looking at anybody ; the plump ageing layabout in a Gestapo officers leather coat and dark glasses holding court outside the door of the cafe , trading secrets and scandal with his men friends , assessing the passers - by as thought they were for sale , calling after women and making hour - glass gestures with his hairy gold - ringed hands ; a frail old man bent like an S , with a crazy harmless expression and a transistor radio pressed to his ear walking with the exaggerated urgency of those who have nowhere to go ; slim Africans with leatherwork belts and bangles laid out on a piece of cloth ; a Gypsy child sitting n the cold stone playing the same four note again and again on a cheap concertina ; two foreigners with guitars an a small crowd around them ; a beggar with his shirt pulled down over one shoulder to reveal the stump of an amputated arm ; a pudgy shapeless women with an open suitcase full of cigarette lighters and bootleg cassettes ; the two Nordic girls at the next table , basking half - naked in the weak March sun as though this might be the last time it appeared this year . At length Zen lazily drew out of his pocket the three items of mail he had collected from the Questura . One was a letter stamped with the initials of the police trade union and addressed to Commissioner Italo Pompeo Baldoni .
Idiom: by dint of (used idiomatically: yes)
A recent development with frightening implications is the isolation in several parts of the world of strains of gonococci which are not just partially resistant to penicillin , but can produce an enzyme , Β-lactamase , which actually breaks down and neutralizes penicillin completely . If this gonococcus should become widespread , the problems of gonorrhoea control would be multiplied manyfold . There was an outbreak of infection with this organism in Liverpool in 1976 , which was thankfully controlled by dint of exhaustive contact - tracing , and there have only been sporadic single cases since then , mostly imported from abroad . In the treatment of gonorrhoea with complications , a longer course of antibiotic therapy is needed and this must usually be combined with a period of rest , preferably in bed , preferably alone . Non - specific genital infection
Idiom: in the soup (used idiomatically: yes)
Xenly now looks the same , everybody has no hair on top and big full beards , everybody is able to pinch two inches , no more and no less and every person is in hospital with dire cases of food poisoning . ‘ Hal , you had to do something , it was n't your fault , the people were ravenous.’ consolidated Joy , ‘ Anyway , I did n't enjoy having lots of pets around the house.’ ‘ Yeh Joy , you 're right , but I should n't have used poor Barney in the soup , I knew he hated the water,’ said Hal . 28.9.1992 Argumentative Essay . Abortion should be a woman 's right to choose .
Idiom: hold your own (used idiomatically: yes)
and er worked till I was twenty one and you usually got the sack when you were twenty one , unless they were busy , very busy , they would say , You er , you wo n't get the full money at twenty one because er w I can get a man of forty one for that money . Th there 's a t three a two year period where you 'll be an improver , where you could have an increase in pay about every six months , bringing you up gradually . But should go to another factory and er hold your own in the factory you could expect to get the full money , which I did at twenty one . It came to about one and three halfpence an hour . You have to allow the coins changed now , the three halfpence is not comparable with the present pence .
Idiom: go downhill (used idiomatically: yes)
It forced many Japanese to recognize the need for reform and a strong national government which might achieve for Japan a better deal in external relations . Yet reform could spell disaster for a regime whose very fundamentals rested on a resistance to change . From 1853 , when the crisis over US demands for formal relations led the Bakufu to solicit the opinions of all daimyo , a move quite without precedent , Tokugawa authority went rapidly downhill . While the Bakufu administration had for several decades been subject to criticisms from within its own ranks , a more serious threat to its supremacy emerged from within domains traditionally hostile to it . During the late 1850s radical samurai from powerful tozama domains , especially Satsuma in southern Kyushu , and Choshú0 at the western tip of Honshu , began to steer domain policy towards open opposition to the Bakufu .
Idiom: without fail (used idiomatically: yes)
For the remainder of his free time , he had an established circle of good friends , whom he saw regularly . Most important of all , when duty called , Charles was there . Whether it was the Trooping of the Colour , a state visit , or Remembrance Sunday , whatever the time or day of the week , the dates were in his diary and he was on parade without fail and without question . It never occurred to Charles that Diana would find any of this odd or difficult to accept ; but her upbringing had been entirely different . She had never had any real discipline in her life in the way Charles had .
Idiom: for the hell of it (used idiomatically: yes)
It was seen as something to be avoided at all costs . It was the demagogues of Ancient Rome who first made proper government impossible . Citizens , whipped up into a fervour of indignation , simply stopped doing as they were told : started bringing horses noisily in by night for deliveries , not washing the sidewalks and so forth , just for the hell of it . Just to show they could . How the senators , the patricians , fumed !
Idiom: sweetness and light (used idiomatically: yes)
Can — ter!’ Nutty called sharply . There was a slight lurch and suddenly Nails found that all was sweetness and light ; he was moving with delicious ease , his bottom glued to the saddle , no slithering , no jerking , no bumping , just a pleasant sensation of moving to a smooth , easy rhythm . It was a revelation after the pain of trotting and Nails was cross when Nutty brought it to an end . Midnight came to a halt , snorting and pawing the ground .
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
An individualized approach based on a concept of efficacy can be sold to dischargers because it is ‘ scientific’ . Equity can be played down : ‘ I do n't know if it should be that important if everything we do is based on good sound scientific principles , because if people perhaps in the same industry are situated in different places in the estuary , y'know , if one was to point the finger at the other and say ‘ But you allow him to discharge such and such and you only let us do this’ , then we should be able to turn round and say , ‘ Ah yes , but you 're discharging in a different place and the river quality in this different place needs different treatment.’ … I think you can only treat them similarly if all other things are equal , if they 're discharging into the same sort of watercourse in the same sort of position . Because obviously if you had one particular factory on the tideway and another producing an identical product and identical effluent in one of the tributaries , you could n't treat them the same because they 're patently different cases.’
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
But in the post - Cold ~ War period , economic growth by itself has contributed to altering global power relations . Another defining event in 1989 was the Tiananmen ~ Square ~ massacre of pro - democracy protestors in Beijing . If not for the Cold ~ War ’s end , the West would not have let China off the hook over those killings . Instead , the West adopted a pragmatic approach , shunning trade sanctions and helping to integrate China into the global economy and international institutions through the liberalizing influence of foreign investment and trade . Had the United ~ States and its allies pursued an approach centered on punitive sanctions , as with Cuba and Burma , the result would have been a less prosperous , less open , and potentially destabilizing China .
Idiom: off the wall (used idiomatically: no)
Yeah . And some of it 's gone up alright , but he put a couple of strips up last night and it all bubbled and then he I heard him this morning shwooh ! And ripped it off the wall ! Yeah , well if it bubbles , it 's only air , you could prick it with a stick ! Yeah but , no you see the wallpaper actually stretched !
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: no)
' On your back , I think , ' he said , propelling her towards the bed . ' I 'm going to pull your skirt up , Ella , and if you 've got no knickers on you will get a bonus , you saucy little minx . I 'm going to envelope you in flesh , I 'm going to cover you like an Austrian feather quilt , like an enormous dumpling , you 'll like that , wo n't you ? And when you 've lain there , and thought of Adolf or whatever good girls do these days , you can watch me dress in my fine underwear , all pristine silk and nicely sticky balls . You wo n't have read your Henry James , of course ? '
Idiom: rank and file (used idiomatically: yes)
The foreign policy issues on which the left fought were of great importance to the activists but of relatively little salience to the mass of the working class , while nationalisation had faded in popularity — quite understandably , given the failure to develop a popular democratic alternative to conventional managerial practice in the nationalised industries , and to develop a coherent set of criteria for allocating resources with which to counter the charge that they were ‘ inefficient loss - makers’ . The propaganda onslaught by the Tories and private business interests must have helped to discredit nationalisation , but this can not be the whole explanation . Even Bevan reckoned that if the Labour Party were to campaign on a programme fully reflecting the aspirations of the rank and file party activists ‘ we could say goodbye to any Labour government being elected again in Britain ' . Fortunately for the Labour Party , the position of the Tories as the party of government was less secure that it appeared to be in the late ' 50s . First of all , it is useful to make a distinction between the party 's parliamentary majority and its share of the popular vote .