Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
Voice over Since 1937 , the uniforms worn by the British Army , Navy and Air Force have been made by the Gloucester firm of J Compton Sons and Webb . During the Gulf War the company worked round the clock to maintain supplies to the forces . But now the 95 workers are out of a job … the Ministry of Defence has given the contract to supply uniforms to workers in Morocco instead . The Ministry says it has a duty to buy from overseas if that provides the best value for money for the taxpayer .
Idiom: no man's land (used idiomatically: yes)
The Probation Department has four Probation Officers and a Senior Probation Officer to provide a service to the prison . Although very much part of the probation service generally they are operationally responsible to the Governor for their period of secondment to the prison and this uncomfortable structural position — with one foot each side of the prison wall — brings both problems and opportunities . ‘ It 's hard’ , said one Probation Officer , ; ‘ we 're not actually part of anything and have to operate in a sort of no man 's land.’ Work with individuals can capitalize on not being part of ‘ the system’ , however , and from their offices on the wing the Probation Officers have easy and direct access both to prisoners and to other staff with whom they work . With long - term prisoners and lifers much of their work is centred on the understanding of offending behaviour and the risks of re - offending ; with others , the whole range of family and personal problems call for tact , understanding and a good deal of dogged , patient work .
Idiom: man and boy (used idiomatically: yes)
In their eyes the porter read only the dumb exhaustion of travellers an old man and a boy who exchanged no words and according to the laws of the place they were given food and lodging .
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: yes)
This is Jenny Connon , Connie 's daughter . This is Ted . He 's the biggest gossip in the Club so be careful what you tell him about me . Wo n't be a sec . ' Marcus turned to the bar and ruthlessly elbowed his way through to the pole position .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: no)
You were asked to phone in , so , erm , so our phone was out of order , so I had a phone card and it had four units on it . Oh , Nicole . And it swallowed up my four whole units , because I even got to say what the answer was and I thought that was forty P , and I thought , I 'm never ever going to phone into one of those things again . I 've done it every week . I 'm not sure , but I just thought , I 'm just paying for someone else to go on that holiday .
Idiom: jockey for position (used idiomatically: yes)
Election ' 92 : Hopefuls jockey to succeed Kinnock By Philip Johnston , Political Correspondent LABOUR 'S shadow Cabinet began jockeying for position last night in anticipation of a leadership battle in the wake of Labour 's fourth consecutive defeat . After nine years as Opposition leader , Mr Kinnock , 50 , is expected to announce on Monday that he will not put his name forward for re - election at the party 's annual conference . In a statement issued on his behalf yesterday , the Labour leader , said : ' I am consulting with colleagues to inform them of the action which I propose to take in the wake of the election defeat .
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
TWO out of every three senior hockey matches in Ulster will be played on synthetic pitches this season as the ‘ plastic age’ gathers momentum . Banbridge are the only one of the ten Senior One teams who wo n't be playing home games on such surfaces , and now that Ballynahinch and Portadown have elected to slot in at Valley Leisure Centre and Newry respectively , half of the Senior Two games will be played on synthetic too . Last season 59 % of senior games were on synthetic but that will rise to 68 % at least … and more if Civil Service can get their proposed pitch up and running before the end of the campaign . A further four teams — an increase of two ( Wanderers and RUC)— will play on synthetic pitches at intermediate level which brings ever closer the day when all games above junior level will be staged on such surfaces . Indeed Leinster have already ruled that all their Senior One games must be played on synthetic this season .
Idiom: take it from me (used idiomatically: yes)
Lots of people might have wanted to kill him.’ He skirted over the small matter that he was one of them . ‘ I think you can take it from me,’ said Rose firmly , ‘ that Mr Didier did not murder Sir Thomas,’earning himself a look of gratitude from Auguste . ‘ Now , Mrs Figgis - Hewett , I gather that you had a disagreement with Sir Thomas . You were threatening to bring a breach of promise action , or so you announced on Saturday evening.’
Idiom: catch someone napping (used idiomatically: yes)
He says we play basically a bump and grind game . But if we pass well no one will be able to stop us . They got off to a blinder against the Sharks … catching them napping repeatedly in the first period to put six past them . Like all teams Oxford has its share of overseas imports … is British ice hockey catching up with the North Americans ? John Gravelle says the standard here of individual players is surprisingly high .
Idiom: break the bank (used idiomatically: yes)
More than 600 people were evacuated from their homes in Norfolk and eight bungalows collapsed after the sea washed away their foundations . In Gorleston , near Great Yarmouth , 400 people had to leave their homes and take refuge in a local school and there were also evacuations in the coastal villages of Walcott , Hemsby and Morston . The problems spread inland when a tidal surge up the River Bure caused the river to break its banks at Acle , flooding the main A47 Norwich to Great Yarmouth road leaving it impassable to traffic . Waters were also rising in the Norfolk Broads and there were reports of some minor flooding as far inland as Norwich , which is 20 miles from the coast . There were similar conditions in Suffolk where police evacuated low - lying properties in Southwold and Aldeburgh and many coastal roads were closed by flooding .
Idiom: in the short run (used idiomatically: yes)
Two other considerations relevant to the conduct of fiscal policy also should be mentioned . First , when governments want to make relatively large adjustments in their budgetary positions they may rely more upon changes in taxation than changes in public expenditures . Part of the explanation for this is that government spending tends to be planned over a number of years ( e.g. hospitals , schools , and other capital expenditures take several years to complete , and governments are reluctant to dismiss teachers , policemen , and other employees for short - term economic reasons ) ; consequently such expenditure tends to be fairly inflexible , especially downwards , in the short run . In contrast , tax rates are relatively easy to alter and so may be the more appropriate means to adjust fiscal policy when changing economic conditions require action . Secondly , when governments spend in excess of taxation receipts the budget deficit incurred will be reduced as income levels rise and taxation receipts subsequently increase .
Idiom: go from strength to strength (used idiomatically: yes)
After 25 years in Rosemary Lane , Thatch Hair Technique has moved to a new prestigious salon in St Albans Walk , Carlisle known as Sweaty Betty 's ! BEATING THE BLUES Despite the recession , the hair business goes from strength to strength . Clifton 's top hairdressing salon , Bendrey Sinclair of Regent Street , has just appointed their 12th member of staff , Tracey Morgan ( above ) , boosting their numbers by over 100 % since the opening two years ago . Meanwhile , Gallery Hair Design in Hungerford , which opened six months ago with just two stylists , now employs six and has enjoyed publicity in both consumer and trade press .
Idiom: to the bone (used idiomatically: yes)
A KNIFE attack victim fought off his assailant and bent the 10 in blade in two with his bare hands , a court was told yesterday . David Steventon - Rogers , 25 , left Royston Smith , 43 , covered in blood after repeatedly slashing him and slicing through his ear , Bury St Edmunds Crown Court heard . One of Mr Smith 's fingers was cut to the bone in the attack , which was prompted by a row over a noisy motorcycle , it was heard . A jury took 90 minutes to find Steventon - Rogers , of Calkewood Lane , Rickinghall , guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent . He had denied the offence .
Idiom: think twice (used idiomatically: yes)
They become their own worst enemy and often beat themselves up mentally . ‘ I 'm just a housewife’ , is a typical put - down . However , if all the jobs a housewife does were put down in a job description people might think twice before saying this . Let 's have a look at just a few . Then why are you still doing them ?
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
If you want to hear a scary story , I 'll tell you about a dream I had a few weeks ago .
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
Is Juan obsequiously polite to Alice , but abrupt to Marvin ? Does he respond promptly to Teresa , but ignore Anatoly ? The sofware offers nine visualizations that reflect behavior and trends over time , including quality time ( a pie chart of whom you spend time with online and offline ) , pecking order ( illustrated with chickens ! ) , blow - off scorecard ( relationship asymmetry ) , and temperature gauge .
Idiom: boys in blue (used idiomatically: yes)
Police to rescue of tourist By Sue Ormesher Daily Post Staff THE boys in blue turned knights in shining armour yesterday to go to the rescue of a young German woman left stranded in a resort . Gabrielle Fisher , 21 , had been due to leave Southport yesterday at the end of an 18-day visit to England . But thieves stole her motorcycle , which was parked outside a hotel .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
These are the main runway , and emergency runway normally used for taxiing purposes and a small taxiway . On Wednesday night the main runway was closed for maintenance and flights were switched to the emergency runway . So all other aircraft movements went to the taxiway with its distinctive central green lights . For some unknown reason , Air Malta flight four four one mistakenly landed on the small taxiway . It flew within two hundred feet of Gatwick 's South terminal buildings and could easily have hit other aircraft or vehicles .
Idiom: add insult to injury (used idiomatically: yes)
Er er and it seems to me that the court should n't be clogged up with cases like this . So I 'd ask you Madam to go along with what I 'm suggesting and make him the subject of an absolute discharge so that he does n't have any previous court er any , any convictions or anything like that on his record . And Madam I 'd ask you not to make any award for compensation to his girlfriend cos that 's just gon na add insult to injury really , is n't it ? So Madam I 'd ask you to go along with what I 'm suggesting , that 's an absolute discharge and er About the only thing he got right was what he called the magistrate , he called her a madam , because when you 're appearing before a stipendiary magistrate , one magistrate on their own , it 's sir or madam .
Idiom: easy on the eye (used idiomatically: yes)
Gritstoners , like any other group of enthusiasts , could doubtless argue ad infinitum the why s and wherefores of their favourite patch , but for the uninitiated , Froggatt Edge represents an excellent starting point for a crash course in the gritstone art . One of a string of edges which flank the eastern rim of the Peak District 's Derwent Valley , its position on the edge of part of the Dark Peak moorland plateau gives a commanding outlook over the gentler contours of the limestone White Peak to the west . It 's easy on the eye — sometimes a relaxing break from the climbs which , for the most part , are somewhat more taxing . Amid the stark , and in places green - hued contours of the half mile or so of cliff and tumbled boulders that is Froggatt , there exists a wealth of entertaining and varied climbing . Here , among the sand , the birches and the occasional gnarled oak which grace the bottom of the crag , can be found gritstone gems to rank with the finest .
Idiom: hope against hope (used idiomatically: yes)
But it so chanced it was covered deep , and came to light only when I was here to see . I knew when we unwrapped it , it was not for us to meddle with.’ He had all their attention now , every eye was wide and bright upon him , Herluin and Robert irresistibly moved to hoping against hope , but very wary of disappointment , Nicol interested but bewildered , for nothing had been said to him of the loss of Saint Winifred 's reliquary , or the possibility that he might have had it aboard his wagon , and had been robbed of it with all the rest . Tutilo hovered in the background , keeping himself modestly apart while his betters conferred . He had even suppressed , as he could do at will , the brightness of his amber eyes .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
' Morning , Tom , ' Markby called up to him . ' No more alarms ? ' ' All quiet , but we kept a round - the - clock watch on the stables last night , just in case . Took shifts . If I 'd caught the buggers I tell you , there would have been murder done . '
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
Once the six to eight weeks of pressing time have elapsed , you can inspect the material to see whether it is completely dry or not . If so , it will be fairly rigid and slightly brittle . Do n't try to remove anything before it is ready as it will only go wrong in the long run , making all your work so far a complete waste of effort . Instead , control your impatience and wait for another week or so before testing the material again . Placing the books or presses in an airing cupboard will speed up the pressing process slightly without damaging the flowers .
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I could not understand what she said , because it was too preposterous for her to say.’ She has followed my example ( which she kindly applauded ) and gone to another publisher . She remembers her reviews and quotes them , knowing long passages by heart . She repeated this four times , as she does . Before I left , I asked if she would come to see me one day .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
RESTRUCTURING AND RETRENCHMENT ARE beginning to pay off for ICI Fertilizers . It 's still a business in crisis but reduction in the scale of losses compared with 1986 means that managing director Paul Marsden and his management team can take satisfaction that their efforts to revive one of the giants of ICI Chemicals & Polymers are on course . In 1986 the Company 's worldwide fertilizer business , of which ICIF represents the lion 's share , was in the red to the tune of £ 21 m on sales of £ 915 m . The business then came under the banner of C&P and results for 1987 slashed the deficit to £ 4 m with sales of £ 858 m . The first half of 1988 showed an increase of that loss to £ 12 m , but as Marsden points out , you need to take a yearly view of the business rather than a 6-month snapshot so such figures can be misleading .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: yes)
If you carried it too green , erm I ca n't remember that happening to our but I 've heard of some people , having to cut a shaft down into the stack you know . We always used to push a long wire in to see how er every stack used to heat a little but er er touchwood I 've never er never saw a stack heat that badly . But er there was a time , they got so If you had carried it too green , erm you er it could catch fire . And on the other hand , if you carried wet , well it would go mouldy then . And and stink and it would be all clamped together you know .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: no)
People will rush to buy goods and assets before their prices rise further . This action will help to push the prices up even more . With a predictable V in the longer run , monetary policy then becomes the essential means of controlling the long - term path of aggregate demand . For this reason monetarists favour a longer - term approach to monetary policy . This involves setting targets for the growth of the money supply : the approach adopted in the Thatcher government 's medium - term financial strategy of the early 1980s that we looked at in Chapter 17 .
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: no)
Where a deposit is inserted the standard conditions provide for this to be 10 % of the price . However , a deposit of less than 10 % may sometimes be agreed by negotiation between the parties ' legal representatives , and this negotiation usually takes place immediately before contracts are exchanged . It may necessitate a further special condition on the back of the contract . The deposit does constitute clients ' money and the seller is entitled to interest earned on the deposit money in accordance with the provisions of the Financial Services Act 1986 . The standard conditions provide that if the seller is buying another property in a related transaction , he or she may use all or part of the deposit as a deposit in that transaction , to be held in that transaction as stakeholder .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ He just uses it for storage.’ Having shown the sudden , deep interest , how could Mungo now claim that he no longer wanted to visit the stable ? Perhaps he could get off the hook by saying he would go in the morning ? Perhaps he could plead a blinding headache , or an attack of tonsilitis ? No , too late .
Idiom: spend a penny (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's , wa his wife , yeah . That 's horrible is n't it ? A brain tumour they cause but I mean he said last week he spent every penny he had to get her through it and this Yeah . week he 's got so much money he 's still spending it on her .
Idiom: pull strings (used idiomatically: yes)
Instead he looked towards Rose . ' Our talk ? ' he said . Let the boy pull his mother 's strings if he liked . Then he was shocked by his own immediate antagonism to the boy . Something nasty here , he thought , and is it him or me ?
Idiom: high and dry (used idiomatically: yes)
Are you quite mad , as well as totally lacking in any of the trappings of civilised society ? Do n't think you can barge in here harassing me like this,’ she snapped , ‘ shooting questions at me as if you were taking part in a firing squad.’ If he had n't rattled her so much the other day , leaving her high and dry to sneak off and join his girlfriend , she might have remembered to tell him about the dratted ledgers . He had absolutely no business forcing his way in here and treating her like a criminal . ‘ Do you have them?’
Idiom: give something a miss (used idiomatically: yes)
Here he exclusively explains to the Echo the background to this fascinating TV profile of the political movement known as Militant . THE park boating lake was an eyesore full of rubbish , prams and the inevitable supermarket shopping trolley . Even the ducks seemed to be giving it a miss . The city council decided it had to be cleaned up , the union demanded exceptional payments deadlock . After protracted negotiations , it was agreed that a day a week would be devoted to the task .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
I passed down the ward and opened a door at the end of a passage . A whole order of nuns was waiting to welcome me . I remembered that they had been there all along , and wondered how I could ever have forgotten them . The scene shifted and I found myself at the head of a stairwell , aware that yet another place might be reached but only by somersaulting over the banister and walking my feet down the opposite wall as one might descend a defile in a crag . Others had done it , I knew , but I felt nervous about accomplishing the tricky manoeuvre .
Idiom: under the sun (used idiomatically: yes)
Do you find that toothpick more enigmatic than the mysteries we face?’ He grinned . ‘ Aristotle , my dear Roger , always claimed that careful observation , coupled with logic , would solve any problem under the sun . Do you remember Ruthven , and the morsels we found between his teeth?’ I swallowed hard .
Idiom: take the liberty (used idiomatically: yes)
GRAEME SOUNESS ( Spurs , Middlesbrough , Liverpool , Sampdoria , Rangers and Scotland — 1970 - 91 ) : ' I 've got a lot of admiration for him because he was a very passionate player and he looked after other players as well . ' If one of his mates got a whack and got hurt he 'd go and sort it out for them . I 'm not saying that 's right , but he took it upon himself to say ' You 're not taking liberties with any of our lads . ' ' He 'd turn a 40 - 60 ball round the other way . Even now as a manager he 's still very passionate about it and I look up to people like that . '
Idiom: pull the wool over someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'd call a wummin Like ma wife or my mother But when I turn to her and part her thighs I pull the wool over Josie 's eyes And I 've got something of mines that no one suspects , I put up with the sex for the secret , I put up
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
Keep an eye open and you may spot a barnacle goose or a Bewick 's swan . These birds have breeding grounds in the Arctic . When winter snow and ice cover the breeding grounds the birds head south to Britain . It 's easy to spot flocks of geese as they migrate . They fly in long diagonal lines or large V - shapes .
Idiom: have been around (used idiomatically: yes)
They also occur in polyacetylene , an organic , one - dimensional semiconductor , where they can be invoked to explain many of that material 's properties . This discovery has given scientists a unique opportunity to study these unusual phenomena . The idea of solitary waves travelling along rivers and canals has been around since 1844 . it was considered a novelty until the early 1960s , when scientists discovered that two solitary waves travelling in opposite directions need not destroy one another , but could in fact continue unscathed . In 1965 the term soliton was coined to describe waves with this remarkable behaviour . In the 1970s the search for a room temperature superconductor led chemists to look at one - dimensional organic conductors and semiconductors .
Idiom: stop at nothing (used idiomatically: yes)
Why am I doing this ? he wondered . Why ca n't I stop ? It was against all he believed in and yet some inner part of him would stop at nothing to attract Jeopardy 's notice . He told himself he was not looking for a lover , but simply the opportunity to tell Resenence about the dream . He did not want to pollute his body ; he wanted a purely cerebral affair .
Idiom: turn a blind eye (used idiomatically: yes)
We won corner afer corner but failed to make anything of them . O Leary was booked for nothing . The referee was a complete twat Roger Dilkes , a miserable midget who contrived to spoil what was already a poor game by turning a blind eye to West Ham 's negative game and penalising Leeds wherever possible . Wallace came on shortly before time and showed what could have been with some fast ground - oriented attacking . Deane is evidently capable of playing football , they should give him more opportunity to do it .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
On the way back we passed Rodney Bay Marina ( the finishing point for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers still being contested ) and large tracts of land cleared in readiness for development . To date tourism is important but unobtrusive on the island . We dog - legged out to Pigeon Point Fort , which had defended the island rather unsuccessfully in years gone by : it changed hands 20 times , mainly between Britain and France . We took the road back into the tumbledown town of Gros Islet , and finished amid the tumult of the jouvert outside Scotty 's . We went to the capital , Castries , for the afternoon 's festivities but arrived too late to see the round - the - town mile ( that 's about as far as it is ) .