Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: pack a punch (used idiomatically: yes)
At the last , she is reduced to a frightened little girl , victim of her own curiosity . Hers is a compelling and intensely dramatic performance . Played in English on a steeply - rigged stage in a shabby hall , this revival packs a pulverising punch , the most gripping account I have experienced of it over the years . It is , of course , exactly the sort of piece in which David Alden excels . In Tancred and Clorinda , his touch seems much less assured .
Idiom: make a move (used idiomatically: yes)
Birkenhead put the case for a new party in articles in the Weekly Dispatch . a round robin from ninety - five MPs supported fusion , and Balfour formally proposed fusion in a letter to Bonar Law on 10 March 1920 . Other Unionists , including Law himself , were less sure , even though they shared their colleagues"concern about the political and economic situation ; nevertheless it was agreed to go ahead , but that Lloyd George should make the first move . Lloyd George would propose fusion to his Liberal supporters , and Bonar Law would follow suit on the next day . In the event the reactions of Coalition Liberal ministers were so uniformly hostile that Lloyd George moved quickly into reverse ; when he met Coalition Liberal MPs , he merely suggested greater cooperation with Unionists and did not mention fusion as such .
Idiom: in the red (used idiomatically: yes)
Here is one of the standard procedures that is used to test whether a child has an adult - like appreciation of false belief . John and Mary ( the two experimenters ) show a child of three years of age a red box and a blue box and a pound coin . John gives Mary the coin , she hides it in the red box for safe - keeping and departs . Meanwhile John tells the child that he is going to play a trick on Mary and transfers the coin into the blue box . Where will Mary look for the coin when she comes back in ?
Idiom: black and blue (used idiomatically: yes)
He was emphatic . ‘ A real struggle.’ ‘ I 'm black and blue.’ She gave a low groan and brought one fist up to her forehead . ‘ I hate you .
Idiom: chop and change (used idiomatically: yes)
Pardon ? The operative word there is might . Yes erm because I doubt it , erm at the moment with the fund that we 're talking about the erm the close scheme , because most of these people in B T were originally erm in the Post Office , and of course when the they split erm then the erm Post Office workers went over to B T , they get a B T pension but in actual fact they paid into a pension scheme erm for many of them for forty years because they come into that age group , where so many people , you took a job when you were twenty o or or sixteen and you stayed with it for life , you did n't chop and change like people do these days and the majority of our members erm we can go down and I would say the vast majority of our members have actually worked for the Post Office or starting with the Post Office and then B T or staying with the Post Office for forty years , there 's no end of them they 've got in there forty years service . So no , I ca n't agree there , that there is erm unequality , they think they are being hard done by . also history if I might just say that when the Post Office er split from the Civil Service , the firm was in deficit for twenty years and of course Post Office management say quite clearly that they were putting in sums of eighteen per cent of the pay bill when it was only supposed to be nine per cent of the pay bill and that 's why they 're entitled to the to the surplus .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
After a rather unnecessarily long and elaborate trial , Justice Day 's summing - up was refreshingly brief . He pointed out that a young officer 's life had been tragically taken while doing his duty , protecting others . If , in the jury 's opinion , the prosecution had proved beyond all doubt that the two men in the dock were responsible for this brave young constable 's demise , then they had but one course , and that was to bring a verdict of guilty of manslaughter . The verdict was not long in coming . The jury returned within minutes , finding both men guilty .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
Secondly , the third party solicitor may point out certain errors with regard to the basis on which a claim has been investigated and may also change or expand grounds of fault . Re - investigation might show liability attaching and avoid unnecessary Court actions being raised . It will also avoid situations where , on final repudiation , a Writ is served which markedly deviates from the facts and grounds of fault upon which the original investigation is based — thus leaving your solicitors , in essence , to investigate ‘ from scratch’ . 2.2 INVESTIGATION OF QUANTUM 2.2.1 Medical Reports
Idiom: sail close to the wind (used idiomatically: yes)
It comes as a bit of a shock to see how much faster others can sail upwind . There is no magic skill , you just improve with practice . Your main objective should be to sail as close to the wind as possible whilst maintaining speed . The closer you sail , the slower you go and vice versa . It then becomes rather a compromise of finding the optimum angle to sail to the wind in different conditions .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
A part of the 17th Century West Looe constable 's duty ( as now ) was to prevent Saturday night merry - making from getting out of hand . As such , they had a duty to enter each ale - house on a Saturday night as well as to ensure that Sunday was treated by townsfolk with due sobriety . They appear to have not infrequently fallen short of their duties . In 1674 Constables Henry Hopkins and Charles Badcock were censured for ‘ … not executing their office of Saturday nights in visiting the Ale Houses for good order and on Sabbath Days’ . Again in 1699 , criticism was levied of , ‘ … the Mayor and Constables for not punishing of wicked and lazy persons , both old and young , who absent themselves from the service of God and profane the Sabbath Day’ .
Idiom: get it up (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh no you ca n't go in without a card . No , no , no . But I mean what you 're paying say er ooh say my cheese is nearly five pound at bloody Asda pasdas , got it up there for about one fifty . Ever so cheap . Oh well you might as well go up there had n't you ?
Idiom: get a grip (used idiomatically: no)
They succeeded in winning 2 legs , one of them the hardest in the race and finishing second overall . Skip Novak , the author of Fazisi and skipper of the boat brought much needed experience to the Russian campaign . He is an American with 3 Whitbreads behind him , and a reputation for getting a grip on campaigns that were going astray . ‘ The Fazisi crew were ordinary men from an extraordinary country . Their eyes popped when they saw the Hamble River flowing with yachts .
Idiom: come clean (used idiomatically: yes)
He thought , there 'll be reports on both the inquests . I can get most of the facts from official sources . For the rest , if it does blow up into an open accusation , he 'll have to come clean . And if that happened , whether it became a matter for him personally and for the proposed new squad would depend on how great the scandal , how real the suspicion and of what precisely . He wondered what Berowne was expecting him to do ; find a potential blackmailer or investigate him for double murder ?
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: no)
Radiators Radiators are rarely used to their greatest effect . Shelves over the top of radiators push warm air down into a room . Fixing aluminium foil behind radiators , dull side against the wall , helps to reflect heat outwards , instead of letting it be absorbed by the wall . Insulation
Idiom: born and bred (used idiomatically: yes)
His leadership ; his strength in the scrum , has helped make Gloucester into a real force once again . Tomorrow comes the reward ; a first international cap . Ian was born and bred in Gloucester . His dad , Dick who also captained the cherry and whites , had trials for England but Smith junior has Scottish grandparents and has chosen the thistle rather than the rose . This week by way of preparation , its been weight training for Ian Smith down in the Kingsholm gym .
Idiom: dog in the manger (used idiomatically: yes)
I do not think it fair that only two , or any ad hoc number , should be allowed to participate . For example , a firm with two partners would be getting 100 per cent attendance : a firm with eight only 20 per cent [ sic ] . I think the idea of having numbers from each firm is really a dog in the manger attitude . The change occurred because of internal political reasons and for that reason alone and not out of the interests of clients . I think that clients , as it happens , have benefited but for the wrong reasons as it were .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
Paradoxically , Gill and Jackson 's book appeared at a t – me when there was a great deal of activity in the black community directed towards finding black families for black children , thereby making it progressively unnecessary for transracial placements to continue . Nevertheless , finding more black adoptive families will necessitate more black social workers in the key agency posts that determine policy , more black social workers involved in family finding and child placements , and recognition of the strengths of black families . The one - way traffic of black children into white families begs fundamental questions of power and ideology . It raises questions as to the type of relationship which exists between black and white people and , furthermore , the type of society that those involved in the practice are creating . Transracial adoption encourages the phenomenon of racial identity confusion described in other contexts by Fanon ( 1968 ) , Naipaul ( 1961 , 1962 ) and Rushdie ( 1981 ) .
Idiom: watering hole (used idiomatically: yes)
All this in a subtle and mandatory shade of duck - pooh green with stormproof waxing de rigueur . They are also to be seen in neat pleated skirts of the kind to be found at Jaeger and Country Casuals . Pastel striped shirts worn with a clashing regimental or old school tie are most popular with the men , who also lean towards an extremely good and essentially well - worn tweed jacket when not in City duds , the whole accompanied by much ‘ yahing’ in Knightsbridge watering holes . Their ‘ look’ changes almost imperceptibly ; between 1975 and 1985 for instance , a major style point can be seen in the daywear of the young ( 24-year - old ) yah female : in 1975 her swanlike neck might have risen from the neat collar of a Jaeger shirt with single strand of pearls and a scarf tied as cravat in attendance . By 1985 this businesslike severity has given way to a white pie - frill collared blouse from Laura Ashley .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
The Normandy countryside baked under a warm summer sun . A peaceful journey . Even the scaffold and gibbets at the crossroads were empty ; indeed , I even saw two festooned with garlands . ‘ Strange,’ I muttered to Benjamin as we stayed at a tavern on our first night out of Calais . ‘ What is , Roger?’
Idiom: piping hot (used idiomatically: yes)
Add the wine and clam soup and boil quickly until the sauce has stopped foaming and is well reduced . 3 . Stir the clams into the sauce and heat for a further 1–2min until piping hot . 4 . Drain and rinse the pasta .
Idiom: rough and ready (used idiomatically: yes)
Some members of staff at the school felt that it had suffered and was still suffering from the effects of the reorganization . This comment from a senior teacher expresses a general view held by staff : When you have a very small , very select , very ladylike grammar school , joined with two rough and ready secondary moderns what basically happened in my view is that when they joined together the grammar school staff , or most of them , could n't cope with the rough and ready aspect the school they came to have . They were all in positions of heads of department , consequently I got the feeling that the secondary modern staff who could cope with it to a certain extent , withdrew labour . I do n't mean that they went on strike , it was well , ‘ let them buggers do it - they're the ones in the position let them do it’ .
Idiom: call the tune (used idiomatically: yes)
It is the aristocrats in England , as is the case in Continental Europe , who will lead Europe by the nose out of the philosophical world - view of a dying feudal order . As we are time - travellers we can peer into the future and notice that it is the professional class that will have the last laugh ; for the ‘ bourgeoisie’(as Marx called them ) took over from the gentry . It was the businessmen , not the lords , who called the tune when the industrial system began . However , as we know them in the modern world , there are virtually no middle classes in 1700 . The vast majority of the population are labouring peasants or artisans in the cottage industries of the villages or the small cities .
Idiom: the more the merrier (used idiomatically: yes)
I mean today I 've I paid all this cash . Just sit there in a Well I just think of the fact and I know it 's sort of miserable but Christmas night I think well , if you 've got ta sort of something like you 've got to put up with your mum and dad and I think well just the more the merrier . Because just sort of go for it and it 's all done and then visit .
Idiom: draw a blank (used idiomatically: yes)
G - A - N - D - E - L - L. No , I 'm sorry , I do n't know the initial.’ She drew a blank . There were no Gandells at all in the directory that included the village . As a long shot — just in case Lucretia Grant owned two homes — she also checked the name of Grant .
Idiom: short and sweet (used idiomatically: yes)
[ British hairdresser of the year 1991 and 1992 . ] Trevor was working in the States at the time of this interview . His comments were short and sweet . ‘ Sam McKnight , I admire him because he is just so creative in his work’ . CHARLES WORTHINGTON
Idiom: cut both ways (used idiomatically: yes)
European citizenship is mainly symbolic . The Committee of the Regions may make regional governments feel better but will probably be as ineffective as the existing Economic and Social Committee . The subsidiarity principle ( taking decisions at the lowest practicable level of government ) , which the British government makes much of , is drafted in a form so soft that it will cut both ways if it cuts at all . The three - pillared architecture of the new union — by which foreign affairs and home affairs ( policing , immigration ) will form two pillars distinct from the pre - Maastricht Community — does little to change , or to preserve , the status quo . The new pillars do not embody novelties that amount to much .
Idiom: pick holes (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ All right , I know it 's weak . Perhaps no one will ask . After all , we 're trying to pick holes in it . Other people may accept it at face value . People often do silly things.’
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
Yet the status accorded to the national team is grudging . There were even mutterings last week that the Germany match should be scrapped because of the catalogue of games on the domestic front . Quite rightly , Andy Roxburgh , the Scotland coach , rounded on those who point the finger of blame at the national team for the present glut of fixtures . He said that everyone knew that clubs were involved in too many matches but no - one did much about rectifying the situation . ‘ I do n't know if officials say one thing publicly and another in private,’ he argued .
Idiom: off the beaten track (used idiomatically: yes)
Four detours , each of about 5 miles are suggested . These promise special discoveries along their more tranquil byways . The detours are on country lanes and gated roads so special care is needed , but the traveller will be repaid by glimpses of hidden Northamptonshire , off the beaten track . DETOUR DETAILS Detour 1 — Badby / Fawsley Park Turn left into Badby at the sign ‘ Badby Village’ .
Idiom: keep tabs on (used idiomatically: yes)
Their absence may be noted by devices like ‘ optical mark readers’ and ‘ swipe cards’which log them in and out of each lesson . Students , too , are already finding further education colleges are tracking them electronically , with interest likely to grow as universities become aware of poor attendance at lectures . The use of information technology to keep tabs on truants is receiving particular encouragement south of the Border , where the Department for Education is putting £ 8.6 million into stepping up the fight against truancy , while Scottish Office research has put emphasis on identifying the varied causes . Three main programmes have been tried and tested so far in schools and colleges on both sides of the Border . Smart cards are perhaps the best known of the devices in the fight against school - dodging and they also contribute to security and safety .
Idiom: basket case (used idiomatically: yes)
A bright future for London 's securities firms would , oddly , be nearer if in the next few months they once again lost oodles of cash . Swedish krona Basket case ? AFTER staying single for 14 years , Sweden has again hitched its currency to others in Europe . On May 17th the krona was pegged to the ecu , within 1.5 % either side of a central rate of SKr7.40 .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
I , the captain , and the girl , although we did not understand Latin , joined gaily in the last lines of each verse ; but I was the gayest of all , for I had caught a glimpse in the distance of my toll - house , and soon afterward the castle shone among the trees in the light of the setting sun .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
The cottage was strewn with crumpled , tear - stained paper . She felt she had to do it . Perhaps now , now she had finally written it down , could stare at the irretrievable words , written in black and white , she would be able to accept the way things had to be , she would have the strength to return . It was short , to the point , each sentence more painful than the last . I owe Mark this .
Idiom: bottom drawer (used idiomatically: yes)
no , no we have n't had much , no , no we have n't had trouble with the Hitachi , just the machine itself actually yeah and er , then we had a bit , but er everything in the bottom drawer there , those are all playing alright yes we 're just , we 're just running on five tapes I think , well only four because one of them are oh well , let 's go upstairs again
Idiom: second nature (used idiomatically: yes)
But you got used to it . You start to work like clockwork , doing it all automatically . From continually chasing my tail in the first month and being late for everything , and always being in trouble in varying degrees , punctuality became second nature . Once you knew what the routine was , it was much easier to fit in . It was dreadful while you could n't remember what time tea break was , or what time breakfast was , or what time you were meant to line up for this , that or the other , or what time doses [ handing out medication]was .
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
Fundamentalists and reformers haggle in Budapest From IMRE KARACS in Budapest SUFFERING from hangovers after their intoxicating victory on Saturday night , Hungarian reformers and their temporary allies were split last night on the question of where the new Socialist Party should pick up the pieces , as a marginal hardline faction announced the foundation of the Hungarian Communist Party . Members of the Reform Alliance and the Peoples Democracy Platform emerged from separate caucus meetings unable to decide what should be changed in the manifesto drafted by Imre Pozsgay . Many reformers also complained that the new party 's founding document , adopted on Saturday by an 80 per cent majority , did not go far enough .
Idiom: sink or swim (used idiomatically: no)
Sink or Swim in the Philippines MANILA – The tragedy of the sinking of the Princess of the Stars ferry in the waters off Romblon in the Philippines – with hundreds of corpses still believed trapped inside – is proof that the country is prone not only to natural calamities , but to manmade ones as well . The decision to allow the vessel to sail directly into the path of Typhoon Frank resulted from plain and simple incompetence .
Idiom: fly the flag (used idiomatically: no)
The United Kingdom referred in that connection to article 5(1 ) of the Geneva Convention on the High Seas 1958 ( United Nations Treaty Series 450 , No . 6465)(Cmnd . 1929 ) which reads : ' Each state shall fix the conditions for the grant of its nationality to ships , for the registration of ships in its territory , and for the right to fly its flag . Ships have the nationality of the state whose flag they are entitled to fly . There must exist a genuine link between the state and the ship ; in particular , the state must effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in administrative , technical and social matters over ships flying its flag . 17 .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: no)
It was a sweet way for Crosby to celebrate the end of his first year in the Sunderland hot seat . He said : ' I feel I 'm in credit . I would have liked to have done better in the League this season , but I can see light at the end of the tunnel now . ' We are closing the gap on the top teams and look as good as anybody . ' Crosby gambled by dropping Peter Davenport to allow striker Don Goodman to partner David Rush .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
Well , I think Savac and Sarouac are bad areas at present , there 's a lot of peninsular - Malaysia all through this period , and has now got quite tough erm and is probably the nearest to sustainable management of almost anywhere in the tropics now . Now they 're not applying the same rules and regulations in Savac and Sarouac , it 's the island peninsular , maybe their reaction to the Friends of the Earth is symptomatic of a certain degree of bad conscience that they have with the , with the other two . Because we 're actually in quite close contact with Sarouac and Malaysia , which is close to the Malaysia , you know , we do have reports that they 've actually got great big arc lights on the slopes , and that the loggers are actually working 24 hours round the clock in some areas now , and that the forest you know is being completely chopped down . Well , the other thing is the intensity of logging is much greater than . And if you look at the , I 've got a few statistics on these two .
Idiom: catch a cold (used idiomatically: yes)
So we agreed about tea , and invited Father D'Arcy to join us . On 22 October 1935 Eliot wrote : What happened however was that Eliot caught a cold , and on the 2 November we received a telegram from him : We naturally renewed our invitation as soon as we learnt of the new arrangements proposed by the English Club , and he wrote to me on 25 November 1935 on Criterion writing paper : For some reason the ‘ Poet - Public - Faith’ article did not get used ; but meanwhile Collingwood , whose acquaintance I had made , had received the advancement he amply deserved , and I wanted to write in The Criterion about his first lecture as Professor .
Idiom: off the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
My route to work involves a lot of difficult roads with the engine spinning away in second gear , but I average 38 to 40 mpg . And on the M5 that goes up to more than 50 mpg , which I find very impressive . ‘ I would n't describe the Sierra as fast off the mark , but it has sufficient power and cruises well . It 's not the quietest of cars , but I can still hear the stereo , which is all that matters . ‘ The worst time for engine noise is at tickover .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: no)
His playing , and teaching , did however consolidate what several people had already told me — that even at this age , Ruggiero Ricci as still one of the top ten violinists in the world . Looking Back Turning my head to gaze at life , I turn also to the untouchable . Those years of my life ; wasted and empty ,