Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: par for the course (used idiomatically: yes)
Now this may sound like fatuous bluster but suspicion of businessmen ought to be understandable in an era of commerce made squalid by stock - market muggings on a grand scale . When the dust settled yesterday Michael Knighton , a thwarted professional footballer who has been elected to the Manchester United board , spoke bitterly of the vilification he claims to have endured since moving in on the club and Martin Edwards , the chief executive . In my trade this is thought to be par for the course . The point is that Knighton , for all the ludicrous exhibitionism with which he announced himself to the Stretford End , decided to withdraw , despite evidence that he could indeed finance the original deal . Not that the incumbent emerges from all this with any credit .
Idiom: dead wood (used idiomatically: yes)
I ca n't do a thing with my carrots It has a mass of flowers in August but has got very straggly . I have not been able to find any reference to pruning it , although I have cut out any dead wood found in the spring . Please can you advise me ? The plant flowers in late summer and early autumn on wood produced earlier in the same year .
Idiom: neck of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
so the seventh will stay Mm , mm and because the Buckinary is so big and really warrants having a stag group over that neck of the woods They could well do they are gon na try and hang onto this seventh , so it well might be
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
In a city where public executions , duels , fights , magical feuds and strange events regularly punctuated the daily round the inhabitants had brought the profession of interested bystander to a peak of perfection . They were , to a man , highly skilled gawpers . In any case , Twoflower was delightedly taking picture after picture of people engaged in what he described as typical activities , and since a quarter - rhinu would subsequently change hands ‘ for their trouble’ a tail of bemused and happy nouveaux - riches was soon following him in case this madman exploded in a shower of gold . At the Temple of the Seven - Handed Sek a hasty convocation of priests and ritual heart - transplant artisans agreed that the hundred - span high statue of Sek was altogether too holy to be made into a magic picture , but a payment of two rhinu left them astoundedly agreeing that perhaps He was n't as holy as all that . A prolonged session at the Whore Pits produced a number of colourful and instructive pictures , a number of which Rincewind concealed about his person for detailed perusal in private .
Idiom: swim against the tide (used idiomatically: yes)
In the meantime , the 1980s has become Thatcher 's decade . Her success both nationally and internationally , has reflected a what 's - in - it - for - me ? attitude . We find ourselves swimming against the tide . We know that magazines like this do n't change public opinion by themselves . But they they can help .
Idiom: larger than life (used idiomatically: yes)
I 've never really had the good fortune to watch a fly 's last moments on Earth before , and my eyes are just glued to this small splodge of legs and wings which are interrupting the clean , shiny surface of the screen . Whereas one side of the body is hideously crushed , about 50 per cent of the legs and one wing seem to have life still in them . The legs are flailing wildly — tiny stretches of insect flesh — no thicker than a hair to my naked eye , but obviously larger than life to this poor , wretched creature , who had the misfortune to interrupt my writing of the BBC WILDLIFE Nature Essay 1991 to ( or not to be ) . While the fly continues its fight against death , I search for my father 's stamp magnifier to examine this tiny drosophila . I peer through the magnifier at the still struggling insect .
Idiom: in the sticks (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ How ya doin then , Squeak?’ Yanto enquired , ‘ long time no see.’ ‘ Could be better,’ came the reply , ‘ you know what my regular trade is like , always had to rely on the trippers out here in the sticks , and who wants to come out here during a Winter like we 've just had.’ ‘ Yeah , reckon so,’ agreed Yanto . ‘ Still , looks like we 're going to get a good Summer.’
Idiom: out of the question (used idiomatically: yes)
With another general election due next year , civil - society groups preferred that priority be given to lowering the 10 % electoral threshold for parties to enter parliament , thus broadening political participation . The new parliament would then work on constitutional reform . That , however , was out of the question : the AKP benefited from the rules put in place for the 2002 and 2007 general elections , in both cases converting pluralities of the popular vote into large parliamentary majorities . In 2007 , the AKP government briefly seemed interested in a new constitution , having weathered threats of a military coup just before the elections . A distinguished group of academics was assigned to produce a draft .
Idiom: rub shoulders (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Are you sure that God is omnipresent?’ ‘ Yes,’ said Beuno . ‘ If God is , he 's everywhere , even in the most dreadful situations , rubbing shoulders with Satan.’ ‘ Stan,’ said Lydia , abstractedly , pulling away at the feathers of the pheasant and strewing them about her . ‘ Stan?’ queried Beuno .
Idiom: poor as a church mouse (used idiomatically: yes)
Good Lord , he 's loaded PRISON chaplain Reverend Alan Carefull lived up to his name — and died a millionaire . The vicar who seemed as poor as a church mouse gave no clue to his wealth as he chatted happily to convicted robbers . Not even his close friends knew of his secret investments as he led the life of a threadbare clergyman . But Mr Carefull , 76 , of Helhoughton , Norfolk , used his cash to make more than a few prayers come true by helping others .
Idiom: close to home (used idiomatically: yes)
Is not it clear from those figures that the unique disadvantage suffered by the people of Britain is that they have this Government with the right hon . Gentleman 's policies , which depend on putting people out of work ? The Prime Minister The right hon . Gentleman might look close to home before he makes that general assertion . Unemployment in his constituency has fallen by 37 per cent . since the last general election .
Idiom: pissed off (used idiomatically: yes)
Tenderness is just something that women like because it gives them the upper hand . Tenderness is that hideous , cooing voice you hear mothers using to their children as they get them to do this , go there , stay here . I am so pissed off with being told how men own and control the world . I tell you they do n't . They all start out doing what some woman wants them to do .
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: yes)
facial attribute squeezing a fucking zit . Why do n't you fucking squeeze that spot on the top of your shoulders ? Ha ha ha . You got overtime ?
Idiom: rare bird (used idiomatically: yes)
ATTACK : Andre Previn Macaws dumped in a bin TWO rare birds stolen from London Zoo have been discovered dumped in a rubbish bin . The hyacinthine macaws , worth £ 25,000 as a breeding pair , were found at Henley , Oxon . The male was dead and its mate ‘ just alive’ , a zoo official said yesterday .
Idiom: in the driving seat (used idiomatically: yes)
A ruck was set up to the left of the Cambridge posts and , when Smith flicked the ball out to the right , Hein charged through on the overlap to score behind the posts . Smith converted . Once Smith 's penalty goal had cut the Cambridge lead to two points Oxford appeared to be in the driving seat . But their old propensity for self - destruction surfaced again , much to the joy of Adrian Davies , and an exciting though careless game ended as it began — with Cambridge on top . SCORERS : Cambridge : Tries : G Davies , Simms , A Davies .
Idiom: come up trumps (used idiomatically: yes)
Other Areas are in the throes of heavy training schedules and will create a highly competitive spirit in Portlaoise . Ladies al ; so will have an enormous challenge in trying to secure a coveted victory . Waterford Area came up trumps last year in a classic encounter with Dublin Ladies but Dublin are poised this year to make their mark . All in all , it promises to be a huge weekend with a happy hour and disco et al . Full details of results and pictures next issue .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
They are provided by raising money from the public for a state - run charity , contributions to which are voluntary but which publishes guidelines for self - assessment for those who wish to use them . I hope it will be agreed that those who think that the tax law is justified do so partly because they believe that there is in the circumstances imagined a reason voluntarily to contribute a sum which is equivalent to a just tax . Let us take stock of the argument so far . One thesis I am arguing for claims that authoritative reasons are pre - emptive : the fact that an authority requires performance of an action is a reason for its performance which is not to be added to all other relevant reasons when assessing what to do , but should exclude and take the place of some of them . It will be remembered that the thesis is only about legitimate authority .
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: yes)
So that 's the way forward we hope to retain a sixteen page issue three times a year , a bit more thinking behind it and er hopefully produced at erm no extra cost to us , that 's why we 've gone to another supplier . Er Talkthrough is is due out again four times a year er in its same format as a eight page A four . I mean I would love to see a newspaper but the current staffing of the office does n't permit that also the costing of it erm but I 've very little input from this department and really while all out and about in the force and just a tip off about something human interest or whatever would be appreciated . yes Sold secure on the seventh no er seventh of March
Idiom: by dint of (used idiomatically: yes)
It is in this more informal context that his draft for a sixteenth and ironical discourse should be read . It attacks his constant enemy , the idea of genius : Gentlemen : It is with great regret that I see so many students labouring day after day in the Academy , as if they imagined that a liberal art , such as ours , was to be acquired like a mechanical trade , by dint of labour , or I may add the absurdity of supposing that it could be acquired by any means whatever . We know that if you are born with genius , labour is unnecessary ; if you have it not , labour is in vain ; genius is all in all . It was wittily said by a bright genius , who observed another to labour in the composition of a discourse he was to deliver in public , that such a painstaker was fitter to make a pulpit than to preach in it .
Idiom: blow a gasket (used idiomatically: yes)
They made no movement — and I looked . Material Miss The Trade Winds blew deficits and the workers got so bored striking at every available Sunny Day that they began working really really and blew the gaskets of many a Director 's heart . No that the Directors ' Wives were at all troubles by that sine now they could get those extra carpets for ceilings and special dog - teeth - mountable tin openers so their little doggy babies could open their own bloody tins of meat . WHY HAVE PREGNANCY WHEN YOU CAN HAVE SENSATIONS FROM YOUR POODLE DOG !
Idiom: and then some (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Main Street’ had a plethora of new shops . Indian and Pakistani shopkeepers stood in doorways , waiting to sell bolts of cloth , household pots and pans , fridges and cookers , videos and TVs . We passed a new supermarket , a miniature imitation of the American drive - in , and then some large furniture shops whose massive suites of heavy , over - stuffed couches and chairs filled the windows like obese pashas waiting for ladies to settle in their laps . The old general store had gone but the shade thorn tree was still there , bewildered by its surround of concrete pavement . Trees and bushes had been planted everywhere .
Idiom: have the hots for (used idiomatically: yes)
Very potent , very come and get it . I let her stroke me so that I could analyze the scent . No doubt about it — Shelly had the hots for me . I noticed with alarm that the woman had long red claws . Shit , I thought , the least she could do is keep them sheathed when she does n't need them .
Idiom: to the bone (used idiomatically: no)
Once more appears the value of the difference between Johnson 's discursiveness and Boswell 's practical observations . Johnson used the little family cemetery to break into a contemplation of Martin Martin 's journey and then lead to a consideration of roofless churches as an exemplar and a herald of the eventual decline of religion . Boswell brings us to the very bones — literally — of their excursion to the churchyard behind the stable - block . ' A little to the west of the house is an old , ruinous chapel , unroofed , which never has been very curious . We here saw some human bones of an uncommon size .
Idiom: dressed to kill (used idiomatically: yes)
TIME was you could tell one superstar from another . But with macho movie hunks Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck it 's not so easy . Both sported a magnificent moustache , both wore a ten - gallon hat and both were dressed to kill at the Golden Boot Awards for Westerns in Beverly Hills last night . The copycat cowboys even managed to turn up with a beautiful pardner by both their sides . Despite the ten - year gap in their ages — Burt is 56 and Tom 46 — they could have been twins .
Idiom: run someone ragged (used idiomatically: yes)
Rating 7 Strachan : Showed some lovely touches but seemed to be just that bit too slow . As I said Tillo ran him ragged at some stages in the game . Rating : 6 Wallace : Had a terrible game .
Idiom: no two ways about it (used idiomatically: yes)
' Ten and a half , ' said his wife . ' I shall have to get in touch with the police . No two ways about it , I shall have to get in touch with them . ' ' Not this evening , surely ? ' said Beryl , who wanted to watch Mastermind . Lewis said nothing .
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: yes)
— the editorial column . Journalists do sometimes react against the excesses of newspaper partisanship but even on these occasions it is proprietorial and editorial power that emerges unscathed and victorious . An attempt by Daily Mail journalists to broaden the paper 's political coverage of the 1983 election was rejected on the grounds that only the editor was responsible for content and that outside pressure , if only from an organization 's own journalists , amounted to interference in the running of that organization . It also implied that journalists , even experienced journalists , should not attempt to challenge the guidelines of those who edit or run newspapers . Not all news organizations display this pattern of behaviour , nor are all journalists mere interchangeable ciphers in the propaganda battle .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It will boomerang,’ the Englishman said heatedly . ‘ Overseas Governments and local nationals just wo n't stand for it , particularly when they get to know what 's going on . That 's one corporate plan that ca n't win , not in the long term . ‘ I know , Mark . But they think they can run everything from Detroit and that 's the way the organisation is going to be restructured .
Idiom: walk free (used idiomatically: yes)
Taking soundings : A student at Stonelaw High School , Rutherglen , monitors noise levels in its environmental project Three men cleared in card fraud case THREE Chinese restaurant owners who admitted passing bogus credit card bills worth nearly half a million pounds through their books , walked free from court yesterday after a jury failed to reach a verdict . Glasgow restaurateurs , Kee Lee and Yam Fat Tsim said triad gangs had forced them to take part in the million pound world - wide credit conspiracy . The prosecution offered no evidence after their second trial ended with a hung jury at Knightsbridge Crown Court in London yesterday .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: no)
Cash 's considered the houses to be ideal homes at a time when textile workers were suffering hardships everywhere , and machine - breaking had been widespread in the Midlands and the North . Cash 's workers did not have to go out to the sound of the factory bell or whistle , but simply went upstairs from home to workshop , and thus kept a little of the independence they prized . This original approach to factory industry did not last long , as the workshops were converted into one factory in the 1860s , but the firm is still in business , in more modern premises , making their famous name - tapes among other things . Cradley Heath , West Midlands MAP A This district has long specialized in chain - making , and one or two of the original shops still weld wrought - iron chain - links by hand .
Idiom: take root (used idiomatically: yes)
The ‘ moderates’ are a small minority , while into the category of ‘ extremists’falls that whole band of opinion ranging from the tougher section of the Labour Party , through the Likud , to the outright fanatics , nationalist and religious , of the far right . It is the outcome of a process which , for Harkabi , has its origins in the Israelis ' overwhelming , intoxicating victory in the 1967 Arab - Israeli war . It was then , just as the first signs of Arab flexibility appeared , that in Israel the notion took root that the renunciation of ‘ grand designs’ was erroneous in its minimalism . And judging by the public discourse , the government 's negotiating strategy , and the army and settlers ' day - to - day behaviour in the territories , the Intifada has made many ‘ extremists’ more extreme than ever . There is the growing allure of apocalyptic solutions .
Idiom: go to town (used idiomatically: yes)
Did you buy anything else from the It 's Well look , I 've got it all in my sort of purse ready you see , and I went off to town today and you know what I bought ? Zilch Oh
Idiom: to die for (used idiomatically: yes)
The destruction of the Ealdorman Brihtnoth and his followers by the Danish invaders of England in 991 was the occasion for the poem on the Battle of Maldon , which is firmly in the tradition of the German heroic lay : it records and assumes the overriding virtue of loyalty between a lord and his followers . At about the same time the French monk Abbo of Fleury was writing about the death of another English leader who had fallen at the hands of the Danes : Edmund , king of the East Angles , who had been killed in 869 . As a Christian and an anointed king Edmund could not ( according to the legend ) submit to the heathen Dane ; he preferred , in the words of the pagan Horace , ‘ to die for his country’ . And so he was killed ; and in his death Abbo sees Christian martyrdom . We are coming close to the idea of war , not merely as something justifiable under certain circumstances , but as something capable of being holy .
Idiom: under the microscope (used idiomatically: no)
INDIRECT IMMUNOFLUORESCENCE ( IIF ) MICROSCOPY To study the distribution of lactoferrin in ethanol fixed granulocytes cytocentrifuged onto microscope sides , the slides were incubated with rabbit anti - human milk lactoferrin in a moist chamber for 30 minutes . After washing with PBS and incubation for another 30 minutes with sheep fluorescein isothiocyanate ( FITC ) conjugated anti - rabbit Ig ( Wellcome Diagnostics , Temple Hill , Dartford , UK ) , the slides were again washed with PBS , mounted with PBS - glycerin , and inspected under a fluorescence microscope with a mercury lamp ( HBO 50 ) epi - illumination and filters for FITC activation/ emission . STATISTICS Differences in ELISA results between the control sera and the patient sera were evaluated by the χ 2 test , and divided into four groups : p0.05 = not significant ( NS ) ; p<0.05 ( * ) ; p<0.01 ( * * ) ; p<0.001 ( * * * ) .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
Maybe I can never convince you that I am other than a spirit , for what I have to tell you is this : that I have come from two hundred years in the future to speak to you — to sit here by this window and talk as we talk now!’ I could not resist letting flattery creep into my tone . Seen in the soft green light of the window , speaking with her serious calm air , Mary Shelley was beautiful to behold . There might be a melancholy here , but there was none of Shelley 's madness , none of Byron 's moodiness . She seemed like a being apart , a very sane but extraordinary young woman , and a slumbering thing in my breast woke and opened to her .
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: yes)
ANNIE HOGAN formed Cactus Rain in the summer of ' 89 . An impish musical visionary who 'd previously worked alongside Marc Almond and Barry Adamson , she enlisted the help of vocalist Frances Adie and ex - Tommy Chase Quartet keyboard player Teddy Edwards . Their influences were spot on— Scott Walker , John Barry , Nina Simone , Tony Benn and Liverpool FC among others — and their early gigs a whirlwind of piano and percussion . A major deal has come , but sadly Edwards has departed , removing some of the band 's jazzier elements . ‘ In Our Time’ , nevertheless , is an astute record , standing tall among pygmies .
Idiom: hold court (used idiomatically: no)
Although the majority of these barbarians moved on to Spain in 409 , some stayed behind : there were Alans active in Gaul under their leader Goar for the next thirty years ; they were to be settled in Gallia Ulterior , that is on land to the north of the Loire , in the 440s . Elsewhere , any respite that was felt in 409 was short lived ; in 412 another barbarian people , the Visigoths , crossed to Gaul from Italy , where they had sacked the city of Rome in 410 . They established themselves in the south - west , and their king , Athaulf , held court in Narbonne . The Visigoths The Visigoths had been a sedentary people living north of the Danube .
Idiom: steal the show (used idiomatically: yes)
The back row simply carried on where it left off against the Welsh with the indestructible McBride , Robinson and O'Hara repeatedly first to the breakdown . When England threatened to produce the magic that dazzled Scotland the back row stood defiant to a man , covering and tackling with fanatical commitment and dedication . It was only his second international but again out half Eric Elwood stole the show with a marvellous and mature performance . He was responsible for 12 of Ireland 's 17 points , comprised of two penalties and two drop goals . But those statistics alone do n't tell the full story , for throughout the match he totally out played his opposite number Stuart Barnes and literally never put a foot wrong .
Idiom: up against it (used idiomatically: no)
But what worries me more is the process of secularisation . I believe this to be more pernicious than secularism per se . Many Christians can recognise secularism and have boldly stood up against it . But secularisation creeps up on us announced . While we fight the Devil on the theological front , he sneaks up on us from behind .
Idiom: left and right (used idiomatically: yes)
Her finding of a mean right ear advantage ( REA ) in , the recall of dichotically presented material by right handers has been replicated by many investigators ( see Studdert - Kennedy , 1975 ; Berlin and McNeill , 1976 ) and is now a firmly established phenomenon . However , Kimura 's interpretation of this finding did not go unchallenged . When digits are presented in pairs to left and right ears , there is an almost universal tendency ( Broadbent , 1954 ) for subjects to report all of the items presented to one ear before reporting those items presented to the other ear . Inglis ( 1965 ) summarised data which showed that among individuals with memory defects only the number of items recalled from the second ear differed from the number recalled by normal control subjects , whereas recall from the initial ear was similar for both groups . Inglis argued that his result supported an interpretation of the usual right ear effect in terms of memory rather than sensory competition .