Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: for a song (used idiomatically: no)
' Day is done ' is of course another Shakespearean echo , like the Dark Tower : ' The bright day is done ' , says Iras to Cleopatra , ' and we are for the dark ' . But Tolkien would no doubt instantly have felt that Shakespeare had no copyright on the phrase , which must be of immemorial antiquity in English , ' as old as the hills ' . Sam 's song is simple and obvious , coming from ' the voice of a forlorn and weary hobbit that no listening orc could possibly have mistaken for the clear song of an Elven - lord ' . Still , it has the characteristic qualities of the Shire 's ' high style ' : plain language , proverbial sentiment , a closeness to immediate context reaching out simultaneously to myth , a brave suggestiveness at once hopeful and sad . As has been said , the Shire is a calque on England .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
Adequate equipment is essential . So often there is an imbalance in the quality of a band 's gear . For instance , the keyboard player may be using £ 5,000 worth of state - of - the - art technology while the bass guitarist is playing through a tired old AC30 . This shows that this band is n't working as a unit . The keyboard player obviously cares more about advancing his or her career than the future of the band .
Idiom: weak at the knees (used idiomatically: yes)
Tiny tots with a big future Karen Mellor IT 'S the picture to make even the strongest beefcake Gladiator go weak at the knees as the stars of the hit TV series show off their biggest fans , the Gladiatots . Three - month - old Tyrus , nicknamed Ant , is in the well - developed arms of his dad , Alex ‘ Hawk’ Georgijev . At the moment it 's a dead heat in his battle for attention with his five - year - old sister Carly at their home in Caerphilly .
Idiom: cramp someone's style (used idiomatically: yes)
Being black has always been in my subconscious , but I 've tried never to let this come to the fore . I do n't feel bitter about being excluded . Bitterness is n't part of my philosophy ; I 've always said if you let bitterness overwhelm you , you let it distract you from your path , I 've got no time for it ; it cramps your style . I 've never lost my belief in myself . You see , one thing that influenced me was reading about the great American champs and I saw how all the good champs were side - tracked , avoided , yet always seemed to make it late .
Idiom: call someone's bluff (used idiomatically: yes)
It could abandon its isolation and make deals with other parties — in which case it would contradict its own anti - party rhetoric and make itself indistinguishable from other parties . Or it could preserve its ideological purity and risk losing the elections . Some in the RPF leadership contemplated calling the Third Force 's bluff and proposing apparentements with MRP candidates . But the General would have none of it : the last thing that he wanted was a tainted victory , with RPF delegates beholden to another party . For him , it was all or nothing .
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
Then you had got to have good grounds to believe that they were going to commit a felony . But we got away with them . You had to learn them off by heart . The Court of Appeal … dismissed an appeal from two Liverpool police constables against the awarding of £ 15 each as damages to Edwin Ledwith and Christopher Crothers , on the grounds that they were wrongly arrested by the appellants . Ledwith and Crothers were described as window cleaners , and it was alleged that while one of them was inside a telephone box and the other was outside , P. C.s Roberts and Pearce arrested them and took them to the Bridewell .
Idiom: on ice (used idiomatically: yes)
But the controls will be off by the end of the day and tomorrow it will be a free for all.’ Only after being punctured by a giant hypodermic needle , dunked in a cold swimming pool and having every part of their bodies weighed and measured will they be allowed to enjoy a celebratory drink . The champagne was still on ice yesterday morning as the pair , who returned to Britain from their 95-day expedition exhausted but jubilant on Wednesday , kept to their alcohol - free diet . Dr Allan said the two men were bearing up well and were in better condition than had been expected after making the longest unsupported polar trip and the first unsupported crossing of the Antarctic landmass . ‘ They are in tremendous spirits and making very light of their slight physical problems .
Idiom: in the fast lane (used idiomatically: no)
But however it 's divided , the financial dilemma will remain . Christopher Wain , B B C News . West Midlands police have formally cautioned a motorist for stopping his car in the fast lane of the M Six to change a tyre . When the police arrived to rescue the driver , who 'd parked on a blind bend of the motorway , he 'd explained that he had n't wanted to risk ruining his tyre by driving the extra distance to the hard shoulder . The entire incident was captured by police video cameras as Liz Munroe reports .
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
Mowbray stroked his evenly clipped beard . ' But , I 'll be honest with you , Sir Ralph was a man more feared and respected than loved . ' Athelstan picked up the yellowing piece of parchment and thrust it at them . ' Do you know what this drawing means or the significance of the seed cake ? ' Both knights shook their heads but Athelstan was sure they were lying .
Idiom: off and on (used idiomatically: yes)
The subsystems include texture mapping support , double buffer colour animation and hardware image processing . Two- and three - dimensional graphics and image processing is provided through a set of Transform Engine Modules ( TEMs ) and Frame Buffer Modules ( FBMs ) . TEM software handles functions such as light reflection calculations and geometry , while FBM provides off- and on - screen memory , Z - buffer comparisons , alpha blending and compositing functions . Kubota says Denali is binary compatible with all applications ported to DEC 's Alpha - OSF/1 systems and is upgradeable from its existing Titan 1.0 series . Graphics standards supported include PEX , PEXlib , DEC PHIGS+ and NPGL .
Idiom: watch this space (used idiomatically: yes)
Team attire for the match will be silver space - suits ( if they dare turn up ) . Seriously though , look out for a couple of new faces in the team — maybe more — and some new first - time winners on the 1991 Tour . I have a very good idea who they will be and the bets are already placed , so for a bit more inside information , watch this space . THE GOOD , THE BAD , AND THE AWFUL Robin McMillan finds the best and worst golfers on the US Tour .
Idiom: run out of steam (used idiomatically: yes)
So Labour celebrated while the Tories got stuck in and won the election . Despite their best efforts not to , they had been doing so since the giant rally at Sheffield a week earlier . It was then that the Labour campaign began to run out of steam . It was also then that Mr Kinnock showed the part of his personality he tries so hard to contain , whipping up the audience like a second - rate holiday camp entertainer . Many will now say that Sheffield was a huge mistake , a symbol of the image - makers gone berserk on a massive scale .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: no)
Remove the lubricant and it seizes up . Overheats . Catches fire . ' ' All right , ' Hawthorn muttered . ' But you ca n't tell me your hardworking pilots wear out a silk scarf every other week , so you do n't need new ones all the time . '
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
The logic of transnational production either forbids , permits , or encourages backward linkages . Where a product is entirely integrated within the TNC or its captive suppliers ' networks , or where the intermediate components or materials used are of such a specialized nature that there are simply no available suppliers outside the existing TNC network , then backward linkages are literally forbidden by the logic of global production . For TNCs involved in more traditional and non - state - of - the - art product lines , where materials and components are more readily available , on the surface at least , the logic of TNC production appears to permit backward linkages . This is seen , correctly , as potentially very rewarding for the domestic industry , and in some First World non - hegemon countries and in the NICs the supply of materials and components , for example to the automobile TNCs , has certainly been economically rewarding . In most Second and Third World countries this has not generally happened .
Idiom: free rein (used idiomatically: no)
In practice , however , the sovereignty of Parliament has increasingly become the sovereignty of the Commons , and the sovereignty of the Commons has increasingly become the sovereignty of the government and the majority party . More than this , many constitutional authorities have become uneasy about the behaviour of governments in the light of the doctrines of mandate and the manifesto which are said to give effective power to party activists and extremists outside of parliament . In hard reality , therefore , many authorities consider that the sovereignty of parliament really means the sovereignty of an unrepresentative party boss who is then given a free constitutional rein to wreak unlimited havoc . Constitutional authorities are critical of the established constitution precisely because it has somehow allowed , and not limited , the emergence of the pattern of party politics and state intervention which they regard as so disastrous for Britain and her economy . Now , there is something new and strange about all this .
Idiom: paint the town red (used idiomatically: yes)
Or maybe you never think about fun at all— it 's just another banned ‘ f - word’ , ousted from your list of priorities . If we are not careful , all our precious spare time is spent visiting grandma , taking the children somewhere worthy , cleaning the inside of the teapot or balancing the budget . So , if talk of painting the town red brings the flaking bathroom walls to mind , in the only rush of spontaneity you can think of is your baby 's before you 've managed to get her clean nappy on , maybe you 're missing out . And missing out will harm you and your relationships with others . Martha and Dominic recall how they lost their sense of fun when they moved in together .
Idiom: song and dance (used idiomatically: yes)
The line of dramatic form running from primitive arrow dance to Pinero is worth bearing in mind . Music hall was the living form closest to the liturgical extreme . In The Rock Eliot included song and dance . Song persists in Murder in the Cathedral , but Christian liturgy takes over almost entirely . Yet Eliot seems to have been attracted even to the most unlikely sources , including even Conan Doyle 's ‘ The Musgrave Ritual’ .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
A contradiction in style during this change of éaulement or alignment can distort the design . Nevertheless an unusual change of éaulement or alignment can add interest and draw attention to a dancer 's statement . for example : the swift change from the grand développé à la seconde which Odile makes facing the audience and her sudden turn to arabesque when she looks straight into the kneeling Siegfried 's eyes in the Act II pas de deux of Swan Lake ; it is Odile 's triumph for she knows she has won Siegfried 's heart . Even more exciting changes of éaulement can be found in Ashton 's Birthday Offering where each soloist dances an old step at a new angle , without breaking the rules or older conventions of nineteenth-century ballet . He then gives an entirely new quality to the class-room exercise on which these enchaînements are based .
Idiom: for a song (used idiomatically: no)
In that respect ' Kennedy ' was as good as ' Go Out And Get ' Em Boy ! ' Both were brilliant statements , although ' Kennedy ' showed off the mature sense of melody expected of band on a major label . Its sing - a - long chorus was tempered with a churning ending that seemed to stretch for half the song . All the music papers were quick to inform their readers that The Wedding Present had not gone soft after signing with RCA . Andrew Collins wrote a clever parody of the Kennedy assassination on the NME : ' Three shots .
Idiom: round the bend (used idiomatically: no)
‘ It would make it look more . Let 's look out for some on the way.’ They all agreed to this , and they became so occupied looking for ivy on the walls alongside the lane that they did n't see two boys suddenly come racing round the bend just by Miss Miggs 's cottage . The boys , who were bigger than the Brownies , ran full - tilt into them . Christine was knocked sprawling .
Idiom: cut both ways (used idiomatically: yes)
Hence an expenditure tax is a tax on the difference between net income ( gross income minus the costs of securing that income ) and the change in net worth ( net change in the value of liabilities minus the net change in the value of assets ) . Whether , in operation , such a tax would have lower administrative costs than a personal income tax depends on the details of the tax . Such a tax is often claimed to encourage saving but the argument can cut both ways . The taxing of consumption does make current saving more attractive . However , if the scheme is viewed as one that does not tax interest on savings , then more consumption in the future can be financed from a given volume of savings and those seeking a target future consumption can meet it with a lower level of current savings .
Idiom: fair and square (used idiomatically: yes)
I lost the knack of starting last year with all the other pressures but I always qualified well and I was quick on the track . I know I can do it again . Last year Alain beat me fair and square . This year I 'll get the title back . We 've only lent it to them.’
Idiom: step on it (used idiomatically: yes)
Not that it bothered him . After all , it was his name . ‘ I told Nash to step on it . The boss sounded agitated when I spoke to him over the phone.’ ‘ He 's got reason to be,’ Kolchinsky replied , opening the boot so Graham could deposit his two black holdalls .
Idiom: to boot (used idiomatically: yes)
' However , there is no question of anyone being put at risk as a result of the disappearance of these keys . ' The keys were taken from a car parked in another town . Thieves broke into the vehicle and gained access to the boot . ' It was more than likely that the thieves did n't even realise what they had , ' said Mr Bennett . ' However , we could n't afford to take any chances and steps were taken to replace the locks as soon as the theft was reported . '
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
Most of the other venues sympathetic to new work are , unfortunately , the ones with the titchy theatres . They 're very supportive , but they 're not the sorts of theatre where you want to open.’ Anderson , now regarded as one of the country 's top dance makers , got into the field by the back door . She was a singer in a band which was on the verge of big pop success when the group started to be messed around by the men in suits . As promises were broken and things started to crumble she opted for St Martin 's School of Art .
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: no)
Placement Report that lists the samples within all Stoddard Templeton stockists . Returning to the car , or as it could be called the reps ' mobile office , there followed an impressive schedule of administration . The call was recorded on the individual customer Record Card , together with any useful snippets of information . Then , onto the Daily Call Report , which also logs all p.o.s . information . At the end of each week , these reports , together with sales requirement details and car mileage , are sent to the Regional Sales Managers and Field Sales Director for analysis and action .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
But there is no mistaking the fact that the First Division door has been left ajar . This was due entirely to the ferocious efforts of Gloucester , no lovers of Bath , whose idea of a welcome last month was to treat their visitors rather like a doormat . Indeed , there was a lot of ‘ shoe’ put about at Kingsholm , and the end product was unfortunate to say the least . Gareth Chilcott — popularised as the Oddjob of English rugby during the first World Cup in Australia in 1987 , but affectionately referred to as ‘ Coochie’ in these parts — was sent off for punching , and 14 men of Bath succumbed to Gloucester 's 15 . ‘ A great win,’ Mike Hamlin , Gloucester 's affable and capable captain , said with a broad grin .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Suddenly on Friday , Scottish Tories changed tack . MrLang who firmly ruled out the need for change during the campaign itself , changed tune saying it was ‘ time to change the tone and mood’ of Scottish politics . Whereas the most the Prime Minister had ever conceded before polling day was a vague pledge to ‘ take stock’ , Mr Lang , while stressing the need to preserve the Union at all costs , said : ‘ I 'm certainly not ruling out change … I 've always accepted the possibility that a referendum could be an appropriate mechanism for sounding out opinion , particularly on constitutional issues.’ Here was a different language .
Idiom: seal of approval (used idiomatically: yes)
The problem now , of course , is to determine just how far it extends . If there is no restriction on CS gas or plastic bullets ( and by November 1987 , twenty forces had been issued with plastic bullets ) , there is presumably no restriction on water cannon and live ammunition . And all with the seal of judicial approval without any formal power granted by Parliament . It is curious how easily we allow liberty to be eroded . 2 .
Idiom: in the red (used idiomatically: yes)
One is also that cluster of prejudices . Germans were not , of course , the only targets of our childish hostility , nor was hostility the only bias we absorbed . School atlases in the 1950s were still coloured half in red . The Empire might have become the Commonwealth , but that was just a new name for the same thing as far as we were concerned . It proved that , in the whole world , British was best .
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Throw it.’ He pulled his arm back and hurled the gun towards the pit . He saw it drop out of sight below the lip . He did n't hear it land . Creed held a tiny bottle under his nose and the world turned white .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: no)
Eye witnesses on the ground had seen the aircraft on what appeared to them to be a perfectly normal approach when a large portion of structure separated in flight . The aircraft pitched rapidly forward and dived into the ground from a height of about 800 feet , the major impact being about 3.5 kilometres from the threshold of the runway at Lusaka International Airport . It caught fire immediately . Some 200 metres further back along the flight path the complete right - hand horizontal stabiliser and elevator assembly were found , together with some small fragments of structure from the rear fuselage . All the occupants of the aircraft were killed instantly .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
GOING PUBLIC This opportunity provided a welcome break from the purely botanical work to which I was accustomed , as well a s a chance to make the most of my botany / zoology background . When applying for a place on MA courses five years previously , I 'd suggested that , although there were many excellent publications for identifying birds , insects , plants and so forth , ecological concepts were ‘ going public’ . There would be tremendous scope , therefore , for publications that tackled the more interesting , and perhaps relevant , topic of how plants and animals interrelate . In 1980 , I was accepted at Manchester Polytechnic and produced an illustrated study of the relationships between the plants of the buttercup family and their insect visitors .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
It was a calm , windless and hazy morning as we left Clapham and headed up through two dark tunnels along the old Drove Road of Thwaite Lane , a continuation of the medieval monastic highway that crossed the Dales , linking the lands of Fountains Abbey . After about a mile we quit the lane for pastureland below Robin Proctor 's Scar , beyond which lies the famous Norber Erratics field — a geologist 's paradise . Here are scattered numerous slate boulders which have been carried by glacier action and dumped on a limestone shelf . Many of the dark rocks stand on limestone pedestals , the surrounding rocks having been eroded away . Once through the boulder field , a grassy sward high above picturesque Crummack Dale led steadily up to a broad plateau near Long Scar , from where we had our first view of the distant and brooding Ingleborough rising from a vast array of moor and limestone pavements , shimmering in the summer heat like a huge field of cotton grass .
Idiom: to boot (used idiomatically: yes)
Bamford on a Friday morning before Christmas was everything Mrs Brissett had warned it would be . Meredith counted herself lucky to catch a space in the car park behind the supermarket as some other shopper pulled out . A glance through the plate glass doors of the supermarket itself sent her heart plummeting to her boots . A solid struggling mass of shoppers pushing unwieldy trolleys stacked high with goods , dragging along wailing children , bad - tempered , hot and tired , milled about in a frenzy . Meredith turned her back on it .
Idiom: give something a miss (used idiomatically: yes)
So , spring is the time of great activity in the bird world , and few events are more exciting to birdwatchers in Shetland than the spring passage of migrants . Anxiously we watch the skies for change and listen to the weather forecasts ; words like ' high pressure areas ' , ' occlusions ' , ' fronts ' and ' anti - cyclones'intersperse the conversation when birdwatchers foregather . For everything depends on the weather ; most birds — even tiny scraps like goldcrests — can make the ' North Sea hop ' in one go , and would no doubt would prefer to give Shetland a miss . After all , there is not much in the way of food available in the early spring for those birds dependent on insects . But Shetland enjoys — or should it be suffers from — a mild , oceanic type of climate , typified by depressions moving east from the Atlantic Ocean .
Idiom: put a foot wrong (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I am not your imaginary playmate . Call me that once more and you 'll be very , very sorry.’ ‘ If I put a foot wrong now , I 'll scare her off.’ ‘ Take risks , be heroic!’ ‘ Your timing 's crap , Kokos .
Idiom: break even (used idiomatically: yes)
Two problems recur in attempts to adopt any of the above solutions to the problem of natural monopoly . The first is that it is hard to ensure that the industry really does minimize costs . Unnecessarily high costs can be passed on under average cost pricing ( solution 1 ) , can result in a higher fixed charge to ensure break - even under a two - part tariff ( solution 2 ) , or can require a larger subsidy ( solution 3 ) . In each case the regulatory body has the difficult task of trying to ensure that the management of the natural monopoly is as efficient as possible . One practical attempt to overcome this problem of regulation is the ‘ RPI — x’ formula , first introduced in the UK when OFTEL was established to regulate the newly privatized British Telecom ( BT ) .
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: yes)
Rory slipped the fingers of his right hand sideways underneath elastic , tangled with her pubic hair . With her free hand , Rosie dexterously rolled the seat knob and fell slowly backwards with Rory spreading over her , repositioning himself with his right leg . She released his hair and put that hand down between them , feeling for his buckle . As they scratched and bit and fought each other , Rory remembered Jessica , and worried about the marks his skin would bear , but he did not worry long . He eased inside Rosie with her pants still on , they rolled around each other like grotesques .