Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the back burner (used idiomatically: no)
The only solution is to break the egg and shoot the chicken!’ After winning their first four League matches , they had a run of four defeats and one draw — mainly because of a string of injuries to top players , including on - loan former Welsh union star , David Bishop . That put any promotion aspirations on the back burner . But with 17 matches to go and key players returning , Strudwick believes his side can reach the big - time for the first time since the Rugby League began their bid to take the game beyond the confines of Yorkshire and Lancashire with the Fulham experiment back in the early eighties . And from his Portakabin headquarters behind barbed wire round the back of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre complex , ‘ actually a great improvement on the one room we had inside until this month!’ , he 's been lining up a string of new sponsorship deals .
Idiom: ride high (used idiomatically: yes)
He must stay down here , with me . He must stay down here , further down , deeper , much deeper . The present rendezvous had been riding high on my chart of dreads . How is that ? How can a quiet lunch with a beautiful and intelligent girl , in a licensed restaurant , be the cause of dread ?
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
job ! You see my years so we 're starting from scratch . my attitude is if you 're not in school for whatever the reason you 're absent ! I see no objection
Idiom: lone wolf (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ The foreign correspondent ? We do n't get on . And he 's a lone wolf character.’ ‘ What cover are you travelling under?’ Dillon grinned , drank more water .
Idiom: no laughing matter (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Only ten?’ She frowned at him . ‘ Noyon , it is no laughing matter . The licence which was permitted under Nogai is a thing of the past now , and while you have not broken the Yasa , there is the matter of custom . The law was not formulated so that men and women could exchange favours promiscuously , but rather that a woman , being unable to decide upon a marriage offered to her , might select for herself without prior commitment from the men available and willing to accept her.’
Idiom: act of God (used idiomatically: yes)
He knew which cinemas occasionally showed good films , and which cinemas never ; he knew about a painter who had been born in Northam , and whose work could be seen in a room at the Public Library . He knew the name of the Mayor , and he knew why Battersby was not the be.at Grammar School . He was sufficiently well - informed to be able to declare that it was a scandal that the town lacked any kind of orchestra , whereas Clara would have taken the lack of it as a simple act of God . He even Venture , once , a remark on the architecture of the Town Hall , but he would not elaborate upon it . ( She found the remark , years later , in Betjeman . )
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
If there was a strong majority in favour of a particular action , we would go to great lengths to persuade the minority of the error of their ways . Many other companies have a more autocratic culture in that the chairman and chief executive will have a disproportionate say in what happens . ‘ The other board members will expect to have their say , but at the end of the day they expect , and accept , that the chairman should decide.’ The next phase of Haslam 's career was one where he moved about from company to company rather than from function to function . While serving as deputy chairman of ICI he became ill and was advised to take life a little more quietly .
Idiom: over your head (used idiomatically: yes)
It would be foolish to expect too much after his experience , but there was an excitement in it , all the same . He had cut himself loose from the past and had good hopes of making a comfortable landfall . What was comfort only a roof over your head , a full belly , a fire , books to read and nothing on your mind ? Health too , of course . ‘ You remember our last conversation here ?
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
‘ I spoke to her . She was very pleased to hear me . My dad 's friend 's had a heart attack so he thinks he 's going to have one too . Brian came home because Daddy could n't stand the thought of him hanging off a cliff . Brian 's my little brother , did I tell you ?
Idiom: get to the bottom of (used idiomatically: yes)
The disadvantage of this is that the horse misses out on that first year of becoming accustomed to life and its excitements . He will also be stronger which may prove to be a problem during the backing and breaking process . A three year old is comparatively weak and easy to get to the bottom of , whereas a four or five year old will be able to put up more of a resistance ( if that is in his nature ) . The pattern of training for the recently broken five year old should follow the same path as that suggested for any youngster . The improvement tends to be more rapid than with an immature three or four year old due to the increased strength .
Idiom: catch someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I know it 's silly , I mean she 's dead , but it 's so cold and I could n't bear the idea of her just lying there.’ Curious how the same thought had struck him , McLeish reflected , as he looked properly round the warm , untidy comfort of Miss Williams ‘s sitting - room , which smelled cheerfully of woodsmoke and wet dog . A big black Labrador , catching his eye , thumped her tail and rolled on her side , looking up at him hopefully . She closed her eyes in ecstasy as Jamie flung himself on her , accusing her of being a flirt . McLeish looked past the boy to see Catherine Crane , colour returned , seated on an upright chair , drinking tea .
Idiom: neither here nor there (used idiomatically: yes)
I am not by any means anti - European . After all , Europe is a geographical expression . Therefore , being in the centre of Europe or supporting Europe is neither here nor there . The key is a European Community of nations trading and cooperating through sovereign parliaments . There is no other time but now .
Idiom: full speed ahead (used idiomatically: no)
According to a reader , the Americans thought of such things first . In 1864 , the Confederates had the idea of making torpedoes to look like lumps of coal . This was in the days when torpedoes were not missiles that moved underwater , hence the nowadays somewhat obscure meaning of Admiral Farragut 's remark , ‘ Damn the torpedoes , full speed ahead!’ The torpedoes in question were fixed charges in a channel . The coal torpedoes had a powder charge inside a hollow cast iron block that was disguised as coal with tar and coal dust .
Idiom: two heads are better than one (used idiomatically: yes)
' So what do I do ? ' ' We ' , you mean . Two heads are better than one — and I feel I owe you on this . But it has to be something good , or it will just fizzle out like a damp squib and you 'll feel worse than ever . ' Folly nodded .
Idiom: out of the question (used idiomatically: yes)
Mm . adoption , and possibly a thousand people wanting those four babies ! So it 's erm out of the question to , basically , to adopt , unless you 're early twenties and have maybe perhaps eight years to wait . Mhm . Surrogacy was the last option .
Idiom: to the hilt (used idiomatically: yes)
' What have you got in mind ? ' she asked . ' An anonymous note revealing the whereabouts of the body , postmarked from a small town in Germany ? A bloodstained dagger , buried to its hilt in the door of Puddephat 's rooms ? I doubt if life is like that . Now , just give me five minutes to drink some coffee and I 'll ring Geoffrey . '
Idiom: kick against the pricks (used idiomatically: yes)
I raged inwardly against his injustice and vindictiveness ; I told myself he was a pro - Jewish fanatic , and anti - feminist to the point of misogynism ; that he was a bigot , a bully and a nepotist ( this last was more than unfair , as the extent of his nepotism was his sister 's husband 's niece who was a chambermaid ) . But in fact all I was doing was putting off the moment of reckoning . When I had stopped kicking against the pricks I began to ask myself how much longer I could have gone on without somebody noticing the change in my figure . Had I proposed to keep working until the hotel was a hotbed of gossip , and leave only when I 'd made myself the centre of a tasty little scandal ? Would n't my dismissal , inevitable eventually , have been a whole lot more unpleasant at that stage ?
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: yes)
After I did the course for two weeks I went down to a place in Ashford and I was in Ashford for twelve weeks , came back to Chelmsford , did another two weeks and then I was released as what 's known as probationer constable , a probationer constable . At that time you had to stay with your tutor constable who looked after you for twelve weeks . You went out and about for twelve weeks with your tutor constable , if you like , they call it puppy walking he was the highly trained policeman and I was the new policeman , I was with him for twelve weeks . After twelve weeks they decided I was okay , okay , you 're allowed to go out and work on your own . And that was how I was trained and that way I was trained seven and a half years ago , it has now all changed again .
Idiom: make a killing (used idiomatically: yes)
Now get this straight . Making a living is making a killing these days . Jobbers and brokers buzz . He paints out a landscape
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Or thought you had . Let me see , the stables must be round at the side.’ They turned the corner of the house and saw what looked like an outbuilding , only rather a smart one , painted white and with a tub of nasturtiums outside the open front door . Carrie 's daughter wrinkled her nose . ‘ Bacon cooking!’
Idiom: all over the place (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I felt the ground move under me . It was terrifying . There was brickwork and glass flying all over the place . I was hit on the leg and the wrist and knocked to the floor . My mind went blank .
Idiom: run out of steam (used idiomatically: yes)
Barely a year after the bankruptcy of Lehman ~ Brothers , financial markets have stabilized , stock ~ markets have rebounded , and the economy is showing signs of recovery . People want to return to business as usual – and to think of the Crash of 2008 as a bad dream . Unfortunately , the recovery is liable to run out of steam , and may even be followed by a second economic downturn , though I am not sure whether it will occur in 2010 or 2011 . My views are far from unique , but they are at variance with the prevailing mood . The longer the turnaround lasts , the more people will believe that it will continue .
Idiom: unknown quantity (used idiomatically: yes)
He would n't talk about the pilgrimage , except to say that he was disappointed at having had to abandon it He seemed far from exalted . Rather , it was as if he was having an affair with another girl , and had quarrelled with her . Absurdly , she felt jealous of Student Cross as of some unknown quantity , some hidden source of fascination , whose attraction she could neither understand nor compete with . Oh , Lord I Now he was talking about eternity . ‘ … eternal life does n't put earthly life in the shade simply because it 's longer .
Idiom: full marks (used idiomatically: yes)
water and what it does , it might be nice to just look at that to finish it off , so that if Yeah . get a question on water , which is very common , you get sort of you get the full marks to it . So hard water does n't readily form a lather with soap , right ? Yeah .
Idiom: up to scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm he makes a distinction between poor peasants , some being utterly destitute and some just being less destitute but er basically as er seventy percent of the population erm they 're the main group that 's pushing revolution forward and s so therefore I mean it 's this group that the Communist Party must n't alienate , you know , they mu must n't do anything to harm this group , associations the Communist Party must n't attack erm the associations . It says leadership by the poor peasants is absolutely necessary , without the poor peasants there will be no revolution , to deny their role is to deny the revolution , to attack them is to attack the revolution . So , I mean these are the supporters that they , they 've got to sort of focus on erm even i he does say that some of the erm er leaders of the associations are n't actually up to scratch but he says eighty five percent of them are and it would be wrong to attack or to arrest , you know , the other fifteen percent and it 's got to come from their own discipline of the association , you let the movement grow together , do n't try and er become er , you know , resisting forces because er these are the people who we 've got to erm s stay with and to look after , to harness erm to work for and er so that 's basically , is his conclusion . Do n't you think he 's , he 's asking to much or , or saying that the peasants are doing too much . I mean they 're , time in the dayre t
Idiom: under a cloud (used idiomatically: yes)
But the most pathetic of all was the fourth widow , Mrs Shepman , aged eighty and in poor health , who lived as a lodger . She was a high - class cook who had worked in many parts of the country including London . But after losing her only child , ‘ both she and her husband took to drink and dishonest dealing , and finally went back to South Africa under a cloud.’ She had returned since his death and was now drifting , ‘ sinking lower , cadging , getting drink where possible — a pitiable object . Absolutely refuses to go into workhouse.’
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ In Trevor , Chris Waddle , Viv Anderson , Chris Woods and myself we have players who 've appeared in Europe for other clubs . ‘ And many of those who have n't done that are internationals , anyway — like David Hirst , Carlton Palmer , John Sheridan , Nigel Worthington and Danny Wilson.’ Nilsson added : ‘ With a little luck I 'm sure we can go all the way . Our style is suited to European competition . ‘ We like to play the ball around like the Continentals , but we still work as hard as any team in England.’
Idiom: hold the ring (used idiomatically: no)
The world , scared of border changes and wary of espousing people - transfers , was no help . The Serbs were ready to fight . The federal army said it was holding the ring between Serb raiders and Croat policemen . Then it put two Croatian towns , ancient Dubrovnik , on the Adriatic , and Vukovar , a pretty Danube town , under siege ; to punish or reverse Croatia 's secession , said the army . By late autumn , it was openly backing Serb nationalists .
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: yes)
He said : ‘ Keith Fletcher and Graham Gooch are both members of the TCCB 's cricket committee and we shall listen carefully to whatever they might have to say in their end - of - tour reports . ‘ But I agree that we do not want bland pitches . We need a balance between bat and ball and pitches that encourage bowlers who put work on the ball.’ As he opened the post - mortem on England 's defeat , Fletcher said : ‘ We play on too bland pitches at home . Over here the ball turns and our batsmen have had to learn a new technique in five weeks .
Idiom: give and take (used idiomatically: yes)
No ha but then and when you try t in the past when I tried to find some way of imposing discipline , there is no way because quite rightly , you 're not allowed to strike children , I never wanted to and I I hardly ever did at one school where there was a marvellous spirit of give and take I used to whip off my little black velvet slipper occasionally and whack some of the larger boys about the top of the thigh . just for fun , you know but I 'm not a believer in using your fists , you ought to be using your brain to teach with but there were no there are no sanctions , if you say you must stay behind after school , you have to send a letter home and half the parents will write back and say my son or daughter is not staying after school and that is that ! Mm .
Idiom: apples and oranges (used idiomatically: yes)
WILLIAM BOYD ‘ The question is a bit invidious . It 's apples and oranges . Who 's king of the jungle , the lion or the elephant ? Burgess certainly has the highest profile , he dominates the playground and probably sees the crown as his .
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: no)
Right when you could be going up and down the gears and using whatever is appropriate Mhm . for what you 're doing or you might even find that it 's been left in reverse and you go all the way from here to Glasgow in reverse . Mm . Or in fact you go to London because it happens to be in reverse
Idiom: holy of holies (used idiomatically: yes)
The three great defectors , Nureyev ( 1961 ) , Makarova ( 1970 ) and Baryshnikov ( 1974 ) came West not for political reasons as such but because Russian dance was in a straitjacket . And you ca n't seriously characterise a nation 's ballet strength by those who would risk anything to escape it . But any attempts by frustrated British dancers to persuade their public otherwise are hardly helped by the growing profile of Russian performers at the Royal Ballet itself , the holy of holies of English ballet . The dancer everyone wants to see , the man the Royal 's chief choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan wants to create for , is Irek Mukhamedov , from the Bolshoi . And two of the spring 's six leading ballerinas at Covent Garden are Russian guests , the Kirov 's Altynai Asylmuratova and Nina Ananiashvili from the Bolshoi .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
A child , who is young , is wearing a white coat and playing a game
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: yes)
As a result , his uniform , which was not brand new to start with , began to look dirty , despite all the loving care of the mother and sister to keep it clean , and Gregor often spent whole evenings gazing at the many greasy spots on the garment , gleaming with gold buttons always in a high state of polish , in which the old man sat sleeping in extreme discomfort and yet quite peacefully .
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: no)
What they did n't make was a meal . ' What 's the plan ? ' he said , wearily . One of the giving - out - food humans was pulling trays off a shelf when a movement made it look up . Its head turned very slowly . Something small and black was being lowered down right by its ear .
Idiom: seal of approval (used idiomatically: no)
Hedgehogs should be given baby or pet food — not bread and milk . Send an sae to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society , Knowbury House , Nr Ludlow SY8 3LQ . Bird food should have the Birdfoods Standard Association 's Seal of Approval , showing that it is free from aflotoxins . Contact BSA , 14 Brook Willow Road , Halesowen , West Midlands B65 1BS . When designing your garden , plan to include shrubs like pyracantha and Berberis darwinii that give flowers all year round and thereby provide food for wildlife .
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
Turning her head , she saw it was Randy Sherwood imitating Mike to muddle her , and that he was the only player in pursuit and had now gained valuable distance . The ball was ahead on her left . As she stood up in her stirrups , stretching over Hermia 's nearside shoulder to hit the forehand , her right leg automatically swivelled up in the air . Lined up along the south of the field , the crowd could only see her left side . One umpire was up the other end , the other was too busy controlling his refractory pony to watch what Randy was up to .
Idiom: lay an egg (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm in fact a similar effect happens , I 'll be mentioning this in the lecture but let me just mention it now . A similar thing can happen with so - called piracy in fish . Erm one of the problems fish have on this is that they lay their eggs in gravel or something like that and where males have their own nest sometimes another male comes along and er takes it over , hijacks it piracy and interestingly enough what happens in those situations a pirate male will come in , displace the existing male from his nest and fertilize a few eggs and then buzz off . The resident male who was displaced then comes back and looks after all the eggs , including those of the pirate and the reason he does it presumably in the first place he ca n't distinguish which eggs he 's fertilized and those fertilized by the pirate and secondly , he knows he 's fertilized some of the eggs and therefore it pays him to stay and look after all of them . So erm in other words i it wou would depend on the circumstances on how much has already been invested .
Idiom: give up the ghost (used idiomatically: yes)
His long throw allowed Chris Kiwomya to plunder the opening goal after 56 minutes . Full - back Denis Irwin rescued United with a blistering angled drive just two minutes later . Certainly Ferguson has not given up the ghost of trying to land the Championship . He said : ‘ No - one is flying away , certainly none of the top sides . TIME ON SIDE AFTER three Premier League games Manchester United are still without a win — but Fergie refuses to panic and has told the players to keep plugging away .
Idiom: like clockwork (used idiomatically: no)
How many hens?’ ‘ Roughly two hens a person , my dear . These Rhodes lay like clockwork , though of course they all have a poor period , a sort of resting period . I give them a hot mash too , as well as letting them scratch about here , we cook up all the scraps in the kitchen . Did you not have hens in Scotland?’
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
Sometimes they leap at it from behind and claw at its head feathers . The excitement is contagious , with many new birds arriving and performing the mobbing display without even seeing the bird of prey that is causing the commotion . They witness the behaviour of the other small mobbers and simply follow suit . They become so excited during this gang warfare that humans can approach them much more closely than at other times . And their arousal is so intense that if the owl finally departs they will still go on mobbing for a long while afterwards , as though they can not calm down to a normal level of activity until some considerable time has passed .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: yes)
I 've a boat . I tied up in a cove west of here , just beyond the headland.’ I asked : ‘ Can you really see the lights of this cottage from the machair?’ A perceptible pause , as Mr Parsons turned and set his mug down on the mantelpiece . ‘ I doubt it .
Idiom: turn the tables (used idiomatically: yes)
But it was thirty - one years later and recent scholarship has questioned whether the anecdote might not have been a retrospective invention . Contemporary accounts were certainly not unanimous in recording a triumphant Huxley and a humiliated bishop . Huxley had turned the tables admirably , according to Sir Joseph Hooker , but he had been unable to throw his voice over so large an assembly . He had not dealt with the bishop 's weak points nor , according to Hooker , had he carried the audience with him . One convert to Darwin 's theory , Henry Baker Tristram , who had applied the concept of natural selection to larks and chats in the Sahara desert , was actually deconverted as he witnessed the debate !
Idiom: get the nod (used idiomatically: yes)
The player said : ‘ I had my hands on the ball all the time . How can it be a try?’ But Kinsey defended his decision by insisting : ‘ I got the nod from my touch judge Andy Cole.’ On the Richards decision , Kinsey explained : ‘ He was preventing release of the ball . I had given the Lions two or three penalties for the same offence.’
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
Do n't want to throw it away . No . If there 's room in the cupboard by the back door , put it in there , otherwise , we 'll put it in the shed . You 'll find room for it somewhere . Yes .