Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the carpet (used idiomatically: yes)
There was no reply ; now that he was fully awake , she was fully asleep . He tried cautiously to shove her over by main force , but she was too heavy . He lay on his side , holding the covers over him by their edges , gazing at some of his copies of Vogue , which Tessa had been looking through and left lying on the carpet in front of the fire , where they glowed pink and red . He thought about models ' bottoms , feeling Tessa 's bulking large against the small of his back . Funny how he never seemed to meet girls …
Idiom: hand to mouth (used idiomatically: no)
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand . ' I vomited twice , ' he remarked , ' and I think I am going to do so again . ' Hand to mouth , slightly stooping , he hurried away into the darkness . I grinned contemptuously at his retreating back , looked once more at the stable , saw an eyeball glistening on the wet straw and promptly vomited myself . I looked around ; Clinton , Dacourt and others now stood near the main steps of the chateau , Throgmorton with them .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
He was always served first . When the hotel only had one toilet , it was the board master 's privilege to have first use every morning . When there was only one bathroom , at the end of the day 's fishing , the board master always had the right of the first , peaty splash . These traditions are remembered and respected , although rooms in the hotel now all have private bathrooms . Nothing Spartan about present - day Scourie ; but the board master still sits alone at meal - times , at a small table at the side of the dining - room , divorced from the influence of other guests .
Idiom: under fire (used idiomatically: yes)
Two seasons ago Ipswich , then in the Second Division , lost to the Saints in both the League and FA Cup competitions , when Le Tissier was the star turn . McGiven said : ‘ I 'd like to think we 've improved since then , but on his day Le Tissier is virtually unplayable and able to create anything at any time.’ Meanwhile , Saints keeper Tim Flowers pleaded with furious supporters to lay off under - fire manager Ian Branfoot , who has been hounded by disgruntled fans . He said : ‘ There is a lot of pressure on him but he does n't pass it on to us . He is a cheerful fellow with a typical Geordie sense of humour .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
Modigliani would come home drunk . Beatrice , too , drank ; she had no doubt learnt a few tricks from her ex - pugilist husband and could take care of herself spiritedly . Blaise Cendrars witnessed a fight in which she was getting the better of Modigliani . The concierge would listen at the door with a running commentary : ‘ The Italian 's had a drop’ , or ‘ the Englishwoman seems to be winning’ . The stories grew more inflamed with the telling and witnesses were about equally divided as to whether Beatrice encouraged Modi to debauchery or he provoked her .
Idiom: at a canter (used idiomatically: no)
Once he did , the man bound Corbett 's hands tightly to the saddlebow and , passing the rope under the horse 's belly , also secured his ankles . More men , about six , appeared ; their horses were led out and saddled . Corbett could only shout at Ranulf to stay and do nothing before Selkirk took him at a canter out of the abbey . TWELVE The journey was quick and bruising ; Selkirk led them through the town , up the craggy rock and across the wooden drawbridge into Edinburgh Castle .
Idiom: all over the place (used idiomatically: yes)
Maggie glanced up as lightning flickered across the sky , followed seconds later by a loud crack of thunder . Leaving Mrs Caskie , Maggie waved across the road to Clarice McKechnie who was a year older than her and was engaged to a lad from Oban whom she was marrying early in the new year . It started to rain again , a light drizzle that caused umbrellas to pop up all over the place . When she reached the front , Maggie stared out to sea . The sea was a dull murky green , and angry .
Idiom: into thin air (used idiomatically: yes)
I just thought I 'd watch for the , you know I think it 's on every erm it 's on every da , ways you know Hawaii Five O is showing the old things again . I used to like the Invisible Man as well . He could vanish into thin air . Yes ! I used to like that .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
gon na take serious , serious action That 's the problem and get to grips with the real world , then th er as well as what Jim said about the fact that we pay staff lieu time , and we pay them overtime , and Mm . and we let them , allow them to do flexitime ,
Idiom: at the drop of a hat (used idiomatically: yes)
Seen taking snaps of the mud ( yes , we said mud ) divers on the Sunday was cult film - maker JIM JARMUSCH who seemed to be the only one interested in watching what was otherwise a truly sad spectacle . Over in the blue tent ( the roof of which unceremoniously blew off on Sunday just prior to kick off ) the SMASHING PUMPKINS lived up to their name and managed to smash the MD of Hut Records , their record company , on the head with a flying guitar , courtesy of singer Billy Colgan . Elsewhere , JESUS JONES’ jovial MIKE EDWARDS — a man never ashamed to fill his wallet up at the drop of a hat — could be heard regaling the select with details of his latest project , which we hear is a remix of a BON JOVI track . Honestly , some people have no pride . And let that be the last of Reading for oh , at least another year … next !
Idiom: hold water (used idiomatically: yes)
He says they 're a matter for the politicians . The Home Office says no decision has yet been made . If it does happen different officers will be used to deal with the two groups , so the cross - fertilisation theory does n't hold water . Female speaker Prison officers say having adult inmates nearby has a stabilising effect on youngsters in prison , even though they never actually come into contact .
Idiom: down the road (used idiomatically: yes)
No they 're not , it 's supposed to be being used six thousand people . I do n't know whether you go down Valmer Road do you ? Not very often no . I went , I went there about two years ago to Walkers Crisps and , that 's just next door to er .
Idiom: in the blink of an eye (used idiomatically: yes)
As the vehicle moves into a new zone the information provided by the pager changes accordingly . Basic software tools : Spreadsheets No - one wanted personal computers until an American called Dan Bricklin invented a piece of software that would do lots of boring calculations in the blink of an eye . Even today , the spreadsheet is probably the single most useful piece of computer software for technical and business users . In concept , a spreadsheet is like a large piece of paper covered with boxes of cells .
Idiom: at a loose end (used idiomatically: no)
And while it might be said that his version of pochvennost comes from this same source , and while it is certainly true that pochvennost deserves a longer footnote than the Petrine reforms , a footnote is all it should be . For the novelist works to one side — hence parajournalist — of the writer busy with magazine polemics in Time and Epoch , just as his novel exists to one side — parajournalism — of the double murder in the newspapers and of scary sciencefictionish forewarnings about microbes . This to - one - side posture of novelist and novel explains how it is that Raskolnikov and Marmeladov are pointedly at a loose end while Crime and Punishment is anything but pointedly sociological . The thrust of their loose end , as of details like the murderer 's yellow cubby - hole — coffinlike , his mother calls it — and Marmeladov 's greenish - yellow face and the mortal yellow - black bruise over the heart after he gets run over , is metaphysical and apocalyptic , not documentary . ‘ Every man must have somewhere to go,’ Marmeladov tells Raskolnikov who has dropped into the pub after his ‘ rehearsal’of the murder .
Idiom: under the sun (used idiomatically: yes)
I have seen all the works that are done under the sun ; and behold , all is vanity and a chasing after wind .
Idiom: sweetness and light (used idiomatically: yes)
He did not say who ‘ they’ were . Probably the people whose advice had put him behind in the polls during the first weeks of the campaign . ALL is sweetness and light again between the Tory Party and its advertising agency , Saatchi and Saatchi . The Saatchi brothers made their names helping Mrs Thatcher to three election victories . Last December Mr Maurice Saatchi , chairman of the agency , met Cabinet ministers in a search for new vote - winning policies .
Idiom: swim against the tide (used idiomatically: yes)
He was a fighter , a lion . The Italians called him precisely that : Il Leone . But things change quickly at Ferrari and , in 1990 , he found himself swimming against the political tide . Alain Prost , France 's triple world champion , had moved in and Mansell was unwilling to play second fiddle . On the evening of the British Grand Prix he announced he would retire at the end of the season .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
Her body was riddled with arthritis . She had already had one of her hips replaced and the other one was going the same way . She also suffered from arthritis in the wrists , the fingers and the ankles and she was unable to turn her head at all ; this was due to a car accident several years before when she had suffered from whiplash . This is what Josie had to say about her experience of the Alexander Technique : The reason why I joined the original class was that I had become intrigued by what I had heard and read about the Technique and I thought it might help prevent a second hip operation .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
Oh Ida will know if anybody does . I mean she 's the link person in that family . can you have a word with Ida then ? Okay . Or David what about you ?
Idiom: make tracks (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Oh … we're just off to get the train to Holborn.’ ‘ We 'll drop you off . Come on then , Geoff , let 's make tracks.’ Maura and Margaret exchanged dismayed looks . ‘ That 's all right , Mickey .
Idiom: in Dutch (used idiomatically: yes)
This coalition took seven months to form , the longest deadlock in Dutch history . It occurred only after negotiations between the CDA and the PvdA failed , first over tax issues , then over the issue of abortion .
Idiom: hold the line (used idiomatically: yes)
Friendly and approachable , he makes a point of knowing people individually whenever he can . But behind this couthy , amiable exterior lies a strong commitment to the service and a firm determination to get things done . ' There is no question that when Jimmy decides enough he will hold a very firm line . It is not management by consensus by any means , ' says one former colleague . ' He will go along with things he considers to be in the best interests of the service and staff , but when hard decisions need to be made Jimmy will not be found wanting . '
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
The process of sense selection is , of course , extremely complex , with many interacting factors . However , in general , one can say that a hearer selects that combination of lexical readings which leads to the most normal possible utterance - in - context . In other words , a hearer will generally assume that the producer of an utterance wants to communicate something , and has chosen the linguistic context of his utterance with a view to furthering this aim . Broadly speaking , we can identify two types of normality — sentence - internal normality and contextual normality ( it is probably the case that the latter is the stronger determinant of sense selection ) . Very often a sentence contains more than one ambiguous word form ; in such cases , there will occur a kind of mutual negotiation between the various options so as to achieve the most normal combination .
Idiom: in Dutch (used idiomatically: yes)
Norway has far greater gas reserves than the UK and , with little domestic need , is keen to sell , but Norway is by no means the UK 's only supply option . The Netherlands offered to provide an alternative supply in early 1984 from the Groningen field . This desire to export gas is the second major change in Dutch energy policy . Twenty years ago the Netherlands was keen to capitalise on the giant Groningen field as swiftly as possible , fearing a short - lived market for gas . Ten years ago , the realisation that gas demand was not going to go away , gave rise to a policy designed to conserve gas resources , and all new export contracts were stopped .
Idiom: out of your mind (used idiomatically: no)
Even if you have problems , there is very little you can do about them in the middle of the night . You may find it helpful to keep a pad and pen by the bed and write down any anxiety which might come into your head . Once it 's down in black and white , you know you ca n't forget it so you can put it out of your mind until the next day . And remember , it is not necessary to be asleep in order to refresh your mind and body ; you simply need to be mentally and physically relaxed — and there are techniques you can learn to help you achieve this . You do n't feel that you sleep for long enough .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
By the time I was twelve years old I had been thinking for some time about getting a bird of my own . I appreciated I was taking on quite a responsibility — I knew it would n't be like having a budgie in a cage as a pet — but I felt I could cope . I wanted to train a bird of prey from scratch . Ever since we 'd moved to Cornwall I 'd been reading more and more about birds of prey , and by this time I was pretty sure that falconry was the ideal career for me . Falconry has been defined as ‘ the taking of wild quarry in its natural state with trained hawks and falcons’ .
Idiom: walk of life (used idiomatically: yes)
To be sure , protesters ’ grievances vary greatly according to local circumstances ( though there is surprising consistency across regions and even continents when it comes to issues like housing , unemployment , inequality , and the frustration of young people who have studied hard and can not find jobs ) . At the same time , the philosophy of change through mass , collaborative , and inclusive action is common to – and cross - fertilized between – almost every movement . Consider Tunisia , where Mouheb ~ Ben ~ Garoui , a 24 year - old activist , writes in our book about how fellow citizens from all walks of life and no definite political affiliation poured out of their homes to occupy squares and demand a say in the country ’s future . Facebook helped , but mainly because it magnified and accelerated the process . As in other countries , the very act of seizing territory meant a lot to protestors .
Idiom: cut and thrust (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ A lot of the stuff in that shop was labelled farmed fur , you know , and fake fur is n't the turn - off it once was , if it 's marketed right.’ ‘ Utter bollocks,’ she said nastily . Fair enough , I can take the honest cut and thrust of intellectual debate . ‘ It 's never OK to wear fake fur , it simply encourages aspirations to the real thing and creates a class division of real and fake . And some fakes are no better than wild species .
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Oh of course , your daughter . Well it 's a pity you did n't think of your daughter when you were whoring your way around the world , is n't it ? The poor little mare was n't even in the running then was she ? WAS SHE?’ Dan stared at Kate in bewilderment .
Idiom: live it up (used idiomatically: yes)
And how were any suitable people going to know about it when he had no phone , or no phone that worked , and Mary Gage had probably forgotten all about this Bella ? There , of course , he had been wrong . All the time he and Rufus were living it up , driving about the countryside in Goblander , driving to London once to buy marijuana from the dealer Rufus knew in Notting Hill , drinking and smoking ( as he had put it ) Hilbert 's furniture away , all that time Vivien and her boyfriend Shiva were making arrangements to join Ecalpemos . And they were expecting , of course , a well - run settlement , a sort of East Anglian kibbutz , where the members had appointed duties , where vegetarianism prevailed and brown rice had an almost holy significance and discussions on mystical or occult or philosophic subjects went on long into the night . But first Zosie had come .
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I have inherited a pub full of history and want to know a little bit more about it,’ he said . Chris believes the Bay Horse was first a pub in the 1560s and was also a coaching inn . WAITING at tables may not seem much fun to most people but in Hollywood anything goes , says 24-year - old head waiter Richard Partington . You name them , he 's served them , and now Richard , head waiter at Martha 's Vineyard , at the Kirklevington Country Club , Yarm , can not wait to go back to Beverly Hills and the good life . Richard , of Surbiton Road , Hartburn , Stockton , is off to the States again next week to find work where the film stars live .
Idiom: seen better days (used idiomatically: no)
Top promoters say there are still lessons to be learnt . They still have to overcome problems with sound quality and catering . But they are optimistic , as the song goes , of seeing better days . ANDREW TRYTHALL McGregor hints at BR concessions
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
As courts began dealing with charges of theft and public order offences , a qualified referee was told he may be jailed for his part in the looting of a Blackpool jewellers . Nigel Profitt , 21 , of Erdington , Birmingham , and three other City supporters , were told by John Pryce , chairing a magistrates ' court hearing yesterday : ‘ You are nothing more than looters . You will be remanded in custody for three weeks with a view to a custodial sentence.’ Profitt , Michael Cook , 18 , Adrian Sinclair , 19 , and Lee Scrivens , 19 , all from Birmingham , admitted theft charges ; another six City supporters were also remanded in custody or on bail , and 23 were fined a total of £ 8,600 for admitting charges arising from a weekend in the Lancashire resort which a Football Association inquiry may punish by banning City supporters from remaining away games ; all their away matches were made all - ticket for an indefinite period after trouble last season at Crystal Palace . ‘ It should now be apparent to everyone that such a riot can not be dealt with by any football Bill,’ Howell said .
Idiom: take the mickey (used idiomatically: yes)
The 55-year - old comedian was speaking to more than 1,000 students in an end - of - term debate at Oxford University . Jim , whose catchphrase on the ITV darts quiz is ‘ smashing , great , super’ , defended his comments last night . The former schoolteacher said : ‘ I do n't take the mickey out of the contestants any more than I take it out of myself . ‘ If I was to insult the contestants I would be shooting myself in the foot . The last thing I would want to do is be unkind to people who have given me an extremely successful show .
Idiom: a penny for your thoughts (used idiomatically: yes)
Again , he forced himself out of his reverie . ' What did you say ? ' ' A penny for your thoughts . What are you pondering so deeply ? ' ' Nothing at all .
Idiom: grist to the mill (used idiomatically: yes)
Incredibly , this is only the third time the ‘ Amateur’ has been in Ireland , and the championship was first played in 1885 . This was the year officialdom was so confused by the niceties of the draw that they ended up with three , not four , semi - finalists , and a Scot named Macfie got a bye into the final . It would be grist to the mill of the tabloids if anything so bizarre happened next week , especially after the kind of meticulous preparation all tournaments of this magnitude can expect . Anything Royal Portrush choose to do is done well , and McGimpsey would be first to say that the famous Dunluce course is in superb shape . Not because his title count there totals five ( out of 10 ) already , but because he enjoys a challenge that will call for every shot in the book , and some not in it .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
But when , several months later , the harassed new mum plans to go back to work , where should she turn to for advice ? Daunting The terror of leaving the tot you have cared for round the clock in the hands of a virtual stranger can be more daunting than the birth itself . And the film released earlier this year , The Hand That Rocks The Cradle , about a nanny who infiltrates a family threatening to harm the couple 's child , preys on a mother 's worst fear . Jessie Hewitt , a childminder for 30 years and a regional director of the National Childminding Association , is well aware of the urgent need for a national registration system for all child carers .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: no)
Those mean streets Five o'clock at State Street station , in downtown Chicago , and the platforms groan with homeward - bound commuters , wrapped up against the winter frost . Peer more closely at the faces : on one side , heading south , all are black ; on the other , heading north , nearly all are white . According to one 1989 study , Chicago is the most racially segregated city in America , just beating Cleveland and Detroit . Ending legal segregation has not been enough to end segregation itself .
Idiom: the icing on the cake (used idiomatically: yes)
The Crickets told me that they enjoyed the show . That was indeed an honour after all THEY played with the great man himself . ‘ If people in Liverpool like it that will be the icing on the cake.’ Before Buddy beckoned , he worked on various sea cruises as well as appearing in the touring version of Showboat . But now Alex , who is single and lives in London , is lapping up Buddymania from signing sessions outside provincial theatres to being recognised in fish and chip shops despite the fact he leaves his plain glass black spectacles in the dressing room as well as the replica Holly suits .
Idiom: first off (used idiomatically: yes)
Frenzy The new announcements , the product of an apparent frenzy of development work at the Irvine , California company , aim to change that . First off , the company has addressed the question of performance . One of Pick 's little idiosyncrasies is that database applications are written in Pick Basic , a superset of the programming language rather out of favour with most business programmers . Leaving aside any general perceptions of Basic , the Pick version was interpreted rather than compiled and consequently did n't sparkle in speed bench tests .
Idiom: rare bird (used idiomatically: yes)
In the car Lucy Lane said : ‘ A very interesting woman.’ Wycliffe agreed . ‘ A realist , and they 're rare birds , God knows.’ When they arrived back at the Incident Room the little printer was locking up for the night . ‘ Good evening , Mr Wycliffe .
Idiom: off and on (used idiomatically: no)
Wit often depends on the use of a single word perhaps used in an unusual way . I was in a group where the conversation was about winter bedroom slippers , their quality , warmth , price and cost of footwear in general . A speechreader was naturally anticipating something about the price of leather , the usefulness of gumboots — possibly how one hops round the room on one leg pulling them off and so on . An Irishman said , for no apparent reason , ' I wear a green pullover because in Ireland we have green sheep . ' This statement ' out of the blue ' naturally was not understood by the speechreader , who wondered why people laughed .