Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: to boot (used idiomatically: yes)
Some of the gravel , but not a lot , will be pounded into the hardcore . The high sides will help prevent the gravel being kicked into the garden , so it will be some years before you need to top it up . However , gravel does stick to muddy boots , and weeds seem to be able to grow through it , even where there is not real soil to support them . Spraying with weed killer may become an annual ritual , and you will from time to time have to rake the surface over to keep it even and within its boundary . CONCRETE
Idiom: back to the drawing board (used idiomatically: yes)
It held 250 books and did n't attempt to divide them by author , title or illustrator . We photographed it and asked booksellers and sales force for their reactions . Their answers sent us back to the drawing board . ‘ Prototype two . We cheekily asked Helen Paiba to test run it in her shop in Muswell Hill .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
We should all be united in wanting a Britain where dangerous criminals are kept out of harm 's way , where politicians are honourable and public servants are honest . We wo n't get it if the newspapers are gagged . Green light DIRE warnings are given of the consequences of taking the necessary measures to make cars more environment-friendly . It is said that they would increase the cost of petrol by 20p a gallon .
Idiom: from the cradle to the grave (used idiomatically: yes)
" A gypsy child , indeed . " " Does n't matter what age they are . Right bad lots from the cradle to the grave . " Fiddy , if you do n't hold your tongue , I 'll send you out of the room . " " Not much point in that .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
But contrary to common perception , Iraqi Shiites do not form a homogenous block that opposes the supposedly unified Sunnis . Indeed , the contrary is true . In the light of Iraqi nationalism that crosses sectarian boundaries , it is farfetched to consider the Iraqi Shia merely proxies of Iran . Instead , what we are witnessing in Iraq today is not ever increasing friction between religious communities but escalating internal power struggles within the Sunni and Shiite communities .
Idiom: scratch the surface (used idiomatically: yes)
In the run - up to the downgrade , an analyst at Moody ’s said that the decision would be based largely on whether the government heeded the Gallois report ’s call for a “ competitiveness shock ” to France ’s economy . The downgrade thus suggests that Moody ’s considered the government ’s response insufficient . In fact , this negative verdict barely scratches the surface of France ’s predicament . The full picture emerges only after examining the motivations behind the government ’s inadequate response . The underlying explanation lies in the culture and prejudices of France ’s governing elite , the so - called grands commis formed by the National ~ Civil ~ Service ~ School of which Hollande – like virtually all of his predecessors , except Nicolas ~ Sarkozy – is an alumnus .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: no)
well that 's our friends and Lisa 's they 're always at the party we goes to You have got work now . They were in , aha , yeah , they were in bed , right , and this , look , in bed , listen to this , sound asleep it 's on the radio and news , they 're asleep in bed with two girls and the boys , the boy was in bed fast asleep and somebody come and touched him like that and when she woke up it was this , this the lad and Ooh .
Idiom: in the offing (used idiomatically: yes)
Top of the French hit - list are India and Brazil ( where cooperative agreements already exist ) , Vietnam , Indonesia and Mexico . Egypt and Zimbabwe are also targets for deals . A major exchange between the French science body , the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique , and its Vietnamese counterpart is in the offing . It will cover biology , electronics and data processing as well as engineering . France is under pressure to reduce its involvement in the scientific affairs of Francophone nations .
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
Whole sections of the City were trampled flat , buildings going down like balsa wood . Streets buckled , cars flew through the air like nursery toys , and matchstick model pylons flew apart . Susan held her hands up in the air , and felt those other , claw - tipped hands tearing down Daine 's Dream . Cuts and weals appeared where her surrogate hurt itself in its destructive frenzy , but she smoothed them away with a flick of her mind . People ran through the square , screaming in Japanese .
Idiom: out of the question (used idiomatically: yes)
It was a jibe that nearly became a prophecy , though Cambridge were left with more of a one - horse race . The Banshee came to grief two minutes off the start while lying third , a length down on the leader , Red Alligator . Its rudder and fin were both knocked out , and a four - foot - long gash in the shell meant even repairs on the bank were out of the question , reinforcing complaints about the lack of driftwood clearance on the river this year . After the restart it took Red Alligator longer to break clear of the freshmen . The Red crew gained a length by the mile post and 2 ½ by Hammersmith Bridge , but the freshmen hung on to lose by about the same margin , six seconds behind Red Alligator 's winning time of 19min 46sec .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh well we should n't have any rust . No . You think you 're doing the right thing by eating olive oil pure oils but Another twenty years , there 'll be another turnabout Ah yeah !
Idiom: charity begins at home (used idiomatically: yes)
In the meantime there was Matey to reassure — Matey who had always given him her love and support , whom he had taken for granted , as though her love and loyalty were simply his due . He was no better than Stair , or Havvie , in his lack of concern for the feelings of those about him , he thought . Charity began at home , and , though there were larger claims on him in the world outside , what was the worth of his work there if he ignored and hurt those nearest to him ? ' Do n't worry , Matey , ' he said to her , leaving the room of many memories , putting his arms about her , seeing with new eyes how old she had grown , and that he was all she had , the last of the many children for whom she had cared in a long life of selfless service . ' I did not mean to be selfish .
Idiom: see stars (used idiomatically: yes)
' I 'll take it up to my bedroom and you can listen to the radio in the sitting - room . ' ' I thought I 'd sit in the garden , ' said Betty . ' The mist 's nearly cleared and I like to see the stars . ' ' What a good idea , ' said Lydia . She lay on her bed and after a while heard Betty come in again , slapping at her cheeks and arms .
Idiom: get stuck in (used idiomatically: yes)
I beg your pardon . Now they went into war , they came out of this war the were n't , there was no tip of the glory for them . There was fourteen feet of snow floods but the main thing about these people , they took their jackets off and got stuck in and they became special people because they laid the foundation of the welfare state that everybody else in this room g gained out of . They got the jackets off , they did the job , they laid it out for us . Now surely we owe these people something better than this surely there 's got the wickedness out or the intelligence to get this thing off the ground .
Idiom: high and mighty (used idiomatically: yes)
Pinned suddenly by the man 's dark gaze , Leith was all at once certain that Travis 's cousin had made up his mind in advance that she was more interested in Travis 's financial status than Travis himself . And that made her angrier than ever . With difficulty , though , she hid her ire — and it seemed a good idea then to reply to this high and mighty man with what he all too clearly wanted to hear . ‘ I have n't any serious plans to marry him , if that 's what you 're asking,’ she told him as levelly as she could , and had the hardest work in the world in hanging on to her temper when his glance flicked from her through the open door into her sitting - room . Her carpets , she felt , were noted ; so too were the furnishings .
Idiom: from pillar to post (used idiomatically: yes)
Kurdish people are hanging on in the northern part of Iraq , desperately in need of support and aid that must come to them before a harsh winter sets in . The situation is desperate . Many have been homeless , not just for the past six months but for several years and they have been pushed from pillar to post within that area . Across the border , the Turkish army is continuing vigorous armed raids against Kurdish placements throughout south - eastern Turkey and is crossing the border and bombing Kurdish villages in Iraq . As there is supposed to be a degree of coalition forces air control in that region , the British and American forces must know about the aerial bombardments .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
Hence , considerable numbers of chefesses willing to come over here and work for peanuts just for the experience . Some of them get to cook as well . ) There was another advantage late on a lunch - time in that there were always a few city slickers who had ventured north by north - west ( of the Barbican ) to try the Hoskin 's or the Holden 's bitter and found it had got the better of them , so needed a taxi back to civilization . It was young and shy Nadine on duty , so I got a large portion of chicken in white wine sauce with rice ( how is it that the French can cook rice that never sticks ? ) and a bottle of Pils for next to nothing . As I made inroads into both , I sussed the other punters and though the place was fairly quiet there were a couple of city gents in suits talking earnestly and drinking fast .
Idiom: pump iron (used idiomatically: yes)
Shadow , alias Jefferson King , from ITV 's Gladiators , is one tough dude , whether he 's firing tennis balls or hitting someone with what looks like a giant cotton bud , he 's mean . Shadow has devoted most of his 31 years to body building . When he 's not zapping helmetted contestants in front of a TV camera , he 's usually to be found pumping iron in a gym somewhere . That 's what brought him to the Sleek Physique club in Didcot at the weekend — together with a legion of fans . Male speaker
Idiom: part of the furniture (used idiomatically: yes)
Am I even a little bit — beautiful , or are you just saying it to make me open up?’ He did n't move closer to her , but his voice was little more than a whisper . Somehow at that moment he was very far from being just part of the furniture . His words , in that elusively caressing accent , floated to her in the quiet little office . ‘ You are a very lovely woman .
Idiom: for Africa (used idiomatically: yes)
A. E. Housman : More Poems , xl With the Falklands War in 1982 — conventional warfare such as no one expected to see again — there surfaced memories that had never been buried very deep . For many British people of my generation , the sight of great ships sailing for a remote theatre of action , their rails lined with cheering soldiers , at once evoked echoes of convoys leaving for Africa or the Far East , yet at the same time produced surprise at the media coverage and the openness with which these preparatory stages , and indeed the later fighting , appeared to be reported . To one trained in the more - than - circumspect world of Ultra at Bletchley , the press and public expectation of immediate news and information , not just about military successes and casualties , but even about questions of tactics — and that in advance of the action — seemed incomprehensible . Given that conditions had changed greatly in forty years , and that ‘ the right to know’ had in every walk of life assumed paramount importance , it seemed nevertheless unrealistic — even allowing for the vastly different scale of the conflict — for relatives of servicemen to protest at lack of information over but a few days or even hours .
Idiom: go to the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
The losses of the state sector had grown as a result of the explosion of labour costs with the return to democracy , and because the state holding company INI ( Instituto Nacional de Industrias ) became a ' hospital ' for near - bankrupt private companies ; these accounted for more than 40 per cent of its losses in 1983 . This reflected the pressures of the transition . Politicians were not prepared to risk the fragile social consensus by allowing troubled firms to go to the wall . Thus the rationalization of the state enterprise sector became a major priority of the post-1982 PSOE government . According to a study by the finance ministry , the government 's aim was to ' liberate the considerable financial resources which [ these enterprises]absorb and employ them in financing activities and companies with a future and capable of generating stable employment'(cited in El País , 6 July 1983 ) .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
But if sh Bet was on she 'd get it . Oh . Serves him right . Yeah , oh , oh , Dave give her up . Bloody omen .
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: yes)
He was bright and articulate , the son of a successful doctor and a concert cellist . His home was a four - bedroomed house standing in its own large garden on the outskirts of the town . He had the usual run of furtive sexual fumblings and persuaded three of his girlfriends ( whom he then held in contempt ) to go all the way . Carolyn , who had been in his English class for years , had always been quite insignificant . With the thinning of numbers to an A - level class of fifteen , she was brought to his attention .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: no)
If she will never be able to hide under the beauty of her image clusters , at least she will never bore us with the undergrowth of psychology and metaphor , where art is an excuse for waffle . Who else could have divined the route from ‘ jingle’ through ‘ tingle’and ‘ mingle’to the inevitable sad ‘ single’in a four - line Christmas poem . Colin Falck 's Cat Gone from Memorabilia ( Taxus , £ 5.95 ) , by contrast , goes courageously over the top in its eloquent last verse demonstration of how death and depression transfer emotion and unhinge reason : Come back my love . Give me another chance . I will protect you , play games with you , take you away for the weekend .
Idiom: mark someone's card (used idiomatically: yes)
The swimsuits and trunks have attached foam shoulders to help keep kids afloat . For ages two to six , normal price is £ 35 , but we have 12 to give away . Mark your card ' Bami suit ' and give age and sex of child . ( Stockists include Selfridges , or tel : . ) To apply for your treat send a postcard ( no envelopes please ) , clearly marked with the treat name , to SHE May Treats , PO Box 501 , Leicester L99 0AB , by May 31 , 1992 .
Idiom: go begging (used idiomatically: yes)
I just did n't know , that 's all.’ But it did matter — or did it ? Oh , God , why was it that whenever she was around this man her wits went begging ? But if he was Australian — ‘ Come and sit by the fire and get warm,’ he instructed , interrupting her thoughts .
Idiom: curry favour (used idiomatically: yes)
So , in what was nominally a democracy , power was really in the hands of the first citizen … It was under him that Athens was at her greatest . " Only after Pericles ' death did the rot set in , when the people insisted on following so - called " demagogue revealing word — like Cleon , who evidently did not know how to behave , but curried favour with " the rabble " by calculated populist gestures : " He was the first " , wrote Aristotle , " to indulge in shouting and scurrilous abuse from the rostrum , and to address the people with his clothes tucked up like a common labourer , whereas all his predecessors had spoken with dignity and properly dressed . " Professor Peter Green is surely right to suggest that the cult of Pericles , and the idea of a decline following his death in 429 BC , reflect the persistence of a mistrust of democracy among many modern commentators on ancient Greece . The one event that has done more than any other to damage the reputation of Athenian democracy is , of course , the trial and execution of Socrates in 399 BC for impiety and corrupting the young .
Idiom: talk dirty (used idiomatically: yes)
Why , oh why , was n't Gina there ? He hated it when she was tactful and allowed him space to meet women . They went back upstairs and he talked dirty to Eleanor . He could never resist doing that with an attractive woman . But he avoided sitting on the sofa next to her although she 'd left space .
Idiom: dead and buried (used idiomatically: no)
P is ‘ Pity the first doctor got it right,’ which is what the second doctor said . Q is the quiet room where B lay , suffering grievously ; R is the revenge of those who are eaten alive in this life to provide fleeting pleasures for Bigger and Brawnier B 's who gobble them . S is the seed of the apple A which sprouted out of the unwholsome manure that B became after she was dead and buried . And in the fullness of Time the seed S grew into a beautiful Tree , which is what T stands for . And the birds of the air sang in its branches and made nests ; and the insects of the earth swarmed upon it or tunnelled into its leaves , or stems , or fruit , as is their wo nt .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
However , the mystery remains and I will never forget it and will always puzzle over the mysterious footprints that defied all the obstacles , or did they ? THE SCENT OF THE ROSE Charlotte Campbell was more than delighted to have received a reply to her letter for the position of children 's nanny which she had seen advertised in The Times . She hoped for a reply , but dared not hope too much ; she imagined that the Hon Mrs Anderson - Hunt would have had many replies and perhaps ladies with experience would be far more preferable to a young comparatively inexperienced girl like her . But in 1906 it was the accepted procedure to reply to letters and Charlotte was so excited at the invitation to visit Winstable Hall for an interview .
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
The Commons members ' interests select committee 's report followed a complaint by a Labour MP , Dale Campbell - Savours , that Mr Gummer had failed to declare the work in the MPs ' register . Mr Gummer argued that he was justified in not registering the work as the show did not benefit him financially . The cost of making good the damage done to his grounds as a result of the event had left him out of pocket . Since the event was well publicised and sponsorships clearly identified , there was nothing secret to be brought out in the open , he told the committee . But the committee said that in accepting sponsorship of the restoration work carried out on his pond , Mr Gummer received a benefit he should have registered .
Idiom: get off the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It sounds like a real Howard Baker story,’ says Barratt Kessel . But he 's impressed , Howard can tell , by the casual use of expressions like ‘ dreck’ and ‘ would you believe?’ ‘ If it ever gets made,’ says Howard , ‘ because I do n't think it 's ever going to get off the ground . You would n't believe the wheeling and dealing that 's going on.’ ‘ Tell us anyway,’ says Charles Aught .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
Any jobs involving bags of fertiliser / grain were not tackled . General work covered a variety of tasks . By far the greatest amount of time was spent in journeys to town for spare parts , veterinary medicines , etc . , or as in one case , where the wife was particularly active , to check the livestock prices with a view to selling cattle . Paperwork was usually the least enjoyed part of farming and it was invariably left to wives . In this study 70 % undertook at least some of the paperwork though , in many cases , it was clear that the farmer retained part of the paperwork to himself .
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: yes)
a ) Use their own discretion on the use or reproduction of such information . b ) If in any doubt , seek the advice of a senior officer of the rank of Superintendent or above . c ) If it is considered imperative that such privileged information should be included on the paper and which [ sic ] falls within the terms of the concern expressed above , then the whole should be submitted for approval by a Chief Officer … who will give a ruling as to its use and circulation . Nothing in this order changes the already existing practices exercised in connection with courses or papers overseen by the Regional Inspector Training Unit or Police College . In these cases a Senior Police Officer has ' first read ' of any papers and all other personnel involved have been required to enter into an undertaking to respect the security of the information .
Idiom: take a bath (used idiomatically: no)
Finally , hugging the bottle 's warmth to her chest , she checked on the bolts of the front and back doors and made her way up the uncarpeted stairs to bed . On the landing she met Mrs Copley , dressing - gowned , scurrying furtively to the bathroom . Although there was a cloakroom on the ground floor the Old Rectory had only one bathroom , a defect which necessitated embarrassed , low - voiced inquiries before anyone upset their carefully worked out rota by taking an unexpected bath . Meg waited until she heard the main bedroom door shut before going herself to the bathroom . Fifteen minutes later she was in bed .
Idiom: come to think of it (used idiomatically: yes)
I joined the staff of Aura shortly afterwards . ‘ Mussed’ is a word so outmoded I 'm surprised the God of Media did n't strike him down on the instant with a thunderbolt . Pre - Hugo , come to think of it , my hair never got mussed . Now I can scarcely get a comb through it in the morning . To each their own earthquake .
Idiom: for keeps (used idiomatically: no)
Youngsters often leave home to spend anything from two months to a year on one of the country 's 273 kibbutzim . The kibbutz , the Hebrew name for a collective settlement , has also proved to be a firm short - term favourite among travellers . There they join around 130,000 native Israelis , about three per cent of the population , and pay for their keep by helping to harvest fruit and vegetables . The kibbutz craze hit a peak in the late 1970s and early 1980s before travellers embarked on what is now the latest adventure — working holidays in Australia . Last year it was revealed that many collectives had managed to run up enormous debts .
Idiom: black and blue (used idiomatically: no)
I says , there 's nowt on it ! I says , I shove cards in , I says , apart from it telling how much you 've put in , I says , there 's nowt to read on it ! They swear black and blue , they charge you for that meter as well ! I 'm being charged for two meters . So it pushed bill up .
Idiom: thick and fast (used idiomatically: yes)
MANY thanks for the excellent series of articles on the proposed Sports Museum they put the situation accurately and can do nothing but help our cause . We have heard recently that Trafford is working on the same lines , so we will have to get a move on . THE JOKES are still coming in thick and fast from young readers . We challenged them to make our theatre critic , Joe Riley , laugh . The reward was an Echo T - shirt .
Idiom: know no bounds (used idiomatically: yes)
The principle was one thing , the passenger quite another element in the rapid growth of what has become an international craze . For John Barker , a founding member of the British kite flying movement , and a prime mover among the paradropping enthusiasts like Jim Whitehouse and Greg Locke before him , there was no other possible passenger to harness into a parachute than that childhood and perennial favourite , the ‘ Teddy Bear’ . The universal appeal of the ‘ Teddy’ knows no bounds . We are , as we write , immersed in Bearaphanalia . The Top - selling hardback in the British book trade leading up to Christmas 1991 was Pauline Cockrill 's The Ultimate Teddy Bear Book and it had held its position among the top ten hardbacks for over two months .