Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
The synopsis was , as Gould bragged to Jardine , ‘ very much approved of’ , although Jardine himself still had reservations about the cost of the production and the lavish colouring . To most people it was only the text that could be found lacking . ‘ The figures of the heads are beautifully done,’ noted Selby , ‘ [ and]are quite sufficient to identify the species,[but]I wish he had added a little more to the letter press as not a single word is said about habits , a description of the plumage alone being given.’ Gould was well aware of the descriptive shortcomings of his synopsis — Mere was simply not enough information available on Australian birds — but , cautious as ever , he needed to prove the strength of the market before committing himself to the ‘ grander work in prospect’ . In the event , so encouraging was the reception of his synopsis , so fertile the ground for his proposed work , that Gould was incited to commit an uncharacteristic error of rashness .
Idiom: off the cuff (used idiomatically: yes)
It was her way with the pithy and quotable phrase that drew media attention to her work on the London catwalks in the early Eighties , a knack she called on again in her last collection , studding ' Clean Up Or Die ' on to the backs of leather biker jackets . She sees red , however , when the slogans and other aspects of her designs are copied and bowdlerised ; she has sounded off a great deal about suing the culprits , a litigious reflex often apparent in her career . Critics have sniped that the dividing line between the political and the profit motive has never been too sharply defined on Hamnett 's agenda , a feeling provoked by such off - the - cuff comments as her enthusiasm for an idea that will ' make me rich and wo n't hurt animals ' . One politically committed ex - collaborator comments : ' In the beginning what she was doing was an interesting exercise in radical chic . But there 's no real logic to hold it together .
Idiom: on and off (used idiomatically: yes)
In little over a year since the British government gave its approval to CB , the Home Office has been inundated with six to eight thousand complaints of interference each month . But another important reason for the worsening RFI problem is today 's widespread use in industrial equipment of integrated circuits . The equipment can perform a wide range of control functions , from simply turning a pump on and off to supervising a complete oil refinery . Most of these control devices are built around microprocessors . The circuits of these devices can rectify currents induced by RFI , especially at higher frequencies , into pulses confusingly similar to desired digital signals .
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
Jealousy and Fighting It is not uncommon to find households with two or more Rottweilers and it is in these situations , that sometimes , the green - eyed monster can appear . This usually happens when the pecking order in the pack is upset , or a new arrival causes confusion to the status quo . One theory is that you should dominate the dog who is lowest in the pecking order to make him realize that he is the lowest and to prevent problems from occurring . However , I feel it is better to dominate all dogs equally and make them come to a submissive position in front of the owner , preferably the down position .
Idiom: with a vengeance (used idiomatically: yes)
I mean Hans lost his world crown this term , but he 's still the best . He had mechanical problems . He 'll come back next year with a vengeance and so will the skull Oxford Cheetahs . The pressure — it 'll be off them , they are no longer champions — but let 's remember they did finish in fourth place and I 've got a feeling that they 're not giving anything away at Oxford Speedway , because they never do . There 's going to be a few new faces next term .
Idiom: over the hill (used idiomatically: no)
no one little duck said quack , quack , two little ducks came swimming back I 've got a race two little ducks went swimming one day over the hills and far away went swimming one day over the hills and far away one little duck went
Idiom: go straight (used idiomatically: no)
He would n't like it bone hard.’ Then , in obvious reference to arch - rival Francois Boutin 's post - race comments concerning Arazi last week , Fabre said with a mischievious grin : ‘ Lion Cavern was only 62 per cent fit today.’ Fabre confirmed that Tertian will go straight to the 2,000 Guineas , in which he will be ridden by Pat Eddery for Khalid Abdullah . Lion Cavern came from last in a race run at a slow early pace , to get up in the finalstrides and score by a head from long - time leader River Falls , with Swing Low a further length away third , and Rodrigo de Triano failing to run on in the final furlong and weakening for fourth . Richard Hannon is eager for revenge with River Falls and Swing Low and was lamenting the fact that he had instructed Walter Swinburn to hold up Swing Low in the early stages .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
In the current financial year budgets what authorities would have spend in delivering services , not what the Welsh office consider they should spend , were two thousand six hundred and eighty eight million pounds and against that the next years settlement which we 're debating tonight , represents only a point six percent increase . Even that is not itself a true reflection of reality . The current settlement , as the Secretary of State indicated , includes provision for community care to the tune of eight six million pounds . That itself is some forty million pounds below the association of Welsh counties assessment of what is actually needed to meet the needs of the community and it is in any event not available for general spending . So if that figure is removed from the spending total the current increase is only two point three percent above the settlement for nineteen ninety three , ninety four and being twenty eight million pounds , or one percent , below the current years budgets actually represents a four percent real terms reduction and that is a measure of the cuts which the government this year wishes to force on local government .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
The odds are favourable enough according to Chelsea 's Mike Hazard , who said of his adversary : ‘ He could cope in Poland , not just because of his ability to close people down and use the ball well , but temperament — you saw that when he scored the goal that won Arsenal the League . ’ Very kind , but international players are supposed to be habitually influential , and it was Hazard who in the second half , with a few incisive passes , gifts from the heavens on a day like this , left a greater mark . Chelsea might have won had the ball not kept turning into a Mexican bean at Kerry Dixon 's feet . Campbell 's hard-working side are still trying to sort out their system , which involves a spare defender and , as far as one can see , a good deal of improvisation . It should suit Tony Dorigo , the unblooded England left-back , though oddly his rival , Nigel Winterburn , did more rampaging on Saturday ; neither , in truth , made the heart pound .
Idiom: down and out (used idiomatically: yes)
The Dale , perhaps for the only time in its short life , was full . The word ' anticipatory ' falls limply from its first syllable in its attempt to describe the atmosphere , recharged from row to row . Young next to old , doing - well next to down - and - out : a heterogeneous mass present for its own mutually exclusive reasons . The buzz , the uninhibited , excited talking , yes , uninhibited talking , in a district where you were made to feel peculiar if you allowed any expression to cross your face in the street , died as the lights slowly faded . Complete darkness .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
Sonya is the church-slavonic ‘ daughter ’ ( dshcher ) whom Marmeladov introduces in his pub tirade . God will call her to Him on the Day of judgment , asking ‘ Where is the daughter who had pity on her earthly father , the filthy drunkard , and was undismayed by his beastliness ? ’ There must be many who are touched to the heart by that phrase ‘ earthly father ’ and yet who do n't believe a word of the novel 's religion ; just as , and more obviously , Raskolnikov 's kissing the dirt in the middle of the Haymarket does n't stand or fall by Dostoevsky 's Soil Philosophy . For the earth and the filth are the realized human stuff of the book . Not , of course , all its human stuff ; when Dostoevsky told his biographer that the task of his own deeper realism was ‘ to find the human in the human being ’ , he meant there is more to us than filthy earth , and this ‘ more ’ must be found .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: no)
SPOKESMEN for the Conservative Party are normally adept at explaining away bad local - election results . They have had plenty of practice . But as he inspected the size of the Tories ' losses on May 6th even the home secretary , Kenneth Clarke , usually a man to find a silver lining in the blackest cloud , admitted that the government was in ' a dreadful hole ' . Was it really that bad ? In terms of seats won and councils held , yes .
Idiom: carry the can (used idiomatically: no)
And the more familiar the jokes , the funnier they are . Only a true snob can fail to laugh . ‘ I expect there will be some critics who ca n't find a good word to say — but there always were and no bad review was ever able to dampen the success of the Carry Ons . ’ But one thing is quite clear as Jim makes his comeback — those youthful looks have remained intact . There are a few laughter lines around the eyes but the boyish grin is the same and at 57 , he looks 10 years younger .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
Repertoire is a complete invoicing and stock control program aimed at the small business and will run on virtually any PC compatible machine with any DOS from 3.2 upwards . Written by a British author with user friendliness at the top of his list . It has everything you need to control your stock and invoices and is the ideal package for the small business , due to its ease of use , it took me only five minutes to get to grips with the program . ADDRESS CONTROLLER Order Code : 7070 Total Disks : 1
Idiom: pure and simple (used idiomatically: yes)
From their written works it would appear that most psychologists up to about 1935 have assumed that these three things , separately or together , must constitute the whole of what we mean when we speak of a person feeling a touch as a touch on his shoulder or a pain as a pain in his foot . Little has been written on the subject since then , but one may infer from the few remarks that are made on it that psychologists are no longer so impressed by ‘ the insuperable logical difficulty’ James believed there to be in the way of saying that the difference between sensations may be one of ‘ place pure and simple’ . Indeed , the whole point of the local sign theory , as an alternative to the ‘ place pure and simple’ account has been lost on some psychologists . Thus K. F. Muenzinger writes : ‘ When a point on the skin is stimulated by contact , the perception contains not merely the element of touch but also that of a definite place where the contact occurs . This second element has been given the name ‘ local sign ’’ .
Idiom: go it alone (used idiomatically: yes)
— Be the boss WHERE TO FIND THE BACKING TO GO IT ALONE THE DREAM of going it alone in business has taken a tumble in the present dodgy financial climate . But being the boss is still possible — thanks to franchising .
Idiom: have a go (used idiomatically: yes)
Subject : pickie Thanks for the help everybody , you 're all bloody marvellous you are . We only have an A4 scanner but if somebody would like to send me the relevant pages from the Torygraph I will have a go , the address is coming up at the end of the progrmme . Here is the first of he gifs and its a bloody good one too , even if it is a bit big ; - ) 400k+ . It is a team photo taken on the pitch shortly after the presentation of the championship trophy .
Idiom: for my money (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's a long road from here to there — at least as far as it was from there to here via Jamaica ! But before I take the first step out of here , I think I 'll feel pretty good about the knowledge and inquisitive spirit I 've been able to share and the doors I 've helped open . And this for my money is what Peace Corps is all about . Richard Kite , Manager of Ann Kite Educational Services , adds ‘ We were so interested in what L.A. told us about Arune that we arranged to mail her four more of our Video Courses ! ‘ We found L.A. 's news of particular interest because , as she says , the commentary on our videos is of course in English and is worthless to the local Thai women .
Idiom: food for thought (used idiomatically: yes)
G.B. How nice to receive a letter so full of constructive criticism . Such an in - depth analysis of last season 's loss of form obviously gives me food for thought and deserves a similarly constructive reply . Thank you for writing . Les Bence
Idiom: larger than life (used idiomatically: yes)
Which is why I think naturalistic plays with domestic situations need very careful handling . They are so like the television it 's sometimes hard to see why they are being done on a stage . Yes , the stage is larger than life and it is about emotions that are big enough to wrap round you . The theatre is at it 's best being spectacular and for experimental new plays — I certainly do n't think the theatre should be like television . We have problems on British television because our theatrical tradition gets in the way , so - that characters talk too much , as though the medium is only half way from the stage .
Idiom: out of the box (used idiomatically: no)
It was not , in all honesty , an auspicious debut . We ran the race as if we were competing in a 100 metres , charging full tilt at the bends . Mike Powell was handing over to me and in the general melee of the race he had run out of his box and I had run out of my lane , so we were disqualified twice ! I was mortified , because we did n't appear at the presentation ceremony and I did n't receive a medal as a memento of the occasion . Later , Lynn Davies , who was the team manager , gave me the medal .
Idiom: dead as a dodo (used idiomatically: yes)
Andrew intends to move back into his old bachelor pad at Windsor Castle when his Balmoral hols are over . And yet ‘ Southyork’ is still guarded by 16 police — costing the local taxpayers £ 350,000 a year — and kept spick and span by a full team of servants . The house is ‘ as dead as a dodo’ , said an insider yesterday . And local Labour leader John Tompkins called it a scandal , adding : ‘ If the house is vacant , it should be used for the people here who have nowhere else to go.’ MOO - ving on
Idiom: go hand in hand (used idiomatically: yes)
Fear is the parent of cruelty , and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand - in - hand . It is because fear is at the basis of those two things .
Idiom: she'll be right (used idiomatically: yes)
I only hung on here thinking you might turn up , ' Charlie said . ' What about the boat ? ' ' Tide 's on the way out so she 'll be all right for now . I 'll come back and check the situation this evening . ' Maggie gazed at the twenty - foot - long boat that was her father 's main source of livelihood .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
I put on my dressing - gown and went out of my room . The house was dark , and at first I could n't see very well . I walked along the passage and turned the corner . There it was , the locked room . And there was a light under the door !
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
I had the idea that they had been quarrelling and had n't quite made it up . ‘ That 's the kind of danger I can handle,’ I said . Harvey 's hunger got the better of him only fifty yards down the street and even though Signe was keen to go downtown Harvey had his way . It was a wide - open Mexican restaurant where the menu was painted across the window . The TV high in the corner was tuned to KWEX and the Spanish commentator was getting as frantic as the fighters .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
They can not police the place for themselves or teach for themselves , yet 400 teachers face redundancy this year . My constituents can not run the library service for themselves , but some libraries in my constituency have been closed . The one thing at which my constituents are jolly good is feeding their children and they do not need to be subsidised to the tune of £ 14 million a year to do it . That is where some of the money goes . Some of it also goes on several splendid , wonderful , much - admired council newspapers .
Idiom: keep the wolf from the door (used idiomatically: yes)
This time … well , they 'd sold the London place years before . It 's been pulled down — now it 's a hotel . That kept the wolf from the door for a little while , I think . But not long enough . So , anyway , I went to the country .
Idiom: as a rule (used idiomatically: no)
As a rule , the thermal disinfection processes take place at temperatures between 100 and 121 degrees ~ centigrade and at dwell times in the unit of a maximum 20 minutes .
Idiom: out of sorts (used idiomatically: yes)
Lindsey busied herself rearranging a pile of magazines . ‘ Oh , no reason . Just that he 's seemed a bit out of sorts this past few days.’ Jill shrugged . ‘ It 's probably nothing .
Idiom: go up in smoke (used idiomatically: yes)
So far . I exit at Vermont Avenue and plunge to ward the screams of sirens in South Central . For the next three hours I witness a surreal nightmare of racing fire engines , caravans of police cars with blue and red lights flashing , a few looting bands , but mostly residents in bathrobes and curlers , gathered in silence to watch corner markets go up in smoke . It was an ugly neighbourhood to begin with . Every other block , a building is in flames , burglar alarms ring unanswered , supermarket parking lots are carpeted with the messy afterbirth of nascent revolt .
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: yes)
The ' superstore ' Failed to prove a viable proposition and it subsequently became a workshop for a specialist firm of motorcar body builders used by Rolls Royce cars , and only in more recent years has that business ceased and the premises redeveloped as office accommodation . The Club proved very popular for many years as it appealed to the many actors , artists and musicians who found the atmosphere of Bedford Park most congenial . Ronald Colman , who became universally well known as a film actor in the 1920s and 1930s , played his first acting rolls in the Bedford Park Club . In the late 1930s , however , the Club failed and was later taken over by C.A.V. Into the Twentieth Century
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
All her pleas to Dana had gone unanswered . When cornered she had promised to come to the showroom , but when the time came there was no Dana and Claudia was lucky if she even got a flimsy excuse . Dana was equally elusive at the flat ; she was either out when Claudia returned home or in bed with the door locked and a note pinned to the handle saying she was very tired . Time was getting short ; she must talk to Dana , and this time she was going right to the top . Roman answered the phone himself at the first ring , and Claudia 's heart turned over .
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
Luke.’ The sandwiches looked good — succulent fillings and soft fresh bread . Robyn picked up the piece of paper and tried hard not to believe he had made an effort . So he wanted peace . Well , that was novel .
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr Rushdie , who recently declared on television that he was no longer prepared to remain shut away from the world , spent the evening with a few favoured friends . He must have wished he had stayed at home . Mr Rushdie has been getting out and about a fair deal recently . He consented to give the address at the funeral of Angela Carter , the novelist . Last month he travelled to America , where he accused the British of ‘ bitchiness’ , to promote the paperback version of The Satanic Verses .
Idiom: think twice (used idiomatically: yes)
These arguments have yet to sway public opinion . But Denmark 's ratification of the Maastricht treaty , think ministers , may do so . The government will now do its best to ensure that Norway holds its referendum after those of Sweden and Finland , in the hope that Yes votes in those countries would make Norwegians think twice before joining the Icelanders as the only Nordics to stay out of the EC . The economics of European disintegration THIS year , the first of the European Community 's vaunted single market , will mark the continent 's worst recession for two decades .
Idiom: do me a favour (used idiomatically: yes)
Market research . Yeah . Do me a favour . Seriously , for a dictionary company . Doing ana analysis of the erm .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
She took the dog from him . He turned back again to the pill - box and , as he began to run towards it , she shoved him into the empty channel on the seaward side of the Lock . He rocked for a moment on the edge , his arms circling wildly , desperately trying to regain his balance . The dog tore his lead out of her hand and raced along the bank , barking . Marie shoved Simon again , viciously , and he toppled over .
Idiom: up to scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's not co it 's still working , but it 's the you can see the the washing is not as dry as it was before . Ah . So it has n't actually failed , it 's just not up to scratch . It 's not functioning properly . Yeah but surely that comes under the warranty then .
Idiom: pick up the tab (used idiomatically: yes)
Posing as a Lebanese cocaine buyer , he had flown to Los Angeles with a suitcase full of counterfeit US currency provided by DEA Nicosia and checked into a room booked for him by the DEA at the Sheraton Universal hotel . Ten days later , when the agents moved in to round up their targets , El - Jorr checked out and returned to Cyprus , charging the hotel bill to his American Express card as instructed . But when he presented the bill to Hurley for reimbursement , Hurley refused to pay , insisting the DEA field office in Los Angeles should pick up the tab . And when El - Jorr sent the bill to them , they , too , refused to pay , claiming that most of the charges on it were unauthorized . Meanwhile , tired of waiting for its money , American Express cancelled his card .
Idiom: down the road (used idiomatically: yes)
Many leading Chinese researchers are convinced that that the government will do whatever it takes to keep growth above 8 % . But there is a catch . Even if successful in the short run , the huge shift toward government spending will almost certainly lead to significantly slower growth rates a few years down the road . Simply put , it is far from clear that marginal infrastructure projects are worth building , given that China is already investing more than 45 % of its income , much of it in infrastructure . True , some of China ’s fiscal stimulus effectively consists of loans to the private sector via the highly controlled banking sector .