Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
This basic fact should be borne in mind when reading ideologically biased accounts of the benefits following upon Russian occupation for , in the words of the same writer on the hunting peoples , ' In every well - documented instance , cases of hardship may be traced to the intervention of modern intruders . ' The Russians came among the Siberian peoples in the late sixteenth century from two directions , which subsequently became established as the main regular routes . The northern ( and earlier ) approach was by passes across the Ural mountains to the lower reaches of the river Obn and thence down the Ob Gulf by boat to the mouth of the Tazn which was ascended as far as a portage to the lower Yenisei ; from there they followed an eastward course up the Lower Tunguska river , crossing a portage to the Vilyui and so to the Lena . The more southerly route lay across a gap in the Urals to the Irtysh and thence , after the Tatar khanate had been defeated , up the middle Ob and its tributaries , such as the Ket , to where a portage led to the middle reaches of the Yenisei ; from here they ascended the Upper ( or ' Stony ' ) Tunguska as far as the Ilim , and so either by portage to the Lena or up the Angara towards Lake Baikal . In many ways a parallel can be drawn between this river - borne Russian penetration and conquest of Siberian with its combination of raiding and trading , and the invasion of the original land of the Slavs by the Varangians eight centuries before .
Idiom: above par (used idiomatically: yes)
For a zero - coupon bond , duration equals the term to maturity . Equation ( 5.48 ) provides the limiting value to duration . For bonds trading at or above par ( so that ) , duration increases with maturity and approaches this limit from below . So in general , duration increases with maturity ( see Fig . 5.13 ) . Duration increases as coupon and yield decrease as shown in Fig . 5.14 .
Idiom: donkey work (used idiomatically: yes)
And providing encouragement for both Livermore and Clemence he said : ‘ We 've got excellent people in those two . I 'm not knocking Mr Venables , but they did most of the work in the season anyway . The real donkey work was actually done by those guys.’ A wet day at Anfield but a Royal success . Libor Pesek and the orchestra take the applause in Prague .
Idiom: tread water (used idiomatically: yes)
But I had to recognise that there have only been a couple of traumas in ten years and the trouble rate is likely to hot up as I move towards 40 . I have to face the fact that , now we have a mortgage and want to start a family , I 'll never enjoy the year off travelling that I could n't afford before university . And reaching 30 in a recession is a special problem in itself — I may have to tread water in my career for some years because there is no chink of promotion in my business . Everyone who is ahead of me is hanging on like crazy to their rung of the ladder . The unspoken and unacceptable reality is that when I do decide to have a baby , my bosses will regard me as less promotable than a childless woman or a man.’
Idiom: have been around (used idiomatically: no)
DETAILED design work will begin in the next few weeks on an Israeli hydroelectric scheme that will shift 1.6 billion cubic metres of water per year from the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea . That is enough to raise the level of the largest landlocked stretch of water in the Middle East by about 0.5 m in 12 months . The idea has been around for 80 years . It will bring prosperity to the Negev Desert but Jordan has protested to the UN that the $ 1.3 billion scheme will also change the Dead Sea 's ecology and affect the local potash production . The Dead Sea , the lowest point on the Earth 's surface , lies 402 metres below mean sea level .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
Mary had a few friends over for lunch and they spent most of the time griping about their husbands .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
George Campbell , City Editor REGINA , the royal jelly company which makes the magic queen bee elixir taken by stars like Cliff Richard and Maureen Lipman , stung the City yesterday with massive losses . It has plunged into the red , to the tune of £ 1.2 m for the year to August 1992 , and will not be paying a dividend . Sales of the product , whose yellow capsules contain natural minerals and vitamins to alleviate ailments ranging from pre - menstrual tension to lack of energy , have crashed by 30 % to £ 1.9 m . Last night , dealers reflected the trauma by slashing the shares to 1 3/4p from 2p , valuing the group at a rock bottom £ 2.3 m .
Idiom: grasp at straws (used idiomatically: yes)
You know , to the value of the lost shipment ? ' Nadirpur 's eyes widened . He was grasping at straws . ' That is a wonderful idea ! ' D'Arcy hated to bring him down to earth , but it had to be done .
Idiom: in the short run (used idiomatically: yes)
Okay . Erm , right . So we can just , if we have look now at the effect of time on output to supply diagram , okay , in the short run supply will be very ine inelastic . Alright , but as you move through time , the supply response becomes increasingly more elastic . Right , now let 's just say , P one P two , right , prices change from P one to P two in the short run , the change in quantities can be very small .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
CD of the Week — Various Artists ‘ The Posse’(A&M Records ) Like all movie soundtracks , this album is likely to improve considerably after watching the film . The big screen picture —‘Posse’— looks set to break new ground in Hollywood . It 's a traditional western focused on the adventures of black cowboys . The soundtrack captures the mood of the film with some macho exciting music combined with some mellow saddle - up - and - ride - into - the sunset stuff .
Idiom: keep someone in the dark (used idiomatically: yes)
Serious problems appeared to be skirted , deliberately hidden , or played down . Worse still , few people had any understanding of who was responsible for what . Sometimes it looked very much as if the Japanese government itself was kept in the dark by officials from the Tokyo Electric ~ Power ~ Company ( TEPCO ) , owners of the nuclear power ~ plants that are leaking radiation into land , sea , and sky . Prime ~ Minister Naoto ~ Kan had to ask TEPCO executives at one point , " What the hell is going on ? " If Kan did n't know , how could anyone else ?
Idiom: by leaps and bounds (used idiomatically: yes)
He sent me a number of his books , all suitably inscribed in his very Chinese style , and I stopped off to visit him and his wife at Brighton , south of Boston , in 1951 . Dr Tehyi Hsieh was known as ‘ the Teddy Roosevelt of China’ , and he did more than many other Chinese scholars to familiarize westerners with the real story of that oldest of all extant civilizations — China , ancient and modern . Meanwhile , my interest in classical music was increasing by leaps and bounds . To the neophyte , it must be the ‘ programme music’ which first appeals , because it portrays a simple story or picture . I came to know and admire Beethoven 's ‘ Pastoral’ symphony for the scenes depicted ; I enjoyed Saint Saens'’Carnival of the Animals’,Prokofieff 's ‘ Peter and the Wolf’ , and Benjamin Britten 's ‘ Guide to the Orchestra’as well as‘Ein Heldenleben’(A Hero 's Life ) by Richard Strauss , the symphonies of Brahms , Haydn and Tschaikowsky , and especially , for a few years at any rate , the latter 's ‘ 1812 Overture’ .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Furthermore , other ecosystems have suffered greater damage than the Amazon . The report was prepared for the United Nations in advance of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro scheduled for 1992 . In line with UN guidelines , it takes stock of the situation but does not contain any specific conclusions or recommendations . In Brazil 's cities , over 90 per cent of sewage is untreated , only 3 per cent of rubbish is properly dealt with , more than 40 per cent of the water supply is unsafe , and the air is heavily polluted by traffic fumes and industrial emissions . In the rural areas , there are a number of ecosystems under serious threat , including the Atlantic forest , the grasslands of the Pantanal swamp and the Cerrado savanna .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
Then feels she has blundered , asked a question better left . ‘ What would you like me to tell you?’ He has turned his head away , she is glad , she does not want his mocking face listening . The dog gets up and shakes his ears noisily . ‘ Perhaps he needs some of those drops again , Thorny .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
If you do n't want to listen I 'm listening . You were asked to phone in , so , erm , so our phone was out of order , so I had a phone card and it had four units on it . Oh , Nicole . And it swallowed up my four whole units , because I even got to say what the answer was and I thought that was forty P , and I thought , I 'm never ever going to phone into one of those things again .
Idiom: leave well alone (used idiomatically: yes)
Some caterpillars possess the markings of small venomous snakes and , when approached too closely , will rear up on the branch and wave their fake snake - heads at the attacker . One kind of stick insect arches its abdomen and makes savage swipes through the air as if it is an attacking scorpion . Only an exceptionally hungry or courageous predator will risk attacking such a creature , and most prefer to play safe and leave well alone . When the camouflage of this praying mantis fails and a killer is closing in , the insect adopts the last - ditch defence strategy of flashing its wings open and rearing up with its front legs spread . This sudden transformation may help to scare away a timid attacker .
Idiom: practise what you preach (used idiomatically: yes)
Always give her plenty of praise when she does behave more gently . Do n't smack her , as this only underlines the fact that aggression can help you get your own way . Instead practise what you preach : after all there 's no logic in you telling her not to hit people if that 's exactly what you 're doing . If her bullying ways persist , forget the mother - and - toddler group for a few weeks . This way , everyone — including the other mums — has a chance to forget her bad behaviour , and you 'll break the habit of aggression that your child might have been getting into early .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
I agree White is a more versatile player than Rocky , but Rocky was bought to replace Strach and solely for that reason , NOT to play anywhere else . Strach has been on his last legs for the past 2 seasons and while he still produces high quality performances more often than not he is looking more tired with each game he plays , not suprising for someone of his age . Thus having sold Rocky we are left with no-one who can put his foot on the ball and control the game ( Macca excepted ) . White is more of a striker come winger and not able to do what Strach did . Also the loss of Batty becomes more important , one of his neglected talents asids from the ball winning was his excellent ball distribution .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
Nowadays there is widespread public sympathy . People are prepared to donate money to pay for protection . The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds organises a round - the - clock watch of nests at breeding times , using highly sophisticated electronic equipment . Courts inflict heavy fines on egg thieves . Present - day game keepers are tolerant and helpful .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
He has claimed that statutory controls would ‘ stifle new developments and new jobs in the Highlands and Islands and raise costs when we face tough competition from efficient producers in Europe and elsewhere’ . Mr Windmill replied yesterday : ‘ Wrong , Sir Hector . The PO system would bring about stability which will , in the long term , help protect investment and keep businesses and 6,000 jobs alive within our economy.’ He added that the system had worked for commercial fishermen and had now been introduced through the Common Agricultural Policy in everything from sheep to milk , cereals and oilseeds . ‘ Can supply management be right for them and wrong for us ?
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
Bank manager Hoey added : ‘ Neil needs to have a very good run at Portrush , and maybe even win something . ‘ But he would be a very strong runner indeed for Walker Cup honours , never mind international selection , if he could lift a trophy.’ ‘ Potentially there are a lot of places up for grabs . It might be very hard for Ireland to get five on the team , but the way things are shaping up the selectors will probably not care where the players come from . ‘ He will be satisfied if he gets back on the Irish team , but it is not possibility he could push himself right to the forefront.’
Idiom: take a flyer (used idiomatically: yes)
Bill Koch , of America , replaced himself with Kimo Worthington , admitting : ‘ I 'm not a good light - air sailor.’ It was Buddy Melges , however , who steered in front at the first cross after the start , having been lifted into a handsome lead by the first shift , and stayed there . The boats were never more than 36 seconds apart until the finish , where Conner took a flyer on the final run to end 2 min 8 sec behind . Conner 's gamble says much about his situation . He is still smarting after Tuesday 's controversial umpire call , which cost him the race against Kanza , Koch 's other boat .
Idiom: slip through the net (used idiomatically: yes)
Laugh ? I nearly laughed . Paul Merton slipped through the net . Fat , funny , and unfashionably 36 , he is the seasoned London cabaret circuit stand - up it 's OK to like . A full 12 years after ditching his civil service day job , TV 's Mr Sardonic is a ubiquitous face — having served his time on springboard improv workshop Whose Line Is It Anyway ? as The Other One ( or John Sessions ' bit of rough ) and co - written Julian Clary 's Sticky Moments , Merton soon reached the dizzy but inevitable heights of his own Channel 4 series .
Idiom: do me a favour (used idiomatically: yes)
God knows what Pybus saw in him , because if you could buy skill Meek would be bankrupt and still a crap player . Likewise his other ' great ' find , Colin Webley . Do me a favour , Webley could n't even pass a mug of tea across the counter last season , let alone pass a ball . Thankfully , that win backed up my insistence that we re - sign Trevor Proby . It had been tough going , but Proby was grateful enough to knock a century off the £ 500 I owe him .
Idiom: fight tooth and nail (used idiomatically: yes)
Four days after ‘ The Gunners’ narrowly beat Sheffield Wednesday on Highbury 's main pitch , Islington romped home to a 2-O defeat of Cardiff 's Thornhill team on the astroturf at Highbury 's indoor pitch . The prestigious venue was host to 46 teams on a muggy Sunday . They fought tooth and nail through an initial series of leagues and finished in seven knockout matches . Two South Wales teams , Thornhill and Newport , made it to one semi - final , and two London teams , Central and Western area office and Islington , met in the other . Area director Terry Wigley was on hand to present the new trophy to Islington .
Idiom: spit it out (used idiomatically: no)
Boilies actually encouraged the carp to suck them back to their pharyngeal teeth in order to crush them ; this in turn ensured that the large hook entered well into their mouths . Another problem when carp fishing was twitchers . No , not some fanatical carp angler frightened of someone looking in his bait box , but carp that mouthed a bait and spat it out before the angler could strike — if he 'd seen the bite , that is . Twitch bites have always been a problem , and the best answers have been to scale down tackle and bait to encourage a better bite , or to hover over the rod and attempt to strike and hit the twitch bite . Neither method was very successful .
Idiom: in your face (used idiomatically: no)
De Raimes nodded as her head jerked back to him . ' And you ca n't have been married long . The last I heard you were still in Gloucester with the Empress Matilda , so , whether fitzAlan loves you also or has yet to lose interest in your pretty face and form , he will come for you . I shall enjoy watching you observe his futile efforts to save you . ' ' You 're mad , ' she whispered in horror .
Idiom: make heavy weather of (used idiomatically: yes)
have respect for others ' views and feelings . In the light of such a definition some of us would admit that we still have some growing up to do ourselves . So it is not surprising that adolescents sometimes make heavy weather of the whole process . As they try to find out who they are they may experiment with a number of different modes . They may adopt clothes and hairstyles that belong to one group of contemporaries or another , and change their political or religious views several times .
Idiom: round the bend (used idiomatically: yes)
It was lit by hurricane lamps , and it too was roped off and had another ‘ No Entry’ sign . I patted it as I went by . The air smelt of damp and cement , but was not unpleasant , and round the bend from our tunnel where it was joined by the library tunnel the air was much fresher . In the main subway itself , a few more yards on , there was much more light , as there were lamps hanging from hooks on the walls as well as lining the floor . Despite my soft soles , my steps had an extraordinary echo .
Idiom: take a dive (used idiomatically: no)
They said ‘ What the bet he wo n't go yet . He has n't yet out grown us’ . But they took a dive between half three and five . On a rainy day in Clones’ James has recorded the song with the three other members of his band ‘ Devlin’and the first cut has already sold out . He is confident that the song will become the anthem for the new All Ireland Champions on September 19 .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
Completion must be her watchword now , whatever admissions it entailed ; and was not completion at the very heart of the Coniunctio — the central symbol which had proved the stumbling - stone of her work ? It was the reconciliation of Sol and Luna after the violence of their strife , the chymical wedding of Sulphur and Quicksilver , the meeting of the dark and light in close embrace from which the golden stone was born . She had known this all along , but she knew it with a different knowledge now . It was a more than intellectual comprehension ; and to write of it she must strive to become that meeting . She must submit to its ordeals .
Idiom: behind closed doors (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ He was an MP whom I could lip-read without difficulty , ’ recalls Jack . Together they planned a comprehensive Bill to help disabled people . ‘ It soon became clear that disabled people were neglected , depressed by disability , oppressed by poverty and hidden behind closed doors , ’ he says . Beginning with a few notes on the back of an envelope , the Bill expanded rapidly . It became law on May , 29 1970 — creating many new rights for the disabled over a wide field and elevating the subject in Parliament .
Idiom: the bee's knees (used idiomatically: yes)
But what amazed me as I said before was their antagonism to strangers . It 's laughable but at the time it was n't laughable but when you think back , this man that I was put on with , he was acting guard foreman . And er he thought he was the bee 's knees you see , he thought he knew everything about railways . And er he would n't tell me which You see there 's there 's things in the railway in every place in every job there 's er dodges you know . And techniques that are peculiar to that job .
Idiom: get a grip (used idiomatically: yes)
We are prepared to question some of the cult phrases of the sixties and seventies and the level of involvement they advocated . We stand now at a turning point . We are all too aware that fashions come and go before we have had time to get a grip on the underlying theology which informs them . The experience of the early Christians depicted in Acts was without doubt an experience of release , as they came to abandon practices which they found restrictive , and which had been encapsulated in laws which served to keep the Jews apart from the rest of the nations . The community life and missionary life of the Early Christians meanwhile — their life in the private domain and in the public domain — would be guided by the light of the Spirit .
Idiom: think twice (used idiomatically: yes)
Chief Trading Standards Officer Ken Wardale said : ‘ Our local traders have got the message that selling fireworks to young children is not worth the risk of prosecution . ‘ However , we do intend to carry out further surveys right up to bonfire night and investigate any complaints we receive.’ Parents have been warned to think twice before buying cheap fireworks from disreputable sources . A spokesman for Sefton 's public protection department said : ‘ Firework users should not only follow the firework code , they should buy well - known brands from bona fide suppliers . ‘ If you are offered cheap fireworks , remember it could be your child that gets injured by them.’
Idiom: do me a favour (used idiomatically: no)
Only there 's some absolutely fabulous local lace … ’ ‘ I told you , I 'm more than happy to cover . Anyway , I really do need to catch up on some paperwork , so you 'd be doing me a favour.’ Coward ! a tiny inner voice insisted . If she were really honest , she did n't want to run the risk of seeing Niall again for a while , not socially at any rate .
Idiom: eat someone alive (used idiomatically: yes)
After dark he grew restless and they had to tie him up to stop him following the jackals which howled around the village at night . If anyone cut themselves , he could smell the scent of blood and would scamper towards it . He caught chickens and ate ( them alive , including the entrails . Later , when he had evolved a sign language of his own , he would cross his thumbs and flap his hands : this meant ‘ chicken’ or ‘ food’(The Observer , 30 August 1978 ) . Although such behaviour corresponds closely to the descriptions of other feral children , it is impossible to know whether these children might have developed similar patterns of behaviour even if brought up in greater contact with people , and it has been suggested that feral children might have been abandoned by their parents because of their behaviour problems .
Idiom: take a leaf out of someone's book (used idiomatically: yes)
The biggest flaw in Mr Chandler 's argument is that it applies more readily to industries where fast changes in technology do not seem likely . The small firm needling the big multinational may be only a nuisance for the time being , but if it latches on to a new and successful technology and makes all the right first - mover investments it may be tomorrow 's market leader . Minnows who want to become corporate Moby Dicks might take a leaf out of Compaq 's book . Founded in 1982 , Compaq ran itself from the start as ' a major company in its formative stage ' , not just ' a small company with big plans ' . It is now America 's eleventh - biggest computer maker .
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
These were seen as products of a new strategy on the part of Britain to ensure its continued domination of Ireland : Britain now hopes to ensnare Lemass back into the United Kingdom . The free Trade Agreement will do the trick … a situation in which the old - fashioned Unionist intransigence which served Britain so well in the past will also be outdated as no longer so convenient to imperialism . The contacts between the Lemass and O'Neill governments were seen as having been brought about by pressure from Britain , and as a result ‘ O'Neill has got his orders to play down discrimination’ . A liberalisation of the north , particularly in its treatment of Catholics , was a prerequisite for these new methods of domination , which would involve the economic integration of north and south .