Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the face of it (used idiomatically: yes)
Those countries adopt ' uniform ' accounting , the explicit goal of which is to eliminate differences in accounting practice . We can characterize this polarization of views in the following way : flexible accounting is concerned with accounting in accordance with the facts ; uniform accounting is concerned with accounting in accordance with the rules . On the face of it , it may seem that these two approaches can be made to coincide as long as the rules are drawn up to reflect the facts . In practice , however , they are contradictory , because the purpose of the rules is to produce a single solution to any accounting problem while economic reality , with which accounting purports to be concerned , is far too complex for unique solutions . Take the example of calculating an annual depreciation charge for a vehicle .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
They are effective , yes , but like gassing they can almost be eliminated if we use our sporting methods with greater skill . The sportsman chooses between rough shooting ; a combination of ferreting and shooting or netting ; the day and night netting of rough rabbits ; and the use of running dogs , such as lurchers for example , both in daylight and after dark , the latter , since lights are used , being known as lamping . I include netting as a sport since in my view , it is undoubtedly that but it is also a very professional method of getting to grips with the stock . There is the option between day and night netting , when rabbits are flushed forward and are driven into standing nets in which they become entangled . Net systems can extend from as little as 50 yards ( 45.7 metres ) to as long as is manageable .
Idiom: pull strings (used idiomatically: yes)
Mm . And and er so I So I er we used to catch these blackbirds and them in a and pull the string and they used er try and catch them and we used to we used to kill them and and pluck them Roast them . and roast them .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: no)
got that one . My , must be my mistake . Well I thought you would have got it in black and white . I got a big No go on .
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
to do an E C G on this man , well I had n't done one for quite a while and I 'd forgot really , not forgot what to do but I 'm not very familiar with the E C G machines because it 's a new electronic machine and its what 's one of them an E C G ? an electro cardiograph , it 's a tracing of the electrical il impulses from the heart given off by the heart and this chap came in he 'd never had one before and he was nervous anyway , so I 'm trying to put him at his ease and I , I put , you have to put like a rubber band round their arms and legs and attach erm electrodes to them , you do n't feel anything , you 're only measuring the electrical impulses given off by the heart I 'm , get this so I 've got him all wound , all er geared up for this E C G
Idiom: no sweat (used idiomatically: yes)
' Would you chaps mind terribly if Barry and I were left alone ? ' the other Rex asked . ' We have so very much to talk about . ' ' No sweat , excellency — I mean , Rex . ' Johnny Dee winked lewdly , and he and Kelley shuffled backwards through the doorway and were gone . ' You 've fallen in with a right bad pair there , chief .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
Endill looked back at Gibbet Hall . His mother was waving goodbye and crying . As he turned the corner away from the house and towards the train station , Endill was sure he saw the shape of his father standing at one of the upstairs windows , watching him go . CHAPTER TWO Arriving at the station Endill was amazed at the sight of the train .
Idiom: eat humble pie (used idiomatically: yes)
Franco refused to adopt a conciliatory attitude towards the Allies in the summer of 1945 . In the first place , he despised parliamentary democracy as a system of political organization and distrusted liberalism as the root of his perennial bêtes noires : Freemasonry and Marxism . Moreover , since his political authority was based partly on the myth of his personal infallibility , he could not eat humble pie before the Allies without causing people to question both . That is to say , he could not admit he had made a mistake in siding with the Axis , without jeopardizing his continuation in power . His response , echoing what he had so often done on the battlefield , was first to sit tight and then to try to turn an apparently negative situation to his advantage .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
She was standing at the gas - stove , turning a plucked chicken over the flames to singe away the tiny feathers left behind in the skin . Other carcasses were trussed on the table , ready for cooking . He counted nine loaves of bread on the highest shelf and a dozen tins of meat stacked on the dresser . She smiled at him as she poured boiling water into his cup and stirred his cocoa into a miniature whirlpool with a spoon . She was wearing her rouge and bright red lipstick again , and the childish plaits were gone from her hair .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
Some Americans view Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke as a modern - day wizard , able to revive the economy through a swish of his monetary wand – first ultra - low interest rates , then quantitative easing , and perhaps eventually money - printing . If inflation is low , they want the Fed to use every spell it knows to revive the economy . Like the World ~ War ~ I generals who reacted to every slaughter of their men by sending even more over the top of their trenches in a vain attempt to overwhelm the enemy , “ free money ” types react with “ More ! ” if their policy does not seem to be working . More ~ than any other policy action , monetary policy suffers from the sense that there is a free lunch to be had . Yet the interest rate is a price for the savings that are transferred to spenders .
Idiom: make it snappy (used idiomatically: yes)
I said , ‘ I 'm going nowhere till I 've had a hot pastranu sandwich.’ We crowded into a mêlée like the Eton Wall Game . We both had a sandwich , the man in the blue raincoat saying ‘ We 'd better make it snappy’ between every bite . Waiting for us was a black ford falcon with a DPL ( diplomats ' ) licence plate . We got in and the Negro driver gunned it away without a word .
Idiom: save the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Fred Stephenson , a local farmer , was the only entrant , and the clerk of the course the only spectator , as he rode and walked the course to maintain the continuity of the tradition . The following year he chalked up his fifth win , even though his horse broke a bridle strap and bolted just before the start . The Rector of Londesborough saved the day by giving chase in his car and he and Fred caught up with the horse at the farm gate , waiting to be let in . Instead , a bit of string was used to secure the bridle strap and Fred galloped the horse off to the start . Another Stephenson , Alyson , came second in 1985 .
Idiom: hold your tongue (used idiomatically: yes)
' Whores … ' His bark of anger made her jump . ' Hold your tongue , woman ! ' He stood there commandingly , suddenly very different ; all childishness , all concession gone from him . He was shouting now .
Idiom: ten a penny (used idiomatically: yes)
Till the old governor comes and some , some trainers saddle them , but some leave it to travel head lad . But very seldom interfere with the travel head lads . All good stable I 'm talking about , I 'm not talking about ten - a - penny ones , you know ? All good , the big ones , Kilmarney 's , Cecil 's , Finlay 's . And this fella 's just ran , this Piggot 's , all got a head man to do it for them .
Idiom: silent as the grave (used idiomatically: yes)
All at once he was disturbed by a sudden silence . There was not a sound of running , or scratching , or squeaking . The huge room was as silent as the grave . Moore remembered the previous night . He looked at the chair by the fireside and got a terrible shock .
Idiom: prodigal son (used idiomatically: yes)
Like John Wayne!’ I wish I had n't asked,’ D'Arcy replied , trusting that Victor 's observation really was just a joke . As lavish as always with his hospitality Victor began dispensing free cognac and coffee in celebration of what might have been a prodigal son 's return , introducing his regulars to D'Arcy and he to them . ‘ And your friend?’ Victor asked , eyes squinting as he made one of his instant character assessments which were rarely wide of the mark .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: no)
Cannon to them is flesh and blood rather than a camera or a camcorder . Teacher Andy Cannon in fact — all six foot plus of him — their main man and the driving force behind their Lilliputian endeavours ( Lilliputian only in the sense that they lack height ) . Egremont 's claim to fame is the gurning at its annual Crab Fair , where rivals pull gnarly faces through a horse 's collar . ( Crispin Waddy and partner recently put up Uncontrolled Gurning , E5 6a,6a , supposedly the wildest route on Lundy , which shows how Egremont 's highlight has gained currency in the English language . ) But it might also be famed for having the only junior school rock climbing club in Cumbria — and possibly the country — where nine to 11-year - olds climb up to Hard Severe .
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
Imagine the hand on the boom is pulling the door closed , using the hand on the mast as the hinge . By closing the door like this ( sheeting in ) , you put power into the sail and start moving Fig15 If you can not get back and the wind is very light , by carefully balancing the rig on the back of the board you can lie down on the front and paddle back Fig16 Another method of getting back is to take the battens out and roll the sail up towards the mast . Then , by placing it on the board again , you can lie down and paddle home .
Idiom: by the by (used idiomatically: no)
They you know we create confusion because it it allows us to have control . And we . You know the tone of the voice could completely waylay you know lay lay completely your fear of being told off by the by the pleasant tone in your voice . Yes . It might be a meeting not a telephone .
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ And yours will be positive changes,’ he complimented her thoughtfully . ‘ I particularly like the idea of your making yourself available for an hour once a week so that listeners can phone in with their criticisms , complaints and suggestions.’ ‘ And a little praise too once in a while , I hope , but I 've learnt not to expect it.’ She laughed more naturally than she had in his presence before . ‘ I started a similar scheme in Wellington , but then I did it at the same hour on the same day every week .
Idiom: fun and games (used idiomatically: yes)
There is no target date set for completion of the new project . SILICON GRAPHICS , GEORGE LUCAS 's MOVIE FIRM ALLY Silicon Graphics Inc is getting into the fun - and - games end of the business in a big way and has formed a joint venture with Industrial Light & Magic , a division of George Lucas 's Lucas Digital Ltd special effects production company : the new venture will create digital imagery for the entertainment industry . JEDI , the Joint Environment for Digital Imaging , will be based at the offices of Industrial Light in San Rafael , and will combine proprietary digital scanning and film recording technology with an advanced digital production facility , serving the film television , commercial and attraction industries . The aim is to make Industrial Light & Magic 's imagery to become more affordable to the entertainment industry , Star Wars creator Lucas says .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: no)
and the next night he 'll be kipping and the other one I 'll be working and that 's how they used to go on and it eventually , that 's why it was ten English worker 's to one Japanese because of that reason yeah , because half of them was sleeping and , what happened was it was a hell of a stink in dock , because there was all different workers for different jobs , it was one for fitting car seats , you had one for fitting glass , you had one for doing engine , one for fitting the gear box , one fitting wheels on , so you had ten blokes just doing one job on a car yeah and what happened was the Japanese production bloke he was doing it all himself the lot
Idiom: true to form (used idiomatically: yes)
This , according to Wolfgang , would have distinct advantages : it would provide him with a legal outlet for the ' voice of nature ' , which he swore he had never yet indulged , being too honourable either to seduce innocent girls or have dealings with prostitutes ; and a wife would be able to tend his domestic needs — he admitted he was no good at looking after himself . Then , of course , two could live as cheaply as one . True to form , Wolfgang went on to denigrate the entire Weber household except his beloved : Josepha was worthless , fat and a liar ; Aloysia insincere , bad - tempered and a flirt ; Sophie ( the youngest)'feather - headed ' . Constanze , on the other hand was an angel of virtue — the best - hearted and the cleverest . She was not a beauty , it had to be said , but she had a good figure , enough sense to make a good wife and mother , was practical and kind - natured .
Idiom: in your face (used idiomatically: yes)
Peter Richardson Roland Rivron Tony Robinson Jennifer Saunders John Sessions Michael Sherrard QC Ned Sherrin Dennis Skinner Tony Slattery Arthur Smith kit hollerbach : loudmouth American Kit Hollerbach 's in - your - face humour plays both sides of the pond . Resident in the UK , she 's as comfortable mocking the English ( ' I 'm married to an English guy . He 's typical in that he 's very reserved .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: yes)
Another soldier pulled her away by her legs and her long hair left blood along the floor . 15 Helen Sandberg heard the bangs too , and when she saw the white light , she thought the plane was burning . For about half a minute there was nothing but loud bangs and white flashes , and then there was nothing . There were no lights at all in the plane and no sounds either .
Idiom: big hitter (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I 've been playing it quite badly,’ said Rhodes candidly . ‘ My strength is running between the wickets , especially the twos . In Australia , with the grounds being so large , there are plenty of twos on offer and I 'm not really a big hitter . I was playing against the West Indies and I scored eight off a Cummins over without hitting a four , and for Natal |I've build some 80s and 90s that have been matchwinning performances , but this time I 've just got far too excited’ . Rhodes was not overawed by the bowling during the World Cup , feeling ‘ comfortable’ against Curtly Ambrose and the other West Indians , but he appreciates the difference between one - day cricket and Test cricket and knows that his record of just two centuries in 40 first - class games is not enough to guarantee him a place in the Test side .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ All I 've really got is a very deep flesh wound . It 's not that serious.’ Doctors insist that he lies low while his injuries heal . But what then for Martin Bell ? Surely , after covering 11 wars , including Vietnam , he could be forgiven for calling it quits ?
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: yes)
What has happened , he suggests , is that capitalism 's tendency to colonise and penetrate segments of social existence has led to the commercialisation and commodification of sexuality , particularly via the shift from production to consumption . He gives as an example of this the growth of a ‘ pornocracy’ and through the break - up of the sex - procreation nexus has come the increasing commodification of pleasure — the developing range of sex - pleasure items on the market . As to sexual behaviour itself , Weeks argues in tandem with both Marxist and feminist theorists that the so - called sexual liberation of women occurred within the well - circumscribed limits of both the capitalist labour market and male - dominated and defined notions of sexual pleasure . There was , however , he suggests , a shift away from legal moralism , and through the reformist legislation of the 1960s a certain amount of ‘ piecemeal moral engineering’ was achieved . Finally , he argues , none of the changes went unchallenged , and the transformations in regulation and domination that occurred in the period themselves resulted in new forms of resistance and , in particular , in the women 's and gay movements of the 1970s and 1980s .
Idiom: rock the boat (used idiomatically: yes)
With his loyal advisers Francis Cripps and Frances Morrell by his side , he beavers away with unremitting zeal even when his beloved industrial policy is snatched away and he is banished to the Department of Energy . But despite enthusiasm and hard work , disappointment and disillusion are the main reward . Ms Morrell attempts damage limitation by telling her boss to keep his mouth shut and not rock the boat , but on he goes collecting more enemies and being let down by erstwhile friends . And all of this is inevitable , for Utopians are ill at ease at the sharp end of politics . Benn is too much a product of his comfortable and intensely high - minded background to be able to understand why the common man ( let alone the common politician ) has more vulgar aspirations than plain living and high thinking .
Idiom: buy time (used idiomatically: yes)
The rub is the general conviction , based on the man 's record , that the same pragmatism , unencumbered by ideology or ethics , that leads him to sign an agreement one day will lead him to renege or cheat on it the next . Having survived the war , Mr Hussein is riding the post - war humiliations . His wounded country needs time and international tolerance to recover and , accepting the inevitable , he is buying time with a series of compromises . The main surprise is his agreement , in principle , that Iraq 's 3–5 m Kurds should have their own autonomous region . But there are other signs , or apparent signs , of reasonableness .
Idiom: at cross purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
If Clive caught me entertaining a lady friend in the classroom , I would be out on my ear in no time at all . So when I asked Karen what she thought she was up to , I was merely expressing my irritation and anxiety at this interruption . As usual , we were at cross - purposes from the start . ‘ I wo n't go behind his back,’ she said.’ It may seem stupid , but that 's the way it is .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Or we 'll both die!’ Rincewind said nothing . He was concentrating on maintaining his grip and keeping his mind closed to the pressing images of his fate on the rocks below . ‘ Shoot him!’ bellowed Lio ! rt . Out of the corner of his eye Rincewind saw several crossbows levelled at him .
Idiom: give someone pause (used idiomatically: yes)
That individuals prosecuted for sodomy did not necessarily identify themselves with the demonized sodomite of official discourse also lends credence to Foucault 's distinction between sodomy as a kind of behaviour , and homosexuality as a modern identity . But we should not rely too heavily on that distinction . There remain certain continuities which should give us pause . Laura Levine has pointed to an interesting relationship in early modern England between fears of sodomy and fears of the theatre . She observes that the frequent indictments of theatre for encouraging sodomy are symptomatic of the anti - theatricalists’ fear that gender difference is ever under threat of breakdown and , more generally , their fear that ‘ under the costume there is really nothing there or , alternatively , that what is there is something foreign , something terrifying and essentially other’(‘Men in Women 's Clothing’ , 135 ; see also Chapter 17 below ) .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's Sunderland , and after about a hundred and twenty years under the sea , the lustre 's still lustrous!’ Elisabeth held the cup and saucer and examined its luminous pink . ‘ But the thing that breaks my heart’ , the curator continued , ‘ is that there were books on board and , of course , the sea 's only left indecipherable leather spines . … We 'll never know even what titles were being shipped . … Coffee?’
Idiom: with knobs on (used idiomatically: no)
Tetsuo II Bodyhammer By Sue Heal THERE are horror movies and there are Japanese horror movies and without being remotely racist it is a proven fact that in the Land of the Rising Sun they like their severed limbs , blood and gore with knobs on . Here Shinya Tsukamoto continues the theme of his earlier Tetsuo The Iron Man , in which every demonic image known to film - makers is conjured up before us and best viewed on a day when you 've had Nil By Mouth . Taniguchi Tomoto , played with fiendish note by Tomoto Taguchi , attempts to lead a quiet , uneventful life in downtown Tokyo with his wife and young son .
Idiom: kick the bucket (used idiomatically: yes)
For instance , they typically resist interruption and re - ordering of parts . Some of the restriction of syntactic potential of idioms is clearly semantically motivated . For instance , the reason that to pull someone 's left leg and to kick the large bucket have no normal idiomatic interpretation is that leg and bucket carry no meaning in the idiom , so there is nothing for left and large to carry out their normal modifying functions on ( in general , a modifier needs a semantic constituent to modify ) . However , idioms also tend to resist interruption by material which , as long as it remains ' outside ' the idiom , is semantically compatible : 27a .
Idiom: behind closed doors (used idiomatically: yes)
The third is that a president 's decision is widely publicized . The sacking of MacArthur was a public sacking , it was intended to be a public humiliation of MacArthur , and that 's what it was . But most government business does n't take place on television most government business takes place behind closed doors . In most cases , on most issues , nobody knows what the president has decided . Only his immediate advisers and staff know that .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
Please!’ She got up , glowering , without a word , and went to fetch the drink , leaving Gabriel staring down at Lucie . The devil - man opened his eyes and shielded them against the brightness of the sky . ‘ Do n't fret yourself , child . He ca n't hurt you .
Idiom: off the cuff (used idiomatically: yes)
Mm . Er I do n't think I 've ever been . As I said I 'm , I 'm , I got them out at I think it were twenty one ninety nine or were it twenty five ninety nine?they were twenty one ninety nine or twenty five ninety now , I ca n't remember off the cuff . Me thing to have at the bed end you know Mm .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: no)
the man who 's actually called out in the middle of the night and stands in the pouring rain with his mac on directing operations . He 's the one who gets the feel as to whether the company really are trying … or not . And it all comes over in hard black and white in his report to me , and I 've really only got what he says to go on , in that sort of case . If it 's a one - off affair in some yard , the chances are I 'll probably never ever go there , I 'm really completely reliant … on his reaction . … ' To acquire soundness of judgment is essentially a matter of absorbing a sense of the norms operating in the agency which guide discretion at field level .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: no)
Ca n't you ever take a joke?’ ‘ I have no idea what you mean . Now it 's very late , and even if you feel like standing there playing games , I don't.’ ‘ Perhaps that 's your trouble.’ ‘ What do you mean?’
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
Would n't matter if it was a round number , but forty five . Well if , you 're allowed to earn forty nine ninety nine , before you pay tax and national insurance Yeah but like Jake said she , he said it 's coming out of his back pocket anyway Yeah . Is it ?