Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
As the work began , one of those beautiful coincidences organised by God took place : the only public building on the Trendlewood estate ( indeed the only building not a house ) was the Old Farmhouse pub . It so happened that when John approached the manager and his wife they had only just been moved to the pub with the brief to try and improve relations between the pub and the local community . It seemed to be a green light to both sides , the brewery 's only concern being that they were n't Jehovah 's Witnesses or Christian Scientists ! The team began experimenting there in December ‘ 88 and by the end of January it was felt right to go for a public launch on Palm Sunday ‘ 89 with attendant door to door visiting with invitations , and publicity to the press and media . The article below from The Daily Telegraph is just one example of press coverage received .
Idiom: all and sundry (used idiomatically: yes)
But we must remain vigilant , Brother , for he may strike again.’ He stood up and gazed round the tavern . Athelstan wondered if he was going to describe to all and sundry the recent fray in the alleyway . ‘ You will come back with me , Athelstan , to Lady Maude?’ He shook his head .
Idiom: sit tight (used idiomatically: yes)
For a start , the nest , its eggs , its nestlings and its owners are all highly camouflaged . Ground - nests are so well concealed that predators can easily overlook them even when they are only a few feet away . So it pays the nest - owners to sit tight and hope that the killers will pass them by . If this fails , then clearly the eggs or young are at a serious risk . When the parent bird , with the predator only inches away , finally takes flight , the nest is horribly vulnerable , its position revealed and all too easily accessible .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
Spaniards come of age SPAIN recorded a sensational 6–0 win over Romania in the FIRA Championship on the first weekend of April in Madrid . This is Spain 's first ever win against the Romanians in over 30 years of mutual contact and could signal Spain 's coming of age as a rugby power in Europe . To give you an idea of the margins recorded in the past between the two countries — in 1977 Romania beat Spain 76–3 in Bucharest while in Barcelona four years later they won 56–6 . Steve saves the day
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
The cause of children 's bookselling can only be advanced by everyone involved making worthwhile sums of money which justify the resources allocated . That means very significantly raising the barriers to entry — brave publishing ( or even better , brave exploitation of the backlist ) across a very narrow range of titles , powerfully marketed ( and by that I mean television advertising ) to create real volume . It goes without saying that we should forget hardback novels — except perhaps for libraries — and concentrate on the paperbacks which children and their parents prefer . We need the publishing skills which really can penetrate through the powerful myths and barriers which surround the role of books in children 's minds , and give them real playground credibility . We ca n't we devise publishing concepts which capture children 's imaginations in such a way that they are confident to spend as much time talking about what they have been reading as they are about last night 's episode of ‘ Neighbours’ ?
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: no)
The heading read : ‘ Trials of the Fighters in the Prague Uprising.’ Just as we got to the rotunda , a jazz band further up the street started to play . One enlarged photograph showed a man in the dock . The figure was Major Jaromir Nechansky who had been a commander of a paratroop regiment , and who had played a prominent role in the anti - Nazi uprising of 1945 . He and many others were charged with being American spies .
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
They are slow and inappropriate , especially if time is at a premium as is most often the case . In this case , the expansion card hosting the target processor comes to the fore . Success of the PC as an engineering tool must in part be due to its expansion bus and the fact that nearly every type of facility can be found on a PC card . Cards are by far the most effective means of investigating performance of a DSP device . But the user must be patient when learning the ins and outs of an expansion card .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
For years before he died , one day in May last year , the ultra-respectable Brian Courtenay had a mistress on the side . And he had been spending a fortune , perhaps as much as £300,000 , on her . He had even lent the other woman his wife 's blue ball gown . ‘ Just recently I got the gown out to lend to a neighbour , ’ Jean says . ‘ I found it had been cheaply dry-cleaned. he had obviously lent it to her . ’
Idiom: fall from grace (used idiomatically: yes)
Out of this blur there stares a single set of eyes , eyes as sicklied o'er with cynicism as those of a dying cirrhotic hack , as those of an ecstatic teenager gibbering on a dancefloor , as those of a beaten wife punched in the mouth for the nth time . Was he right ? Have we fallen from grace ? Is that it ? Have we lost our collective innocence ?
Idiom: out of the loop (used idiomatically: no)
So maybe they only spend ten hours , instead of three hundred hours spent by the Red Arrows . The RAF has convened a board of inquiry into the crash … which , in an unprecedented move , will include two Russians . It 's known that the Migs approached each other coming out of a loop at a combined speed of about 300 miles per hour , in an area to the north east of the main spectator section at Fairford . Within six seconds of the collision , one fell to earth among other aircraft , just below the point of impact . The other came down a short distance the other side of the village of Whelford
Idiom: on the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
Pat 's Jester was defeated by Twin Oaks at Haydock on Wednesday , with jockey Neale Doughty reporting the horse to have finished sore . But Allan has failed to pinpoint a problem and believes the heavy ground was to blame . ‘ He had never run on heavy ground in his life and his best form was always on good or fast going , ’ he said yesterday . Kelly takes on role of dishonour Mike Crouch
Idiom: draw the short straw (used idiomatically: yes)
Appointment Linda Chalker , Baroness Chalker , the Minister for Overseas Development , is unable to be with us today . She can not get away from the House of Lords because of important parliamentary business . I think I 'm right in saying that she drew a very short straw and is the first reading in the Lords of the bill to privatise the railways . We 'll send her our good wishes shall we ? But it gives me great pleasure to introduce Mark Lennox Boyd , the parliamentary under secretary of state , the foreign and commonwealth office , a position he 's held for some time .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
Herbs and other cottage garden plants are back in fashion and what a novel way this is to grow them attractively in a limited area . You might be able to get a cart - wheel of your own from a local bygone auction or junk yard . If not , use lengths of treated timber laid on edge instead . You could divide your plot into squares or like the spokes of a wheel . Sculpture adds that human touch to the garden .
Idiom: free and easy (used idiomatically: yes)
Normally , when there is a single mother cat , each kitten is the ' owner ' of its own personal nipple and always returns to the same nipple every time it feeds . But in these nursery nests , the kittens took the first nipple they came across , regardless of whether it was in a familiar position on the female 's belly , or even which belly it was . This free - and - easy arrangement produced strong , healthy kittens that flourished because of the division of labour of the mother cats . There was only one drawback and that concerned the weaker kittens that sometimes found themselves at the bottom of a pile of bodies and unable to breathe . An occasional casualty from suffocation was recorded , but in other respects the group maternity - home worked extremely efficiently .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
Richard Creasy SEVEN people were killed yesterday , victims of the fate that lurks in wait for every driver over this Christmas holiday . Sudden , violent death in the fog . Freezing fog shrouded a horrific trail of carnage on Britain 's roads , with hundreds of people maimed . The mist heralded the traditional festive curse : motorway madness .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
The most recent published works on the geology of the islands as a whole are by Watson ( 1977 ) and Smith & and ; Fettes ( 1979 ) . Geological history The Outer Hebrides are composed primarily of metamorphic gneisses and igneous rocks of Precambrian age , apart from a small area near the town of Stornoway in Lewis , which has rocks of either upper Palaeozoic or lower Mesozoic age resting unconformably on the Precambrian rocks . The Precambrian metamorphic rocks are collectively known as Lewisian , the name being obtained from the Isle of Lewis where they were first described and recognised . The Lewisian rocks formed during the late Archaean — early Proterozoic eras , roughly indicating a time span of from c. 2800 m.y .
Idiom: in your face (used idiomatically: no)
As every schoolboy knows , Richard Hannay saves the day — and England . 4 The Maltese Falcon Dashiel Hammett 1930 The first and best example of the ‘ hard - boiled’ thriller , with private dick Sam Spade chewing off chunks of lousy life in a lousy world , and spitting them right back in your face . A convoluted plot , it must be said , but a really tough - guy read . 5 Brighton Rock Graham Greene 1938
Idiom: an old flame (used idiomatically: yes)
The Civil Aviation Authority , which is drawing up safety and environmental guide lines for STOLports say that it sees ‘ no problem in accommodating ’ the docklands plan . Local groups complain that the guidelines are bring drawn up expressly to meet the requirements of the port — the first of its type in Britain — and the Dash 7 aircraft that will fly to it From Britain 's regional airports and , later , abroad . Chemical Industry flirts with an old flame Coal tar was the feedstock for all kinds of chemicals until it was replaced by oil in the 1940s . Now the wells are running dry , the chemical industry is once again making eyes at coal
Idiom: on the spur of the moment (used idiomatically: yes)
To touch a vegetable , clasp it in your hands when you met with what fate had to offer . What a joy . But it would take a pretty exceptional executioner to come up with a vegetable on the spur of the moment . Mr Woodbine 's hardly going to be carrying around a vegetable in his pocket , now is he?’ ‘ Oh yeah?’ said I plucking Barry from my top pocket .
Idiom: take to the hills (used idiomatically: no)
At that time hilltrampers tended to buy their gear from Army & Navy stores because wartime surplus material was still readily available , although not always functionally efficient . The other Edinburgh alternative for buying gear was the prestigious Jenners shop which was too expensive for most hill gangrels . Graham 's shops coincided with an increasing number of people taking to the hills . His attention to detail in gear was meticulous and he had a clear understanding of the needs of hill men and women . Graham was a pioneer rock and winter climber before a broken leg turned him to sailing .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: yes)
She said : ' The man with him was doing all the talking . Now do n't ask me what was said , I was n't taking that much notice . I grabbed the empties and got back behind the bar . I did n't come in here again until around half past two . We were so rushed there was n't time .
Idiom: see the light of day (used idiomatically: yes)
What they had begun to realize was that they were getting a rough deal and that no one else would take any notice . ' Each suburban wife , as she made the beds , shopped for groceries , ate peanut - butter sandwiches with her children , chauffeured Cubs and Brownies , lay beside her husband at night , was afraid to ask even of herself the silent question , ' Is this all ? '' The Feminine Mystique , which dared to put the silent question , did not see the light of day until 1963 , when it sold three million copies , but it was already being written and its audience was waiting . In Britain in 1957 a third of married women were working again . They were being wooed back , because there was already full employment , as teachers and as nurses .
Idiom: rule of thumb (used idiomatically: yes)
six waterskins bearing the branded Bretonnian legend ‘ Property of Merceaux - Descloux Chamber of Commerce’ ; … and so on . If you need a rule of thumb , any item which is common or plentiful is 90 % likely to be here ; any item which is average or scarce is 70 % likely to be here ; anything else is 20 % likely to be here . The adventurers may be able to beg or buy some badly needed pieces of equipment from Bardul here . They could steal them , too , or force the Dwarf to hand them over , but that would not be the smartest of moves , as Bardul 's friendship and co - operation is a valuable asset .
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
Ambassador is happy to travel and does not become upset away from home . ‘ He 's very neat . He always travels on the back of the lorry where he has to pop up and turn , but he does n't mind at all .’ Despite most eventers having to be clipped fairly frequently , Ambassador has a very fine coat , as do most entires . ‘ The only time I can remember him with any coat at all was when we wintered him out as a three or four - year old , which we did deliberately to toughen him up .’
Idiom: rough and ready (used idiomatically: yes)
If the regression coefficients for estimating the population ‘ at risk’ of requiring Personal Social Services are set at plus or minus two standard errors , this estimated expenditure need might range from £ 167 to £ 3 56 per child aged 5–17 . Secondly , the estimated number of children in lone - parent families is subject to considerable error , through under - counting in the Census and through the large sampling errors involved in grossing up ( at the national level , which may in itself be inappropriate for individual Authorities ) from the General Household Survey . As a rough and ready indication of the possible errors here , we allow for an error of 15 per cent in either direction , which may be conservative . On its own , this range of error could produce estimates of needed expenditure per child in an Authority of £ 222 to £ 300 ; if combined with the previous range of errors , the maximal errors might range from £ 142 to £ 410 per child . Finally , the regression equations used to assess unit costs also have large standard errors , which could lead to extreme estimates of £ 199 to £ 324 , with other estimates at the mean .
Idiom: easy on the eye (used idiomatically: yes)
' Oh no , no . You are just as good . And you are easier on the eye . ' Shelley took the compliments as they were meant , kindly . ' Now , let me see you , Abuelo Freitas . '
Idiom: scream blue murder (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Exactly . She might be hurt . It might get into the papers , and then she 'd be down here knocking on my door and screaming blue murder . No — better not give her any excuse to make that sort of trouble . Much better forget it altogether.’
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
Jane Standing of Waterstones in York won a holiday to the value of £ 2,000 in the Ordnance Survey Window display competition . Her entry was centred on a climber constructed from old Ordnance Survey maps mounting a papier - mâché mountain surrounded by artifacts supporting the slogan ' Climb Every Mountain , Ford Every Stream , Follow Every Highway , With Maps that are Supreme ' . Changing hands in Valbonne The English Reading Centre in Valbonne , France , changed hands on 6th January . Margaret Farley , who founded the bookshop in 1989 , has sold it to Susan Taylor and Michael Abrahams .
Idiom: left and right (used idiomatically: yes)
Select the columns to hide , right - click and select Hide from the formatting menu . The green column line indicates the location of the hidden columns . To unhide the columns , select the columns to the left and right of the hidden columns . Right - click and select Unhide from the formatting menu .
Idiom: peaches and cream (used idiomatically: yes)
Fashion even dictates the changing shape of cakes . ' Over the past few years it 's been your petal frilly or your heart - shaped frilly . Peach and cream , definitely , ' says Evelyn Hogarth of Top Tier designer cakes in Glasgow 's douce Hyndland district . Three tiers from Evelyn , complete with botanically correct , handmade sugar flowers — you can get them to match your bouquet — will cost £ 300 . Or you might prefer a Rennie Mackintosh square to complement your customised , Glasgow - style gown and stationery .
Idiom: go the distance (used idiomatically: no)
Connors aims for smash hit By Tim Satchell ' GOING the distance ' rather than'going for the burn'is the message of the forthcoming keep - fit book by tennis champion Jimmy Connors . In Do n't Count Yourself Out , to be published as an original paperback by Pan in June , Mr Connors emphasises that stress need not be part of keeping fit . ' Keeping in shape is not just a youth thing , ' a Pan spokeswoman tells me .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
Graham Green , Congo Journal , 1959 . Eighth day , Zaire River , 1985 . We often lost each other on the seven barges being pushed a thousand miles up the Zaire River , once Conrad 's Congo . I found my son Joseph , aged seven , in one of the five bars with Sammy , a young soldier . Sammy was concentrating on Joseph 's dot - to - dot puzzle .
Idiom: go hand in hand (used idiomatically: yes)
This refers to the authority conferred on a manager because of the position he holds in the organisation 's hierarchy and the extent to which authority has been delegated . It is the official authority ' traditionally ' associated with management , which goes down the scalar chain . In most organisations , top down authority goes hand - in - hand with departmentalisation and the division of work , so that a senior manager in department A can not tell a junior manager in department B what to do , because his authority does not cross department or sectional boundaries . Bottom up authority This refers to the authority conferred on a leader from the people at lower levels in the organisation .
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
But if the consensus is one of conviction , then dissent , however surprising , will not be out of order in the same way , because everyone will recognize that an attack on the substantive case for the proposition is an attack on the proposition itself . The consensus will last only so long as most lawyers accept the convictions that support it . Which explanation provides the better description of how lawyers and judges treat propositions about legislation that " go without saying " ? We are unlikely to find much evidence one way or the other just by reading judicial opinions at random , for judges are unlikely to explain why they believe what everyone believes . We must look to the pattern of judicial decisions over time .
Idiom: down to the wire (used idiomatically: yes)
As for pricing on the new DB2/6000 , this is tied to the number of concurrent use connections , and starts at $ 2,000 for up to two users on a baby RS/6000 to $ 57,600 for over 256 users on a top - end machine . TAIWAN - FUNDED NUTEK LAUNCHES MAC - COMPATIBLE BOARD , DUET After years of anticipation , the Taiwanese - backed NuTek USA Corp in Cupertino , California has finally come down to the wire with its Macintosh - compatible technology : the company claims that it has developed the first machine that emulates the Macintosh without requiring installation of Apple Computer Inc 's proprietary ROMs . The company claims that its system software and hardware is functionally compatible with applications software written for the Macintosh — only some of the most widely used ones have been tested , and the company provides a list of these — but it uses OSF / Motif as the graphical interface rather than a direct copy of the Mac screen . The machine also supports ‘ most’ standard Macintosh peripherals .
Idiom: have been around (used idiomatically: no)
The room was empty . The night nurse gave the alarm and as soon as I was notified , I called the police . That would have been around two - thirty in the morning.’ I had n't heard it before , but I 'd already guessed that the tale would sound something like that . ‘ Well that 's a pretty tale .
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Are you satisfied now that Elise 's death was an accident?’ Still bemused by Luke 's closeness and the responses tingling through her veins , Merrill nodded . ‘ She had an exciting project on her mind . Maybe she lost concentration for a moment —’ ‘ And that 's all it takes , unfortunately.’
Idiom: hand to mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
But Alf was saddened by the conditions his two pals are now living in . Cousins Benny Silatoli and Josefa Ramacake , both 56 , are barely surviving in poverty - stricken Fijian villages hit by a recent hurricane . They live hand to mouth and get no pension or help off the state . Alf , works manager of an engineering firm in Runcorn , said : ‘ I was in the Royal Engineers and very friendly with Benny , who was in the navy , and Josefa , in the army . ‘ We were from different cultures , but they kept me going through the bad times .
Idiom: wear the trousers (used idiomatically: yes)
The guide prices indicated are the manufacturers ' recommended retail prices — it 's worth shopping around for the best buy . Flexible responses . From left to right : Marcus is wearing NeeBee Pathfinder boots , Calange Kingsdale trousers , a Vango Challenge fleece and Berghaus Couloir jacket ; Zelie is wearing Calange ATP trousers , a North Face Panel fleece and a Barbour Durham jacket ; Simon is wearing Tinamou trousers by Karrimor , and an Epic fleece and a Spectrum jacket by Sprayway ; and Lynda is wearing North Face P Jammer trousers , a Berghaus Chinook fleece and the Billingham jacket . High performance wear on Everest . Simon is wearing Scarpa Trionic Manta Attak boots , Rohan Bags , a Mountain Equipment fleece and RAB Carrington Andes down jacket , with Lowe thermals as the base layer .
Idiom: tie the knot (used idiomatically: yes)
Pull out approximately 4 cm ( 1 ½in ) of cord from each end . ( It may be necessary to pick these out with a pin on pinch pleat and cartridge tapes if you are not cutting between the pleats . ) Tie knots in the cords at one end , and if using pencil pleat tape trim the tape only to within 1.5 cm ( ½in ) of knot . Place this end to the leading edges of the curtains , turning in the ends of the tape . With pinch and cartridge pleat tape you will need to balance your end spaces to make your pleating symmetrical on both curtains .
Idiom: tip the scales (used idiomatically: no)
After two hours of fishing Peter hooked a large eel which he felt had an excellent chance of winning the £ 100 prize . With that in the bucket they headed back to shore , had lunch , a couple of pints , and returned in time for the weigh - in . They were right the eel tipped the scales at 2 lb 2 oz for best of the day ! YOU can get a fuller forecast of what the stars have in store for YOU today by calling Russell 's Horoscope Hotline for YOUR Starsign . Each call costs 36p a minute cheap rate , and 48p at other times .