Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: come a cropper (used idiomatically: yes)
He can claim , whether truthfully or not , that he had recommended clients to come in at exactly the right times . He need not mention any of the failures . The only time the ace dealer comes a cropper here is when he stumbles across a client who works in the oil trade . One dealer at a London based sharedealing outfit was selling an unknown oil and gas stock to a client who replied : " I work in the oil industry myself , and these speculative situations , I know can go badly wrong . I 'll pass on this one . "
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: no)
He did n't tell her that they had brought him here unconscious after torturing him in the main building . He did n't tell her how they had beaten him with plastic tubes filled with sand so that he would hurt and bruise without breaking his bones . Or how they had inflicted cuts with a small sharp knife , then sprinkled salt into the wounds and kicked him round the room so he had to twist sharply and feel the pain of the salt crystals in the raw open flesh . They had hosed him down after that , then poured urine over him . The next time he awoke , they blistered the back of his hands with cigarette burns , but this time , mercifully , he had passed out within ten minutes and did n't regain his senses for nearly two hours .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
Surprising is n't it ? The Perfect Place To Tie Up All Your Berthing Arrangements Gillingham Marina has come of age . Improved and expanded since opening in the early 70 's the marina has matured into a real alternative to the South Coast . With the original tidal basin completely refurbished and the new locked basin fully operational , its standing among the best has been recognised by the award of 5 Gold Anchors , the only marina on the South East or East Coasts to receive this top rating .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: no)
‘ That is dangerous talk . And was it ever innocence?’ ‘ The tree was destroyed before it could bear fruit!’ shouted Surere , gripping the edge of the table and half rising from his seat . He quickly controlled himself , however , and continued more calmly . ‘ That is why I asked you to meet me .
Idiom: out to lunch (used idiomatically: yes)
Lord Sainsbury took twenty - five children , paid for their education and kept in touch with them afterwards . The Salmon family ( Harry Salmon was chairman and Julius Salmon a director of J. Lyons ) , together with the Glucksteins , accommodated twenty - three children in The Haven above Burton 's Tailors on the Kentish Town Road in London . Peter Morgan remembers being taken out to lunch at the Trocadero and visiting Cadby Hall , the headquarters of J. Lyons . Of the hostel he said : English names were adopted to speed up the process of assimilation .
Idiom: on top of the world (used idiomatically: no)
He drove along the road for two or three miles , then turned off on to a stone - walled lane which led up a forested hillside . Higher the Suzuki climbed , and higher , until the lane petered out into a dirt track and gradually the trees became fewer . Over one last rise , and they were driving across a grassy boulder - strewn plateau which seemed to be on the top of the world . ' It 's years since I 've been up here , ' Vitor said , ' but if I remember correctly there 's a good vantage point another mile on . ' All of a sudden , the four - wheel - drive gave a cough and a splutter .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ That was a great meal . Ye are a great pair of girls . If you ever get up our way call in to see my old lassie,’ he took and held their hands . ‘ Good night , Mr McQuaid,’ they repeated awkwardly before leaving the two men alone . McQuaid sat down but almost immediately rose again .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
What ? What?’ Kathleen flushed and was angry with herself for it and for allowing her sister to get the better of her again . ‘ I mistook what you said , Isabel.’ ‘ You did?’
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
The idea is that at any one time 60 - 90pc will be in cash and the equity ‘ risk’ will be controlled by using the rest on futures and options . This investment is on offer with a 1pc discount until November 23 . Fidelity believes it breaks new ground by getting over the problem that has stopped unit trusts from showing any real growth since the Great Crash five years ago namely that 90pc of unit trusts are in high risk equities , whereas 90pc of savings are in low risk investments such as banks or building societies . Shorter hours BIG strides in reducing junior doctors ' working hours have been announced by health minister Dr Brian Mawhinney , who said : ‘ Posts with the longest hours those contracted for an average of more than 83 hours a week fell by more than 2,000 to 3,234 , in the last six months.’
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
No . Yeah . If you say I wo n't hit you and put your hands behind your back what do you reckon I 'm gon na do ? Do you reckon I 'm gon na do it ? Now , put your hands behind your back .
Idiom: kill the fatted calf (used idiomatically: yes)
Some theologians have suggested that the essence of the gospel is nothing more than forgiveness as it is enshrined in the story of the prodigal Son . The father sees the son coming home after all the bingeing — the wine , women and song — and runs out with love and says : ' How good it is to have you home ! Kill the fatted calf ! ' That is the gospel , they say . It is , however , only one half of the gospel .
Idiom: all things being equal (used idiomatically: yes)
Why does it do it ? My conjecture is the following . Both snail genes and fluke genes stand to gain from the snail 's bodily survival , all other things being equal . But survival is not the same thing as reproduction a d there is likely to be a trade - off . Whereas snail genes stand to gain from the snail 's reproduction , fluke genes do n't .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
Slow start but in the end realises ambition to be to blaxpoitation movies what Airplane was to disaster movies . DANCIN ' THROUGH THE DARK ( Palace ) Willy Russell 's Liverpool - based woman - at - play film has more than a passing resemblance to Letter to Brezhnev but is none the worse for that . Entertaining and at times moving . DEAD CALM ( Warners )
Idiom: get the picture (used idiomatically: yes)
Other researchers have claimed that some of Schmidt and Hunter 's estimates of savings are too high . Increased productivity can also mean increased costs , and the costs of selection are incurred before the savings are made , so interest charges need to be included . Also , employers are constantly employing new staff so the return on selection has to be calculated over a longer period of time to get a true picture of the effects of selection methods . Although these initial estimates are somewhat crude , either way the available results strongly suggest that use of a valid selection test can contribute susbstantially to an organisation 's profitability . In conclusion , research over eight decades has demonstrated the predictive validity of ability tests to be high , or certainly much higher than an interview .
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
The custodian can then in theory pay compensation to the original owner — although the land , of course , has gone . The law is so rigorous and so thorough that it would be difficult to misunderstand the import of the statutory legislation which governs the property of the Palestinian Arabs who fled their homes in 1948 and who — by the same law — can not return . Manor knew much of this legislation by heart . An absentee , according to the 1950 Israeli law , includes anyone who , between 20 November 1947 and the ending of the State of Emergency , was ‘ a legal owner of any property situated in the area of Israel … and who , at any time during the said period , was a national or citizen of the Lebanon , Egypt , Syria , Saudi Arabia , Trans - Jordan , Iraq or the Yemen or was in one of these countries or in any part of Palestine outside the area of Israel … ’ An absentee also included anyone who was a Palestinian citizen and left his ordinary place of residence in Palestine for a place outside Palestine before 1 September 1948 , or for a place in Palestine held at the time by forces which sought to prevent the establishment of the State of Israel or which fought against it after its establishment.’
Idiom: jump the queue (used idiomatically: yes)
For instance , there is a shared student common room , shared toilet facilities for all students ( there is one adapted toilet / bathroom ) , and equal access to facilities such as the juke box ( donated by the Students ' Union , but removed when it failed to show a profit ! ) and the vending machines . The annexe has few refectory facilities , and on some days it seems that the queue for the coffee machine snakes endlessly around the corridors . During queuing periods , there have been occasions when I have witnessed nursery nurse students , with the best of intentions , ‘ helping’ life preparation students , for example by operating the machine for them or by ‘ allowing’them to jump the queue . I have to admit that , in the early days , it was with mixed feelings that I intervened — suggesting , for example , that life preparation students really ought to take their turn the same as anyone else . The mixed feelings were , perhaps , a little cowardly on my part .
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: yes)
It would not be practical to attempt to list all the fund raising activities that have been undertaken so far this year but I would like to pick out some highlights for you . Most importantly I would like to thank all those involved both as ‘ fund raisers’ and ‘ sponsors’for their support and I hope that their sterling efforts will inspire you to undertake more new fund raising projects . After all we are only half way through this year 's Charity of the Year programme and there is still a long way to go if we are to raise enough to fully fund the training of a Macmillan Nurse . Sporting achievements Sporting endeavours have been a major feature of the activities undertaken so far ( see Update ) .
Idiom: come to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
If you press even one or two types of flower you could possibly decorate a photograph of your holiday with a pressed flower mount ( see pp . 136–7 ) . I felt that the design for this holiday picture should be a natural and less structured design than normal , so I laid out the pressed stems of eucalyptus which naturally fell into a fan shape and used that as the basis of my design . Many other themes came to mind when I started thinking about holiday pictures . For example , you could use some locally made fabric as a background , or if you spent a lot of time of the beach , you could press some seaweed and later incorporate it into the picture . Seaweed presses beautifully , but needs a slightly different technique , so take it back to your hotel or villa and deal with it in the bathroom !
Idiom: pissed off (used idiomatically: yes)
And then I watched Prisoner Cell Block H is it a whole series of them ? I 've only ever seen one before right , I watched it last night and it 's the same fucking one . I was totally pissed off . Is it , is it all the same ? I saw one of those and it was about some punk in New York and it was
Idiom: up a tree (used idiomatically: yes)
£ 15 will provide a WWF trained forest guard with a uniform . £ 25 will provide enough fuel to keep a WWF forestry team Landrover going for a week . £ 50 will buy enough tools and seeds to set up a tree nursery . £ 100 4 gifts of £ 100 will pay for a WWF expert to go to Geneva to influence an international meeting discussing the fate of the rainforest . £ 500 will be a major contribution to the costs of a forest resources survey in Brazil .
Idiom: call someone's bluff (used idiomatically: yes)
Roirbak was physically shaking by the time he 'd broken the connection with Jahsaxa . Agreeing to her suggestion of a ‘ meeting’ would buy them time , but for what ? Dare they call her bluff and just let her get on with whatever she thought she could do to inconvenience them ? He tried to think of the worst that could happen . Tech - Green , in the interests of community and armed with their official regulations concerning public safety , would be quite within their rights to take Ari away from them .
Idiom: on the make (used idiomatically: yes)
Almost 30 years ago , Queen magazine published a controversial article , written by Penelope Gilliat , about the blight of gossip columnists and their effect on society . But this article was written in a different era : a time before doorstepping and telephoto journalism had really got into its stride ; a more innocent age when the phrase ‘ royal scoop’ indicated the saccharine nursery revelations of a former nanny , and people who ‘ knew’weren't averse to ringing up William Hickey or Dempster . Now the increasingly hard - nosed tactics of the popular press have driven society gossip underground , and gossip columns are mostly filled with the doings of the lower echelons of café society on the make . Human nature and society being what it is , the paucity of really juicy chatter in print does not mean that gossip has died . On the contrary , it is very much alive .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: no)
Plans for eight flats , a shop and garaging on the former Ringtons Tea site and a neighbouring builder 's yard in Oxford Road , Hartlepool , were thrown out by councillors after planners said the development was too intense for the area . Cooker fire : Firemen wearing breathing apparatus entered a house in Southgate , Hartlepool , after a cooker caught fire . An area of ceiling and wall was damaged in the incident . Spotlight on success :
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
Clinton Heylin , author of the latest biography , ‘ Dylan : Behind the Shades’ * , ranks amongst the most assiduous , having co - founded the Telegraph , a quarterly magazine devoted to the study of Dylan 's life and work , and written an extraordinarily detailed chronology of his hero 's life . Mr Heylin is not a graceful writer , but his thorough knowledge and his generous use of interviews makes this the fullest account of the star so far . Paul Williams 's thesis in ‘ Bob Dylan : Performing Artist’ * * is that the best — indeed the only — way of getting to grips with the importance of Dylan 's work is by treating it as performance art , since that is the way the man himself seems to treat it . The book has many keen insights into the nature of the Dylan achievements , but it is marred by a fault common to many who write about this man : idolatry . Mr Williams 's central argument can be tested by listening to ‘ Bob Dylan : The Bootleg Series’ * * , a set of five albums containing many rare and unreleased recordings from all periods of his career .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
Nina Lytton of Open Systems Advisor , who previously hosted Executive InterOp , will now run Executive Uniforum which will be held right before Uniforum in March . Judith Hurwitz , now head of the Hurwitz Consulting Group , says the whole tone of SCO Forum was different this year and obviously indicates they are jockeying to go public — even though they 'll need a couple more quarters at least to get the kind of track record they need to do it . Hurwitz says they need to go public to sell their products to large corporations who do n't want to mess with a small privately held firm . She also figures SCO has despaired of leveraging their relationship with Microsoft , which owns a piece of the company , in any way . In passing she noted that Open Desktop was n't original to SCO .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
In the long term , Britain has to come into the next century with a partnership in Europe . Voice over The election is also giving a green light for policies about the environment . Green candidate , Bill Hughes sees investment in more public transport as not only the key to an improved environment , but also to an improved economy . Instead of more concrete , conjestion , pollution and unemployment , we are grappling with these issues at grass roots level .
Idiom: grasp the nettle (used idiomatically: yes)
Most are constrained by limited resources and by intractable domestic agendas that impede their capability to implement policy . The grinding together of internationally mobile capital and intellectual resources against immobile labour has produced acute dilemmas for choosing policy and reconciling conflicting objectives . Where some have attempted to ignore international structural changes , others , perhaps grudgingly , have accepted the need for change and grasped the nettle of internal adjustment . Few have rivalled Singapore 's enthusiasm for harnessing the multinationals as agents of growth and economic transformation . In chapters 1 and 2 , we laid out some of the broad lines of argument about how national choices are conditioned by the international political economy .
Idiom: make tracks (used idiomatically: no)
Caroline Wallis Virgin Music 100–109 Ladbroke Grove London W11 Dear Ms Wallis I would like to ask if it might be possible for Oxford University Press to make use of the track Message in a Bottle by Police in a non-broadcast educational video . The programme is titled Project Video and will be distributed on cassette to secondary schools worldwide for use in teaching English as a foreign language . Project Video is provisionally scheduled for publication in September 1989 and we anticipate sales over the first three years to be in the region of 2,000 cassettes .
Idiom: turn the tables (used idiomatically: yes)
HUW DAVIES ( right ) , Wasps ' stand - off , landed a 47-yard drop goal with the final kick to beat Orrell 13–12 and ruin their chances of winning the Courage rugby union championship . The lead changed hands three times in the final seven minutes ; England scrum - half Dewi Morris failed to end the match when he missed a touch kick and when the ball was delivered back to drop - kick expert Davies , Orrell 's apparent victory was transformed into misery . Battling Nottingham turned the table upside down with a priceless 18–9 win against Northampton that could keep them in division one and deny their visitors the championship . Bath are now title favourites ; they won 21–13 at Rosslyn Park to replace Northampton at the top . Soccer : Euro - soccer bid
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: yes)
But there is a notable exception to this pattern : Libya ’s decision in December 2003 to abandon its nuclear ~ weapons program . The country ’s dramatic shift from the nearly quarter - century effort to get the bomb marks a remarkable proliferation reversal – and sanctions played a key role . How those sanctions worked in tandem with other forms of pressure provides hope that they may yet help turn Iran around . If nothing else , Muammar Qadaffi ’s efforts to acquire nuclear ~ weapons were far more audacious than Iran ’s . The saga began within a year of Qadaffi ’s 1969 overthrow of King Idris .
Idiom: whistle in the dark (used idiomatically: no)
When it comes to looking after its fry , does the convict cichlid live up to its name ? QUESTIONS Whistling in the dark Last spring , a whitethroat set up its territory in a field of rape near my home . During the middle of May it continued to sing after dark , often reaching a peak around midnight .
Idiom: food for thought (used idiomatically: yes)
As several authors point out , the very fact that unequivocal translation evolves between any two communities in contact tells heavily against it ( though if one extends the example to man / dolphin the issue becomes more cloudy , presumably because we have less in common with dolphins ) . This is a book that will interest philosophers rather than scientifically minded laymen , who may become impatient with too much general discussion resting on too little reliable research . Yet a careful reading of the various standpoints will give much food for thought . The possibility that future generations will read our textbooks with about as much comprehension as we might scan a Renaissance text on the cabbala is rather unnerving . The relativist often sets up standards of mutual understanding which are unrealistically high , and when we fail to reach them claims that understanding is impossible .
Idiom: go up in smoke (used idiomatically: yes)
But this tenant says he ca n't pay . He 's literally down to his last few pounds Sport now … and as England 's cricketers ' hopes of saving the ashes go up in smoke … we'll catch up with the women who 're hoping to restore some national pride . But first … someone who 's making a bit of a noise about his bid for World glory . PAUL FRY / World Longtrack Finalist
Idiom: get cracking (used idiomatically: yes)
I mean if it turns out you 're not anaemic and your sort of pallor is normal for you , Yeah then , then we can go ahead and get cracking straight away . Right . But I suspect that may be something we need to address as well .
Idiom: round the bend (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It 's certain the van wo n't go under the bridge,’ said the driver of the van gloomily , coming up , ‘ so we 'll have to go back and take another road.’ All the Brownies looked sorry on hearing this , for they were all tired of travelling and longing to get to their Pack holiday house . But just at that moment a smart new van came into view round the bend , and as it drew nearer and Brenda could see the driver , she let out a cry . ‘ Daddy ! Daddy!’
Idiom: pull strings (used idiomatically: yes)
But we must n't blame philosophers if they tell it as they see it with the aid of their philosophical telescopes and microscopes . It is only if theologians go on using the old equipment ( sun goes round earth etcetera ) that they fall out with the philosophers and scientists . God as an old man with a beard pulling strings up in the sky is doomed forever to be invisible and impossible . But that is not the point . This is not a battle between clever intellectuals and poor , simple people who believe what the churches tell them .
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
Members of the Royal Family have long been aware that to remain in the public conscience requires coming to terms with , and feeding , the needs of the media . The Royal Family has thus judiciously assented to this and so has participated in the creation of its own image ; in the process , it has ensured that the monarchy , as an institution and as a symbol , retains a cultural past , present , and ( crucially ) future . It goes without saying that both sets of institutions have benefited enormously from this symbiosis : the former from its continued popularity and support and the latter from a continuous stream of royal copy which appears to ensure increased sales . The media also perceive some institutions as more ‘ important’ and hence more ‘ newsworthy’than others and they perpetuate that perception by locating themselves within or near those institutions . Political institutions , the judiciary , and the police , for example , are considered ‘ newsworthy’ and become natural sources of information for the mass media .
Idiom: in the red (used idiomatically: yes)
It came out all confused . The red lady . The golden woman in red . She swam up slowly . She developed , like a photograph .