Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: buy time (used idiomatically: yes)
They could now proceed in the knowledge that a small but growing number of nuclear weapons was becoming available to the British armed forces . It is true that the paper still gave considerable emphasis to conventional forces . These would be needed to control small incidents , to meet Britain 's global commitments , and to buy time in an all - out conflict until the strategic nuclear forces of the West had crippled the USSR . Nor was it wise for the British to make precipitate and unilateral cuts to their conventional forces . The views of their allies had to be considered , while Britain 's influence in Nato and in Washington depended upon the deployment of an appropriate mix of military units .
Idiom: under the influence (used idiomatically: no)
Much rarer are F minor and especially B ♭ minor , deemed respectively to be ' gloomy and plaintive ' and ' gloomy and terrible'Campra uses each once only F minor in a scene describing death in ' La tragédie ' , Les Muses ( 1703 ) and B♯ minor in his ballet Aréthuse ( 1701 ) to evoke the Underworld . They are not found in other contexts except in passing modulation . Perhaps under Italian influence Campra lent other little used keys symbolic associations too : Charpentier 's description of B minor and E major respectively as ' lonely and melancholic ' and ' quarrelsome and clamorous'comes close to their ethos in Campra 's music . With Campra B minor , serving only four times as a main key , always appears in a soliloquy , and in the context of unhappy love . Beginning with ' La Turquie ' in L'Europe galante , in which he set out to portray ' as far as was possible on the stage … the passionate nature of Sultanas ' , he associated E major with the emotion of jealousy on four of the six occasions he employed it .
Idiom: have an eye for (used idiomatically: yes)
It read : Dear Miss Maugham , I have had my eye on you for some time . Now that Higginbotham has been given the brush off , may I venture to approach you ? I hope that you wo n't think I am rushing in , for I assure you that I am no fool , unlike certain other people .
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
I particularly like the presentation of key ‘ essays’ on specific topics , followed by commentaries from other experts which highlight the problems and put the essays in perspective . There is a real feel here for a developing area of research , which avoids giving a misleading impression that the current state of the art provides any ultimate answers , handed down on tablets of stone from above . The contributors succeed , by and large , in avoiding technical obfuscation , and anyone who reads New Scientist should have no difficulty in absorbing the information here . This is an impressive and welcome volume . Proof of an ancient civilisation
Idiom: first up (used idiomatically: yes)
George sighted along his stick as if taking aim . Then the man moved away , buttoning his shorts , and began to walk slowly , pacing his steps evenly and steadily . He made patterns in the space , first up and down , then diagonally across , always within the open area between the stream and the thicket . To Libby it seemed as though he was marking out boundaries the way she and George had done the winter it snowed ; making footsteps in the dense white stuff , indicating territories . It was as if he was playing an elaborate game , and had to wait there until it was finished ; they did the same when they played Roundheads and Cavaliers in the old quarry .
Idiom: make short work of (used idiomatically: yes)
CRICKET 'S European championship is generating as much heat as the recent World Cup . Organisers of the event , to be held here in July , have banned a team for being of too high a standard . Guernsey made short work of the opposition when they won the event on home soil in 1990 . Chris Bazalgette of The Cricketer magazine , the organisers , says : ‘ They wanted to enter again but we did n't invite them.’ England are also excluded — the cup is strictly for amateurs — but Italy , Malta , Belgium and Greece will be padding up .
Idiom: get wind of (used idiomatically: yes)
They put it all on computer . In go the Pyramids , Atlantis , the Holy Grail , the Knights Templar , the Freemasons , Napoleon , the Paris Metro map , Hitler , Ayers Rock and , unfortunately , much more besides ; out comes a dread secret to do with control of the ‘ telluric currents’ which cause earthquakes or continental drift or something ; not that it much matters , since they made it all up . When the various occult organisations get wind of the non - existent secret 's existence , of course , they take it in deadly earnest and will stop at nothing to discover it and so make themselves Masters of the World . Thus the editors — Belbo the disillusioned romantic , Diotallevi the dyspeptic amateur Cabalist , and Casaubon our hero - narrator — are in something of a jam . It is a slight story , padded out to a mind - deadening 640 pages by the monotonous recital of the great redundant master plan itself .
Idiom: at the drop of a hat (used idiomatically: yes)
Stunning Story — and venue a gas ! ALTHOUGH the temporary loss of the Grand Opera House was a major disaster , unbelievably , good has come out of evil in the shape of a production of West Side Story by Opera Northern Ireland that must surely be a landmark in local theatrical history . Equally dramatic has been the emergence of a new venue , the former Gas Works , converted into a theatre almost at the drop of a hat , a transformation that clearly shook last night 's capacity audience at the first performance in the Klondyke Building . Bernstein 's classic , a 20th century version of the Romeo and Juliet story transferred to Manhattan , and a biting commentary on contemporary life in any big city , with its bitter gang rivalries , is just as relevant to Belfast today as it is to New York . In West Side Story , Bernstein has welded elements of popular theatre with the usual operatic conventions , the integration and juxtapositioning of contrasting styles of musical expression offering an amazing amalgam that is musical theatre at its most stunning .
Idiom: born and bred (used idiomatically: yes)
He found ‘ a Shiella’ and with her ‘ bounded over heath and rock , over hill and vale , barely conscious of the sloughs when marshy ground met us … ’ His ‘ good friends’ were most likely the MacKinlays who rented Gress Lodge from 1874 to 1876 from Sir James Mathieson , the island 's proprietor . David MacKinlay was a Lewisach born and bred , educated at Stornoway who made good in the outside world . He became the managing partner of a large mercantile firm in India , returning to Lewis for the fishing and shooting season . Gress Lodge is now the private house of the widow of one of the island 's doctors .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
This part of the vision is agreed , Guidon says , an implementation strategy is outstanding . The more shadowy COSE III should result in a standard distributed systems management environment specification , that may include the Tivoli Systems Inc object API . Guidon says meetings are going more or less constantly — an X / Open - hosted COSE get together in Menlo Park this Tuesday will likely be used to take stock . Digital Equipment Corp , left out of the COSE initiative , has been invited and says its will send its X / Open representative as observer . …
Idiom: get someone's back up (used idiomatically: yes)
You was big enough for her , I could see , but you 're only a baby still really.,’ Jessie was crying now too , the tears swelling slowly out above the bags and pouches of her face and running into the wrinkles . ‘ The rudeness and impudence you would n't believe , to me and to your mother . She 'd even got Bert ' s back up proper , over his betting and poor old Floss . And there was poor Mr Forbes gaga as a gooseberry over her , never mind she was laughing at him all the time . And Mr Walker behind locked doors between every matinee and evening .
Idiom: get a move on (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah , well that 's true . Yeah . Yeah , anyway , she she 's told to get a move on . She gets moving , gets there she arrives fifteen minutes late . It 's time , they get to start recording , but they 're missing the lyrics , so she ca n't sing .
Idiom: high and low (used idiomatically: yes)
WEATHER EYE A new range of weather monitors that enable everyone to keep an eye on prevailing conditions is now available from Davis Instruments . Shown below is the Weather Wizard II , it can measure inside and outside temperature , high and low temperature , wind direction , wind speed and wind chill and has a recording facility , alarms plus time and date . An optional extra is a rainfall monitor . The basic unit costs £ 229.95 and a computer link is available plus various cables and adaptors for car / boat use etc .
Idiom: get a grip (used idiomatically: yes)
We 're illusionists . We create a false reality . But otherwise , I think I 've got a good grip on reality . I think you have to when a lot of people rely on you . ’ These days Brian spends his working life alongside his family and staff at the Muppet workshops in London and Manhattan .
Idiom: walk free (used idiomatically: yes)
A MAN quizzed for 60 hours by detectives hunting Rachel Nickell 's killer was finally charged with flashing . Colin Stagg , 29 , was arrested last Friday after a videofit of a man was screened on BBC 's Crimewatch UK . But yesterday the newspaper delivery man walked free from Wimbledon Court , South London , after being fined £ 200 for indecent exposure . He admitted confronting a woman on Wimbledon Common while completely naked apart from sunglasses . The offence took place between July 15 — the day Rachel , 23 , was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death on the common in front of her three - year - old son — and July 24 .
Idiom: square the circle (used idiomatically: no)
Below left Ingrid 's felt shawls keep out the icy winds that whip across Rackwick Beach , Hoy . Below right The finished effect looks random , but getting the different tensions and densities of colour right needs precision Main picture Squaring the circle Below left Ingrid 's Granny Gorie —'the best seamstress I 've ever had ' — has been an invaluable source of advice Right and below right Orkney 's stark shorelines , wide skies and drifting clouds are echoed in Ingrid 's landscape pattern TUSCANY in SOMERSET SAM AND GRAEME FIFIELD - HALL HAVE CREATED A CORNER OF ENGLAND THAT IS FOREVER ITALY .
Idiom: good offices (used idiomatically: yes)
CSCE and EC meetings on crisis The first - ever emergency meeting of the committee of senior officials of the Conference on Security and Co - operation in Europe ( CSCE ) , of which Yugoslavia was a member , was convened on July 3 - 4 in Prague , at the instigation of the EC , to discuss the Yugoslav situation . It agreed after a difficult session ( marked by objections from Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union over terminology ) to recommend the dispatch of an EC - based mission to Yugoslavia to supervise the fragile ceasefire , and also to send a CSCE " good offices " mission to assist political dialogue . Earlier , the new Conflict Prevention Centre of the CSCE met for the first time in Vienna on July 1 - 2 , as requested by Austria , and called for an immediate ceasefire and the return of the JNA to barracks , but failed to reach the necessary unanimity on sending a CSCE observer mission . [ See correction on p. 38366]concerning CSCE emergency mechanisms , as brought into operation for the first time in this crisis . ]
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
The Tynecastle influence on Roxburgh 's thinking could be further strengthened today by the inclusion of John Robertson to play in attack beside Ferguson . Levein , while in sardonic mood , also ventured the opinion that Robertson might get ‘ three and a half minutes against the Germans’ . Robertson is , like Levein , imagined to have a problem imposing himself on Roxburgh 's mind and has recently fallen further behind in the pecking order with the emergence of Eoin Jess at Aberdeen . Ibrox , therefore , could be an acid test for Robertson , Levein and a few others . In order to prove themselves , the players will need to copy Roxburgh 's behavioural pattern in these situations .
Idiom: lay an egg (used idiomatically: yes)
As one of us wrote only two years ago , ' comparisons of the virulence of parasite taxa utilizing different transmission routes from similar hosts are not yet possible ' . Because of the peculiar natural history of these hosts , the relative importance of horizontal and vertical transmission differs among parasite species . Gravid female fig wasps enter figs , lay eggs and die . Their progeny mate inside the fig before the young females disperse to new figs . The nematode generations are intimately connected with those of their hosts .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
' Hello , ' she said with a smile . ' Are you lost ? ' ' To tell the truth , I was hoping to have a quick word with Mrs Amy Edgerton … I have to go away , ' she added pleadingly . ' She 's the hysterectomy , is n't she ?
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
Awake . I 'd fallen asleep , and now I was awake . Opened my eyes . There were curtains dangling above my head , and under the frill I could see it was starting to get light . I 'd have to say something .
Idiom: wet behind the ears (used idiomatically: yes)
" I had n't thought about that , " said Agatha pensively . " Why should a man like Rossmayne take such trouble over a gypsy ? It 's bad enough that Timothy 's mooning over her like a schoolboy , wet behind the ears . Surely the marquis has n't fallen in love with her as well . " " Men are daft enough for anything you should know that .
Idiom: rough and ready (used idiomatically: yes)
Consequently , there is a view that , far from extending and accelerating the RMI , Working for patients , will actually retard it . Finally , work is under way at the Department of Health establishing national guide prices for certain categories of patients . These can never be anything more than very rough and ready guidelines . The essence , of course , of WFP is that competition should exist between providers . That is totally inconsistent with the idea that they should charge some nationally calculated prices .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: no)
Nor will she be able to look forward to that sense of completeness when her grieving is over which is experienced by the widow whose marriage was happy , and she will have some difficult emotional adjustments to make in order to come to terms with her situation , in which both love and life seem to have betrayed her . If she discusses feelings of this kind with you , perhaps the best you can offer her , apart from a sympathetic ear , is to try to assure her that love freely given is never pointless and never lost . It may be rejected or abused but it can not be devalued , and if she can bring herself to look ahead without bitterness it can still bear fruit in her own life . It will be important too to let her see that you understand her special kind of grief and respect it . You will realise that words of comfort like this can solve no problems for her ; they can do no more than bathe the wound she has sustained , but she will be badly in need of something to cling on to and because they are spoken by someone who loves her they may be exactly what she wants to hear when she is trying to reassemble herself and face the future .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
When the Washington Times reported in 1998 that the National ~ Security ~ Agency was able to monitor Osama ~ bin ~ Laden ’s satellite phone , for example , he stopped using it . Second , the identities and activities of a service ’s operational staff should be withheld , so that they can do their jobs and to ensure their safety . Following WikiLeaks ’ release in July of tens of thousands of documents on the Afghan war , a Taliban spokesman told British journalists that the group was “ studying the report ” with a view to identifying and punishing anyone found to have collaborated with US forces . Third , information provided in confidence by foreign governments or intelligence services must be closely held to avoid embarrassing the provider of the information and thereby reducing the likelihood that information will be shared in future . A lasting consequence of the most recent leak is circumspection when sharing intelligence with the United ~ States .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
She tore the photograph out and shoved the rest of the newspaper into the dustbin further along the road . She hid the cutting in the cocktail cabinet in the prop - room — if she took it home Uncle Vernon might get his hands on it and embarrass her by reading it out to the commercial travellers . She was going to put it in the china vase , only one of the stage hands had left his lighter there for safe keeping , so she stuffed it between two books on the top shelf . She told Mary Deare the newspapers had sold out . Mary was sitting in No . 3 dressing - room when Stella called the Overture for the evening performance of Caesar and Cleopatra .
Idiom: lose face (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It was my first time here and I was n't used to the power . I could see the lens just swimming around in there . I kept on taking shots anyway so as not to lose face.’ Sarge — his real name was Paul Sargeant — was an Australian who had modelled himself on John Belushi and disapproved of good language ( he once took me to task for using the word ‘ carouse’ ) . He used to be a surfer and dreamed of being one again .
Idiom: lose face (used idiomatically: yes)
California advances all sorts of reasons why Mr Clinton should not bother . The state rightly claims that its unitary tax is far less onerous than it was a decade ago , and hints that it may soon limit unitary - tax treatment to a multinational company 's American profits . Worst for Mr Clinton , he might jilt California only to see the Supreme Court decide for state over federal rights , thus losing face for nothing . Nevertheless , the danger of a tax trade war remains . The president has made a habit of breaking election promises .
Idiom: add fuel to the fire (used idiomatically: yes)
It seemed the quarrel would finally be talked out , when Mark added fuel to the fire by bringing up the question of who was guilty .
Idiom: pick up the tab (used idiomatically: yes)
Barnet are not in any such situation . ' But I can assure you that the last thing the Football League wants is a repeat of the Maidstone situation where a club struggles through the summer to a new season and then folds . Barnet players have not been paid by the club for the past three weeks and , although the Professional Footballers ' Association have moved in to pick up the £ 30,000 tab , £ 80,000 in promotion bonuses remains unpaid . The Barnet crisis dominated yesterday 's meeting although their problems were not even on the agenda . Away from the problems at Underhill , club chairmen gave the go - ahead for the launch of a fund to help finance ground redevelopment and aid clubs to comply with the Taylor Report .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm looking for that er , you did n't ge you did n't find that planner did you ? What ? One of those planner things that Rod was talking , I could n't find mine . I have n't got one . I 've got , I 've got a
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
Sacred Elephant ( C ) By Heathcote Williams The largest and oldest of land mammals is celebrated by Heathcote Williams in a poem written and already broadcast on BBC radio . In an astonishing blend of verse , superb pictures and prose , our eyes are opened to the elephant 's grace , social sophistication , sensitivity and gentle power . 176 pages with a total of 189 superb colour and black and white illustrations , paperback £ 9.95 Save our Seas
Idiom: on the double (used idiomatically: no)
The vital combination of technique , fitness and mental strength had all noticeably progressed . Both boy finalists are members of this scheme and they exemplified the improvements made . Martin Lee had fought his way back into the event ( organised on the double elimination format ) , having lost to Steven Amey in the second round and played very aggressive tennis in his victories over Justin Layne and Ben Haran . Dario Galasso , in turn , fought back well in the final , having lost the first set on a tie breaker . He played very cool tennis after his tough first round encounter with twelve year old Adrian Barnes , dropping only eleven games in the three further matches he needed to reach the final .
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
' What the heck 's the matter with you , woman ? ' he shouted . ' Look at the mess you 've made on the carpet ! ' ' Your hair ! ' the mother was shrieking , pointing a quivering finger at her husband . ' Look at your hair ! What 've you done to your hair ? '
Idiom: kiss of life (used idiomatically: yes)
A MEDIC fights to save the life of a boy caught in a huge apartment block blaze . Firemen who pulled him from the inferno looked on anxiously as off - duty technician James McDonald tried to revive him . But despite Mr McDonald 's frantic efforts , the kiss of life was not enough to bring him back from the dead . The child 's brother and sister also died in the blaze , which left an apartment block in ruins in the Hyde Park area of Boston , Massachusetts . The blaze , which started on Saturday , was thought to be one of the city 's largest .
Idiom: off the wall (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Coming , darling!’ But she did not pause to listen for an answer . Seconds later she shoulder - charged the door , and found herself in an eerie moonlit room where she could distinguish nothing , except the deafening howls which seemed to reverberate off the walls . Disoriented , she could not for an instant even locate her daughter . She groped for the light switch , but could not find it .
Idiom: be all ears (used idiomatically: yes)
He started to tell us his experiences during his stay in America . We were all ears .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
I could now smell the very strong aroma of frying onions as we entered the cottage . The scene before me reminded me of the very similar scenes in the Highland crofts , the only difference being the now almost overpowering smell of onions . In the dim light of the oil lamp hanging from a chain attached to a very black beam above the fireplace , and the glow from the log fire . I could see that the room was very sparsely furnished . The elderly couple sitting in chairs on either side of the fireplace rose to their feet as we entered .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: yes)
But Joe was never one for thinking about what people felt . Only what they did . He would never ask her why she was pulling faces , in case it encouraged her to pull worse ones . Just for her own satisfaction she pulled the very worst one she could think of — worse than any of Oz 's — with her cheeks blown out , her eyes crossed and the tip of her tongue protruding . Then she heaved the pails out of the trough and carried them into the dairy , pouring some of the milk carefully into wide pans for the cream to rise .
Idiom: warts and all (used idiomatically: yes)
What are the rehearsals like ? Is it live as we see it ? ‘ Absolutely , warts and all ; that 's what makes it good fun . We generally rehearse either the day before or the same day , so it 's all very fresh.’ How much notice do you get as to who you 're going to back ?
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
Blinded by naturalism ( no matter how much they themselves may verbally oppose it ) , the practitioners of humanistic science have completely neglected even to pose the problem of a universal and pure science of the spirit and to seek a theory of the essence of spirit as spirit , a theory that pursues what is unconditionally universal in the spiritual order with its own elements and its own laws . Yet this last should be done with a view to gaining thereby scientific explanations in an absolutely conclusive sense .