Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: lift a finger (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Why , mother!’ Ranald interrupted ironically . ‘ Luch never lifts a finger here , sure!’ He snorted . ‘ It 's yourself grinds the meal and fetches the water and guts the fish and digs the garden and scours the pot — ‘
Idiom: off the record (used idiomatically: yes)
Now I must return to my work and leave you to your wanderings.’ Irritating as Miss Kenton 's behaviour was , I could not afford to give it much thought , for by then the first of the guests had arrived . The representatives from abroad were not expected for a further two or three days , but the three gentlemen referred to by his lordship as his ‘ home team’— two Foreign Office ministers attending very much ‘ off the record’ and Sir David Cardinal — had come early to prepare the ground as thoroughly as possible . As ever , little was done to conceal anything from me as I went in and out of the various rooms in which these gentlemen sat deep in discussion , and I thus could not avoid gaining a certain impression of the general mood at this stage of the proceedings . Of course , his lordship and his colleagues were concerned to brief each other as accurately as possible on each one of the expected participants ; but overwhelmingly , their concerns centred on a single figure — that of M. Dupont , the French gentleman — and on his likely sympathies and antipathies .
Idiom: gild the lily (used idiomatically: yes)
Okay ? So all I 'm saying is , if we 're not achieving that we need to go back and look at the way in which we 're operating the fax service , have a chat with erm Phil 's people or Jackie 's peo see if there 's any differences that we can take advantage of . Are we er are we , you know , gilding the lily ? If , cos if we are , we ca n't afford to . Yeah .
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: yes)
The judges will be looking for businesses with innovative ideas , a foreseeable profitable future as well as success to date , ideas for future expansion , commitment to equal opportunities , steps taken for job - share / part - time ( where applicable ) , creativity , products which are environment - friendly and efforts to enhance the working environment . The winners will be the businesses the judges feel have come closest to achieving these criteria . Entries should be typed ( double - spaced ) on A4 paper . On the top sheet of your entry , write your name , address , telephone number(s ) , name of business and product / service provided . Send entries , with entry coupon ( below ) attached , to SHE / Midland Bank Small Business Competition , SHE , 72 Broadwick Street , London W1V 2BP , to arrive by June 1 1992 .
Idiom: tongue in cheek (used idiomatically: yes)
Instead he is looking forward to pate de foie gras and champagne in Downing Street this Friday with Neil Kinnock firmly installed as Prime Minister . This would be the first public acknowledgment of the role of union leaders in a Labour victory . Mr Lyons , leader of the MSF technical union , believes — albeit slightly tongue in cheek — that the more exotic menu is fully justified . ‘ We want nothing but the best , as befits our new status as full partners in Europe.’ This is a reminder that one of the first things a Kinnock government is pledged to do is sign the European Commission 's social charter , rejected by Mr Major at the Maastricht summit .
Idiom: the bee's knees (used idiomatically: yes)
Mary is fairly plain , but Tom thinks she 's the bee 's knees .
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
She smiled and gave a forced laugh . ‘ You remember how Mark hated writing . It was a lot if I got one jokey line from him on the back of a postcard . Anyway , he waffled on for a little while about everything that did n't matter and then … ’ she swallowed ‘ … then he got down to it and told me about everything that did.’ ‘ And?’
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: yes)
This can be steep , making progress forward difficult — you have to hold one wheel and push hard on the other just to stop yourself from rolling down it . My life is now largely spent looking at places , observing the actions of other people and spotting birds and wildlife . Despite all the drawbacks , I still enjoy getting out and about in the countryside whenever I can . I could spend hours watching the birds on the coast of Norfolk , where a boardwalk makes access easy for me , or simply pushing myself around Richmond Park . The countryside is there for us all to enjoy , so please , those of you who are responsible for making it accessible , remember those who , like me , need more than a kissing gate to get in.’
Idiom: play for time (used idiomatically: yes)
After chewing the cud for a minute or two , they continue the fight . You 're no different . Playing for time . Anything to avoid what 's going on . There 's been another game , and you know it .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
That subsidy cost , remember this figure , five hundred million . The government then told the Coal Board to hold back nearly five hundred million that it was due to pay into the Coal Industry pension scheme . So it looks as if our coal members are being forced to fund the government subsidy there ca n't be much nastier behaviour than to pay your own money to get the government off the hook of making your own members and your colleagues redundant . Of course , the government denies it all . Of course it is .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
This photograph , of a doctor , was one that had been taken some time previously to illustrate an article on long hours worked by junior doctors . We apologise to the doctor concerned for the distress caused by publication of his photograph with the Lifestyle article and fully accept that we were mistaken in publishing it in connection with counselling services . Detached with a view to sanity I LEARNED it from my elder sister , the Indian scout of my life . For as long as I have been conscious she has been out there in front of me , dodging arrows , triggering ambushes ; doubling back to brief me on the safest and fastest route forward .
Idiom: better the devil you know (used idiomatically: yes)
I am confident the truth will stand . Our files have been passed to the RUC . If the Government is operating , as some fear , a ‘ better - the devil - you - know ’ policy and McGuinness escapes justice , then the violence will continue with McGuinness at its centre . He should face justice , and he should face it as an example to the men of violence on both sides . Maybe then the tide of violence will subside , a political solution can be reached and the most beautiful of countries will at last enjoy peace .
Idiom: every last (used idiomatically: yes)
She shook her head and tried not to wince . ‘ No way ; give it to me . I 'll pay every last penny.’ ‘ I said there was no need!’ His voice matched hers .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
But the referee did n't recognise the technique . ‘ The girl was going to be unconscious in another two seconds , or have to submit . But he suddenly said stop , and let her off the hook . ‘ It was not a home town decision — the ref just made a mistake.’ Nicola , who had shed tears of disappointment , said : ‘ Another two seconds and I would have been Olympic champion — the girl 's eyes were going red .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
He swung his left arm up in a reverse backstroke , and grasped the chain . He felt the links pressing into his palm . He hauled , taking some of the weight off the hook , but not enough . Then he felt for the pain in his neck . His hand seemed like a flesh mitten , fingerless and clumsy .
Idiom: paint the town red (used idiomatically: yes)
John tugged at his sister 's leg . 37a . Tonight we 're going to paint the town red . b. Tonight we 're going to colour the city scarlet .
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: yes)
If the team adjust to this formation I can see this being OK . I reckon Wright will come on at some stage unless England are actually winning . Possibly to try and get in on some long balls 1 on 1 with Koeman as Holland push forward late in the game . Assuming this formation is the right one ( I prefer British teams to play 4–4 - 2 ) I suppose there are no better uninjured / unsuspended players available . Kev .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
We propose that the GMC 's remit should include censure of those members of the medical profession who commit scientific misconduct by distorting published evidence in reviews and consensus statements . We have described nine readily identifiable techniques by which an author can do this , as exemplified in the Royal College of Physicians ' report . If such a proposal was adopted by the GMC Kay and his committee might find themselves in the dock . Until such a time , the way remains open for doctors to vilify colleagues publicly with impunity and to mount ill founded and unscientific attacks on approaches to care with which they do not agree . Such behaviour is a disservice to patients and the profession .
Idiom: pissed off (used idiomatically: yes)
Unless he 's pissed off right something like that . Eh ? When he lied down like that and he was pissed off Yeah . not relaxed he 's just
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
But they just exhausted themselves after all these years — and I was in the right place at the right time , so they all settled on me to direct it . But I know there 's going to be problems on this . At the end of the day , they 're all going to attack me , ' Stone sighs . ' They all signed waivers , but that 's not going to stop them . ' Stone shrugs , and smiles .
Idiom: high and mighty (used idiomatically: yes)
I wo n't have it ! Not in my house . I 'm a respectable woman , and I wo n't have no ‘ goings on’ , not if you were ever so high and mighty , the pair of you . Which you ai n't , not by a long chalk!’ she averred , descending rapidly from outraged virtue to mere verbal abuse . ‘ You are being quite ridiculous , my good woman,’ began Mr Beckenham loftily , trying again to stem the flow .
Idiom: in the final analysis (used idiomatically: yes)
The difference is that the insects live that way because they are following their only instinct in that sphere and this excludes them from all other forms of living . Human beings , on the other hand , are not instinctively compelled to accept any social order . They , exclusive of all other species , are free to choose , and in the final analysis , that instinct which has its origins in the mammalian family life is most likely to take precedence , and humans will choose to live with the relatively small family group as the ultimate refuge . If this is the decision , then such a way of life can be specified as Godly and incorporated into the Created God for as long as a consensus desires it . The foregoing example illustrates the manner in which a human decision accepted as good , can be designated a unit of ‘ goodness’ and be assigned to the store which is the Created God .
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: no)
As their cameras rolled , the film crew looked on anxiously while Crawford drove the Rolls up the ramp . His timing and execution were perfect , and the scene was done in one ' take ' . If anything had gone wrong , there might have been no chances for another . Crawford had given his all again , but the film was a catastrophe and , following Twentieth Century - Fox 's string of aberrations , brought the Hollywood studio even closer to ruin . ' When the film opened , ' recalled Crawford 's wife , Gabrielle ' , ' we did our usual thing of driving at the crack of dawn to the air terminal to get the early newspapers .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
There had once been a row at Goodwood when the scrutineers rejected Colin 's car because it did n't have a fireproof bulkhead . He went away and fitted a piece of cardboard painted silver . Quite why this put the scrutineers in a dilemma I do n't know , but they asked me to protest to get them off the hook . I told them to do their own dirty work . Chunky heard about his and we became friends.’
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
It was n't a fortune but was enough to help me buy my first flat and first TV . The flat cost Pounds 11,000 , the TV £ 60 . I still receive small cheques for the BBC 's original Railway Children , a six - part series in black and white made three years before the film . Small is the word . Every time the series is shown in Nicaragua , Zimbabwe , Iceland or wherever , I 'm sent something even if it is only a few shillings .
Idiom: make a pitch (used idiomatically: yes)
Decorate with white icing sugar for the base . Draw on the panels in red and black to make the appearance realistic . Another possibility is to place two rectangular cakes together to make a football pitch . Cover them in green icing sugar . Make goalposts out of white candy sticks and corner flags out of candles .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: no)
' Once he was late arriving at our house . He told me that when the vaporetto arrived he had noticed something strange about it . The boat was lying far too low in the water , almost level with the surface , the decks awash . It made no sound , and even seemed to absorb the sounds around it , like a sponge soaking up water . The people who were waiting all boarded this strange boat , all except my under .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
We 're here to help.’ The pulsating roar of the engines formed a steady background as Delaney kept up a barrage on the door . Finally , following suit , Forster took off his mask . He frowned . ‘ What 's that funny smell?’
Idiom: at a stretch (used idiomatically: no)
They were short of ideas , the passing was appalling , and the game provided ideal ammunition for the Scottish critics who claim a 44-match Premier Division season is too much to ask of supporters . Neither goalkeeper was seriously threatened in the first half , with the exception of a speculative 25-yard drive in the 15th minute by Love , who was making his first - team debut for the Edinburgh club . Motherwell ' keeper Thomson was at full stretch to smother the youngster 's shot which looked like sneaking in at the foot of the post . Territorially , there was little between the clubs , who were playing as though the end of the season could not come quick enough . Several chances fell to Wright before the visiting defence settled , but again Hibs ' leading scorer did not show the same sharpness as he did earlier in the season .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
They were all there , in the mirror . A tall thin body built almost entirely out of angles . A body which , cramped in the black livery he wore , became still thinner , still more angular . His face was flaky in some places , the texture of dried glue , while in others it bore the pin - prick traces of acne . His glasses with their steel frames made his eyes look chilly , merciless .
Idiom: sleight of hand (used idiomatically: yes)
The concluding ruse of the tale , the wife 's excuse for not returning the hundred francs to her husband , is not particularly novel or surprising . There is a reversion to a concept of Biblical antiquity , that of the conjugal debt ; and , most significantly , in continuing the metamorphosing of sexual and monetary transactions , the wife presents the reader at the end with more of the same in the Shipman 's Tale , nothing new or refreshing . Human turpitude of a personal kind is clearly visible in the activities of the wife and the monk — a sad human ignorance , lack of mastery and even spiritual failure in the case of the merchant — a turpitude that is not rendered comic in any distinguished way by some unexpectedly creative sleight of hand in the Shipman 's Tale , nor artfully embodied in the sort of grotesque and rapid excesses that we have in Les quatre Souhais Saint Martin . In comparison with fabliaux like that , the misbehaviour of the monk and the wife is all too deliberate and plausible . At the same time , the characteristic attitudes of the fabliau world countermand moral antifeminist and anticlerical perspectives on the wife and the monk .
Idiom: for the time being (used idiomatically: yes)
I nearly bit my lip when I saw that header from Fairclough looping into the top right hand corner from the McAllister free kick . I thought McAllister played quite poorly and with Strachan having a quiet game , this meant that nothing much was happening in midfield . It was the first time I 've seen either Perberton and White so I 'll reserve judgement on them for the time being . Kelly was excellent though he was mighty lucky to get away with tugging Giggs in the first minute . It looked from my position that we could n't have much to argue about if the ref. had given a penalty .
Idiom: down and out (used idiomatically: no)
So shocked was he , and flying so fast , that he gulped and swallowed her whole . And now both fear and joy fell upon the dragon . He flew on , his great red and gold wings beating the sun-filled Mediterranean air , his huge scarlet tongue hanging out of his mouth in a desperate effort to cool down and not blow out any smoke and flames . And when they were over the blue Aegean sea , many miles from Antioch , he circled widely , descended , and alighted on a small mountainous island , on soft green grass beside a grove of apple trees . When the dragon had flighted across the market place of Antioch , and Margaret had found herself swept up between the huge teeth , she had laughed like a child at the brief glance she had had of the panic around her ; she had laughed from the pure unexpectedness of her escape and at the terrified way the mighty Olybrius had nearly swallowed his moustaches .
Idiom: make light of (used idiomatically: no)
The figure of 125 million photocells is about 5,000 times the number of separately resolvable points in a good - quality magazine photograph . The folded membranes on the right of the illustrated photocell are the actual light - gathering structures . Their layered form increases the photocell 's efficiency in capturing photons , the fundamental particles of which light is made . If a photon is not caught by the first membrane , it may be caught by the second , and so on . As a result of this , some eyes are capable of detecting a single photon .
Idiom: bear in mind (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm , what you mean , if , if one reacts about it Mm . Bear in mind that see it but it 's more likely to pass on energy units , because it 's the stronger , you know . It 's more likely to reproduce it in itself . Yes .
Idiom: hot air (used idiomatically: yes)
The versatile tool can be used as a : wallpaper stripping knife , removing even difficult papers with the sharpened blade edge paint stripping knife , for dry paint from windows or old paint from wood with the help of a hot - air paint stripper paint roller sleeve cleaner , using the curved edge to scrape all traces of paint from a roller sleeve under running water nail and tack remover , using the specially shaped hole in the blade
Idiom: over your head (used idiomatically: yes)
She has been with Peter Cottingham , 44 , for five years . Peter , who works for the East Midlands Electricity Board , has three daughters by a previous marriage — Tara , 19 , Sophie , 16 , and Amy , seven , who adores Thomas . He says : ‘ There are times when the enormity of the challenge makes you want to pull a blanket over your head . We have a child who 's very bright — but there 's this huge sword of Damocles hanging over his head . ‘ I think the way Bev has coped has been incredible .
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: no)
She said I just went in there and she said I could n't stand any more , she said do you know Joy she said you 're one of the nicest people I know , she said I tell you what I 've never heard in my life two people stab somebody like you 're being stabbed , she says I could n't sit there any more That 's right , that 's right so she said I , I went in and I said to Geraldine I 'm going I owe you any bloody money take the bugger out me wages , she says I ai n't having people that I like being stabbed like that by people like that , she said she ai n't worth the salt of the earth , she 's the salt of the earth she said with people like that pointing to Jenny and Jane , no way , she said and I 'm going with my mates , I turned round and the next thing Janet and Janet and Barbara in there , when we got up the pub at twelve o'clock , course we were all having sandwiches me and Pam got the , me and er Barb got there , then Pam come in then a few more come and erm then the plumber and all that come in with them and I said oh girls we never clocked out , so I said oh well I 'm gon na have to take my key back to Steve , burst out laughing , so I said oh no I said why do n't we have a key cracking competition so of course that 's what we did we all took our keys out of our bag and we went ready for she 's a jolly good ready , steady , fellow , for she 's go and we cracked these ruddy keys and shoved them up in the air Oh Can imagine
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
This does n't mean that you have to spend a fortune on tools , but beware of cheap spanners and screwdrivers which may not be strong enough for the job or of cheap hammers which may lose their heads . Buying the right quality of tool is n't , on its own , enough . The tools have to be looked after which means , in particular , preventing them from rusting ( a thin smearing of oil does the trick ) ; tools with cutting edges should be kept sharp with their blades protected against damage . Never misuse tools : nuts , for example , are meant to be undone and done up with proper spanners . Using pliers or one of the various gripping wrenches will not do the tool much good ( they 're usually meant for something else ) and will probably make a mess of the nut .
Idiom: take it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
They called it ' lying in ' — and if you could n't actually ' lie ' all the time , people around you made quite sure you took it very easy indeed . Stove - blacking , coal - scuttle filling and vigorous work with the washboard were definitely out . Our own mothers , giving birth in the Fifties and Sixties , took it fairly easy as well . I laughed when my mother told me of the entire postnatal fortnight spent in the maternity hospital , with bedpans and blanket baths and fierce ward sisters who wagged fingers at you if you as much as stuck a big toe over the side of the bed . We 're so much better off these days : we 're in and out of hospital in 24 hours , 48 hours or three days at the most .
Idiom: put a damper on (used idiomatically: yes)
The highest contribution to January 's inflow came from Index - linked Savings Certificates which brought in £ 74 million . The total amount invested in National Savings at the end of January was £ 43.8 billion . Pound puts damper on inflation cheer THE continuing slump in the pound robbed the Government of a much needed propaganda triumph yesterday . The sudden fall in the ' headline ' inflation rate from 2.6 per cent in December to 1.7 per cent in January was only partly due to the fall in mortgage interest payments .
Idiom: rock bottom (used idiomatically: yes)
But , with high and persistent levels of unemployment in the United ~ States , there is a real question about the nature of the problem : is aggregate demand too low , or are there problems with supply ? President Barack ~ Obama ’s administration seems to think that the problem is one of demand , and has passed stimulus measure after stimulus measure , reducing taxes and increasing transfers and government spending in order to boost consumption and investment . The Federal ~ Reserve is of a similar mind , not only maintaining rock - bottom short - term interest rates , but also embarking on an adventurous policy targeting long - term rates . Some progressive economists want even more . Why have these policies not worked thus far in bringing down unemployment , even though the growth recovery is well under way ?