Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ The confidential papers I have seen demonstrate that what were called various tax benefits were central to negotiations . It is clear that at a meeting on July 4 between Lord Young and BAe , discussions included various tax benefits for Rover , to be achieved through the removal of the ring fence on tax losses and sympathetic revenue treatment . ‘ In his letter of July 6 following the meeting , the BAe chairman , Professor Roland Smith , called for the removal of the ring fence around Rover capital allowances , capital losses , and trading losses , and asked the DTI to intervene with the Inland Revenue for ‘ written rulings in advance to certain proposals to be made by BAe with a view to optimising the tax benefits’,’ Mr Brown said . ‘ On July 12 Lord Young confirmed that tax agreements had been made with the Inland Revenue , and there had been an exchange of letters ‘ on terms satisfactory to BAe’.’ As originally disclosed by the Guardian , the estimated value of the tax concessions alone offered at one point during the negotiations was close to £ 35 million , while the European Commission was led to believe that BAe would benefit by only £ 25 million from the easing of tax restrictions .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
Maxim wondered if he dressed that way only because he worked for The Firm , and decided probably not . As a nation , the Germans were far more formal dressers than the British : the only people around the centre of Osnabrück not wearing ties were obviously foreigners by the rest of their dress . Maxim had a tie with him , but at the moment it was in his pocket . ‘ Will you be able to get those photographs blown up?’ he asked casually . Now that he was going to be with Sims for most of the day , knowing what was on the photographs was an uncomfortable burden .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
During the years from 1070 to 1109 , when Lanfranc and Anselm were at Canterbury , the issue was still alive . By the time of Anselm 's death the question was essentially settled and Anselm 's successor Ralph was fighting in a hopeless cause : by the time of Ralph 's death , the instruments of universal government had become sufficiently highly developed to make all that Lanfranc and Anselm had stood for in this aspect of their work a thing of the past . The forged additions to the papal letters were a short - lived and totally irrelevant instrument , a last - ditch measure for the defence of the primacy , which was already a lost cause . It may seem a depressing conclusion to Anselm 's struggle for the primacy that it should have ended in a futile resort to forgery . But this last resort of defeated men marks the transition from a system based on the traditions of the local community to reliance on legal and administrative procedures based on written records .
Idiom: mutton dressed as lamb (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ She 's been going some years.’ Ralph looked at his reflection in the mirror at the back of the bar and gently patted his toupee . ‘ Look at her through your binoculars … mutton dressed as lamb . Some of 'em never want to retire.’ ‘ Good actress through.’
Idiom: under the microscope (used idiomatically: yes)
CRITERION ONE There must be changes in the quantity of the system or substance , or the rate of its production or turnover , in some localized region of the brain during memory formation . If there are more or modified synapses , the chemicals and structures of which the synapses are composed must show signs of change , which might be measurable either by biochemical methods ( for instance , an increase in the amount of synaptic membrane protein ) or under a microscope ( for instance a change in the dimensions of particular synapses , or an increase in synaptic numbers ) . But if I were to find such a change taking place while an animal is learning , unless the conditions for that change met all the subsequent criteria , I would be no further forward than the experiments of the 1960s that I criticized in the last chapter . Some change is certainly necessary , but by itself can not be said to be sufficient or specific .
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: yes)
Though living with his father in Dearborn , near Detroit , Kalid visited his mother and grandfather in the Bekaa Valley several times a year , a family duty providing him with perfect cover for the job of courier in the DEA 's stepped - up programme of controlled heroin deliveries . Too young to be hired as a full - blown CI , he was signed up on the spot as a ' subsource ' , a convenient arrangement whereby he was paid by a DEA CI , rather than by the agency itself , so that , in the interests of ' deniability ' , his name did not have to appear on any official payroll records . Congratulating themselves , and the Jafaars , on a six - month run of unparalleled success , DEA Nicosia greeted 1988 in a mood of cavalier optimism . With the NARCOG anatomy of the Syrian cartel now virtually complete , with a major Lebanese clan working for them and a better organized monitoring and intelligence network feeding them more reliable information , Hurley and his CIA colleagues prepared for the new growing season in the Bekaa with a sense of having seized the initiative at last . There was just one problem they knew nothing about .
Idiom: on the money (used idiomatically: no)
He asked me out , and I was more than pleased to accept . Tall , tanned , golden hair , and those blue eyes so full of honesty and humour that I thought him a warm , generous man . And so he was , on other people 's money . He overruled my objections about getting engaged so soon after meeting ; soothed my worries about parting from my family — we could save up , go and visit them . So we got engaged and waved my family off to Australia ; he knew of a little cottage we could buy not far from his boat yard — his boat yard , ' she said disparagingly with a little snort of disgust .
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
By Mark Currie Deputy Business Editor NORMAN Stoller , chairman of fast - growing Seton Healthcare Group yesterday held out the prospect of more jobs at the company 's Merseyside plant after announcing a 41pc leap in pre - tax profits . The Oldham - based firm , which manufactures a wide range of healthcare products , from swabs to saline solution and a variety of over the counter medicines and treatments , recently spent more than £ 1 m on extending its Bootle pharmaceutical manufacturing facility , which trades under the name Seton Prebbles . ‘ It has made remarkable progress since it was acquired by Seton in 1986,’ said Mr Stoller . ‘ Turnover then was around £ 2.5 m and the number of employees around 100 .
Idiom: on the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
I immediately got down . There was one more explosion among the trees , then silence . I lay on the ground for a few more moments , then continued on my way through the trees in the direction of Brigade Headquarters , pondering on the likely thoughts of Colonel Peter Young and his three Officers back there on the hill . The days spent in the woods close to the village of Bavent are passing slowly . The enemy has not been very active since the 10th August and I somehow miss the occasional mortar burst in the area , or the odd German shell passing over .
Idiom: play for time (used idiomatically: yes)
They watched from a distance . ‘ You 're a little mad , Woolley,’ Hawthorn said . He breathed deeply , playing for time . ‘ But not completely insane . Not completely .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
ARC 1990 was finally under way . The annual prize for the best ARC wall painting was awarded to Joanna Reekie , of Viva It was an impressive and , for the spectators , rather emotional spectacle when the 121 ARC yachts finally headed south from Las Palmas after weeks of preparation Philippe Barbe , the skipper and owner of the fleet - footed maxi Speedy - Go tidies up the deck before a rain shower A deliver skipper touts for employment at the marina
Idiom: break the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
Of the 35 goals England have scored in the 26 matches Taylor has been in charge , just three have come from outside the penalty area . In Taylor 's second match Peter Beardsley wrapped up victory against Poland with a swerving 25 yarder . In Czechoslovakia last March Martin Keown nearly broke the back of the net with a long - range effort . The other , ‘ scored’ by Lee Dixon in the 1–1 Wembley draw with Ireland , might have required a massive deflection en route … but emphasised the value of taking a chance from distance . Favourite
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
Biff was impressed . ' He could n't cure a side of bacon , ' muttered Jackie . The doctor rummaged in his bag . ' What a lucky chance for us both ! ' He drew out a monstrous iron calliper .
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
The therapist may have to prompt the client to elicit these thoughts , as very often the client is not aware of them . Once the therapist has extracted one thought they can find out the one behind it . One by one the client 's chains of increasingly irrational thoughts can be extracted rather like a magician pulling a series of connected handkerchiefs out of a pocket . Discovering these chains or networks of negative irrational thoughts is the basis of cognitive therapy . When these thoughts are elicited the therapist should reassure the client that a great many people who have worrying physical symptoms have similar catastrophic thoughts which are usually unfounded .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
In any case there is something absurd about the notion that language or words can be attacked independently of their users . There is also something disingenuous about it , since by setting language up as a thing , a monolith , it stops us asking whose words , images and traditions will be under attack if the conventions are changed . Kanfer 's assertion that words are , in the end , worth more than the ‘ legitimate’ social grievances of feminists is , to say the least , a weak and unconvincing argument . The fact that so many people object so strenuously to the feminist ‘ attack on words’ suggests , to me at least , that this issue of sexism in language is not the trivial diversion it is often made out to be . But the question remains : why is it important ?
Idiom: dry as dust (used idiomatically: yes)
For one thing , I thought I had cleared the nest recently , and that if she was sitting on anything at all , her clutch could not number more than two or three eggs . For another , the padding beneath her was pitifully insubstantial . As a boy I was always taught to use a sod of turf as a foundation , so that the eggs would remain slightly damp , and to build a snug nest of hay on top of it -and the barn wall was knobbly , draughty and dry as dust . The worst hazard , though , was that as the days went by the Sumatra seemed to become increasingly irresponsible . She spent more and more time off her eggs , parading about the yard , cackling as if demented and taking sudden rushes in whatever direction she happened to be facing when each fit of frenzy overcame her .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
We must be mad , he thought . We 're tiny and it 's a big world and we never stop to learn enough about where we are before we go somewhere else . At least back when I lived in a hole I knew everything there was to know about living in a hole , and now it 's a year later and I 'm at a place so far away I do n't even know how far away it is , watching something I do n't understand go to a place so far up there is no down . And I ca n't go back . I 've got to go right on to the end of whatever all this is , because I ca n't go back .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
But as feelings of guilt suddenly swamped her , only then did Fabia appreciate how much she had been herself with Ven . Somehow — though how when it bothered her so — she had all too frequently managed to forget that she was supposed to be Cara Kingsdale , professional journalist . ‘ No,’ she answered quietly , and felt so guilt - ridden then that she could n't look at him , but turned her head and stared out of the side - window . That feeling of guilt sat heavily with her for most of the drive to Prague . Only then did she see that she should never have accepted Ven 's invitation .
Idiom: on tenterhooks (used idiomatically: yes)
The Corporal fired questions at me , all the time trying to catch me out . I denied homosexual inclinations but he still made me bend down so that he could inspect my behind with a wooden spatula . In between the various tests there was a delay of two or three days when we would be left on tenterhooks in case we had failed ; every afternoon people would be told to pack their bags and would be deposited at Aubagne station to take a train back to where they had come from . If you had joined at Paris , then you received a ticket back there ; if , however , you had joined at Marseilles , then you only got fifteen francs to get you down the line from Aubagne . The Legion would return you to the place at which they had taken charge of you .
Idiom: lay an egg (used idiomatically: yes)
Strange things happen , too , to the size of animals . In general , animal size is a compromise . There are theoretical advantages in being large : large males can compete more easily for mates , and large females can bear larger ( and therefore more robust ) offspring , or lay more eggs . But there are also advantages in being small , because small animals need less food , and tiny creatures such as mice can hide from predators more easily than larger ones . On islands , there is little food ; but the art of long - term survival is to maintain enough individuals to sustain a viable population .
Idiom: take someone to the cleaners (used idiomatically: yes)
I have to clean them up , I 'll have to Yeah I know . take it to the cleaners I know , I might get some so it 's not the fucking cleaner .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
The only other closure in the period ( leaving aside the Recorder and New Daily ) was The Post . This was a tabloid launched by the founder of Today , Eddie Shah , which lasted only 33 issues at the end of 1988 . The enormous risks and start - up costs of launching a new daily from scratch prevented anyone trying , until new technology and a successful challenge to the strength of the trade unions transformed Fleet Street economics in the mid-1980s — making ‘ Fleet Street’ itself an archaic term , since the construction of production plant elsewhere , notably Wapping , was part of the process . The one exception was the Daily Star , founded in 1978 by the owner of the Daily Express , Trafalgar House . The object was to use spare printing capacity in Manchester to compete with the London - based Sun , which the Star was therefore designed to resemble extremely closely .
Idiom: go up in smoke (used idiomatically: yes)
But how many know whether the expedition worked ? Howard Holmes does , and it is included in Owls Trivia ( £ 2.80 , from Sheffield Trivia , 286 Meadowhead , S8 7UH ) . A companion volume , Blades Trivia ( surely the club 's entire history ? ) , asks how Leeds United 's hopes of a win went up in smoke when Steve Cammack scored a late equaliser on April Fools ' Day 1975 . The sponsors ' firework display , timed to start on the final whistle , went off early , and during the distraction Cammack scored . As for Wednesday , they descended from the company of sheep to beat the might of Chester 2 - 0 .
Idiom: on the nose (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It just goes to show , princes are liars.’ ( Well , that came as no surprise to me . Old Henry VII , father to the Great Killer , was a born miser and inveterate liar who would n't know the truth if it jumped up and bit him on the nose . Oh , by the way , Charles VIII of France was no better . He was a pygmy , an ugly little bastard , forever jumping on the ladies of the court as if he was a dog on heat .
Idiom: show a leg (used idiomatically: no)
I 'll come in on Saturday and ' ave the tablecloth back for Sunday tea , seein ' me sister and ' er old man 's coming to ' ave shrimps an ' winkles with us . Me sister 's ' aving terrible trouble with ' er eldest daughter . She wants to do bareback ridin ' in a circus and show ' er legs like all them circus girls do . Me sister never showed ' er legs in all ' er life , nor me , neither . I do n't know what girls are comin ' to .
Idiom: hit the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
TERMINATOR 2 A large percentage of film tie - ins these days incorporate several game - types . T2 follows this trend but somehow fails to hit the mark due to poorly designed sequences that , while attractive , are tedious and unexciting . Its original rating was 89 % , which I feel is far too high when you consider the quality of games such as Rambo , a film licence from several years ago . THE RUNNING MAN
Idiom: on ice (used idiomatically: no)
Louisa had been skidding unsteadily about the ice for the best part of an hour when a carriage came round the rear drive of the Hall and , after a moment 's debate , Edwin Frere sprang down to give a helping hand to his well - muffled wife . Louisa was surprised by the arrival and glad of it , for young Frank Wharton had been ragging mercilessly her occasional graceless descents to the ice , petticoats and undergarments protruding from her skirt , skates flailing above them . Frank 's incorrigible efforts at flirtation had become tiresome to her and , the truth of the matter was , he was no great dandy on the ice himself for all his mockery . It was a relief therefore to make for the frozen shore where the parson was protesting that his wife would be safer and more comfortable if she remained in the carriage . She might observe the proceedings equally well from there .
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: yes)
Our method of proceeding was as follows . First , one of us ( GSC ) developed a simplified version of the SADS - L , extracting all of the items relevant to the diagnosis of psychotic illness . Since the SADS - L is normally used in a face - to - face interview situation these items are mostly in the form of questions and here the original wording was retained . Our modified schedule was then applied to each of the subjects by one or other of two of the present authors ( either GW or RP ) . She was asked to draw on her knowledge of the subject 's life material and reply to each question , supplying evidence , as nearly as possible using the subject 's own words , that was sufficiently detailed for the answer to be evaluated properly against the original SADS - L criteria .
Idiom: make light of (used idiomatically: yes)
Messrs Lyall and McGiven will soon realise that you can only get away with boring , negative football whilst it bring results — ask John Duncan . Home and away regular Chelmsford . ALEC Stewart made light of being struck on the head by a stone during yesterday 's one - day international defeat at Gwalior . Yet , when India were four for two in reply , it seemed as if England 's 256 would be easily enough . Manoj Prabhakar was lbw first ball to Phil DeFreitas and Vinod Kambli was out mishooking Devon Malcolm .
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: yes)
He wanted to cry out scornfully that it was a lie , but the dreadful truth knocked the voice out of him . How could he , how could anyone , be sure of his silence while he slept ? With this one issue so heavy on his mind , might he not have muttered some confused reference to it in his dreams ? His mind fought off the idea furiously , and yet it came back to fret his certainty again . How could he be sure ?
Idiom: feel the pinch (used idiomatically: yes)
By October 1987 a year after Big Bang , the inflated City salaries were slipping . Although a few analysts remained bullish about the market , most had serious reservations . Licensed dealers as well as stockbrokers were feeling the pinch of sudden market setbacks , and not altogether satisfactory trade figures . One recruitment manager put it like this : A year ago we were buying teams … now we 're filling holes . " What with their incapacity to move onto proper City jobs , even occasionally to jobs in their own industry , it is no wonder that employees of many licensed dealers , temperamental at the best of times , were often driven to drink .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
CINEMA outside Hollywood used to come in national waves , but no longer : China has been silenced for a while , and the work emerging out of Africa has been distributed too sporadically to seem like a movement . But Aki Kaurismaki , who accounts , with his brother , for more than one - third of the Finnish film industry , makes a movie a year and has a stake in distribution , constitutes a national cinema , all by himself . In Ariel ( 15 ) a miner who has been made redundant heads south to Helsinki and falls in love . ‘ I 've got a kid,’ she warns him . ‘ Excellent,’ he ripostes .
Idiom: that's all she wrote (used idiomatically: no)
Central News Video I Activity Book 1 Central News Video II Activity Book 2 which I shall deliver to the Press in accordance with the letter agreement . I warrant that I have the unfettered right to authorise the publication of the Work ; that my own and any co-authors ' contributions to the Work are original and contain no libellous defamatory obscene or otherwise unlawful or misleading matter and that all statements therein purporting to be facts are true . I agree to indemnify the Publisher against loss injury or damage ( including damages for loss of profits and all legal costs and expenses and any compensation costs and disbursements paid by the Publisher to compromise or settle any claim ) occasioned to the Publisher by any claim action or threatened proceedings arising out of a breach or violation of the above warranty , PROVIDED THAT such damages , costs and expenses are incurred pursuant to the judgement of a court of competent jurisdiction or settlement reached with the Company 's prior written consent , which consent will not be withheld or delayed unreasonably . I waive unconditionally and irrevocably the rights conferred by Chapter IV of Part I of the Copyright , Designs and Patents Act 1988 . This waiver extends to sub-licensees and successors in title of the Press .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
Later , when she blurted out to Victorine what she had seen , when she tried to describe it , she struggled with inadequate words . Under Victorine 's mocking questioning she understood that she had betrayed her vision by mentioning it . Its red and gold brilliance sank into the darkness of her imagination like a firework blazing then fading in the black night sky . All she had left to clutch at was the memory of how she had felt . Something outside her , mysterious and huge , put out a kindly exploring hand and touched her .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
BIRD Can you explain ? They were not sparrows in such numbers but could be house martins , which settle on west - facing houses to bask in the setting sun . Or , in early July , they could be young starlings . UPPITY
Idiom: nuts and bolts (used idiomatically: yes)
She chalked a keyhole shape on the front , which she cut out and neatened with bias binding . Charms were stitched to the neck . Sue Hall of Lee Jeans went for the workwear look , stitching on small spanners , nuts and bolts . Prudent Adam has faith in Russian future By Tim Satchell