Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: play ball (used idiomatically: yes)
The more significant changes concern the activities of offside players who until now have not been penalised if they do not advance closer than 10 metres from a player waiting to play the ball . In future they will be out of the game until they have been put on - side . Dropped goals from free kicks are no longer permissible ; hookers may raise their feet the moment the ball leaves the scrum - half 's hands ; and in the tackle the next player ( other than the tackler ) must be on his feet when he plays the ball . If a free kick is kicked into touch on the full , the team will not gain ground and when a penalty kick is kicked directly to touch , the same team will have the throw - in . The long punters will have plenty of sport with that one though there could be considerable confusion at a quick kick where the revised law says that it may be taken without waiting for the kicker 's team to retire behind the ball — provided they do not become involved in play .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
Laura 's parents , Fran and Les , are making arrangements for their four - year - old daughter to return home to Eccles , Greater Manchester , on Thursday . A spokeswoman for the hospital , where the liver and bowel transplant was performed , said : ‘ Everything seems to be in order.’ Results of the last test would be known today ‘ then she should get the green light to go home.’ She said doctors were pleased with Laura 's progress , and it was thought she would be able to lead a normal life . Laura 's parents have been with her since she was flown to the US on May 30 .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: yes)
So far we have been self supporting with most of the folks who come along donating to our needs , however we would like to make a donation to the Seventh Day Adventist Church who give us the use of their premises , gas and electricity free of charge . If anyone feels the Lord prompting them to help meet this financial outlay please see Rosina Kilpatrick or myself . Please praise God for his faithfulness to us and for using us to help others see the light of Christ and please also pray that others would come along and find help and friendship with us . Many thanks to all who support us in prayer and in all sorts of ways , we are grateful for your encouragement . Love to you all .
Idiom: fair game (used idiomatically: no)
if you 're lucky . Yeah . Ah , like okay , and I suppose Sinn Fein is fair fucking game like , you know but the , not fucking innocent ! Jesus ! When they
Idiom: six of the best (used idiomatically: yes)
PRACTICAL HAIRCARE How to make short hair work for you . six of the best A new hairstyle is enough to give you a new lease of life but there are n't many of us who can afford to go to the hairdressers every week — let alone every day . Short hair is surprisingly versatile and , as these styles prove , you can give yourself a new look virtually every day of the week !
Idiom: go by the board (used idiomatically: yes)
I understand what you mean And we have n't had any post since last , yeah that 's , what I mean is Right , but presumably if that , that work 's not just going by the board that 's , that 's right No it 's being done by other members of staff . Yeah .
Idiom: in cahoots (used idiomatically: yes)
Why me ? What do they know about me ? Are they in cahoots with that mad biker From Leicester ? The Mad Biker from Leicester wants to kill The Drummer From Cud because TDFC boffed TMBFL 's ‘ main squeeze’ . ‘ When we played Leicester last time he was shitting it … ’ says Mike .
Idiom: go Dutch (used idiomatically: yes)
Dear oh dear ! It 's the reason you came to see me . I thought it was a matter of going Dutch . I dunno . That 's only on dates , you 're my father .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
About how , yeuch , he 's repelled by the skinny model type . He ca n't see the attraction , he 'll swear by all he owns It 'd be like lying in bed with a rickle of bones . But , oh how he lurrves Yir Voluptuous Curves
Idiom: fair and square (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I saw at first hand the problems Linfield had with travel arrangements and communications … give me Belfast every time.’ Chairman David Campbell said : ‘ We 're still in a state of shock over this development . ‘ As far as we were concerned Tblisi had won the tie fair and square . ‘ The idea of them trying to bribe the Turkish officials is nothing short of astonishing.’ Manager Trevor Anderson added : ‘ I 've played all over Europe and have never come across this sort of thing before .
Idiom: true to form (used idiomatically: yes)
Coleman lived on cordial terms with his assistant , William Sewell , for over 40 years . He charged Sewell with the maintenance of discipline in the College ( which led to Sewell recommending the expulsion of only one pupil , although some students paid too much attention to tavern and skittle - ground ) . Smith , true to form , condemned this entirely usual and reasonable delegation of disciplinary authority to the second - in - command as being Coleman 's method of avoiding any loss of popularity with his students . This popularity was undoubtedly great , and their affection was fully reciprocated by Coleman . He frequently referred to the students when they were at College , and for long after , as his ‘ children’ .
Idiom: warts and all (used idiomatically: yes)
Indeed , the portrait must be considered one of the outstanding Roman contributions to the visual arts . The Romans were interested in conveying aspects of individual character as these were reflected in personal appearance . It was not a Roman tradition to commemorate youth or physical beauty , so Roman portraits , of the ‘ warts and all’ school , appear to modern eyes reassuringly true to life and easy to understand . Portraiture in the Republic There came to exist in Roman as in Greek portraiture a visual code in which expression was given to moral qualities .
Idiom: do a number on (used idiomatically: yes)
A representative sampling of Osiris Management Services ' clientele was there , beefy ballocky blokes who prized the rugby scrum of life as much as an opportunity for putting the boot in as for winning the ball . To them , the occasion was just another hospitality tent , an opportunity to claw back some of Thomas 's fees by consuming as much of his food and drink as possible . They ganged together round the buffet , whingeing about business and interest - rate hikes , doing gamesmanship numbers on each other , exchanging racy stories and tall tales and laughing fit to bust their considerable guts . These hearties certainly were n't aware that Thomas was wrong - footing himself . If they had any reservations about the amenities he was so tastelessly flaunting , it was only to ask themselves what his profit margin must be if he could afford this stuff .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
It means being able to put the language into action . Through the case study approach , Business Assignments brings the real thing —— business communication — into the controlled environment of the language training session . The wide range of source material presents participants with the challenge of working in English in order to get to grips with a variety of business problems . As each case unfolds , participants become ever more actively involved in carrying out realistic business assignments such as negotiating , problem - solving and decision - making . Business Assignments is designed for the centres that set the standards in executive language training …
Idiom: in a rut (used idiomatically: yes)
John Williams Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : a film that director Steve Barron can ‘ relate to’ After just one feature , Electric Dreams , British video whiz - kid Steve Barron was in a rut . Another hot - shot promo director whose big - screen aspirations were quashed in a welter of blue - filtered , back - lit imagery , he was soon consigned to the wannabes pile . With a multitude of clips to his credit , including Michael Jackson 's ‘ Billie Jean’ and the Human League 's ‘ Do n't You Want Me’ , the former teaboy and camera assistant gave up his film - making pretensions — and went back to videos , directing Aha 's ‘ Take On Me’and Dire Straits ' ‘ Money For Nothing’ .
Idiom: make history (used idiomatically: yes)
We hear her first on these records in 1914 : just two items — the voice sharply etched — on Pathé , made in the year of her British début , when at London 's Drury Lane under Beecham she created no great impression as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier . The main sequence of recordings began in 1916 as did her spectacular career in Vienna . Then , with some breaks ( nothing from 1918 , 1922 and 1923 ) , we go through to 1924 , when at Covent Garden she sang her first Marschallin on stage , making history and her house début at the same time . She was then 36 . In fact , the set should probably be called ‘ The Vocal Prime of Lotte Lehmann’ .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: no)
It is hard to believe that this 8,000 acre agricultural estate owned by the Crown was once a small mid - river sandbank often submerged by spring tides . The Island 's strange evocative name takes a little explaining . In fact Sunk Island is a kind of water - logged ' phoenix ' thrown up by the rides of the Humber , resting on the submerged remains of low - lying medieval farmlands overflown by a series of great storms combined with exceptionally high tides that engulfed the area in 1399 , the site of a number of drowned villages . These lost lands are named on old charts as ' Sunke Sands ' and it must have been a logical progression to name the risen sandbank ' Sunk Sand Island ' , eventually over the centuries to be shortened to today 's Sunk Island . The growth of Sunk Island is intimately linked with the Gylby family who , for almost 200 years leased it from the Crown , embanking it as it increased in size .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
After half an hour Mr Robb , the churchman , stopped praying . Daniel looked at him . He was lying on the rock , his face white and cold . His eyes were open , but he did not see Daniel 's hand in front of his face . He was dead .
Idiom: cut and run (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Were we now the target ? Would there be a lunatic at the nets or in the stands ? ‘ No - one wanted to cut and run but 16 English cricketers in a coach on a busy Bombay street suddenly seemed a risk . ‘ We 'd seen enough burnt - out buses after Mrs Gandhi 's assassination and we all of us in private had our own fears . ‘ We stayed in our rooms .
Idiom: laughing stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Labour will also instigate a ‘ positive action programme’ for employing women in transport , despite the good reasons why many women feel safer when there is a man in charge . Women designers and planners will be empowered to create a safer , ‘ non - threatening’ environment . In its early days , the Reagan administration made a laughing stock of itself by blaming trees for pollution . Labour is equally ludicrous : it is committed to banning ‘ trees and shrubs that could make more women feel vulnerable to attack’ . The drafters of Labour 's manifesto must surely sense that their party 's embracing of the feminist cause , as defined by a tiny , vociferous group of feminist leaders , is in direct contradiction to their stated belief in individual liberty , not to mention the beliefs of ordinary women .
Idiom: behind closed doors (used idiomatically: yes)
A new film Give My Regards to Broad Street achieved extra significance on 30 September when all pleas for a reprieve were rejected , and the North London mausoleum closed its doors to passengers and awaited total demolition . It was bad enough having to admit that the APT train project was a dead duck , but BR shot itself in the foot and provided the cynical national media with a field day by selling off some of the vehicles to a Sheffield scrapyard . The strict rules of disposing of redundant vehicles by public tender was forgotten for the rest of the stock , dismantled very much behind closed doors at Derby Works . By 1989 InterCity director Dr john Prideaux was reassuring his customers that it was wrong to regard the APT as a failure ; it had indeed been a great design success ! Unfavourable train reliability statistics are easily shrugged off until one of your passengers is a VIP .
Idiom: on a shoestring (used idiomatically: yes)
If you do n't want to go to the expense of buying them , check out the travel section at your local library . The Lonely Planet guides are particularly useful for independent travellers . The books give all the insider know - how for staying and getting around a country on a shoestring budget . Entry and visa regulations are particular to individual countries , so for details contact their embassies in this country . When buying your plane tickets it 's also worth asking for information relevant to your trip — many travel agencies produce fact sheets on the foreign destinations they go to .
Idiom: take the piss (used idiomatically: yes)
Do you know about the increase of racist attacks and murders in Britain ? Do n't you think that maybe it was just a teeny - weeny bit curious or stupid or disgusting that Morrissey should choose to wrap himself in the flag ? I 've taken the piss out of Morrissey in the past . Unlike most NME'ers , I 'm no fan . But his has gone well beyond mere critical posturing .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
The usher looked round irritatedly , as if hearing the bell for the first time , and gestured to the man to remove his hat . The man obeyed , somewhat nervously , and as he did so , the Judge entered , wheezing a little as he trudged up the steps . The man in the dock watched him in silence as he sat down heavily in his chair . The Judge held the air of someone very world - weary , and this was accurate to some extent , as he had just re - read the case notes , and sensed today was going to be another long day . He began reading out the typewritten sheet in front of him :
Idiom: close call (used idiomatically: yes)
Nine hours later , an oxygen tank in the service module blew up with a frightening bang . ‘ OK Houston , we 've had a problem here.’ That calm , matter - of - fact voice belonged to Jack Swigert , the command module pilot , who survived that close call but died of cancer a few weeks ago . If things had gone according to plan , Jack would n't have been within 325 000 kilometres of Apollo 13 on that fateful day , 13 April . Just a few days before the launch the original pilot , Ken Mattingy , had been exposed to German measles and was found to have no immunity , He was replaced by his backup , Jack Swigert , who managed just two days prime - crew training before leaving for the Moon !
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: yes)
CLINK Double yellow lines trap jailbird after 14 years on the run A PRISONER on the run for 14 years was back behind bars yesterday — because he parked on double yellow lines . Alan Model , 35 , made the illegal stop in a town centre as he popped into a shop . Policeman Steve Bedford spotted the car as he patrolled Ringwood , Hampshire , and slapped a ticket on the windscreen .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
When development of an OSF/1 implementation of ODT for ACE 's MIPS Computer Systems Inc RISC architecture passed to DEC , the signs were ominous . Soon after , SCO withdrew from all MIPS development . Now it is at a crossroads . Before it stretches USL 's congested expressway , or OSF 's traffic - free route , SCO has been meeting with both outfits and is mulling the prospects of either journey . It maintains ' OSF/1 is still the preferred direction : ' not surprising as SunSoft and USL are already distant specks on the SVR4 horizon .
Idiom: chuck it down (used idiomatically: no)
Start dredging , see he wanted to get the job done . I know that on Sunday I was on , on the watch , this weekend , and there was so much ice on the river , our anchor boat which is all made of wood , that 's moored up alongside the dredger and when I went along and got , that was about twelve o'clock in the mid - day . That was half full of water and the ice had cut through the wood flow down the river , cos the water was coming in like hell and er cos one thing I had to do about it , had like a chain in the , in th in the boat , so we pulled the chain out , I pulled the chain out first and go just got the , the erm hull just above water so I bail the boat out with a bucket chuck it down the side right quick . That 's how I saved the boat then . Otherwise it 'd er fill right up down to the side the , the top of the boat , that was on a Sunday .
Idiom: walk of life (used idiomatically: yes)
The rules of the local game did n't apply to us . I did n't appreciate this freedom until I lost it . I took it for granted that I could associate with people from all walks of life , from every background . It seemed perfectly natural that I should spend one evening being waited on by uniformed retainers at the home of an important industrialist whose son I taught , and the next in a seedy bar drinking beer with a group of workers from the factory where I gave private courses in technical English . Someone rightly said that language exists to prevent us communicating , and of no country is that more true than my own .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
When you buy a sleeping bag test it out in the shop — put it on the floor , get inside and get the feel of it . Never buy a sleeping bag without first finding out whether or not all the drawcords can be pulled from the inside and the zip can be pulled freely from inside too . Make sure you feel comfortable in the bag — that it 's long enough and wide enough for you . Of course you will need to buy a bag that 's warm enough for your purposes . Sleeping bags all have season ratings — from one to five — taking you from hot summer nights to high mountain winter camps .
Idiom: out of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
SUNDERLAND manager Malcolm Crosby admits he 's on a roundabout — but is determined to hang on to his job . Defiant Crosby averted the threat of the chop with Tuesday 's 2–0 win over Wolves . The manager who took Sunderland to Wembley six months ago knows that he 's still not out of the woods , but he has turned back the clock in a bid to stay in business . Success Sunderland are adopting the same formation that brought Ipswich success in the 70s , and the results have been encouraging enough to persuade the 37-year - old boss to call off his search for a midfield playmaker . ‘ I think we are getting something together and these players deserve another chance,’ he said .
Idiom: wipe someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
Jamie helped me to my feet . ‘ By God , what a state to get yourself in , Frank.’ ‘ Aye,’ I said , wiping my eyes with my sleeve and looking round to see that we were still alone . I clapped Jamie on the shoulder a couple of times and we made for the street . We walked up the deserted street with me breathing deeply and Jamie holding me by one elbow .
Idiom: run out of steam (used idiomatically: yes)
A band led a procession , which included four hundred schoolchildren , through the streets and a public lunch was held on East Looe Quay . The day was not without its hitches . On the return journey up the incline from Coombe the engine ran out of steam , causing passengers for Plymouth to miss their last connection . As a relief engine was hastily summoned the trainload of passengers were merrily singing ‘ We sha n't get home til morning’ . They had no cause to fear ; a special train to Plymouth was chartered .
Idiom: against the grain (used idiomatically: yes)
There were uneasy smiles . Richard 's enchantment with girls sometimes raised echoes of anxiety in his parents . He was also showing a distaste for outdoor pursuits that ran against the grain of their family life . His mother and father told themselves that he was only six and was bound to change , but the incident that had made his grandfather King already coloured his life . After lunch , it was decided to harness two Shetland ponies to a dog cart and give all the children who were too small to manage their own mounts a ride around the park .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
My first public performance was behind a chair — I refused to sing unless I had a chair in front of me . I do n't know why , I think it was that familiar feeling of being behind bars . I wanted to be a violinist — that was my real ambition — but I was too anxious to really get to grips with the instrument . In fact when I was about twelve , I wrote a piece of music called ‘ Anxiety’— it was so silly that I framed it . glasses because you 'll look much more astute , like you 're a technician.’
Idiom: two a penny (used idiomatically: yes)
She now leant across the counter and , poking her face down to the child 's , she said , ' No , I did n't Bobbie , because if I had you would n't have got half as much as is in that bag . Now , take that lot and go , get yourselves away . ' She gathered up the bags and pushed them towards the child ; and when he reluctantly handed her the two pennies she said , ' Thank you very much . I 'll see you next week , I hope . ' It was the gentleman who seemed to spring to the door and open it to let the two heavily laden customers out .
Idiom: in the saddle (used idiomatically: yes)
As though they were seeing actors on a stage , Seb and Melody watched as one of the two riders suddenly kneed his horse forward . There was a puff of white smoke from the highwayman 's gun , and the horse of the man riding towards him reared in the air . When it came down , its rider slumped in the saddle , clutching his shoulder . The second man handed over his saddle - bags to the highwayman and both men were immediately waved on their way , the robbed man supporting his companion . Not until the two men were out of sight did the highwayman turn his horse and put it into a gallop along the track that passed near to the hollow where Seb and Melody were kneeling .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: no)
Coup attempt following protests An increase of over 100 per cent in the price of maize meal on June 19 , as part of an economic recovery programme [ see pp . 37142 - 43 ; 37559 ] , provoked widespread discontent which culminated in violence after a demonstration by some 2,000 students in Lusaka on June 25 . Marching on State House , the students called for the restoration of the price subsidy , the resignation of President Kenneth Kaunda , and an end to the single - party political system . Whereas similar protests in December 1986 ( which had led to the eventual abandonment of a programme backed by the International Monetary Fumd ( IMF ) — see p. 34923 ) had focused only on economic grievances , discontent now extended to the role of Kaunda himself and to the entrenched position of the ruling United National Independence Party ( UNIP ) as the sole legal party . Violence erupted after police shot a student during the demonstration and the protest spread to Lusaka 's townships .
Idiom: against the grain (used idiomatically: yes)
Social institutions , including that of education , are set up to counteract the shortcomings of nature , to control and exploit it and turn it to human advantage . The very concept of pedagogy ( whether defined as art or science ) presupposes invention and intervention which will direct learners in ways they would not , left to their own devices , have the opportunity or inclination to pursue . Now clearly a teaching approach which goes against the grain of natural disposition will create needless difficulties for the learner , as I pointed out earlier in reference to translation and the focusing on form , but it does not follow that pedagogy must therefore simply accommodate that disposition . 3 Operation Operation is that part of the mediation process which is most readily recognized by teachers as their business .