Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: over your head (used idiomatically: yes)
And sometimes , towards dawn , the music would be at full blast and there would be hardly any movement at all , nothing left except maybe just one couple kissing — and yet that looked like dancing too . There was something about it that was scandalous . Two men kissing to music under the stars … or Little David , the barman , would bring out his famous white gauze and feather fans and send them gliding across his sweating chest and face ( you do n't see this any more these days ) — as if the secret thoughts that were normally hidden behind that odd smile in his eyes had escaped and taken flight ; as if , I used to think , it was magic , as if some oddly attractive boy had unbuttoned his flies for you and brought out not a fat red cock but a blinking , blinded , delicate , fluttering magician 's dove , releasing it into the roof of the dark theatre to fly crazily over your astonished head … and above all this was that ceiling of shining stars . And on a good night the stars would seem to brighten ; if you looked up it was like a clear winter 's night in the city , one of those nights when you find yourself on a dark street , one without streetlamps , and for once you can see that the stars have different colours ; they are like still fireworks . This moment is very private and is rarely if ever seen by outsiders , not even glimpsed through a window .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
We often went to the house of Don Cattabianchi , the priest of Santa Croce , a very eccentric but equally intelligent and learned man . His house was a primitive version of a modern youth club . We played various games there , of which the most popular was a kind of bingo . We had long discussions about whatever we liked , and during term - time Don Cattabianchi would sometimes help us with our homework . If he was at home we were always welcome in his study .
Idiom: grist to the mill (used idiomatically: yes)
After presiding over a string of humiliating scandals and embarrassing policy failures , they feel on top once again . They are lauded for stimulating the Japanese economy through a recent ¥ 13 trillion ( $ 116 billion ) supplementary budget and for ‘ rescuing’ the stockmarket . It is all grist to the mill of those who like to argue that Japan has succeeded because it works by different rules from those in the West . Administrative guidance is back with a vengeance , they assert approvingly . And officialdom shows disturbing signs of believing the flattery .
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: yes)
Burney said triumphantly . ‘ Or rather , I have seen the results of the use of such a one . I looked it up in my book . I encountered precisely similar bruises in a stabbing case in April . The name of the victim was Andrew Livesey .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
It remains to be seen whether the IBM name will prove to be boon or bane . COMMON OPEN SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENT FIRMS EXPECTED TO PICK UP SUNSELECT 's WINDOWS - ON - UNIX ABI WABI , SunSelect 's ace - in - the - hole Windows Applications Binary Interface for Unix software , moved closer to being adopted by the Common Open Software Environment crew last week as licensing agreements circulated for signature . A pawn in the chess match between Unix and Microsoft Corp , WABI is starting to be described in some circles as more important than COSE itself . It is believed that Unix System Laboratories Inc , Univel Inc , IBM Corp , Hewlett - Packard Co , SunSoft Inc and Sun Microsystems Inc will all pick it up .
Idiom: as a rule (used idiomatically: no)
Octavia is willing to marry a dashing young man for love . In Leapor 's view , her friend has failed to recognize that beneath the charming exterior there may be something very unpleasant : I know , to shun , you hold it as a Rule , The arrant Coxcomb and the stupid Fool : No such is Florio , he has Wit … 'tis true ,
Idiom: ahead of the game (used idiomatically: yes)
Step out of line , demand better attention , and you meet tight - lipped disapproval . Fellow sufferers move uncomfortably away rather than face similar embarrassment . Aonach Mor may be a step ahead of the game because it is a new skiing resort with attitudes untainted by years of traditional working practices . But , in spite of such typically awful Scottish weather conditions , I would go back , greenhouse effect permitting . And that , surely , is what business is all about .
Idiom: get stuck in (used idiomatically: yes)
Once you get your structure , you 'll win . Erm not much more to add really I think . Erm I thought you hung in there for referrals there , that was good , you , you were , you were a terrier there , you 're gon na get stuck in for referrals . The old handshake was just I was gon na see who was gon na let go first , well he was n't gon na let go so I thought erm you know there was no sort of , you know , about handshake or anything daft like that he just , he just would n't let go of my hand so I had to pull off really .
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
He took it out hastily , lest Lord Boddy notice it and jump to the conclusion that Dyson was mimicking him , and transferred it to his jacket pocket . At once Lord Boddy did the same , and one by one , as they listened and nodded , everyone else followed suit . Embarrassed , now that he had noticed what was happening , Dyson removed his hand from his jacket pocket and slipped it inconspicuously behind his back . Boddy , describing very slowly and emphatically how Asquith had died just before he could meet him , put his own hand through the same manoeuvre , and one by one all the other spare left hands disappeared behind their owners ' backs , too . Mutual deference could scarcely be carried farther .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Defeats Keegan got Newcastle back on the rails at Birmingham , following a run of three defeats . And he revealed : ‘ We sat down and took stock after losing to Leicester and decided that we had to stop feeling sorry for ourselves.’ Brian Atkinson goes hunting for goals at Peterborough today in a bid to cash in on his new role at Sunderland . The England Under-21 midfielder has sparked a mini - revival since moving into a more attacking position .
Idiom: out of thin air (used idiomatically: yes)
Hatred does n't just appear out of thin ~ air , it usually starts from envy or fear .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
She plucked a great hank of silk thread from the girdle of her spinsterhood ; tied one end of it to the wedding ring of her virginity and , looping the two ends of the hank over either wrist , spread her hands and invited Maggie to take the other end and wind a neat ball . Maggie , who had never learned such useful arts from either of the women who had brought her up , had to be shown what was required , but soon the smooth rhythm of one woman winding and the other co-operating by swinging her hands in and out as the thread unwound , pleased and comforted her . Soon Maggie held a golden ball of thread and St Margaret had one end of it firmly attached to her finger . Freed , thus , from the weight of the dragon 's will , and safely assured of being able to get home again Maggie turned her mind to her own task and went travelling down into the labyrinth of memory and desire . Just as Maggie could not remember a time before there was Fenna , and a time before there was the big house and the three women living in it , so she could not remember a time when there was not the constant tug of tension between her grandmother and her mother .
Idiom: stand someone in good stead (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ What heretical paradox is this , Draco ? You will commit to memory the Codex Impuritatis ! ’ And so , resentfully , he learned concepts that could stand him in good stead . In a sense , unknowingly , he had already entered the kindergarten of the Inquisition . Imperial preachers were haranguing the coastal populace to destroy … people like Jaq himself , people who would become polluted through no real fault of their own , in many cases .
Idiom: all the rage (used idiomatically: yes)
Many on the left nowadays seem especially confused about the advantages of competition , and many progressives ’ approach to education is an excellent example of this . In the United ~ States , for example , the left today looks back fondly on Franklin ~ Roosevelt ’s New Deal – and the big government that it ushered in during the Great Depression and beyond . But the left should also heed events earlier in the twentieth century , during the Progressive Era , when “ trust busting ” was all the rage . One reason big business was considered a threat at that time was its monopoly power over assets that were crucial to many ordinary Americans .
Idiom: keep the peace (used idiomatically: yes)
The horse 's trainer Robin Dickin said : ' It could have happened at any time , on the racecourse or at home . I am anxious that no responsibility is attributed to the rider . ' Bucknor keeps peace From Graham Otway in Durban WEST INDIAN umpire Steve Bucknor stepped in to prevent crowd trouble getting out of hand as India ground their way to a 23-run first innings lead in the first Test against South Africa here yesterday .
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: yes)
The Software Foundation will also introduce a suite of validation tools for the Distributed Computing Environment this week , at the cost of $ 20,000 . APPLE TO LAUNCH ITS LOW - COST SERVERS AT CEBIT IN HANNOVER Cupertino , California - based Apple Computer Inc , which went all the way to Japan for its last major product introduction , will finally launch its first family of network file servers at CeBit , in Hannover , on March 25 , according to US press reports . To be called Apple Workgroup Servers the machines are derived from the Apple Centris 600 series and Quadra 800 and 950 systems . Designed to provide file and print services and database support for from 15 to 50 users , the server line will comprise three systems : the AWS 95 , AWS 80 and the AWS 60 .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Anyway she left twelve pence on the floor and Gary says whose is this money , said you leave it there , it 's for Enid 's no nobody touch this chuffing twelve pence . She left twelve pence on floor and what ? She left twelve pence on the floor and Bill put it in the cubby hole in the fireplace and Gary says whose is this money and Arthur was going to pick it up an'all , he says leave that he says that 's for Enid 's money . Her twelve P. Well there are .
Idiom: tell tales (used idiomatically: yes)
The old process of commuting death sentences also remained in effect , and the result of these arrangements was that about half of all eighteenth - century felons were transported , so that about 30,000 were sent to North America in the next 60 years . This was greeted with mixed feelings in America , but treating the world outside Europe as a handy alternative to the gallows certainly showed a brisk and practical approach . A century earlier , in Shakespeare 's day , that world had been a mysterious place ; Othello could tell his travellers ' tales of the men whose heads do grow beneath their shoulders and , while the references to Bermuda in The Tempest were up - to - the - minute , they came in a play that was a collection of fairy stories . When Defoe wrote about the world outside Europe for an early eighteenth - century audience , he could take a much more realistic approach . Robinson Crusoe was far too busy cultivating his island on the basis of hard work helped by all the capital goods he had salvaged from the shipwreck to have any time for fairy stories .
Idiom: your guess is as good as mine (used idiomatically: yes)
' What do you suppose is biting his arse ? ' The engineer shrugged . ' Your guess is as good as mine . ' He gazed into the Power Bay . Apart from the light from Craig 's torch , still propped where he had left it against the main power conduits , the chamber was dark and empty .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
But we actually needed a procedure , that procedure was followed as best we could by borrowing another rule and it was achieved at the end of the day . There 's no animosity within my region on the fact that one person felt one thing and one felt another and as democratic trade unionists there should n't be any in - fighting or animosity just because we need to discuss something on which we disagree . The whole purpose of a conference is about disagreeing with each other and then agreeing a statement as a compromise for whatever is reached at the end of the day . It 's not in - fighting and I urge you to support both of these please . Colleagues , as , as conference will have heard from the mover of motion three , motion six , not prepared to withdraw and the C E C is therefore asking you to oppose both .
Idiom: get on someone's nerves (used idiomatically: yes)
If Liza could see no hope for the future , neither could Harriet . She felt the only possible solution to the situation would be if Liza were to marry again ; but with the girl 's precarious mental state and lack of contact with the outside world , this hardly seemed likely . No unattached man , should he by some miracle present himself at Four Winds , would want to have anything to do with a dejected and increasingly agoraphobic young mother , still in her teens , and a baby whose fretfulness was beginning to get on even Harriet 's nerves . Besides , Liza was no longer the stunningly attractive girl she had been a year ago . In an effort to remedy matters , Harriet decided to seek assistance from a tin miner 's family who lived in a small cottage a mile or so inland .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
Since 1990 , the Court of Appeal itself has sought to provide more systematic guidance for sentencers by laying down so - called ' guide - line ' judgements . These go beyond the immediate issues raised by a particular case and spell out the range of penalties felt to be appropriate for varying degrees of seriousness within a given offence category . In the early 1990s the Court of Appeal also sought to formulate more general guidance on overall sentencing levels by attempting to ' talk down ' the level of custodial sentencing for ordinary ' run - of - the - mill'offences . At first , the Lord Chief Justice 's pronouncements appeared to have had the desired effect , as the average length of prison sentences imposed on males aged 17 and above for indictable offences fell in both the magistrates ' court and the Crown Court in the months following the cases of R. v. Upton and R .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: yes)
There are shepherds in the Andes who have over sixty words for the colour brown in the coats of sheep . But they are shepherds in the Andes . Frederica had words for tea party behaviour and shopping discriminations in North Yorkshire matrons . She had a variety of words , and was adding to them , for the structure of a Shakespearean plot or metaphor . She saw these new things , paradoxically , in old cliches .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
The 1,574 kg of gold , found in southern German caves at the end of the war , had since that time been administered by a tripartite commission of France , the UK and the USA . When the destroyers , HMS Volage and HMS Saumares , ran into Albanian mines while passing legitimately through the Corfu channel between Albania and Corfu , 44 men had been killed ; in 1948 the International Court of Justice at the Hague had ruled that the Albanian government should pay £ 843,947 compensation . It was unclear if or when any money or gold would actually change hands following the formal resolution of this long - standing dispute [ see also pp . 37746 ; 38303 ] . Return of Kadare The Albanian novelist and former parliamentary deputy Ismail Kadare , 56 , returned to Albania on May 6 .
Idiom: do someone's head in (used idiomatically: yes)
A good what ? ' scolds Derry . ' Whoops , bit of Shaun Ryder there ! ' Has , I wonder , the recent easy availability of all the sex they can handle done EMF 's head in ? Does familiarity breed contempt ? ' I spend more time with me hand , it 's a lot less f — ing hassle , ' claims Mark .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
The case was settled out of court . The Japanese , champions of new product development , spend far less than the British on hiring market researchers , relying instead on information obtained by their own managers who get out and talk to dealers and customers . Some in the industry believe Britain will follow suit . All market research , even the Japanese kind , assumes that people reply truthfully to questions . Those investigating the election fiasco will certainly wish to dispel the notion that Britons have learnt to lie to the woman with a clipboard and ballpoint pen .
Idiom: in Dutch (used idiomatically: yes)
The Dutch had ignored previous resolutions , but this time the United States exerted pressure by suspending part of the aid programme . Sassen resigned from the colonial ministry but his successor , Beel , also belonged to his party . The agreement made by Dr H.J. Van Roijen with Muhammad Rum , a second - rank leader , under the auspices of the American H. Merle Cochran , left much of the recaptured territory in Dutch hands , but accepted the principle of a Round Table Conference and the release of the captured leaders . Before they returned , Tan Malaka ( called by some Father of the Republic ) was executed by order of Colonel Nasution . Dutch forces did not leave Jogjakarta until 30 June and Sukarno and the others returned there one week later .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
West 's Guide was published in 1778 following Antiquities of Furness in 1774 , and he was by then well - known . Green was greatly encouraged by West 's suggestion that he should become an artist himself , and soon after going back to Manchester began taking painting lessons . In the Furness area his eyes had been opened to the beauties of nature and he wished to portray it all . In Manchester in 1779 ' he acquaints the gentlemen of the town etc . that he practises the art of Land Surveying , as measuring and planning estates , setting out land for building on , dividing of ground , levelling etc . ' The following year , in 1780 , ' he is returned from finishing the survey of the County of Lancaster for Wm .
Idiom: err on the side of (used idiomatically: yes)
And it certainly seemed to be working . The thought rose uncharitably to fill her mind , and suddenly , for some inexplicable reason , the sight of Adele Duncan 's tearful smile and Niall 's look of concern filled her with an emotion she refused to acknowledge as jealousy . ‘ Better to err on the side of caution , do n't you think?’ She jerked back to the realisation that Niall was speaking . ‘ I …
Idiom: hit the road (used idiomatically: yes)
COLIN WALSH , already the subject of one Trivial Pursuit question , is probably lined up for another . Who scored Charlton 's first goal on their return to The Valley is a logical sequel to the original poser : Who was the first player to score in the first live televised game in England ? That was in 1984 , a year before Charlton hit the road to Selhurst and Upton Parks , and two years before Walsh signed on and decided to live in SE7 , because : ‘ I was promised we would be moving home to our own ground and wanted to live amongst fans dying to get back . ’ It took longer than anyone imagined but on Saturday , £4.6 million , 2,632 days and 360 senior matches later , the Red Red Robin was bobbing along in its own nest again . The last lick of paint was slapped on at midnight on Friday and the final blob of tarmac laid five hours before kick-off .
Idiom: make a clean break (used idiomatically: yes)
The new breakfast news station is expected to be similar in style to the TV - am format and much less formal than the BBC 's rigid Breakfast News show . ‘ I did n't feel comfortable with the lighter format,’ Ewart said . ‘ Despite the appalling business of dropping GMTV in it three weeks before they went on the air , it was far better to make a clean break . ‘ Better than to prolong it when I was n't particularly comfortable — and I suspect they were n't comfortable with me.’ GMTV 's first broadcast is scheduled for January 1 — hosted by Eammon Holmes and former ITN reporter Fiona Armstrong .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
A dozen of them sat there and terrified me , although several were later to become my friends . They raised the offer to a college exhibition , and much of my future — more than I could have guessed — was then determined . Back in Cardiff , my name went up on the Honours Board and my father , in the last year before his retirement , quietly enjoyed the thought that I was to spend at least part of my life in the county in which his father had been born . For the first half of 1946 I remained at school , where the privileged handful of us who had won our places at Oxford and Cambridge did no work , read widely , cycled to the seaside . I wrote to my tutor at Brasenose asking for advice on what to read , and he suggested some ' shorter essays ' such as Gibbon 's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ( in six volumes ) .
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
The pendant itself was heart - shaped , the emerald in the centre , and no bigger than my thumbnail . I presumed the metal was silver and the chain too . On the back of the heart was engraved ' JJ ' in flowing script . A bit twee , I thought , for a prototype Yuppie like Jo . Still , mine not to reason why .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
Like other colonial nations of the day France believed its subject peoples were inferior to the white European races , and this belief conditioned all areas of daily life in 1925 — whether they were political , economic , social or sexual . Crinkled quiffs of white foam spurted from the steel bows of the five - thousand - ton French passenger freighter Avignon as they parted the warm , tropic - blue waters of the South China Sea . The ship which had left Hong Kong two days earlier was heading south towards the equator under a fierce afternoon sun , and in the sweltering darkness between decks , three hundred Chinese coolies and their families jostled together in silence , straining up towards the fresh air currents playing beyond the iron grilles that confined them . On the upper deck outside the half - dozen first - class cabins , green - and - white - striped awnings fluttered gently in the breeze of the ship 's movement , and in their shade Senator Nathaniel Sherman sprawled at ease in a canvas deck chair , his long legs splayed comfortably in front of him . Tall , ruddy - faced and tending to corpulence in his early forties , he had about him the self - satisfied air of a man who has already achieved some measure of public acclaim ; he wore his thick shock of fair hair brushed across his forehead from a centre parting in two matching wings , and his upper lip was thatched with a fashionably luxuriant mustache .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
Rule of Life No . 37 : When a policeman 's talking , shut up . ' Before that , the house was occupied by a Miss Lucy Scarrott . Does that ring any bells ? ' ' Should it ? ' ' I happen to know that the late Mr Tuckett was very close to Ms Scarrott . '