Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the blink (used idiomatically: yes)
There was a swish of gravel as the BMW drew in . Dennis clambered out looking disgruntled . ‘ Bloody thing 's on the blink . There 's another up your end of town somewhere , but I ca n't be bothered.’ Registering my look of bewilderment , but mistaking the cause , he added , ‘ Car wash .
Idiom: in the final analysis (used idiomatically: yes)
All his political thinking is refracted in the films through personal dramas , which bear the stamp of his preoccupation with politics as something which is about individual people , rather than issues or abstractions like the masses of the nation . ‘ Film is basically a matter of personal statement . All arts are in the final analysis . And film seems to be an art’ . Secondly , Ghatak always wanted to combine the global with the local .
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
Indeed there is some evidence that only with the Argentine invasion of the Falklands and the deaths of British servicemen did the ‘ Fortress Falklands’ policy emerge . Britain has proved to be one of the least ‘ community - minded’ members of the EEC and has for long been at odds with other states about the level of British contributions to the EEC budget . Mrs Thatcher resisted attempts by Brussels to promote a Community - wide Social Charter , which she regarded as introducing ‘ socialism by the back door’ . She also resisted the wishes of senior ministers for Britain to set a date for entry to the EMS . Her strong views on national sovereignty and limiting the competence of the European Community — at a time when moves to greater unity were gathering pace — placed Britain in a familiar minority of one .
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
While neither a saint nor a psychopath , he clearly had some of the characteristics of both — ; chiefly what Lydia could only think of as a sort of selfless solipsism . He was a person of disinterested good will and he wanted no return from humankind . These people are fortunately few and far between because they are extremely odd and have a way of upsetting applecarts . Lydia could quite see Beuno maddeningly getting himself martyred on some trivial point of principle , or overturning a regime with his angelic intransigence . If he were not so attractive she thought that she herself might , by now , have shaken him soundly .
Idiom: fight shy of (used idiomatically: yes)
Since Mr Castro is planning no elections , that event received scant coverage in Cuba ; and as soon as the visitor was gone , Cuba 's main human - rights protestor was publicly arrested . Mr Castro , at 61 , is undisposed to change his ways . Mr Gorbachev understandably fights shy of an open quarrel but must now decide how to cut the political and economic costs of the alliance . Russian sources have recently been making it clear that once current investment projects are up and running Cuba will get little more direct financial assistance . Most Russian aid to Cuba comes in the form of subsidised purchases of sugar , nickel and citrus fruit , and cheap sales of more oil than Cuba needs : it sells the surplus for hard currency .
Idiom: fall into place (used idiomatically: yes)
Morton 's jittery elation . I lie beautifully . All those ambiguous , jarring pieces fell into place . He remembered the picture in the paper . He remembered thinking that the smile on Dobson 's face looked false .
Idiom: second nature (used idiomatically: yes)
B … ’ she began , got herself together from his impudence , and could see no reason not to reveal , ‘ I went looking for somewhere else to live.’ ‘ What 's wrong with where you are now?’ He either did n't believe her , or was so unused to accepting answers unquestioningly that it was second nature for him to delve into the nitty - gritty . Leith 's right hand started to itch again . ‘ There 's nothing wrong with where I live,’ she halted in her tracks to tell him shortly , ‘ except , as you at once realised,’she inserted loftily , ‘ that the mortgage is beyond my means .
Idiom: in the works (used idiomatically: yes)
The pair will reportedly use Echo 's multi - pass binary compiler technology , FlashPort , to have existing shrinkwrapped Mac applications running on Apple 's anticipated PowerPC RISC Unix boxes when they reach market , see page five . Not such good news from one of the original players in this arena though , Mac - on - RISC house Quorum Software Systems Inc , Menlo Park , California , has filed suit against Apple seeking to counter allegations of patent and copyright infringement made by Apple . The suit is meant to head off a legal attack against it by Apple which Quorum believes is in the works , see page four . X / OPEN STILL TRYING TO CUT A DEAL WITH OSF The X / Open Group Co Ltd has missed its proposed May timeframe for rolling out XPG4 , the next version of its portability guide , which are a set of specifications designed to make it easier to develop open systems products , or to port proprietary offerings to open systems platforms .
Idiom: once and for all (used idiomatically: yes)
Whatever he knew , he always looked on the black side , judged her and found her wanting . It was an infuriating trait , and it made her blood boil every time he came near . What she would give to punch him on the nose , and flatten once and for all his insulting , devilish assumptions . Richard said , ‘ What did he mean about Adam being busy?’ Looking down , she found that her fingers were tightly clenched .
Idiom: for my money (used idiomatically: no)
And I had spent a total of three winters playing Grade cricket in the city and found that I really liked the place and the people . As the benefit money came in we sent a lot of it out to Suzie 's parents — we thought that if we found something we wanted to buy out there and did choose to emigrate , having the money out there in the first place would make it all that much easier . For two years my father-in-law shuffled the money around various building societies , chasing the best interest rates , which at times were around the 20 per cent mark . Then one day in the summer of 1989 — around the time that I had signed a contract to go on the second rebel tour of South Africa — I got a call from Australia that came as a bombshell . My father-in-law had moved the money into the Pyramid Building Society in Melbourne , which was offering the best interest rates available at the time , and it had gone bust .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
Over the years the impact of new taxes have invariably been harsher on small businesses . This leads to the sudden shedding of their work - force because of enforced savings made in an attempt to survive . Unfortunately , the industrial skills of the area are learned in the very businesses which are most harshly hit by taxation . Governments seem not to have attempted to stimulate new ideas to guide the country to solutions , but have merely implemented outdated principles , the broad bases of which were devised 50 or 100 years ago , varying slightly with political emphasis as to where the Inland Revenue collections should fall . Because there has been so little change in British industrial and fiscal policies in a changing world , the emerging nations are overtaking us , gaining access to our markets at home and abroad .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
The FBI and Britain 's Serious Fraud Office are investigating the scandal at its US offshoot , which is alleged to date back to 1983 and involve bogus defence contracts with Pakistan , China and South Africa . A Ferranti spokesman would not give details of the individuals or organisations against which legal action may be taken but said : ' We would hope in the not too distant future to take the necessary legal action to put everything right . ' Progress on the ISC inquiry came as a mystery investor emerged in the company and as staffing cuts were introduced in an effort to offset the ISC losses and an overall decline in defence business . Delaporte Establishment — the nominee company which emerged earlier this week with a significant shareholding in merchant bank Morgan Grenfell — yesterday disclosed a 1.13 per cent Ferranti stake . The company denied huge redundancies at its Edinburgh plant although it admitted ax - ing Sunday and overtime working , banning non - essential recruitment and introducing voluntary early retirement .
Idiom: get off the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
Hold it in Stockholm , New York , or Lyon and it 's seen as a freebie for ‘ lucky old you’ . And as for a study tour , well , that 's just an all expenses paid holiday for two or three weeks . The International Centre , which gets off the ground officially with a ministerial blessing ( jokes aside ) at its launch next week , wo n't be booking anyone into any conferences in Nice , the Gambia or Malta . It will be recognising that social workers need to spend time on practice placements abroad , and that social workers from other countries need to come here . It is n't primarily there to facilitate exchanges , either ( though , if it can help it will ) .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
According to Reuters news agency , the draft apparently provided for the election of fewer than a quarter of the 460 Sejm deputies by a first - past - the - post majority vote ; most of the seats would be distributed to parties proportional to the votes won by their national lists of candidates . Walesa claimed that this threatened to confuse people and to produce an indecisive parliament of many small parties , and apparently preferred a system where voters would choose a party first and then candidates from a party list . The speaker of the lower house , Mikolaj Kozakiewicz , in an immediate reply to Walesa 's letter , refused the presidential demand to have the bill redrafted . On June 10 , Walesa formally used his veto . The following day Walesa proposed in a letter to the Prime Minister , Jan Krzysztof Bielecki , that the government be given special powers for a year to issue decrees in order to tackle Poland 's economic problems .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: yes)
They include the income tax cuts , union reforms , and ending exchange controls . On the other hand Mrs Thatcher has jealously maintained tax reliefs for homeownership and private pensions ( indeed , extended them for private health care for the over-60s ) and privatization of gas and telephones have done little to increase competition . The government has made minor cuts on welfare and some changes of a largely symbolic nature . It has protected ' real ' levels of spending on the NHS and welfare state , and attempts to contain social security expenditure were thwarted until 1986 by the massive rise in unemployment . Although the government has encouraged privatization at the edges of the health service and social security , the opportunity ( presented by Mr Fowler 's social security review and then the NHS review ) to make a fundamental reform of the legacy of Beveridge was passed by .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
His expectations of the bird life were high , and he revelled in the sense of anticipation that gripped him before his departure . ' You , Sir , ' he wrote to Sir John Franklin , ' fully understand this pleasure particularly when one 's visits are directed to a fresh field abounding with novelties ; if I find my labors as much rewarded here as they have been in V. D. Land , I shall consider myself amply paid . ' Gould 's brother - in - law 's station , 160 miles from Newcastle on the coast up the Hunter River at Yarrundi , far exceeded Gould 's expectations both in size and in beauty . His homestead was situated on the Dart Brook , a tributary of the Hunter , nine miles from the great mountain chain known as the Liverpool Range . Since the days when he first settled at Yarrundi to farm sheep and cattle on the fertile Liverpool plains , Stephen Coxen had accumulated a substantial tract of land amounting to about 12,000 acres and about as many head of livestock .
Idiom: over the hill (used idiomatically: yes)
And if you lived this end of the village you was an uptowner , see ? And we used to arrange football teams , cricket teams , during the before you went into school , playtime and very often when you came out of school . But if you went over the hill , after school time , then you were in for a fairly rough time the other end , you were challenged and all sorts of things . And of course there were no houses down where the village ha past the village hall in those days . And there was nothing till you got to the Grange , absolutely nothing .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
Imagine the stress that occurs when some 13½ stone is taken up on that joint at speed . The pressure exerted on that front foot when it is brought down in the bowling action is something like 10 times the bodyweight . It is not often that Britain can claim a first in the field of sports science , but this research is breaking new ground . A library of side - on film has existed in Australia for quite some time , but this study is pioneering the development of the 3D image . However , in a game which is notoriously tardy at accepting scientific method and new technology , the widespread application of findings by the Alsager team could be some time in coming .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
Since colours can vary slightly , it 's important to buy all the tiles you need at once to ensure that they 're from the same batch ; it 's also a good idea to unpack and mix them before fixing them , to even out any colour variations . The other important point to remember about wall tiles is that spacer lugs are no more , and the old-fashioned types that are rounded on one ( RE ) or two ( REX ) edges , used to finish off the perimeter of half-tiled areas , have virtually disappeared too . Most tiles now have square edges ; these are sometimes glazed on one or two edges , sometimes not , so if you want an exposed glazed edge , check the actual tiles before you buy . Otherwise , you 'll have to use some form of edge trim . Tiles glazed on all four edges are described as ‘ universal ’ .
Idiom: word of mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
In eight years of operation , the VSOE charter train has not strayed far from its original concept . The departures from London on Thursdays and Sundays between the end of February and mid-November ( the return leg departs Venice on Wednesdays and Saturdays ) have become well established in the BR timetable . A natural target for tourists — Americans and Japanese are especially evident during the high season — the popularity of the VSOE has been spread by tourism agencies , word of mouth , and occasional advertising in the up-market Sunday colour supplements — a clear indication of where VSOE Ltd sees its main market . In 1989 passengers undertaking the full journey from London to Venice paid a one-way fare of £745 each for a double cabin with all meals included but drinks extra . Combined train and air options have proved popular .
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
Yet by accepting that so many changes to past practice are needed , the business plan lends credence to the view that negligence claims will succeed . If the litigation were spread over two or three years , the publicity — and the lawyers ' bills — for Lloyd 's would be horrendous . And if prosecutors conclude that there has been fraud — as is alleged in the case of the Gooda Walker syndicates — the pressure for Lloyd 's to foot the bill centrally will intensify . The common solution to all three unsolved problems — open years , the cash crunch and litigation — might be found in a single word : mutualisation . The pressure of events is pushing Lloyd 's in this direction .
Idiom: wear the trousers (used idiomatically: yes)
Let me count the ways … Maybe it all stems from never being allowed to participate with the big boys in childhood beach games using oil drums as wickets . Or the fact that at secondary school , only the posh wimps played , the ones who actually liked wearing white trousers and rubbing leather balls up and down their groins . How could you be bothered with cricket when there was golf — a universal , classless and very cheap obsession in Troon , Ayrshire , scene of my upbringing . This was a place where , in 1969 , a yearly junior season ticket for the three municipal courses cost just a fiver .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
She seemed , if anything , younger than I remembered her . Only one thing surprised me — I did n't recognise her voice and I had thought I would . She said as she entered , ‘ My dears … ’ in a very English fashion , and she said all the usual phrases , and then to me , ‘ I hope you 're doing the right thing.’ ‘ Now then , Lili,’ said my mother . ‘ You must just forget I 'm here,’ said Lili .
Idiom: come full circle (used idiomatically: yes)
And what monumental arrogance — to think that an evening in his company would be enough to wean her away from Rob — that was if she had been interested in Rob in the first place ! Well , she had only herself to blame , she thought , trying to be philosophical . Tonight she had come full circle — from merely suspecting Luke 's motives to hearing him finally admit them . Her body still seemed to hold the imprint of his hands , her lips remembered his — firm , warm , promising , exciting … How did one forget feelings like that ? she asked herself bleakly .
Idiom: make a move (used idiomatically: yes)
This is what he more than once declared to be his aim . In the end , since the pope refused to free him , he had no alternative but to continue in office . He had been forced to make the move ' from the safe haven of the monastery to the tumultuous and wreck - strewn storms of the world ' , against which he had so often cautioned others ; and there was no release in sight . Anselm was now ready for the remaining stages of his promotion : in September he did homage to the king and was invested with the lands of the archbishopric ; on 25 September he was enthroned at Canterbury , and on 4 December 1093 he was consecrated at Canterbury . With regard to homage , it will suffice to say that there was as yet no papal decree against the homage of ecclesiastics to laymen ; and Anselm certainly thought that there was no objection in principle .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
Suppose ~ Miller wants to play a Club game , but has only the Heart Jack .
Idiom: only time will tell (used idiomatically: yes)
The vote will be seen as a victory for the local authorities , who put so much pressure on the clubs , and many of the delegates were relieved that the vote had taken away the threat of possible punitive action from their local councils . ‘ It takes all the pressure off us and we can now start to play rugby again,’ a representative from Ebbw Vale , whose ground is owned by the local authority , said . What the repercussions will be in South Africa — where the ageing president , Danie Craven , has threatened to support rebel tours — only time will tell . Craven has said that Welsh players will still be chased by South Africa in spite of this vote , but the WRU is confident that they have shut off the avenue to the Republic . Last night 's resolution from the WRU committee read : ‘ For as long as any rugby player living in the Republic of South Africa is the victim of racial discrimination under the laws of that country , neither the WRU nor any of its member clubs will become involved in any matches organised under the authority of the SA Rugby Board .
Idiom: run out of steam (used idiomatically: yes)
Make clear to your new employer that you are looking forward to continuing your professional education . They should be well placed to help you to help yourself . You may find that after an initial burst of enthusiasm , your employers run out of steam and seem reluctant to fund you on courses or give you conference or study leave . Ironically , it is sometimes shortage of staff which prevents them from letting you go . Until you and other recruits swell the establishment figures , pressure on service managers will continue .
Idiom: catch someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
He had always been a very religious man , which had helped him a lot in the Corporation . He looked around the congregation and saw many old and familiar friends and colleagues . They smiled as they caught his eye . He smiled back . The word had already got around that Pat Muldoon had decided to take retirement in his old familiar surroundings , after a lifetime s dedicated service to the great American Corporation .
Idiom: laughing stock (used idiomatically: yes)
At Gateshead Frank informed me that I was going to run in the B relay team at the meeting , and I refused . Apart from my own pride , what on earth would the public think about seeing the European champion and double sprint winner at the European Cup running in the reserve relay team ? The press would have had a field day , and what Frank did n't realize is that he himself would have been a laughing stock . The team management intervened , I ran in the A team and everybody 's pride and position were salvaged . It did n't , however , improve the situation between Frank and me .
Idiom: alive and kicking (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh goodness gracious and I said well she was n't the last time I saw her She said oh I 'm ever so sorry , she said perhaps it 's your mother , I said no I said she was alive and kicking as well the last time I saw her so Oh she probably heard that I had not been well Well that 's right
Idiom: all over the place (used idiomatically: no)
It was well received and had several performances . But here Wolfgang experienced the first of many official rebuttals . He applied for a post in the service of the archduke : but Ferdinand was advised by his mother not to burden himself with such ‘ useless creatures who travel around all over the place , like beggars’ . After giving a concert in early December , the Mozarts decided to return to Salzburg . Their last Italian journey began ten months later .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: no)
She did n't look at me as she came in , just walked straight up to the bar . Without turning round , Werewolf said : ' What 'll you have ? ' I was impressed , then I noticed him clocking her in the mirror behind the bar . ' Pernod and blackcurrant , ' she said . ' Glad you could make it , ' he said .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
So do n't encourage the people to do that but that is true if it 's so valued you would have thought there would have been an outcry , there has n't been . The local government information unit , the labour party in disguise er I do n't think we need to er waste money on having propaganda coming from them just simply attacking the government , completely wasted . We 've said all along that staffing the community centre should be reduced er and that we should be encouraging the community to take more interest in running their community centres . The do that in wonderful community centre , I went there to a good function the other evening , very good fish and chips and as well . They do it in and up the road in Peterborough they 've got about thirty eight community centre and the labour run council there is handing every one , every one of them over to the local communities .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
I want something bigger . She looked him up and down . Then she said , ' It 'll break your father 's heart , I suppose you know that ? ' Frederick did n't answer and she sighed a little . Then looked at Carrie .