Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: paint the town red (used idiomatically: yes)
When will I ever grow up ? she frustratedly asked her reflection . She would n't be here now , dressed to the nines for an evening that would be about as thrilling as an attack of flu , if she had n't again responded in anger to her emotions . She had almost successfully deterred André from his plans to paint the town red with her , had vaguely told him that she would see how she felt when he issued the invitation , only to pour all her good intentions down the drain when this morning Piers had received a call from Nicole , and informed Alyssia offhandedly that he would be out for the balance of the day . He had barely glanced at her , and she had blurted out on the spur of the moment , ‘ Fine . Well , I probably wo n't see you till some time tomorrow .
Idiom: spend a penny (used idiomatically: no)
This refusal to fit in with the system continued when he returned to London , having jumped ship after a series of incidents — chopping down the house of someone 's aunt ; being technical supervisor on a failed bank robbery — had made him somewhat too conspicuous to the New Zealand authorities . He worked his passage home as a steward and fetched up at Tilbury with £ 30 wages , which was soon augmented by £ 46 10s left to him in his absence by his grandfather . With this he faced the world , soon gravitating to Soho and the French pub , where he spent his last pennies . It was through the French pub that he met the gallery owner , poet and denizen of Bohemia , Victor Musgrave . Musgrave 's Gallery One , two tiny sackclothed wall rooms in Soho , remains Kasmin 's romantic ideal .
Idiom: tit for tat (used idiomatically: yes)
If you now work through an imaginary game between Remorseful Prober and Tit for Tat , you 'll find that runs of would - be mutual retaliation are promptly scotched . Most of the game is spent in mutual cooperation , with both players enjoying the consequent generous score . Remorseful Prober does better against Tit for Tat than Naive Prober does , though not as well as Tit for Tat does against itself . Some of the strategies entered in Axelrod 's tournament were much more sophisticated than either Remorseful Prober or Naive Prober , but they too ended up with fewer points , on average , than simple Tit for Tat . Indeed the least successful of all the strategies ( except Random ) was the most elaborate .
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
Libya 's transport links by sea and land were reinforced to compensate for the lack of international flights . Tunisian and Libyan officials discussed bus routes to carry passengers to Tunisian airports near the frontier , while Egypt prepared to receive travellers from Libya at a military airport in Sidi Barrani , 50 miles from the border . International : Najibullah deposed ‘ and under arrest’ Afghanistan up for grabs as fighting spells last days of UN peace plan and crumbling regime By Robert Adams in Islamabad PRESIDENT Najibullah of Afghanistan , installed by Moscow six years ago , lost power yesterday to a coalition of generals and a rebel commander as guerrillas closed in on the capital , Kabul .
Idiom: bite the bullet (used idiomatically: yes)
I have had lots of tanks almost from the beginning , and have probably worked out most of my fantasies regarding sizes from 15″ × 10″ × 10″ up to 48″ × 18″ × 18″ — the only problem has been that I always want to keep more species than I have room for . The fishhouse ( an early dream ) went up in 1977 , and most of my pennies went on the building , so that staging was designed around a 48″ tank size . And although I have occasionally considered a larger tank in the house ( I have a 48″ × 15″ × 15″),accommodating it would involve so much disruption that I have never bitten the bullet . Which species ? I was beginning to get desperate .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
Mr. Keith Speed ( Ashford ) I associate myself with the expressions of sympathy . Will my right hon . Friend have a word with our right hon . Friend the Foreign Secretary about utilising the British information services to maximum effect , especially in north America , in the hope of cutting off the supply of money , sympathy and support for the sort of depraved attack that occurred on Saturday , and to show IRA sympathisers in America precisely what is happening ? Mr. Brooke I am always content to discuss these matters with my right hon . Friend the Foreign Secretary .
Idiom: flash in the pan (used idiomatically: yes)
I 've not seen any more sight of that heron . No . I do n't , I think it was just a flash in the pan . I do n't think , well . I do n't think I 'm certain there 's not
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: yes)
There was no buzz . It was like playing a practice match,’ said a disappointed Courier after he and his partner were well beaten 6 - 2 , 6 - 2 , 7 - 6 in their opening red - group match . Clearly they have some way to go but they can still look back on 1989 with a glimmer of pride . In only their second event together they reached the final of the Tournament of Champions in New York , and then captured the Italian Open in Rome . ‘ They are going to be very good but they need to learn to combine better,’ observed Cahill .
Idiom: get lost (used idiomatically: yes)
Two days later , the dogs were fat . Then , in a snowstorm , they began the journey again . After the snowstorm , there was fog , and in the fog , they got lost on an ice river with hundreds of big holes in it . They could see nothing , and it was very dangerous . In four days they moved nine kilometres .
Idiom: spend a penny (used idiomatically: yes)
Bedroom ? Yes , a recess bed ( or hole - in - wall bed ) was common in Scottish kitchens . Then , assuming the visitor was given a guided tour of the manor , he would then leave the kitchen and find the WC directly opposite the front door ; just a WC , no bath , no wash - hand basin , no toilet - paper , no mod - cons ; if he did wish to ‘ spend a penny’ , well , yesterday 's newspaper was cut neatly into 6 inch squares and nailed on to a convenient wall . Then bedroom one , with two large double beds . Here slept Carl and Louis in one of them ; the other was for Sam , Jerry , and me : all five boys in one room .
Idiom: to boot (used idiomatically: yes)
THE Channel Islands claim the British sunshine record and are a good bet for some late rays and warm days at this time of year . Jersey is the largest and most southerly of the islands , and being only 14 miles from the coast of France offers a taste of the Continent in local names and food without leaving the UK ! Warmed by the Gulf Stream and with an enviably mild climate , it feels like another country — but with all the comforts of home and duty - free shopping to boot ! Things to do and see include the Festival France which began this week and runs to October 18 , a celebration of the island 's links with France . The Jersey Country Music Festival , headlined by Daniel O'Donnell , runs from October 18 - 21 .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
' How often ? ' he said . ' Oh , about four times last night . Then I left the phone off the hook . But it started again this evening . Three times in one hour .
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
At present , the commission warned , energy taxes had a particularly severe impact on traditional export industries such as pulp and paper , mines and quarrying . The total energy tax bill for industry in 1990 totalled 6 billion krone . The commission recommended an immediate 80 per cent cut in industrial energy taxes , with the revenue shortfall made up by across - the - board increases in taxes on heating oil and electricity use . Environmentalists have strongly opposed the commission 's findings , and the Environment Minister in the centre - right coalition government , Olof Johansson , has threatened to resign over the issue . Those in favour of maintaining the taxes argue that they are vital to encourage new , cleaner and more efficient industries , to promote the use of biomass fuel from the burning of wood shavings , and to underscore Sweden 's image as an environmentally - aware nation .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
Dear Mr Gregory INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS I am replying belatedly to your letter concerning international exhibitions in Scotland . Unfortunately , I do not think that I can help you with this particular line of enquiry . We ourselves , like the other national institutions and many private galleries , mount many exhibitions with some international components , but I am not sure that this type of exhibition ( primarily arts / humanities orientated ) is what you are interested in .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
Do n't do that David , she 'll go white overnight . I will start from scratch on them . Do n't you just do n't you go the Registry Office ? I really do n't know .
Idiom: in this day and age (used idiomatically: yes)
Plugs left switched on . Okay ? Again , very often in this modern days and age , we have to leave certain electrical appliances switched on all the time do n't we ? The fridge - freezer otherwise you 'd get up every morning and you 'd have a right mess in your cupboard would n't you ? In , in your er kitchen .
Idiom: send someone packing (used idiomatically: yes)
It would be , if her suggestion was accepted . In her frantic anxiety she began rubbing her eyes and then her dripping nose as if trying to flatten both into her skull . ‘ Should send you packing,’ Harriet said . ‘ Harriet , it 's my money she lost . I believe her .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
Because , Arthur , today 's party is a party of law makers , not law breakers.’ John Edmonds , general secretary of the GMB general union , said the trade union laws had been judged by the International Labour Organisation , a UN agency , to be in breach of international conventions on eight counts . ‘ Tory laws have put Britain in the dock alongside Chile and Korea and all those nasty dictatorships that everybody here despises,’ he said . ‘ That 's industrial law in Britain today . So let us have no talk of building on the existing legislation .
Idiom: on the money (used idiomatically: yes)
' Sounds risky to me , Cap'n , ' muttered Barnabas . ' These ' ere smugglers is a dangerous bunch from wot I 've ' eard ! ' ' If only we could devise a safe way of laying our hands on all that money , ' murmured Pugwash , whose greed was as proverbial as his cowardice . And the pirates were so busy discussing the problem , and what they would do with the reward if they won it , that they did n't notice that they were being observed from the window above by none other than the new Mayor and his entourage . ' Perfect , ' said Mr Mutton .
Idiom: go downhill (used idiomatically: yes)
It can come as a considerable shock when reality is forced upon them and their life on return is not as wonderful as they had anticipated . The converse may also apply . Expatriates may feel that Britain has gone ' downhill ' while they have been away and homecoming does not match up to the good life abroad . For instance , one major problem concerns the social life of the returning expatriates . They may have lost touch with their friends and have to start again to build up a new social circle .
Idiom: press the flesh (used idiomatically: yes)
No - one even looked at him . What was the point ? Nor have there been any informal jolly gatherings when the daily toil of pressing the flesh is over : Mr Kinnock wandering back among the press party , glass of whisky in hand , letting his ( metaphorical ) hair down a little , tipping us just the hint of a wink that this is all just a great game . He thanked the press for a 50th birthday card in Glasgow and bought everyone a drink in Wales , but he does not mingle like Paddy Ashdown or even Mr Major . A huge part of the real Mr Kinnock remains hidden behind the curtains that segregate his private jet .
Idiom: in the altogether (used idiomatically: yes)
Things you did n't know you did n't know Graeme Donald READER Ken Jones asks why the naked are described as being ‘ in the altogether’ . The answer lies with the drunken roues of the 17th Century . In London , the social circle of such characters was known as ‘ The Altogethery’ , as they stuck together in a social mire of their own making .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
Inspect the water tank to see if it is sound and well insulated . Walls inside and outside should be inspected for large cracks . On a new house one expects to see shrinkage cracks in the plaster on walls and ceilings , but not on the outside . Any external crack could have important implications . Ask the vendors why they are leaving .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: no)
A man who had such a positive attitude towards Do It Yourself could surely have used same of that energy to combat the decay of his central nervous system . Henry thought about his father - in - law 's funeral , as he placed the Chicken Thallium in the oven , and then checked his watch again . He thought about the dignified posture of Elinor and Elinor 's mother , about how good they looked in black , about how they retained their composure even as the oblong box containing Derek slid off through a gap in the crematorium wall . About how , as Elinor and Elinor 's mother stood by the flowers in the rain at Putney Vale Crematorium , someone had said to him , ' They 're taking it very well ! ' Of course they were , thought Henry , they could n't give a toss about the poor bastard .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ In the BNFL strategic plan , which aims to provide a blue print for our future development , the Company has defined its mission , and here I quote : ‘ To be the world leader in nuclear fuel services , setting the standards in safety , quality and efficiency’.’ Salvation Army visit to Sellafield A VISIT to Sellafield by the Fleetwood branch of the Salvation Army has broken new ground at the site . A 12-strong party of homeless men , who currently reside at the Fleetwood Hostel in Lancashire , were offered the chance to visit Sellafield to stimulate their interest in industry and give them a day out to remember . Visits supervisor Jenny Wallace said of the group : ‘ This was the first time we had welcomed a party from the Salvation Army .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
Now , though , the global economic crisis is sapping developed countries ’ shaky efforts to fulfill their commitments for official development assistance ( ODA ) in order to achieve the United ~ Nations ’ Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) . A UN report warns that annual investment from these donor countries is falling $ 35~billion short of the $ 150~billion goal . Unless something changes , there is little chance that the MDG targets can be sustained in the long run . Indeed , the consequences of the fall - off in ODA are already dramatic ; the number of people going hungry and in extreme poverty is now far greater than before , and the same is true of the unemployed , those who work in vulnerable jobs , or earn less than $ 1.25 a day . Progress in health and literacy is being undermined .
Idiom: chop and change (used idiomatically: yes)
Does the way in which a firm is owned affect the answers to the first three questions ? America is the closest thing to a financial laboratory for these sorts of questions , so it is there that most of the answers should be sought . In the past century the institutions and the external stimuli affecting the relation between finance and industry have been chopped and changed . Once , banks cuddled up close to industrial firms . Now , they are further apart .
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
But really , I think , it 's the case that , in this job , you do n't have time to develop obsessions , what with the insane turnover , and all the incentives to pluralism . The heroes you have kind of linger on from a prior period when only a few records passed through your life , when you had the time to get fixated , spend weeks living inside a record . It 's a real effort to click back to that frame of mind , which is bad because fanaticism is the true experience of pop , not discrimination and broad - mindedness — I think of the splendid devotion of all those boys and girls , who as soon as they 've got hold of the new Cure or New Order or Bunnymen record , immediately set to learning the lyrics by heart , then spend days exhaustively interpreting the Tablets From on High , struggling to establish some fit between their experience and what is actually some drunken doggerel cobbled together in a studio off - moment . Seriously , I approve . I approve the deadly seriousness , the piety , the need for something sacred in your life .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: no)
And at this stage , is n't that rather an academic consideration ? But he said politely : ‘ Yes , of course . If you 'll allow me , I 'll have a few of his titles sent round to your hotel . This last one , the text he sent from Istanbul — the publishers took care of the proofreading , of course— that one I believe I 've got here . Take it with you , if you 'd care to .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
Those Jesuits were probably quite big in the Indians ' history . Think of that story getting passed down the generations , each time they handed it on it became more colourful and exaggerated . And then we come along , another lot of white men who 've also got two chaps in long black skirts with them , who also want to be poled up the river to the Orinoco . Sure , there are differences , they 've got this one - eyed machine and so on , but basically it 's the same thing , and we even tell them it 's going to end in the same way with the raft capsizing . I mean , it 's hard to think of an equivalent , but say you were an inhabitant of Hastings in the year 2066 and you went down to the beach one day and these longships were coming towards you and lots of people in chainmail and pointy helmets got out and said they 'd come for the Battle of Hastings and would you rustle up King Harold so they could shoot him in the eye and here was a huge wallet full of money for you to play your part .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
Why does my computer turn into ramdom screen color when I play games ? It can be issue in your graphics card .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
He was almost home before he thought to look at his watch . It was only just after one o'clock . As he stood on the steps before the heavy front door and dug in his pocket for his keys he could hear the ringing of a telephone , blanked and muffled by several layers of brick and plaster . In the hallway with the traffic noises pushed into the background it was a little louder , and when he opened the door to his apartment the sound became rounded and alive in the empty rooms . Carson let the door swing behind him , hurrying through into the sitting room and reaching for the receiver .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
she did all those steps . right order . In fact erm I 've ticked them all eventually erm you actually did them out of order . There was a potential benefit and I ca n't remember exactly Erm p pro probes , nearly all closed erm we were taking notes of sort to follow up things .
Idiom: mend fences (used idiomatically: yes)
( It led to the partial withdrawal of the present writer from my political party and was a factor in my decision in the following year to join with others in setting up a new political party , the British Ulster Dominion Party . ) One section of loyalists correctly forecast that the proposed constitutional convention was an exercise to buy time and that the Westminster government would ignore its recommendations as cynically as it had ignored earlier constitutionally expressed wishes of the loyalist majority . The electoral campaigning in the constituencies , they said , had to be accompanied by a strengthened UWC and mended fences with the paramilitary organisations . They urged that if the loyalist political parties were to go into the convention without having in reserve the weapon of the general strike , they would be as naked and helpless as Aneurin Bevan , the post - war foreign secretary , had said Britain would be in international councils if she were unilaterally to discard her nuclear weapons . None knew the force of such reasoning better than the NIO which had been humbled by the general strike or the previous May.
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: yes)
Open meetings were first suggested by a working party set up last year to discuss the introduction of a ' sunshine policy ' at the Institute ( see ACCOUNTANCY , February , p 13 ) . As the working party suggested , a section of the Council meeting dealing with private Institute business was held in closed session . At the open meeting , Council reviewed the procedures for electing the Institute 's vice - president , voting to allow canvassing by nominees but deciding that the names of nominators should not appear on the voting papers . Council will decide at a later date whether to make public the number of votes cast . The next vice - presidential elections will begin next month , with the result announced in March 1993 .
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: no)
And t and th then , since the paper talk , that 's right , it 's nothing to do with it , but it may have a bit to do with justice , we 'll get round to it in a bit . T since the the paper article , I wrote direct to the Chancellor , as he 's living down the street , personal letter to him . He did n't answer it personally , eventually about three weeks afterwards I got the letter from Customs and Excise , who deal with this , saying , in a rather remarkable last paragraph , We have to charge V A T right across the board . In other words , if any of you were wealthy enough to employ a lady or a gentleman t do the cleaning . To do the cleaning
Idiom: meet someone halfway (used idiomatically: yes)
She 'd always had boyfriends , although so far she had n't been tempted to engage in any serious commitment . Casual encounters that ended in bed had never been her scene , and in today 's sexual climate they were not simply tacky , but positively dangerous . Usually , she met people halfway , and tried not to make snap judgements about them . She hoped they would make the same allowances for her . But this man — this arrogant de Rochefort creature — galled her as no one had ever done before .
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
Wave asked Britain 's most radical and imaginative agency to investigate . The idea seemed simple . Take the medium most skilled in communication and see how it could be used to tackle the seemingly intractable problem of human greed . Ecological ruin , burgeoning Third World debt , homelessness in the urban West — all point a finger at personal and national greed . So is it just part and parcel of ' human nature ' or can we evolve , change and even move beyond it ? Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury has the kind of reputation that suggests even the switchboard ought to answer with ' Howell Henry Chaldecott Lury — the most controversial and innovative agency in Britain ' .
Idiom: carry the day (used idiomatically: no)
Society is better armed than you . ' ' Your driving was appalling and totally callous . ' Reynolds will also serve another 2 years in custody for an unrelated street robbery he 'd carried out 2 days before the crash . An inquest has been hearing how a six - month old baby girl died from a fractured skull after being dropped on her head at playschool . The court 's been told it was probably done by a three year old boy .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
And Tock 's stuck right in the middle of them.’ Wednesday rushed off for help and Endill ran to where he remembered planting his seeds . What a shock he got when he turned the corner to find the entire corridor overgrown by mountains and mountains of wild plants . They had spread as far as he could see , grown up to the ceiling and broken through it . Somewhere in the middle of all the leaves , stalks and flowers was Tock .