Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on a roll (used idiomatically: yes)
However , the two results will be different . If you roll a misfire when you roll the first dice the cannon has literally misfired and may explode . If you roll a misfire on your bounce roll then this merely indicates the ball has stuck in the ground and does not bounce . If you roll a misfire as you shoot the cannon then consult the chart below . If you roll a misfire on your bounce roll then the cannon is unharmed , the Misfire result merely indicates that the cannon ball sticks in the ground where it hits .
Idiom: strain at the leash (used idiomatically: yes)
It proposes a timetable for withdrawal , laying down that the Iraqis should start to leave at once , within a day of a ceasefire , and that they should be allowed to do so safely . All that was needed was a positive reply from Mr Hussein . The proposal was handed to Tariq Aziz , Iraq 's foreign minister , in Moscow on February 18th , with urgent instructions from Alexander Bessmertnykh , the Soviet foreign minister , to be brisk in delivering his boss 's reply : with the American - led troops straining at the leash , he was asked to return in the shortest possible time . But the minister 's travels between Moscow and Baghdad , by way of Tehran , and back again , partly overland since the Americans said they could not guarantee his safety in Iraqi airspace , seemed dilatory . Mr Aziz 's initial reaction encouraged the Russians to believe that they would get a good reply , and get it promptly .
Idiom: from the word go (used idiomatically: yes)
The officers were two single ladies , and one had been unwell . Eva was sent in as support . From the word go she was knocking on doors , visiting and sharing the platform ministry every Sunday . " It was a very good training . The officer , Major Lilian Glase , was the walking epitome of what a Salvation Army officer should be . "
Idiom: old hat (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah , let 's just run through what we feel are appropriate . Er quite right , people do n't know , and if they do know they do n't care some of them . Er they think it 's old old hat to give signals . . Because they know what they 're doing .
Idiom: laughing stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Of course she 's a fucking Protestant , a name like Jessica . Who knows this ? How big a laughing stock am I?’ ‘ For Christ 's sake,’ said Rory , angrily . ‘ If I 'd been unfaithful , what matter if it was a Protestant or not ?
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
In our own society there is no such clear transition from childhood to adult life . The onset of puberty may occur as early as eleven or twelve and can not be reckoned as the sign of having reached adult status . A young person officially comes of age at eighteen but , when so many go on to higher education and training after leaving school , even that does not mark the end of dependence on parents or state . To add to the uncertainty , the age at which a person is considered old enough to vote may be different from that at which they are allowed to marry or fight for their country . If society is so confused about the age at which a person becomes an adult , it is not surprising if there are differences of opinion within the family too .
Idiom: watering hole (used idiomatically: yes)
The canal map is easy to follow showing locks and numbered bridges , and at an average speed of two miles per hour you wo n't feel the need to hurry . There are regular canal pubs and boatyards and if you moor up near a town you will usually find yourself half a mile to a mile from the town centre . There are plenty of places to eat and pick up provisions , and watch out for watering holes to top up your onboard water supply . We moored up near Bulbourne works with its Italianate tower , nearby was a pleasant Victorian canal side pub serving a variety of meals . Around half a mile away was the small Hertfordshire town of Tring with shops and bakeries providing everything for a canal side picnic .
Idiom: go to ground (used idiomatically: yes)
No talk of going out for meals then , everyone rushed off to their respective homes , grateful for the knowledge that they would not have to be back in the Variety Theatre until the ‘ half’ on the Monday evening . There was still no news of Alex Household though police investigations were being vigorously pursued . Either he had gone to ground very effectively and was in hiding , or — and this was a rumour that spread increasingly amongst the cast — he had killed himself . The more days went by , the more likely it became that the end of the police search would be the discovery of a corpse . It was a thought that depressed Charles considerably .
Idiom: in the works (used idiomatically: yes)
If all goes well in China and India in the next generation – and if nothing goes catastrophically wrong in the rich , post - industrial , North ~ Atlantic core of the global economy – the next generation will reach a real milestone . For the first time , more than half of the world will have enough food not to be hungry , enough shelter not to be wet , enough clothing not to be cold , and enough medical care not to be worried that they and most of their children will die prematurely of micro - parasites . The big problems for most of humanity will be to find enough conceptual puzzles and diversions in their work and leisure lives to avoid being bored , and enough relative status not to be green with envy of their fellows . And , of course , they will have to dispose of thugs who used to have spears but will now have cruise missiles and H - bombs – that is , the macro - parasites that have infected humanity ever since the first farmers realized that having crops took away the option of running away into the forest . How did this miracle come about ?
Idiom: take the mickey (used idiomatically: yes)
I went to that at Jasons ' I think I 'll go and find that erm Aah ! I just do n't know what was wrong with it , I 've work , Jason said Ja we a subject turned to what he wore in bed Ja and Jason said nothing , right but he said when it 's winter I wear my t - shirt and the pants and I cuddle up to my glow worm and we was all taking the mickey out of his glow worm , right so I 've come home and I read the paper and I 'll see glow worm in it , so I cut it out and give it to him and he stuck it up in the factory ! So every time everybody goes past and goes how 's your glow worm boy today and takes the mickey out of him ! Mm .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Did n't say that into Tom I know what we do mother er him , do n't shout in my bloody ear hole , cor does he shout will do the apple and pears at number ten erm , how am I gon na pay the Provi bloke tomorrow darling ?
Idiom: in the sticks (used idiomatically: yes)
Turning the clock back to the point immediately before computers got involved in the publishing business there were only two real technologies at work ; hot metal and cold metal . In the former , each character was cast on demand and the composed page was built up either from lines of individual characters ( Monotype 's method ) or from complete lines cast as a single element ( Linotype 's approach ) . Cold setting was carried out by selecting the characters one at a time and placing them in a compositor 's stick . Once the line was complete it was transferred to a metal frame called a chase and , once this was full , the whole page was ready to be printed . Classic , labour and skill intensive printing technology that was largely unchanged since the days of Gutenberg .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
Children and adults have mean intelligence quotients ( IQs ) roughly half a standard deviation lower than those of unaffected siblings and population norms . The full clinical relevance of this reduction in IQ has been appreciated only recently following the reports of a steady rise of mean IQ scores in the general populations of Western nations , including the United Kingdom . Reviewed in the light of these population shifts , the findings in subjects with phenylketonuria suggest that a high proportion of early treated subjects — not just a poorly managed minority — exhibit some degree of intellectual impairment and that the major impact is in early childhood before there is any question of relaxing or stopping treatment . Interestingly , virtually all published studies from around the world have reported similar findings . There is also evidence of slower acquisition of language and , in the school years , a higher frequency of learning difficulties and behavioural disturbance — hyperactivity , anxiety , and poor concentration being prominent features .
Idiom: to boot (used idiomatically: no)
Development versions are $ 10,000 to promote NT applications development . The 760MP was designed on its big brother the 960MP . Word is it took only three days to boot Unix on the prototype . ALMOST BEFORE IT 's ANNOUNCED IN EUROPE , IBM 's THINKPAD 700 T IS OBSOLETED BY REFINED 710 T IN US IBM Europe only began shipping its ThinkPad 700 T pen - based portable at the end of February ( CI No 2,113 ) , but already the company has announced its successor — the 710 T in the US .
Idiom: up to no good (used idiomatically: yes)
He was sweating on getting that wallet back . What 's he doing in London ? What 's the betting he 's up to no good , and that he felt Dan Pearson got to know too much about him and needed to be silenced?’ ‘ Oh , crikey , d'you think so?’ asked Dolly . ‘ Where was it you first saw them?’
Idiom: make the grade (used idiomatically: yes)
She hesitated , and was lost . She cuddled in close to him as they tore along the highway . Hank was fun , even if it did look as if he would never make Grade 12 and never earn much . He knew how to give a girl a good time . ' Where we going ?
Idiom: on the hoof (used idiomatically: yes)
As a result , many are still burdened by this attempted avoidance , not evasion , of tax . Having taken advantage of 100pc relief he claims they not only bought tackle which ‘ has mainly stood idle ever since’ but did so with borrowed money on which they are still paying interest 10 years on . Farming history was made when a bunch of 10 Charolais steers grossed £ 17,000 in the first satellite - television auction of prime meat on the hoof . Cheshire - based Wright - Manley is one of 11 auctioneering firms nation - wide to be associated with CLASS the Central Livestock Auction Satellite Sales . This novel way of selling means participating companies can offer vendors another option to selling through the fat cattle ring or deadweight direct to the abattoir .
Idiom: full tilt (used idiomatically: yes)
Let 's look out for some on the way.’ They all agreed to this , and they became so occupied looking for ivy on the walls alongside the lane that they did n't see two boys suddenly come racing round the bend just by Miss Miggs 's cottage . The boys , who were bigger than the Brownies , ran full - tilt into them . Christine was knocked sprawling . Anne , trying to jump out of their way , caught her foot in the ditch by the grass - verge and pitched on to her front .
Idiom: take the piss (used idiomatically: yes)
Did you hear him at chapel ? He goes it 's not funny , you ca n't take the piss out of all those poor people that died . I 'm not I 'm taking the piss out the way he said it . There 's a difference .
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
What they offer out front is something completely different from what they 're really doing behind their backs or up their sleeves . Jugglers can not lie , magicians have to lie . Otherwise they 'd give the game away .
Idiom: bundle of joy (used idiomatically: yes)
Only then did she impart her own news : that she and Geoffrey were to adopt a baby girl in a month 's time . Plenty of other people got in touch . Mrs Bennett , still at Hillmarden House , Edna in Cornwall and Karen in a temporary post , sent almost identical cards : a baby in a muslin - trimmed cot surrounded by blue birds and butterflies , the only difference being the unfortunate — at least , to Celia — personal wording in Edna 's which ran , May your long - awaited bundle of joy bring you lasting happiness . Another more formal card , to her surprise , came from Ernest and Emily Brewer ; while all the time bouquets of one sort or another kept pouring in : from the receptionist in Harley Street , from Brian 's secretary , the nurses at his hospital and even an enormous sheaf of gladioli from ‘ All at Brentwoods’ . Horrified , she realised she would have to write and thank everyone .
Idiom: catch someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
The number — he could n't remember his number . He looked around and saw Pete about to go out the door . Marcus caught his eye and spread his hands in confusion . ‘ Fifteen!’ Pete called out as he and several others were herded out .
Idiom: rock the boat (used idiomatically: no)
To that extent , it still is a force to be reckoned with . ' No longer . This week the left lost its residual power to rock Mr Kinnock 's sleek new social democratic boat . Ken Livingstone 's ejection from the executive was merely the most public manifestation of a profound shift in Labour 's internal ecology . For understandable reasons , neither side is prepared to proclaim the change too loudly : the left hates admitting defeat , while the right does not want to offend too many loyal party members by appearing triumphalist .
Idiom: right up your street (used idiomatically: yes)
Perhaps if you heard it in different circumstances , su , you know , surrounded by Chinese people , then maybe you would begin to recognise it . But erm , it 's called the March of the Slaves , and it calls upon people , Arise you who Refuse to be Slaves . There you are Rupert , right up your streets , is n't it . You who refuse to be to be slaves . This is .
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh I see . Oh I I meant are you going out and about looking at , I mean Mm . that 's , it 's more
Idiom: dead wood (used idiomatically: yes)
He is not allowed to dissect the fossils , though , since they are at present irreplaceable . The new interpretation seems to push Hallucigenia , the Chinese fossils , and some other species around at the time ( including another of the Burgess oddballs , Aysheaia ) into the arthropod phylum , with insects , crabs and trilobites . It may be that they are in fact onycophorans , a group of arthropods now represented by caterpillar - like velvet worms that burrow through dead wood in Australia . Anomalocaris is the biggest predator among the Burgess animals , and one of the hardest to interpret . For a long time some of its parts — its mouth and its eating appendages — were classed as separate animals .
Idiom: black and blue (used idiomatically: no)
He had a mean little mouth , she thought dispassionately . If she was n't mistaken , someone above had just licked his backside and , true to naval tradition , he was passing the reprimand down . But nobody had the right to be that nasty ; not even if his backside was black and blue . He should pick on someone his own size , not two young kids who were near to tears . ‘ But we could n't help our train being late .
Idiom: pull someone's leg (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Dear diary , history is n't what it used to be.’ She began to wriggle slightly , to see if she could get her hands free , but it was no good , the straps were still too tight . She tried her legs next , and they moved a bit within the straps , but her boots prevented her from pulling her legs through the loops . ‘ Bugger ! Wait a minute … .’
Idiom: without fail (used idiomatically: no)
Longman the least seasonally biased of the three struggled to break even in the first half and this removed the normal pattern of Longman 's half - year profits helping to offset the first half losses of the other two businesses but before we get too depressed er I point out that Addison Wesley s sales were up by eleven percent and the size of the first half loss reflects the company 's decision to gear up in advance er , for what we w believe will be a very strong er , second er , half performance . Er , overall I think it 's right to say that we 're disappointed by these results but we 're not downhearted . All of our businesses have maintained or improved their market shares as managers we concentrate on the full year rather on either half and because of our seasonal bias er , those of you who 've been , er , to our interim presentations before er , will remember that without fail I tell you our results at the half - way stage are not a clear guide to the outcome of the year as a whole . The major part of our profits are made in the second half er , and this year er will certainly be no exception . To underline the point I thought I 'd show you this four year average one thing that the exercise shows is that between them our book , entertainment and fine china businesses normally account for about seven percent of Pearson 's annual profit in their first half and for about thirty three percent of our profit in the full year .
Idiom: nine times out of ten (used idiomatically: yes)
Not all third party solicitors are ‘ hell bent’ on pursuing ill - founded claims . Accordingly , a reasoned repudiation with supportive photographs may serve to convince an otherwise strongly sceptical third party solicitor that his client has no claim . It must be remembered that , nine times out of ten , the third party solicitor will be relying on descriptions of locus , machinery , etc . provided to him by his client — and will not have had the opportunity of visiting the LOCUS himself . Once one is familiar with the locus , etc . , then statements of eye - witnesses must be obtained . It must be remembered that a precognition reflects the state of preparedness of the precognoscer .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: no)
Jim Garrison : Oct 21 , aged 71 : New Orleans District Attorney , whose conspiracy theory concerning the assassination of John F Kennedy formed the basis of the script for film JFK . Giovanni Falcone : May 23 , aged 53 : Italian prosecutor and scourge of the Mafia killed by a car-bomb . William Rees-Davies : Jan 8 , aged 75 : An MP whose habit of sweeping through the Commons corridors in a black cloak earned him the nickname Dracula . Albert Pierrepoint : July 10 , aged 87 : Britain 's chief hangman from 1946 to 1956 , he executed 450 people including Ruth Ellis , Derek Bentley and John ‘ Acid Bath ’ Haigh . INSTITUTIONS
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
Why , t'barn 's good enough to see , is n't it ? " " The barn ? " I pointed a shaking finger at the heights . " You mean that building ? The heifer 's surely not in there ! "
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
Tokyo : Investors catching European interest rate jitters drove the Nikkei average down 313.64 points to 35,209.35 . Hong Kong : Receding concern about the situation in China was reflected in the market 's continuing strength , the Hang Seng index posting its fourth successive gain at 2,826.21 , up 23.04 . Singapore : Shares closed firmer across the board in active trade , with the Straits Times index 8.17 points higher at 1,413.15 . Sydney : Directionless trading brought little change , the All Ordinaries index ending just 0.7 ahead at 1,773.2 — but 37.4 points better on the week . Bombay : Heavy institutional buying signalled a rebound from the losses of the past three days .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
I have very little confidence in the ‘ reforms’ being introduced with such a fanfare this month . Rather than eliminating NHS under - funding and the resulting problems , I think they will increase the bureaucracy , without any guarantee of better patient - care . And I do n't believe it provides a strategy for getting to grips with the underlying causes of ill - health . In London 's East End , people , especially the elderly , are often ill - fed , ill - housed and ill - clad , as well as being plain ill . These are the people who missed out on the Eighties ' boom and who are now being hit hardest by the recession .
Idiom: have been around (used idiomatically: yes)
They 're always the worst.’ Daphne checked the seams on her stockings . ‘ My family have been around for seventeen generations , do n't you know , so we feel we have n't an awful lot to prove . We 're quite aware that we do n't possess a modicum of brain between us , but by God we 're rich , and by Harry we 're ancient . However , I fear the same can not be said for Captain Guy Trentham.’
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: no)
Investment in some technology can be justified as it leads to more efficient billing . You can also conduct profit forecasts , identify profitable work and problem areas . If you are not time recording then you are not only falling short of the quality standards but you are also likely to be under - billing . Billing targets Fifteen hundred chargeable hours is a common target for personal injury lawyers .
Idiom: on the hop (used idiomatically: yes)
Perhaps she sometimes did , she replied — with sudden sideways glances — but she was far from being housebound . She wrote , however : I had not thought of catching things on the hop , as Ivy would say . I described Beth being like it , but I was not conscious of doing it myself . Perhaps I do .
Idiom: by no stretch of the imagination (used idiomatically: yes)
There was no hospital ward , no smell of carbolic or disinfectant , no bouquet of flowers , get well cards , or baskets of fruit , just lots and lots of love awaiting the newcomer . A spank on the bottom never failed to produce its first howl of protest , then the cleansing process took place , and the ‘ miracle’ was wrapped inside a cosy , warm blanket — then it was placed next to Mother for the first looks of adoration and wonder . Carl , by no stretch of the imagination , could ever be called good - looking . Try telling this to any mother . From the moment of her first touch , that little bundle became her main reason for living .
Idiom: second childhood (used idiomatically: yes)
If the Greens ever form a government , they should use him in the commercials advocating population control . Comic leavening though Dominic was , he also fitted the script 's careful patterning of parent - child relationships . Lilian was in her second childhood and Harriet was expecting her second child , which she secretly despised . Both women were treated as infants by Hugh , while Harriet was forced to play stern mother to her husband 's aunt . ( If the film had a serious weakness , it was that there was too much Naughty Little Sister stuff for Lilian in supermarkets and car parks . )
Idiom: kicking and screaming (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I think my grandmother would fit in very well here.’ I meant it as well , even though I knew she 'd miss the hang - gliding . The next morning I was a day older , no wiser and put in a bad mood right from the off because I was dragged from the Land of Nod kicking and screaming ( well , grunting and stumbling actually ) by the Celtic Twilight hammering on my door . I christened the new residents of the flat above that just in case they ever decided to form a folk - singing duet and needed a stage name . From the first moment I saw Inverness Doogie and his Welsh wife , Miranda , I had them down as a sort of suicidal Sonny and Cher .