Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: pop the question (used idiomatically: yes)
It may not seem as hard nowadays , because people know that it 's easy to get out of . Forever can mean two or three years now . Back in the 1940s , though , it was taken a lot more seriously , so that actually getting to the point where you popped the question was a big commitment.’ Emphasis on quality and service to customers Surviving the revolution
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
And here , ' he want behind the altar and took a small bell , ' you ring this . Now , if the candle goes out , do n't be afraid . Just keep on walking and ringing the bell . You know where we are going ? ' The little boy , round - eyed , shook his head .
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
Many officials believed that a large number of false cases were prosecuted , and that many were successful . H. W. Gillman , a district judge , believed that ‘ natives find both profit and amusement in bringing false cases , and that they have a natural talent for lying.’ J. H. Eaton , a magistrate , declared : ‘ It almost goes without saying that there is hardly a case that comes before our courts , to which the natives are parties , in which this crime [ perjury]is not more or less freely indulged.’ Henry Blake , who was Governor from 1903 to 1907 , believed that ‘ in the majority of cases tried in Ceylon the evidence is unsatisfactory , as there is not alone an utter disregard for truth , but an extraordinary ingenuity of invention.’ Another official thought that less than ten per cent of the criminal plaints filed at Negombo were true .
Idiom: look the other way (used idiomatically: yes)
' Who are we trying to impress ? ' Eve had asked once . ' No , look at it the other way . It 's who you 're trying not to let down . We were told we were mad and we could n't rear you .
Idiom: when the chips are down (used idiomatically: yes)
He had her beaten and he knew it . He 'd known perfectly well how she 'd react when he 'd arranged for her to be taken on for this play . He 'd also known that when the chips were down she would n't back away . ‘ You 've tricked me,’ she said , her voice low and heavy . ‘ I 'd never have come here if I 'd known … ’
Idiom: go places (used idiomatically: yes)
Come on , she reminded herself , you 're not a naïve little nineteen - year - old any more . You 're twenty - four , independent , and with a fairly flourishing career . In fact , you 're a girl who 's going places — once you 've untied yourself from this man who 's been like a millstone around your neck for the last four years . And , somehow , you will manage to do that . As she pulled on a pair of faded jeans and a sweatshirt , she made another decision .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
He did n't know why she was screaming — he 'd pulled his trousers up long ago . You ca n't run with your pants at half mast . He put his hand up her tunic — serve her right for having it so short — just as she got the door open and staggered screaming into her mother 's arms . ‘ It 's all a mistake,’ he said , trying to follow , as the mother slammed the door . He half expected that the police would be waiting for him when he got back to the pub .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ If he knows what 's good for trade.’ ‘ Among his customers has been your man Gorrin,’ said Ymor pleasantly , ‘ for he writes here about a box on legs , if I read this scrawl correctly.’ He looked at Withel over the top of the paper . Withel looked away . ‘ He will be disciplined,’ he said flatly .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
He rests his eyes . Paul says , ‘ Good Lord.’ John opens his eyes . His father is standing in front of him . ‘ I 've got three tickets for the Bahamas , leaving in forty - five minutes .
Idiom: wear the trousers (used idiomatically: yes)
I even considered swooning so as to get out of the room when suddenly a secret door just behind the throne was thrown open and the most incredible sight emerged : a man , black as night , well over two yards high . A crimson turban was wrapped round his head , the upper part of his body was bare except for gold bands round his arms and wrists . He wore white , baggy trousers which billowed like silken sails and red , high - heeled , velvet slippers with ornately curled toes . Dacourt stopped speaking and gaped like a carp . The big , black mameluke was an eye - catching sight but the beasts which went before him on silver chains were really alarming .
Idiom: come to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
Nothing raises hackles quite so much as the question of access to the countryside . The vast majority of our land — mountains , moors , lakes and rivers — is owned by a handful of individuals , private and public companies , trusts and associations , most of whom seem hell bent if not on totally excluding , at least on severely restricting our freedom to roam . Some of the landowning agencies that are most restrictive are those which might be though to be answerable to the public , or have their best interests at heart : the Forestry Commission , the Ministry of Defence and sometimes even the National Trust come to mind . Few walkers can have escaped the experience of finding their right of way barred by locked gates , barbed wire , standing crops , grazing bulls , farmers with dogs or keepers with guns . Luckily we have the example of rights won for us by our forebears whose fight is continued by the Ramblers Association .
Idiom: tempt providence (used idiomatically: yes)
SADDLE NEWS RESIDENTS ' ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER — MARCH 1993 . Without wishing to tempt providence in any way , we appear to have got away lighting insofar as Winter is concerned . T.V. pictures showing Arctic conditions in Yugoslavia give pause to reflect on the blessings of comparatively moderate weather , cushioned by central heating , from the harsher elements of the Northern Hemisphere . Your Committee , far from hibernating , has not ceased from mental strife , nor has its sword slept in its hand , if we have not yet built Jerusalem , we have at least laid siege to the walls of Jericho in the shape of Crestacare Management .
Idiom: rule the roost (used idiomatically: yes)
Another favourite technique is the use of multiple narrators to give differing views of the same reality . Vargas Llosa 's The Time of the Hero , which is set in a Peruvian military academy where the cadets assume an ostentatious machismo as a survival strategy , oscillates between third - person narration and monologue ( interior and spoken ) to bring out the gulf between the boys ' public personae and their sensitive and vulnerable inner self , and to highlight how social intercourse distorts their personality by conditioning them to suppress their softer feelings . This gulf is shown most dramatically in the surprise ending , which obliges us to re - evaluate our reading of the novel by revealing that the anonymous , timid and sensitive lad who has been narrating the story of his early life in the first person is none other than Jaguar , the aggressive bully we have seen ruling the roost in the school . One of the most impressive examples of multiple narration is Carlos Fuentes 's The Death of Artemio Cruz , in which the story of a dying ex - revolutionary turned corrupt capitalist magnate is recounted in alternating sequences of first , second and third - person narrative . The third - person sections narrate the main events of his life in a more or less objective manner .
Idiom: as a rule (used idiomatically: yes)
Still , it was nice to know that he had . We have four TV sets — three at our home in North London , and one at our holiday villa down on the Algarve in Portugal . As a rule I 'm away five months of the year making Wish You Were Here … ? ( Thames , Mondays at 7pm ) and I really miss Coronation Street . But there are a lot of Street addicts around who are happy to bring me up to date with the story when I get back .
Idiom: pass the time of day (used idiomatically: yes)
A street exchange no different from any other that takes place in the course of a day in the High Streets and Main Streets of any town anywhere . The only truism appears to be that the smaller the town the greater the extent of the exchange . Forces , being a smallish town and by no means a city , the passing of street pleasantries is not quite the folk art it is in villages but people still enjoy passing the time of day with their neighbours . The qualifying condition , however , in this particular instance , was that Mrs Beattie and Mrs Friar could hardly be classed as neighbours and even the most cock - eyed optimist would never even hope that they might even begin to be pleasant to each other . On this morning however , they dallied somewhat so that each might have the off - chance of that little bit of news that other people call gossip , which the other might add to the jigsaw of seemingly useless information built up bit by bit in small minds .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
Right . I think we certainly agree with you in terms of locality , and it 's open to you at any time , I would have thought , to be in touch with Katherine , and say , ' Would you follow up on x or y ' . I think if the committee did that then we 'd be back to what five or six years ago , when a whole afternoon was spent on that and I would n't commend that to you , but can we perhaps have a word with the officers at a later stage , take it on board what both Graham and Anne have been saying , and obviously not trying to do that in a meeting like this but try to prepare for it a month before - hand . Is that reasonable at this stage ? Yes
Idiom: hot air (used idiomatically: yes)
Home Office researcher Simon Field studied 40 years of statistics and found that when the temperature rose a few degrees Celsius above normal : VIOLENCE and SEX crimes increased by up to 3.6 per cent , BURGLARY rose by up to 2.8 per cent and CRIMINAL DAMAGE by up to 3.3 per cent . But crime experts said unemployment and poverty were the obvious causes — and they dismissed the ozone theory as a load of hot air . Professor Donald West , of the Cambridge Institute of Criminology , said : ‘ It 's ridiculous.’ I HATE YOU , BABE
Idiom: take someone to task (used idiomatically: yes)
But Joe Holyoak and the Birmingham for People group believe The Galleries will simply repeat the mistakes made in the early Sixties , but on an even bigger scale . Holyoak 's attack , published in a recent issue of The Architects ' Journal , is based on two premises . First he takes the city council to task for presenting the LET scheme as a fait accompli , criticising it for ' accepting without question LET 's objective of redevelopment in the form of 500-metre - long , inward - looking building ' . Holyoak gleefully points out that architect Tony Ridell , of Chapman Taylor Partners , has , rather unfortunately , described The Galleries as ' a huge aircraft carrier settled on the streetscape of the city ' . Second , Holyoak attacks the monumentality of The Galleries which , in his words ' is the latest in the big developers ' move to privatise city centres — to eat up public space and reshape it as internalised , homogenised , security - patrolled private space ' .
Idiom: get stuck in (used idiomatically: no)
Mine are n't like that . and I ate the pip too . Well I would n't in case it gets stuck in here in your mouth . He might grow an orange tree out of his ear . There 's enough dirt in it .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
Now both mothers face an agonising wait while DNA tests determine which child belongs to which woman . Marie Coyle , who believes she is Gemma 's mother , said : ‘ She is everything I could ever have wanted . ‘ It will break my heart if I had to give my little girl up . In my heart I know she is mine but the uncertainty over all this is agonising . ‘ She is so beautiful .
Idiom: off the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
An unparalleled 115 mph performance , mid - range flexibility and engine responsiveness are its hallmarks . My test car was the Aura model , but both it and its sister Avantage Turbo Diesel , are powered by a new 1.9-litre version of Citroen 's XUD engine the world 's most successful diesel unit with production now topping four million units . Diesels are condemned by some for being too slow off the mark . The Aura TD gets to 60 mph in 10.3 seconds , faster than some petrol engined rivals . But it is in midrange flexibility , with 130 lbs / ft of torque available from 1750 to 3750rpm , that the Aura TD is truly outstanding .
Idiom: grasp the nettle (used idiomatically: yes)
As long as its concern ( in the absence of a vision ) is for ‘ maintaining the ethos of Anglicanism’ , it is doomed to grow old and cold and to die . But what if it gets hold of a new vision such as this : ‘ To bring the nation and all its inhabitants to Christ’ ? Then it may be able to grasp the nettles of boundaries and ethos and see them as secondary . Then it may be able to form a national strategy to match the vision . Such a strategy would , as in the case of the Baptist Union , include church planting , it would include training leaders for the task , and it would include setting some immediate goals such as those above .
Idiom: spring to mind (used idiomatically: no)
The judiciary are an estate of the Crown and the servants of statute , and may therefore be supposed to be under a duty to reflect the public will . The problem is one of definition . Judges are not the first species that springs to mind as a faithful tribune of popular perception . The familiar joke about mystification from the bench as to who is Bruce Springsteen or what is Eastenders may be a caricature but it is a recognisable one . It is no less accurate than Lord Taylor 's evocation of the ‘ penologists , criminologists and bureaucrats’ who evidently conspire to hand villains the poor box .
Idiom: sweat like a pig (used idiomatically: yes)
Julian looked after her , the high , exultant step , the reared head under its coronal of brown hair , the lofty joy in every movement . And she thought : What must it be like to go to one 's marital bed with delight , instead of disgust ? And to such a man , instead of an old fool with the shakes , and sweating like a pig in an ague ? And how strange , she thought , that I have come from him , and you are but now going to him , and yet I do not envy even you , the most enviable of women ! For God 's sake , what is it I have got from him , that it sets me so high ?
Idiom: high and low (used idiomatically: yes)
We have even developed theories to justify these distortions by teaching that the high elbow allows greater application of force . Anybody who has played Chinese whispers will know how quickly and easily such distortions happen . In real canoeing the study of experienced paddlers shows that there is very little difference between a high and low brace ( Figure 5 ) and to make a distinction is often counter - productive . The only important factor is whether the face or the back of the blade is in use . In both techniques the key points of a low paddle shaft , an extended reach , a low centre of gravity and a low shoulder angle are equally relevant .
Idiom: put a sock in it (used idiomatically: yes)
I clocked her in the driving mirror . She had stretched out , lying on her back and speaking in a little girly voice . ' Put a sock in it , you old cow , you 've caused more than your usual quota of trouble today . ' I may be wrong , but I got the distinct impression that Melanie did n't think too highly of Carol . I decided to keep quiet and drive .
Idiom: go places (used idiomatically: yes)
She could not imagine it . ‘ We 've come a long way , you and I,’ Michael went on . ‘ What 's more , we 're still going places.’ Susan said , ‘ I 'm leaving for Trame tomorrow for the bilaterals . Just for two weeks before we have our home leave together.’
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
How much should be paid into court , and when ? If the defendant makes a payment into court , the plaintiff may seize it and call quits . If the plaintiff presses on and wins , but is awarded no more in damages than the amount of the " payment in " the plaintiff must foot the entire legal bill incurred by both the sides since the day of the payment . In one celebrated case in 1975 , a colonel with a penchant for spanking unsuspecting women sued the " Sunday People " for exposing his activities ; he was awarded a derisory halfpenny . But the newspaper was saddled with the legal costs of the trial , which it could have avoided by " paying in " the lowest denomination coin of the realm before the trial began .
Idiom: come to think of it (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I do n't know when this six months idea came in but it 's little enough to show respect for the one that 's gone.’ ‘ Sure I knew people that were never out of black with the deaths coming the way they did,’ Julia said . Pat sat smoking in silence for a few minutes and no one else spoke but suddenly he said , ‘ How much of it was real , Julia , when you come to think of it , and how much for fear of what people would say ? We carried on the traditions but young ones want to question everything , and maybe they 're right.’ ‘ Twill do Anne no harm to leave off the dances for a few months out of respect for her grandma,’ Julia said .
Idiom: seal of approval (used idiomatically: yes)
Disney executives believe the porcelain models will become another lucrative spin off for their cartoon empire . And for Connoiseur , the extra work and exposure should bring increased demand . The final seal of approval for Connoisseur has come from Uncle Scrooge 's creator , Carl Barks , who at 92 , still marvels at the craftsmanship that transformed his cartoons into fine porcelain . The body of a young climber has been found in the Scottish Highlands after a three day search . It 's thought he 'd been swept off a mountain in high winds .
Idiom: for my money (used idiomatically: yes)
Dad . No , one eighteen . Can I have seventy five erm seventy five P for my money . Yeah . Is that being recording ?
Idiom: get your hands dirty (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Not at all . If we go the right way about it , we could set ourselves up nice with a good little earner still in Rafferty 's.’ ‘ But you wo n't get your hands dirty , will ye , Sean ? I mean there 's Denis — ‘ ‘ Sure , there 's always Denis .
Idiom: call it quits (used idiomatically: yes)
Should be interesting to see how they fare by comparison . OPUS FINALLY RETIRES FROM SPARC CLONE BUSINESS Pioneer Sparc cloner Opus Systems Inc , Mountain View , California , is finally calling it quits with whatever remains of its Sparc clone business and says it is retracting back to its SparcCard PC add - in boards ( UX No 343 ) . A few weeks ago it auctioned off a lot of its furniture and fixtures as unnecessary to the kind of business it would be doing . It also reportedly sold off a bunch of Sparc motherboards on very aggressive terms .
Idiom: muddy the waters (used idiomatically: yes)
Eventually this procedure permanently enhances the sensitivity of the rats to the drug ; the phenomenon is known as kindling . Once one group of rats has been treated , kindled seizures should occur more rapidly in other rats of the same strain , according to Sheldrake 's hypothesis . This experiment is rather costly , however , and one judge felt that the immense amount of work already done on chemical kindling in rats would muddy the waters . Our own competition is ended : our congratulations to the winners , and our thanks to the judges and to the many entrants , who produced some excellent ideas and criticisms . The Tarrytown offer continues , however , until the end of 1985 .
Idiom: play for time (used idiomatically: yes)
The compromise plan involved a phased US withdrawal over a three - year period , the modalities of which were to be worked out by a special panel which would be chaired by the chief presidential aide , Franklin Drilon . Although Aquino insisted that the plan had the support of at least 15 members of the 23-strong Senate , the Senate President and key opponent of a continued US presence , Jovito Salonga , remained suspicious of the plan , characterizing it as vague and ill - defined and insisting that all combat troops had to be withdrawn within one year . Speculation emerged in both Manila and Washington that the plan was designed to play for sufficient time to allow for a reversal of the Senate 's decision after the election of its new President in May 1992 . Such suspicions were reinforced by the relative equanimity with which the US government appeared to have accepted the decision . ASIA — PACIFIC
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
Breakfast In America , by Supertramp . I remember their first UK showcase . Their supporting act was a guy dressed in black playing acoustic guitar . I said he 'd be a star . His name was Chris de Burgh .
Idiom: friends in high places (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ And I always say , sister , it is our concern when they do n't stump up.’ Miss Rene ignored Miss Belle 's remark and , turning again to Agnes , said , ‘ It should happen that Mrs Bretton - Fawcett had some bills outstanding and that she should at the same time require one or two hats for herself and an equal number for her daughter . They were going to London for some weeks : they have friends in high places , you know , and the eldest Miss Bretton - Fawcett , the daughter you know , is to come out next year . Anyway , to cut a long story short , she wondered if we would like to take payment in part with one or two garments . She assured us they had only been worn a few times .
Idiom: under fire (used idiomatically: yes)
Financial Times 17 January New Scientist 26 January Nuclear Power French nuclear waste agency under fire Amid growing public debate in France over the question of what to do with the country 's nuclear waste , a parliamentary report has called for major changes in the state nuclear waste agency , ANDRA ( Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs ) . The report , commissioned by the Office parlementaire d'Évaluation des choix scientifiques et technologiques , and drawn up by socialist deputy Christian Bataille , has called for its replacement by a reconstituted agency which would operate more openly .
Idiom: rank and file (used idiomatically: yes)
The Clockwork Man The pettiness over uniform repairs epitomized the way control by the Chief pervaded the working — and the non - working — day . Social control of the rank and file , in its formal disciplinary guise , had a multitude of possibilities . An array of sanctions —‘fizzers’ , ‘ on the peg’— informal and formal , regulated the beat in an attempt to produce a display of robotic precision and efficiency . W. R. You were n't allowed to talk to a girl in my time .
Idiom: brownie point (used idiomatically: yes)
Unfortunately , some of them , but not all . ' I came in for a lot of criticism but I know in my heart that the good things I did there were very conveniently swept under the carpet at the time . ' Francis took Andy Sinton and David Bardsley to QPR and gave Les Ferdinand his first - team debut , but he said : ' I do n't want to try to collect Brownie points for what QPR are doing now . Gerry Francis has done a fantastic job . ' But what I did there was n't all bad .
Idiom: keep a low profile (used idiomatically: yes)
Some time during the course of that summer , Dr Harvard introduced Lewis to the Roman Catholic Chaplain to the University , Monsignor Ronald Knox . One would have assumed that as two classicists , Punch contributors and men of letters of an old - fashioned Christian temper , Lewis and Knox would have known each other for years . But Knox , who was the most brilliant orator of his generation at Oxford — star of the Union , wit , punster in tongues ancient and modern — had left Oxford before the end of the First World War to become a Roman Catholic , and after his return there as chaplain to the Catholics , it was perhaps understandable that he should have kept a low profile . Lewis greeted him warmly with the assertion that he was possibly the wittiest man in Europe . Knox modestly demurred , but the meeting was said to be happy and humorous .