Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
What Morrissey still ca n't come to terms with is that now , for some strange reason , hordes of people profess to have fallen in love with him and previous to the band , he often states , no girl ever even took him into consideration . To add to his confusion , he still finds himself sat alone watching television and wondering where all these people are . The whole plastic notion of a pop star begins to ring the bells of truth . His only saving grace is his undying belief in the melodramatic . Morrissey takes interviews extremely seriously , perhaps over - analysing the final product .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
The first thing I never went to the doctor with when I , I tumbled off the wall down cut me head open and that 's the only , and then after I got used to playing football they must 've , have put a steel inset into your head the way I head that ball . But did you play any games that were connected with the war in any way ? No . Pretending to be soldiers or anything ?
Idiom: no man's land (used idiomatically: yes)
I CANNOT judge the rights and wrongs of this interminable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians . But I do recognise barbarity and inhumanity when I see them . The 415 Moslems expelled by Israel do not deserve to starve in a freezing no man 's land , no matter what crimes they have or have not committed . And if they are criminals , Israel has no right to push them over the border into a neighbouring land . How would we feel if France started putting its criminals in boats and sending them over the Channel to us ?
Idiom: fly in the face of (used idiomatically: yes)
This begs the question why the Democrats and the White House are staging such a divisive quarrel , at a time when agreement on a deficit-cutting budget for 1990 is already overdue ( the nominal deadline passed yesterday ) . Some pundits suggest that the capital gains tax battle is a shrewd White House softening-up exercise for an even more aggressive assault on the Democratic leaders in the next two to three weeks , designed to force a 1990 deficit-cutting agreement on Republican terms . This flies in the face of the cautious nature of the Bush administration . Congressional sources believe the White House saw the chance for a quick , psychologically valuable victory over the Democratic leaders . Ecuador holds drug lord
Idiom: as a rule (used idiomatically: yes)
– The history of authoritarian rule in Russia displays a certain depressing regularity . Such regimes rarely perish from external shocks or оррosition pressure . As a rule , they die unexpectedly from some internal disease – from irresistible existential disgust at themselves , from their own exhaustion . Czarist rule withstood many harsh tests during its long history : peasant revolts , conspiracies , and the alienation of the educated class . In January 1917 , from his Swiss exile , Lenin noted with bitterness and hopelessness that : " We , the old , will hardly live till the decisive battles of that forthcoming revolution .
Idiom: with a vengeance (used idiomatically: yes)
Unfortunately by the time he reached his conclusions he had forgotten both these things . Stated baldly , and cheerfully ignoring the Secretary of State s admonition not to impute guilt to either Meehan or Waddell , his conclusions were that while Waddell and McGuinness probably carried out what he called the initial assault , ‘ it can not be disproved that Meehan and Griffiths were not a follow - up team with the role of dealing with the safe or safes believed to be in the bungalow’ . Aside from the worthlessness of double negatives , aside from the fact that McGuinness was a far more accomplished safe - breaker than Meehan ( he had earned his nickname Tank because it was said he could penetrate even one of those ) , and aside from the fact that in all the verbiage spilled out by Meehan , Waddell and McGuinness to lawyers , journalists and others for over thirteen years , none of them had so much as hinted at the idea of a quartet , there was not a scrap of worthwhile evidence to support it : it was speculation with a vengeance and extraordinary to find in a report by a judge of his standing . But it was when I came to ask myself the reason for such a wild suggestion that I received a greater shock . All British judges in my experience have a completely blind spot when confronted by evidence which indicates police corruption , and Lord Hunter was no exception .
Idiom: sign of the times (used idiomatically: yes)
A stranger attending a reception to mark the opening of new or refurbished office accommodation recently might have found it difficult differentiating between the property professionals and the PR men . For not only would the developers — who always did have a reputation as sharp dressers — be examples of sartorial elegance but the traditionally staid chartered surveyors would also have swapped their green - check jackets and corduroy trousers for double - breasted suits , red braces and ties that were more of a ' statement ' than a fashion accessory . But this may have been more than just a sartorial sign of the changing times . With , until recently , so many ' deals ' being done , agency work had become the high - profile end of surveying practice . But with far fewer deals being done than was the case , say , five years ago , what now for the red - braces man ?
Idiom: paper over the cracks (used idiomatically: yes)
Yet he was founder of the group of ‘ four musketeers’ , the senior Tories who masterminded Mr Major 's successful general election campaign . The four — Ryder , Chris Patten , John Wakeham and John MacGregor — held daily breakfast brainstorming sessions at No 10 . As Chief Whip he has managed to paper over the cracks in the back benches and maintain a united front behind the Prime Minister . He loves his back - seat role , moving quietly up and down the lines , constantly persuading and cajoling . Ryder makes a point of seeking out potential waverers and listening to their arguments in person .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
This vision is particularly evident in Dicey 's views on the role of conventions . Dicey maintained that conventions are mainly rules governing the exercise of the Crown 's prerogative powers and privileges of the Houses of Parliament . These conventional rules all have one ultimate object : ‘ Their end is to secure that Parliament , or the Cabinet which is indirectly appointed by Parliament , shall in the long run give effect to the will of the power which in modern England is the true political sovereign of the State — the majority of electors or … the nation.’ Continuity and change within Dicey 's theory I have stressed the view that Dicey 's importance can be traced to his role both in codifying certain ideas and in adapting the analytical method to public law .
Idiom: go hand in hand (used idiomatically: yes)
The middle classes were split between the northern industrial element , which tolerated professionalism and took directorships of Football League and Rugby League clubs , and the bankers , brokers , doctors , lawyers , civil servants , and schoolmasters who formed the bulk of the amateur establishment in southern England . That amateurism was both a code of ethics and a system of status was borne out by the fact that ‘ amateur’ was often used in conjunction with‘gentleman’ . The two went hand in hand until the later nineteenth century . One way of defining the middle classes is to try to understand how they kept themselves morally distinct from the lower orders . An alternative perspective comes from looking at what they did rather than what they said .
Idiom: off the beaten track (used idiomatically: yes)
Do n't phone home from your hotel . Use the public booths in town where it 's much cheaper . Hire a four - wheel drive vehicle — there are lots of off - the - beaten - track spots to discover . If you go during winter ( October to March ) take some warm clothes . You 'll probably have warm temperatures and good sunbathing weather , but it can also be chilly and windy .
Idiom: plain sailing (used idiomatically: yes)
Slovenia 's team will include Bogdan Fink , bronze medallist in the 1990 world junior road race championship at Middlesbrough . Pyatt steps up BOXING : Chris Pyatt will make his middleweight debut in Norwich tonight against American Melvin Wynn with a debt of thanks to Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn , who have moved up to the 12-stone division . Plain sailing YACHTING : New Zealand beat Japan 's Nippon by one minute 43 seconds in the first of the America 's Cup challengers ' semi - finals off San Diego , California . Big entry BOXING : More than 250 fighters from 21 countries will compete in the European Under-19 amateur championships in Edinburgh from April 6–11 . Widnes blow RUGBY LEAGUE : Widnes and former Great Britain half back David Hulme , 27 , is out for the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder in Sunday 's defeat at Featherstone .
Idiom: two heads are better than one (used idiomatically: yes)
For example , if the soft sell chap fails to wheedle his client into buying , his partner can ring him up and say : " My colleague 's at an important meeting , but he asked me to call you about this stock . We 've saved you 10,000 shares . " This dual approach often works , proving that two heads are better than one . Likewise , one 's workmate can take awkward calls , e.g.;"My colleague 's not in today , I 'm afraid . I 'm a senior dealer and I work with him .
Idiom: break even (used idiomatically: yes)
Advertising revenue would certainly help , or would boost profits , but much of it went simply on the paper and production costs of printing the advertisements . The quality papers ran on different lines . The sales revenue from their smaller circulations covered a much lower proportion of costs ; but the greater purchasing power of their readers , some of whom spent ‘ corporate’ money , not just their own personal incomes , enabled the qualities to charge far higher advertising rates and break even at circulation levels completely unrealistic for the populars . The quality — popular distinction was sharply drawn by 1945 . Thereafter it was complicated by the immense success of the Daily Mirror , which had been turned into Britain 's first mass market tabloid in 1935 .
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: no)
He has gone to meet ordinary people . Nobody has told him that he need not have come . Orkney is one of the venues for BT 's video conferencing system , providing face - to - face communication without the pain of travel or risk of journalistic interference . The ordinary people of Hoy could have been a lot closer with a videophone call . John Ruscoe : an ICL consultant who moved to his Orkney telefarm six years ago
Idiom: ride roughshod over (used idiomatically: yes)
In many instances it is in fact the dominant building in a particular area or location . This is especially true in the Republic of Ireland where Roman Catholicism would be the largest religious denomination and where the local chapel would be lovingly maintained by the faithful . It is with sincere people such as these in mind that this leaflet has been written — not to ride roughshod over a sincerely held belief but rather to confirm the absolute necessity of finding Purgatory , but not a Purgatory that is arrived at after death which is the popular view , but rather a Purgatory that is found before death which is the proper view according to God 's guide , the Holy Bible . Cecil Andrews THE PURPOSE OF PURGATORY
Idiom: rock the boat (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It was a decision taken by the Union . I did not stand for the job’ . Cautious by nature , Simpkin was not going to rock the boat more than necessary . The move had come belatedly . In Simpkin Hong Kong has a man of proven international calibre .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: no)
The remaining four hundred you will pay through the bailiff of our town of Shrewsbury within six months from today . We have given our judgment , ' said the prince formally , and sat back in his chair with an authority and finality that no one cared to challenge . There was nothing for Hussey to do but bow before the wind with as good a grace as he might , profess his resolve to do all that was required of him - at whatever penal cost to himself , his martyred countenance implied — reverently kiss the prince 's hand , and withdraw to his plain , melancholy wife and his two fat manors up - river . Julian made her reverence in her turn . Over the extended hand she looked up into the prince 's eyes , and saw there the same candid regard she had seen in his model ; yet the shafts that pierced into this boy 's inmost being were somewhere shuttered close , standing off all communion .
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: yes)
She bent double and stayed that way , and her brown hair hung down , and her little fingertips touched the ground . Great white clouds rolled above us , tumbling over the mountain summit as if eager to find quieter air . Of a sudden , one of the police helicopters shot overhead , startling me with its enormous clatter , as if the thing were a flying tree , streaking out of sight behind the crisp crest of the Jungfrau . I had no time to hide before it was over and gone . I grabbed the girl and pulled .
Idiom: all the rage (used idiomatically: yes)
The 1960s was a decade of great excitement , creativity and energy . It was , until 1968 at least , a time of great optimism . Taboos were being broken , cheap holidays abroad were all the rage , for , as everybody was taught at school , ‘ travelling broadens the mind’ . New religious ideas and moral codes were made accessible by widescale immigration , cultural exchanges and mass communication . The mid-1960s were the watershed of postwar society , and the creativity and anarchism of the period left nothing untouched .
Idiom: take the plunge (used idiomatically: no)
The other Briton , John Steele , is thought to be from the Home Counties . MISSING : Simon TAKING THE PLUNGE With this barmy bungee dive , I thee we d MARK ELLIS
Idiom: in this day and age (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Achievement is n't necessarily measured by competition,’ returned Edward . ‘ Oh , I ca n't agree with you,’ said Mrs Stannard . ‘ I mean , in this day and age you do n't get anywhere by just sitting back , do you ? We 've always felt Caroline 's got it in her if only she 's handled right.’ Mr Stannard was now contemplating Edward with the air of a man who wonders if he is getting his money 's worth .
Idiom: under the table (used idiomatically: no)
He was of an age to be able to wear his hair comfortably short and his chin shaven without eccentricity , probably around fifty . Middle age has its compensations . There were only a few people left in the dining - room by that time , two elderly men earnestly swapping fishing stories over their brandy , a young couple holding hands fondly under the table , and a solitary ancient in a leather - elbowed tweed jacket , reading the evening paper . The newcomer scanned them all , and his glance settled upon Charlotte and her companion . He came threading his way between the tables , and halted beside them .
Idiom: have it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
Their dream is that many business PC users — as opposed to the scientists and engineers who usually buy workstations — will ' trade up ' when they realise just how speedily such machines can crunch numbers . Sadly , that dream may soon be shattered . While PC makers have been battered by price wars , workstation manufacturers have had it easy . Selling mostly proprietary technology to a niche market meant they could charge high prices : on average , gross profit margins in the workstation business have been 15–20 % higher than those in the PC industry . Firms such as Sun Microsystems , which has a dominant one - third share of the market by value ( see chart on page 80 ) , have grown rich .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: no)
Champagne became established as a political unit in the early eleventh century when the house of Vermandois united the counties of Troyes and Meaux . For a brief period in the province 's history , its affairs became entwined in the broader struggles for the monarchy . Between 1019 and 1023 , Champagne fell into the hands of Eudes II , the count of Blois and Chartres , who had a few years earlier annexed Sancerre . The power of Blois - Champagne now threatened the Capetian rule whose royal domain around Paris was encircled . But with the death of Eudes in 1037 , the properties of Champagne were divided amongst his descendants while the strength of Blois naturally declined .
Idiom: pack a punch (used idiomatically: yes)
At 1U high , containing a pure valve preamp and solid state power amp within that petite package , plus the ability to offer a really wide range of tones , the B-1R is exceptional . Pop this in a 2U flight case with an effects unit , and you 're ready to take off in some considerable style … SWELTERWEIGHT Fender Champ 25SE Fender 's new Champ 25SE has the longest reach , boasts the biggest biceps and packs the heftiest punch of any previous incarnation of the model . But how does it perform in the clinches ? Review by Neville Marten .
Idiom: bells and whistles (used idiomatically: yes)
W what we have to do with quality management , is introduce the horses for courses idea . I mentioned earlier the quick , slick jobs . We ca n't put all the bells and whistles , and all the , the checks and all the consultations and design reviews onto a job which gives us a fee income of er two thousand pounds . We , we do have , you do have some small cheap jobs which have to be attended to very efficiently . That 's not to say that these wo n't be quality jobs .
Idiom: pick holes (used idiomatically: yes)
He did n't agree with er h no , he read a part of one of the d declaration of in one of resolutions , that a substantial concessionary fare would be alright . And that 's what you 're getting here so as far as I 'm concerned . I says you 're picking holes , you 're picking holes and I says I 'll tell you what , that declaration of intent is last year 's declaration of intent . I says a new declaration of intent has not yet been printed . I says but you 'll find next year when we approach you with this declaration you 'll find it 's been changed to free passage and where will your argument be then ?
Idiom: give and take (used idiomatically: no)
Indeed they largely shape their evolution and their behaviour , and determine which creatures can live where . The hydrological cycle . Water is a sculptor of landscape ; it gives , and it takes away . Here , the sea erodes the land . But further up the coast , the land that is removed may be re - deposited .
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: yes)
To grant these rights and judicial privileges to corporations ( and other organizations ) is simply to give them additional resources for a judicial battle in which many , particularly the transnationals , are already more than a fair match for national state regulatory agencies . Indeed , it would be unjustified ( and plain silly ) to strengthen corporate power further by granting them judicial privileges originally formulated to protect relatively powerless individuals . If it is agreed that to regulate corporate crime the level of intervention should be organizational ( although individual offenders should be prosecuted in tandem ) and different judicial principles to increase the state 's chances of securing conviction should be instituted , then what ? Ironically , it is just at the organizational level that ideas of deterrence , incapacitation , rehabilitation , and restitution to the community and the offended gain this season 's attractive fashionable glow . First , there is the issue of fines .
Idiom: sign of the times (used idiomatically: yes)
It aims to help participants to find the most effective way of publishing literature with the best visual impact at the lowest possible cost . Claretian publications is a corporate member of WACC . It was established in 1983 to publish books that interpret the signs of the times according to the needs and pastoral demands of the Church . Its new division , Claret Technologies , offers computer software development services as well as training programmes . Claret Technologies , Claretian Publications , Inc , U P Village , P O Box 4 , Quezon City 1101 , Philippines .
Idiom: up to no good (used idiomatically: yes)
Gloucester city centre at night . Like most cities , it has it 's fair share of crime . But now , anyone who 's up to no good may find they 're being watched . Strategically placed video cameras can alert the police to any trouble . The scheme 's still in its early stages , but it 's already proving popular .
Idiom: hot air (used idiomatically: yes)
They are keenest on clothes imprinted with the logos of sports teams of American colleges which have a high academic reputation . Places like Harvard , Yale and Princeton — where brains , in theory at least , beat brawn . Hot air over Germany OBSTRUCTION and protectionism do not stalk only big companies . Small firms can be more vulnerable because trade wars can turn into costly and time - consuming dog - fights — as Don Cameron , a British manufacturer of hot - air balloons , has found .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: yes)
It highlights the plight of the Marshall Islands , a former US trust territory which is now independent . The islands in the archipelago , located in the central Pacific , are on average 250 cm above sea level . The report says that the Marshall Islanders are likely have to flee their homes within 30 years and that the islands may be the first of the world 's low - lying countries ( mostly Pacific islands ) to be inundated as sea levels rise . The report is presently unfinished and unpublished , allegedly because of opposition from the Bush administration , which has been intent on playing down the possible effects of global warming . Independent 1 May
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm not going to let him get to me . Look for the positives . Do n't assume the worst or jump to conclusions . It 's really a shame that she has to act like this . If I start to get mad , I 'll just be banging my head against the wall .
Idiom: nuts and bolts (used idiomatically: no)
Its lumbering hulk drops down over our heads to land a good mile away . It 's travelling low , just to cover itself . We see every nut and bolt and even the faces at the windows . They stare out like helpless dolls . We see it down for luck .
Idiom: with a will (used idiomatically: yes)
In 1812 James Loch took over as Lord Stafford 's agent at Trentham in Staffordshire . He was later to become notorious as the scourge of Sutherland for his role in the highland clearances . Rather nearer to his employer 's family seat were the marshes of the Wealdmoors , just north of Telford and Wellington in Shropshire , which Loch set about draining with a will . Loch 's reputation in Shropshire does not appear to have been so contentious as it was in Scotland , and the landscape he created in the Wealdmoors is now level ploughland of peat interspersed with rectangular plantations of poplar . In the Somerset Levels , the surviving nucleus of wetland commons were tackled between 1770 and 1800 .
Idiom: on the pull (used idiomatically: no)
' I think I 'll go up , Mama , ' she said , pleading a backache which was not feigned . By the time she reached her room , the old remembered pains were coming with great frequency . Tempy took one look at her mistress as she clung to the door handle , her back bent under the pain , and tugged on the bell - pull . She helped Tamar on to the bed and , as she removed her shoes , there was a tap on the door . The maid who came was a local girl .
Idiom: pull strings (used idiomatically: yes)
Male speaker When I was allocated the house people thought I was dead lucky . They thought I knew someone and had been pulling strings , but I had n't Voice over Because many prefabs have now been bulldozed English Heritage wants them listed and protected from redevelopment .