Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: by dint of (used idiomatically: yes)
Revenues rose to $ 91 m . for 1988 ( Business Week figures ) , with 181 consultants handling 2000 searches . KORN / FERRY If Russell Reynolds ' position in world headhunting has become assured by its reputation for quality and its elite image , Korn / Ferry 's premier standing is maintained by dint of sheer hard work , aggressive marketing and the building of a large volume of business . Korn / Ferry perhaps appeals more to aggressive , fast - growth conglomerates than to old - fashioned , traditional companies . It has , overall , captured less big - name , big - salary work than Russell Reynolds , but it has become well known for the efficient and speedy handling of a wide range of assignments within its pioneering structure of speciality divisions .
Idiom: bite someone's head off (used idiomatically: yes)
Well I was going to , I was just gon na say , I did n't know exactly , yeah I did n't know exactly what to say but I felt really silly saying it 's visiting times at the moment , or I 'm allowed to see him now , I do n't know I Yeah . Yeah well then you do n't know whether he 's gon na bite your head off , mm . I suddenly wondered if I was allowed Yeah
Idiom: touch wood (used idiomatically: yes)
If that seems too simple , then let me put what I believe to be a far more cogent argument , By bringing ‘ God’ into this , are we not merely shifting something off ourselves ? Are we not ceasing to be in charge ? My experience has been that for many people there is not all that difference between bringing ‘ God’ in and touching wood . To me there is not . But then as I said before , I do n't have faith .
Idiom: duke it out (used idiomatically: yes)
He gets his shirt off ( decorating his NY loft ) . He does a little Dirty Dancing with Demi Moore in the absurd phallic pottery scene . He even gets to duke it out with the bad guy — hard to do when you 're a disembodied ghost , conventionally restricted to shifting ornaments and the like , but under pressure form Patrick 's agents , the filmmakers find a way . The ghost plot — Swayze gets killed , and before he can go off to heaven he has to save his girlfriend Demi Moore from the bad guys — is really just a gimmick , there to dress up the standard Swayze package with a few special effects and an impossibly sentimental ending . The afterlife becomes an alternative heroic arena to the smalltown roadhouse , where Swayze proves himself and still gets the girl , even though he 's dead .
Idiom: seen better days (used idiomatically: yes)
A happy smile had quickly to be adjusted to a more serious expression as he turned to Charity . ‘ Well then , if you can promise it 'll be alright at Mona 's , let 's toddle along there.’ Within the shortest space of time , they were walking into the lounge of an hotel that had seen better days but was still surprisingly well patronised ; by a variety of habitués , mostly male , and all , whether uniformed or civilian , contriving to give the place an air of distinction . If the atmosphere was discreet , the welcome accorded Charity and Charles by the lady of advanced age with the assurance of a flawed duchess , was less so . ‘ Come in my children .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: no)
Father had been a champion cyclist in his youth in Wales and saw that we were all given good bicycles when we reached years of discretion . He was immensely strong and could ride up almost any hill — he also had scant respect for " rests " so that you needed a vigorous constitution to enjoy it . But his immense enthusiasm carried us all along . I remember two very special expeditions to the top of the Heath — not very far from our house which stood at almost the height of the cross on St Paul 's Cathedral , a fact that was emblazoned on the house above us in the East Heath Road . The first was to see Halley 's comet , and the second the arrival of was it the " first " aeroplane arriving at Hendon ?
Idiom: at cross purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
The only thing bothering the Captain at this stage was the sort of Substitute Prosecutor he would get . These cases were lengthy and delicate . It was n't just that the parents had to be kept under control despite the fact that they and the police were in many respects working at cross purposes , it was the danger of some third party interfering … a go - between with power and influence was what the Captain dreaded most … ‘ A woollen sweater , blue with red and darker blue pattern across the shoulders . One pair of blue jeans , faded , American label , in the pockets of which were found two cinema tickets , one wallet , brown leather with a red painted design , containing … ’
Idiom: against the grain (used idiomatically: yes)
The watches cover everything from your chunky TAG divers look to the trademark quel joli Chipie style featuring Scotty dogs . Prices from £ 50–£140 . Going against the grain of long split skirts and leather jeans , some of the most striking pieces of womenswear for winter come from Issey Miyake . Pleats create a weird - looking smock effect , appealing to the adventurous with a touch of fashion victim in them . In tones of blue , green , brown and black from Issey Miyake , Browns and Harvey Nichols in London
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: no)
The show includes a traditional farmhouse cheese from Gospel Green , near Haslemere . These are just a few examples of the types of products that can be found within the leading farm shops in Surrey who will also be exhibiting , including Secretts from Milford . The fair opens at 11 a.m. on both days and runs until 5 p.m . Mortgage plan success WIMPEY Homes ' redundancy protection plan is proving a big incentive to potential purchasers with more and more customers buying because of this policy .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
' Not unless you put the other one on the overhead wire , ' said the conductor . ' C'moan or get aff ? If it 's no oan then it 's aff ! ' he added sagely , ringing the bell . The girls went inside and the tram for Anderston thundered down the road into the 20th century . GOAL ! 1898 A.D.
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: yes)
Two stadium - sized managerial talents holding half - time team talks while the rest of the soccer world has not even kicked off yet . If the Empire State Building of English football , the FA Premier League , can not recognise Mike 's ability in management , then what hope has my talent , three blocks away on the taxi rank , where the Multivite / Singletons Division Three languishes . Unlike Mike , however , I shall not turn my back on the game I love . I am ready and willing to take anything football can throw at me . As Brian Clough told me when I met him on the top of the Little Elm bus earlier this season — we were both going to check out Little Elm Intaflora 's young Dutch forward , Kylie Van Der Graaf —‘Sadly , young man , football is like a football.’
Idiom: wipe the slate clean (used idiomatically: yes)
But it was generally thought that the disposal of a children 's hearing would not be treated as a conviction . A child may appear before a hearing for reasons other than offences ; and he will have a disposal tailored to his needs for care rather than to the seriousness of the offence ; and a child may not only be put under a supervision requirement for reasons other than an offence , but he may remain under such a requirement for a period of years for reasons completely unconnected with breaches of the criminal law . In short , it was thought by many that the nature of the children 's hearing system would make it unnecessary to enact rules for ‘ wiping the slate clean’ . However , insofar as it purports to strengthen that belief , the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act is to be welcomed . The sad aspect of the Act is that people connected with the children 's hearing system — people certainly not lacking in intelligence or application — have been unable to unravel the mysteries of the statute .
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
Clearly , whatever system we have , councils will want to squeeze as much money out of payers as they can and they will justify this in the same tired way : preservation of jobs and services . So , does it matter what the charge is called and who holds power at Westminster ? The public will have to foot a large bill come what may . R K Bradley , . Better off
Idiom: on ice (used idiomatically: no)
Just a few years ago these beautiful creatures faced being clubbed to death by hunters , but thanks to pressure from wildlife organisations , they have been spared . Now tourists can walk among the seal herd and cuddle and feed the wide-eyed charmers . In early March , thousands of Harp seal mothers gather on the North Canadian ice-fields to give birth . For the next three weeks or so they wean their babies on the frozen sea of the Gulf of St Lawrence . Visitors stay on the French-speaking Magdallen Islands in excellent hotel accommodation and take helicopter trips out to the Gulf to see the seals .
Idiom: play ball (used idiomatically: no)
" Ability " . Juggling balls . Playing ball . Playing club . Ring game .
Idiom: come to think of it (used idiomatically: yes)
I was a bit disappointing to myself . I tried to explain earlier about not being able to relax with people I liked , not being able to get them to see what virtues I had . Now I come to think of it , most of my life was like that . I could n't get other people to see the point of me . But then Gillian came along , and everything starts here .
Idiom: see the elephant (used idiomatically: yes)
' She had a great big elephant … that 's one of those muckle beasts with two tails from Africa ! ' Andra nodded , his mouth open . ' See this elephant ? ' Jamie continued … ' She had one made out of ice … with ROOMS in it to keep prisoners in .
Idiom: down the road (used idiomatically: yes)
A middle aged man and woman are riding bikes down a road beside the water
Idiom: born and bred (used idiomatically: yes)
Local and national sports bodies have also objected on the grounds that the scheme would take away open space that could be used as a public sports field for a town which the National Playing Fields Association says has a shortage of open space . 100 not out : York - born and bred Charlotte Bailey , who lives off Burton Stone Lane , has celebrated her 100th birthday surrounded by relatives . Lights nearer : A £ 15,000 appeal to erect floodlights at Pickering Town FC 's ground is now just £ 2,000 short of its target .
Idiom: put paid to (used idiomatically: yes)
The Koblenz ~ Regional ~ Court ordered the company to pay 1~million marks in fines and put paid to one of the biggest wine - lacing trials in Germany .
Idiom: sour grapes (used idiomatically: yes)
On the platform , ordained adoration . Spontaneous adoration . Sour grapes . And a lurch to the right . Peter Lilley
Idiom: tit for tat (used idiomatically: yes)
Thomas got up , paced . ' So you have come to me to make a double betrayal of it . Tit for tat . Your father with the Princesse . You with me . '
Idiom: all and sundry (used idiomatically: yes)
Ocean , The Hit Squad Whereas Predator was flawed by poor programming , Red Heat was abysmal all the way from the design board . The idea behind it is that Arnie has to move along an ever - scrolling backdrop , punching and headbutting all and sundry while ducking underneath projectiles hurled by his assailants . However , to save memory the programmers have cut off everyone 's legs , leaving sprites that only Basil Brush could identify with . For me this was the final nail in the coffin of a terminally dull product .
Idiom: on the fly (used idiomatically: yes)
Tackle can also be hired . Returns in recent weeks have been impressive and will improve as the weather warms . Even now trout are being taken from the upper layers of the water and on more than one evening fish have surprisingly been caught on dry flies . Two rainbows of over 3 lb were taken last Saturday ; one of 3 lb 12 oz falling to a 13-year - old boy . Advance bookings can be made on Culford 728612 .
Idiom: my bad (used idiomatically: no)
The I of these poems is placed in a deliberately false and weak position . It can only appeal to be welcomed to the Friend 's breast ( 110 ) , to seek ‘ pity’ for its harmful deeds ( 111 ) . But worse still , just as the Poet and the Mistress connived at each other 's deception in 138 , just as the Poet connived at the Friend 's deception in 93 , so in 112 the Poet is inviting the Friend to complete the circle : ‘ For what care I who calls me well or ill , /So you o'er - green my bad , my good allow?’ The metaphor is unusual , drawing attention to the invitation to whitewash , cover up , turn a blind eye to evil . It is varied , later in the sonnet , with the traditional image of the adder , which is believed to be able to block its hearing ( ‘ my adder 's sense / To critic and to flatterer stoppéd are’ ) , but does so in order not to be deflected by charm or blandishments from destroying its prey .
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: yes)
As a reflection of the extremely healthy North - East music scene , Bandcall will return on Wednesday with reviews of the new 1–2–1 Nation tape plus Jade and Upside Down , and more … SACRISTON entertainer Brenda Collins is often billed as Little Miss Dynamite for her role as singer - comediennne , a description which could also apply to her everyday life . She is a human whirlwind , especially at home in Sacriston where under her own name of Brenda Woods she combines her role as mother - of - two with being chairman of the governors of two schools in the village , organising charity events and entertaining in the clubs . Pint - sized Brenda appears with husband John as the Krack and Dorn duo , does a children 's magic act , and is fast becoming one of the stars of the after - dinner speaking circuit . She was honoured by Durham Concert Secretaries at the 1991 awards show , taking the title of Comedy Act of the Year .
Idiom: down the drain (used idiomatically: no)
After four days , Rachaela cleaned the flat . She dusted behind the books , dusted the books , scoured the cooker and did out the kitchen cupboards . She emptied the Lucozade , Pepsi and Sprite down the drain . When she reached Ruth 's area , she moved the screen out into the room and took off the shawls , flowers and bells . She stripped the bed and put Ruth 's treasures , carefully wrapping the glass , her books and the bear into two cardboard boxes from the supermarket , and stowed them in the bottom of the wardrobe .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
This sceptical argument is crucial . It shows that it is no use simply announcing that you can conceive of another 's pain on the grounds that you can suppose that what he has is the same as what you have . This easy remark ( see ( b ) above ) begs the question against the relevant argument . Nor is it any use to insist that you can conceive of what it is like for a knee which is not yours to be hurting . A pain conceived of as being in another body is not yet conceived of as hurting another person .
Idiom: save face (used idiomatically: yes)
Or does it leave work relationships unspecified ( Christianity ) ? These very basic differences become manifest in groups . For example , a belief in strength through superiority means that in Japanese groups ‘ saving face’ is a major consideration in negotiations , whereas in east coast American groups , where everyone , at least in theory , has the same opportunity , this is less an issue and failure is rationalized ( ‘ So we blew it’ ) . In South East Asian or Middle Eastern groups the concept of leaderless groups is absurd ( if for different reasons ) but this is not so in collective cultures ( Norway , Finland , Denmark ) where a leader can be seen as a facilitator not as the final word . Hence , loosely structured group meetings may be sensible in Copenhagen but would be inappropriate in Dubai or Singapore .
Idiom: apples and oranges (used idiomatically: yes)
However , here is the vital F - Plan rule : If you are allowing yourself a daily ration of alcohol , allow these calories in addition to a minimum calories ' worth of food and milk from the F - Plan menus . First , allow loo calories from the half pint of skimmed milk , and another loo calories for your daily apple and orange . Then make up a minimum of 650 calories ( more , if you are allowing yourself between 1,000 and 1,500 a day ) from Fibre - Filler ( see page 65 ) and the meals on the F - Plan menus . After that you can add the appropriate number of calories from alcohol .
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
If we accept the possibility — and sometimes , perhaps , the fact — within ourselves we are forearmed against unpleasant possibilities and if we can face it squarely we are likely to work more effectively with any child in question . However , with social feeling about child sexuality running high as it does at present , we may be well advised to keep quiet about it in public ; while , if we ourselves feel guilt as to our own emotions in any such case , a knowledgeable and understanding senior or colleague may be able to help us — otherwise we would be well - advised to hand the case on to someone else . It goes without saying , one hopes , that one never , never gives way to one 's own inclinations if they happen to run this way . Nor do I think we are , as a rule , justified as we may be with adults in using a child 's attraction to the worker to advance casework . In the instance of the precociously mature and intelligent child , this may be possible .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
MPs described the payment as ‘ monstrous’ , ‘ farcical’ and ‘ disgraceful’ , but the appointment showed an official acceptance of headhunting as the only practical solution to recruiting at such a high level , and an acknowledgement that top - quality executive talent was worth paying for . The fees charged by the search firm were arguably minimal in this context . As far as Norman was concerned , the British Steel job marked ‘ the first coming of age’ of executive search in Britain . Assignments such as this — and the recruitment of Colin Marshall from Avis to the newly - privatised British Airways for Lord King by Miles Broadbent — made an important contribution to Russell Reynolds ' global earnings , and especially to the growing personal wealth of Reynolds himself , still holding a 60 % stake in the equity . This drove Norman to consider putting the reputation and earning power which he had developed for the company to his own use , and in 1982 he formed Norman Resources Limited .
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
From 2002 - 2007 , trillions of dollars were loaned for sub - prime and prime mortgages , autos , credit ~ cards , commercial real estate , private equity , and more , on the assumption by ( most ) borrowers and lenders that strong global growth , rising home prices and cheap , readily available short - term credit would continue for the foreseeable future . Once the music stopped , the assets plunged in value . The complexity of securitized pools of loans that were sold worldwide – bilaterally over the counter – as pieces of various tranches , meant that nobody was certain about who owned what or what it was worth . This difficulty in valuing the now so - called toxic assets remains at the core of today ’s credit difficulties . The immense response by central banks and finance ministries has eased the strain .
Idiom: marching orders (used idiomatically: yes)
It would be possible to operate a youth community bus if a steering committee and funds could be raised . I ask that volunteers should contact me and the steering committee should be non - political . SOLDIERS got their marching orders for 24 hours at the weekend to boost funds for a special care baby unit . The 32 members of Arras troop at the Royal Armoured Corps Training Regiment carried out drill on the parade square at Cambrai Barracks , Catterick Garrison , from 6 pm on Saturday until 6 pm last night . They are expected to raise hundreds of pounds in sponsorship for the special care baby unit at the Friarage Hospital , Northallerton .
Idiom: tempt fate (used idiomatically: yes)
When so - called loyalists target members of the British prison service , the attitude across the water may well be : what is their loyalty worth ? The IRA has always known better than to attack the security forces of the Republic , since it would instantly lose whatever support it has and could provoke the Irish government to order internment , as it did in the distant past . By their recent actions , loyalist paramilitaries are tempting the same fate — with far more damaging long - term political effects . Unionist MPs have been quick to condemn those who would try to express their loyalty by attacks on defenceless fellow - citizens , but Mr John Taylor must be more careful with his language . Even ' in a perverse way ' there is no sense in which loyalist violence can ever be ' helpful ' , in letting Catholics know the fear Protestants have felt and perhaps increasing pressure for a political settlement .
Idiom: give up the ghost (used idiomatically: yes)
So in the end he took to pointing at the last and most precious of " the possessions " … tiger - skins , bookcases full of elevating and instructional volumes , embroidered samplers , teasets of bone china , humidors and candlesticks , mounted elephants ' feet , and rowing - oars with names of college eights inscribed in gilt paint ; the ladies were instructed to improvise sandbags out of linen sheets and pillowslips and fine lace tablecloths . In this last period of devastation even the gorse bruiser and the rest of the Collector 's inventions met their doom . So impassive and peculiar had the Collector become , so obviously on the verge , everyone thought so ( you would have thought so yourself if you had seen him at this time ) , of giving up the ghost , that his face was scrutinized more closely than ever for any trace of remorse as the gorse bruiser was carried out . But by not so much as a flicker of an eyebrow did he betray his emotions . In the matter of these smaller " possessions " , you might have thought that he would have let you get away with the things which you could not possibly do without , a set of fish - knives , for example , which had been a wedding present , or a"sketch of the Himalayas as seen from Darjeeling .
Idiom: on the ropes (used idiomatically: yes)
By 1987 , the company had a warehouse in Abingdon employing 157 people and a Henley office with another thirty staff . Their customers included Toys R Us , Argos and Woolworths . But behind the apparent success , the company was on the ropes . Brian George , the managing director , decided fraud was the only way out . His financial controller Roger Richardson came up with a system of false accounting , which enabled them to borrow millions of pounds over a three year period and keep the company going .
Idiom: at sea (used idiomatically: yes)
It really looks beautiful today — all blue and new and fresh . These white seagulls Hash past , like flashing bits of light , and the traffic in the background rumbling away . It 's like being at the sea , early in the morning with the seagulls and the sea pounding away and the fresh air . The old bloke 's still chucking bread down . It 's nice that he does that — you know , comes and feeds the birds like that .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
Causation thus also plays a part . Second , there is what some philosophers call the red - light rule . It may not be necessary for all cars always to stop at a red light at a crossroads , but to have any other rule , such as 'stop when reasonable to do so ' , or ' stop unless the road is clear ' , invites chaos . Thus , it is better to have a clear , if crude , rule and invite leniency in the case of justifiable transgression , such as passing through a red light in an emergency . Equally , a crude general rule condemning all acts of killing is preferable to any other possible rule .