Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: turn the tables (used idiomatically: yes)
In 1981 David Hockney scrawled ‘ This is not my work’ across a drawing purporting to be Hockney 's ‘ Colourful head - dress’of 1963 . According to Mr Jones , the modern forger 's energies are more usually expended on producing counterfeit Rolexes or Lebanese ‘ Johnnie Hawker’ Red Label whisky than on fine art . One artist who managed to turn the tables on this trend was an American painter , J.S.G. Boggs . In October 1986 Mr Boggs 's drawing of a £ 5 note was exhibited at London 's Young Unknowns Gallery . In October 1987 it featured as an exhibit of an altogether different type , in a private criminal prosecution at the Old Bailey .
Idiom: slippery slope (used idiomatically: yes)
Such substantial additions to the diet happen only among the largest specimens , such as Nepenthics rajah of tropical Borneo , whose pitcher could encompass a rugby ball . This grant is not on display , but there is a smaller relative , N. gracilis , described as being ‘ very common along the roadsides in Borneo’ . These pitcher plants demonstrate the pitfall trap : once inside , the slippery slope out is impossible to climb . Other mechanisms for trapping prey have similarly descriptive names : snap , suction , lobster pot , flypaper , loop . The trap theme is designed to focus visitors ' attention on the plants to see how the trap works ( the traps are all modified leaves ) .
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: yes)
Political hotheads were demanding a sell-off ; but no wouldbe purchaser dared tangle with the horrendous staff rostering costs , the problems of management control , the antiquated working conditions , the railway operating hazards that frustrate a crew 's best efforts while landing them with the blame and , not least , the ever-lurking cynicism of the media . Unlocking all these problems needed several different keys . One of them was the mini-buffet , first introduced in 1980 on the Waterloo-Exeter run . Designed as a low-cost replacement for the fleet of ‘ miniature ’ buffet cars , then twenty years old , these trolleys were ( and are ) pre-loaded , operating on board from behind a small fixed counter in an open saloon coach . At any station en route the steward can speedily remove or exchange his trolley , or switch to another train .
Idiom: on the face of it (used idiomatically: yes)
You 've got no way to say , ' I 'm going to make a takeover bid , ' or ' I 'm going to appoint myself,'or whatever . ' At Brighton last week , Mr Kinnock spoke about the need for greater investment in education and training , research and development , science and transport , the need for a beefed - up Department of Trade and Industry . On the face of it , a reflection of Mr Heseltine 's own views . He says of Mr Kinnock 's call : ' I think it is a huge tribute to those of us who have spoken for the Conservative Party on industrial matters , and have had some personal experience in creating a small business and building it up to some size . It is a great tribute that the Labour Party , having done so much to destroy the climate in which industry is successful , is now having to listen to what we 're saying .
Idiom: give and take (used idiomatically: no)
The overtime and opportunities for easing which court duty affords is often not compensation enough for the stress it involves . However , certain situational factors can transform it into enjoyable and legitimate police work . Given the particular disposition of the policeman or woman and the nature of the case , court duty can become an opportunity for them to have a ‘ good fight ’ , and pleasure can be taken in ‘ getting one over the solicitor ’ . This also appears to be an attraction to members of British police forces . Holdaway ( 1983 : 72 ) noted how lawyers were seen by Hilton 's police as a threat because they unmask police practice , and , along with doctors and social workers , they were considered ‘ challengers ’ .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
With modern designs , the correct method is to make the descent with some forward speed and then use this speed to flare like an aircraft , still holding a negative pitch setting ( Fig . 8.3 ) . In this way , the model can be brought to a halt a short distance from the ground with all of the blade energy and pitch range still available to make the landing . Even if you make a complete mess of it , the model only has a few inches to fall . The biggest danger is that of applying too much pitch at this point , causing the model to gain height again while dissipating all the useful blade energy . Another effect of the flare is to wind up the blade speed which helps to give a greater safety margin .
Idiom: come to grief (used idiomatically: yes)
As in his previous adventure , the weed helped save him ; he made his way laboriously from tuft to tuft of the blackened reeds that thrust their way through the mud and ice . Each time he scrambled out , took a short rest , and set out again for the next refuge . His only real chance of coming to grief was that of being struck by a stray round - shot , an unlikely mishap , for they sank as soon as they landed . For obvious reasons there was no pursuit . Finally he hauled himself out on the allied side .
Idiom: bright young thing (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ We 've got five of them operating now . We do functions mostly , college balls and barbecues and company outings and that . I 've got a bright young thing working for me does all the bookings and the publicity , can I give you a brochure?’ She took one out of her handbag . Take a ride into the past , it said , on Flaherty 's Flying Horses .
Idiom: over the hill (used idiomatically: yes)
Of course the paper would , Horsley assured him . One day in April , Horsley , Walsh and Everett spent the morning in Manchester meeting the Co - op insurance company and asking them for a £ 750,000 investment , before rushing straight round to the Council Economic Development Committee to pitch for another £ 500,000 . In the afternoon they sprinted over the hills to the offices of Derbyshire County Council in Matlock . Horsley asked for £ 500,000 . And Walsh piled on the pressure to get promises of advertising business .
Idiom: grind to a halt (used idiomatically: yes)
Tungsten , molybdenum , chromium and manganese , for instance , are used to harden steel . Production of cars . industrial machinery — indeed anything that includes hardened steel — would grind to a halt if trade in chromium stopped . A study in West Germany in 1978 said that , with a 30 per cent shortfall in supplies of the metal over a full year the country 's output of goods and services would fall by a quarter . Platinum is another metal on which the industrialised world relies , mainly for its role as a catalyst in chemical reactions .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
Had Kirkland 's warehouse been taller , the cocooning of four bays may not have been possible . Besides the main screen in the entrance foyer other details such as decorative keystones based upon characters in Greek mythology have been placed between bank of lift on each floor . As an addition to the architecture of modern Glasgow , the Eagle Building breaks little new ground in other respects . It does , however , continue a welcome trend towards well - articulated bays , quality materials and expressed lift shafts . Coloured dark green with tinted glass , the building has the air of downtown Chicago — a final , if possibly accidental , tribute to Alexander Kirkland .
Idiom: turn the tables (used idiomatically: yes)
That will help them cope better in mixed business situations . For instance , women find it very intimidating when they have to attend large business functions , which are still dominated by men . ' The Boadicea Club provides an opportunity for the tables to be turned . Every third month , it holds an evening event where members can bring male guests . The first one , Prue laughs , was terribly funny .
Idiom: give someone the creeps (used idiomatically: yes)
Piphros stopped again , chest swelling and contracting with the effort . Nell looked around . Funny , but even though she knew Delaney , Lawton and Forster were engaging Mahon — she could hear gun fire — the empty shadowy corridors of the place gave her the creeps . It was like wandering in the lair of giant ants — or something . Their presence lingered on ; or at least Mahon 's did .
Idiom: get stuck in (used idiomatically: yes)
Aye . Flies round your head , you know . Oh aye , gets stuck in your hair . Well , he 's not going out . I in a minute
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
This is easy for lecturers to forget in the concern with syllabuses , materials and all the paperwork that curriculum planning involves . The overt , explicit aspect of the curriculum coexists with a less obvious , implicit or tacit side , which has been dubbed the ‘ hidden curriculum’(Snyder 1971 ; Cornbleth 1984 ) and the curriculum plan is always open to a degree of interpretation and even reconstruction by those involved . Secondly , the model implies that curriculum planning is always to some extent a contingent matter , in which there will be few across - the - board answers . Much depends on the who , what and where . In interviews and written responses to questions , the academics contacted in this study referred , in their comments on courses , to factors such as student numbers , student quality , student age , changes in A level syllabuses , staff losses , changes in funding , changes in regulations , the influence of professional bodies , changes in graduate employment and developments in research , as well as purely ‘ internal’ changes in the subject itself .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
The young prison officer simply signed out her personal issue pistol from the Maze armoury and shot herself . Her actions were typical of a growing number of members of the security forces and prison service who take advantage of the availability of firearms to commit suicide . It is a worrying trend which the authorities — despite past assurances — seemed to have failed to get to grips with . Susan Allen 's sister quite rightly asked why she was allowed to draw her gun from the armoury with such apparent ease . Did no one— superiors or colleagues — realise that this young woman was undergoing tremendous emotional problems following the breakdown of her marriage ?
Idiom: ahead of the game (used idiomatically: yes)
The issue is not ‘ growth or no - growth’— no - growth can be environmentally disastrous . Environmental modernisation is an integral part of a socialist strategy for industrial modernisation . We have to ensure that European companies ‘ get ahead of the game’ , investing in clean , safe and environmentally benign processes and products that will meet the demands of consumers and environmental regulators throughout the world . Similarly , environmental requirements must be integrated into science and technology policies . We should choose to promote environmentally aware and responsible science — as well as to prioritise investment in environmental science itself .
Idiom: on the wagon (used idiomatically: no)
Just a little bit . Just a little bit . And then other countries started to get on the band - wagon and erm , find their own tunes . Now the the tunes and the words vary enormously , and we shall have a chance to hear some of the tunes , certainly . Sometimes the words are prayers .
Idiom: take a back seat (used idiomatically: yes)
Rozencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Hamlet , one of Shakespeare 's best known tragedies , is transformed into slapstick comedy in this film version of Tom Stoppard 's popular play . Turning the original classic topsy - turvy , Stoppard makes Hamlet himself take a back seat and elevates two minor characters to star status . VIDEO Cadillac Man
Idiom: heart and soul (used idiomatically: no)
The groups of early believers were filled with zeal and faith . The Appearances of the Lord turned their hearts , they saw everything through the eyes of their cherished experience of love revealed in Christ Jesus . The readings tell us that the first communities of Christians were united heart and soul in the Lord . Third Sunday of Easter ( April 25th ) It was impossible to hold back the enthusiasm of the church in its infancy .
Idiom: come to a head (used idiomatically: yes)
But educational efficiency had already been impaired . The Derbyshire Times noted that defiant parents were voting with their feet by keeping children away from school . Towards the end of April matters came to a head when parents were threatened with prosecution . They remained firm ; if anything their opposition had hardened , particularly against the Education Committee who they saw as pushing them around . According to one parent :
Idiom: swings and roundabouts (used idiomatically: no)
Those are the places where you will find most of the lost money . If you do your searches during the evening when the crowds have departed you will be able to sweep the head of your detector over the very spots where people dropped their cash . In recreation grounds the patches of well - worn grass close to the swings and roundabouts will hold the most money . However , your observations will show that while kids play on these spots their parents ( who have more coins to lose ) usually sit some distance away . On playing fields , the perimeters of football and other pitches will hold plenty of money , but observe how much thicker the supporters gather around goal - mouths .
Idiom: if the cap fits, wear it (used idiomatically: no)
When Stoker approached him with a play intended for his master , Irving , taking no thought of the devotion shown by his factotum , reacted along a scale from dismissiveness to contempt . Whereupon Stoker , gifted with Dublin 's malice , wrote instead a novel — about a bloodsucking , ennobled gentleman whose business was carried on at night , in or around grand dramatic buildings . If the cap fitted Irving , presumably he could wear it . Slains may be approached in two ways : comfortably by means of a long quiet climbing lane from the trees on the edge of Cruden , or more adventurously , once alighted from the bus on the upper road , between stone walls , along that wide lane of sticky brown clay , perilously full of holes . As I walked by , someone 's car stuck there and would not move , and a neighbouring farmer , irritably habituated to such incident , hauled it to the road with his tractor .
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
' Do n't start that stupid yelling . Here . ' And he took the medals out of his pocket and gave them to him . Lee did n't take them but he closed his mouth and there was no sound . He was quiet .
Idiom: spit it out (used idiomatically: no)
The test was done in sitting and supine postures . For this test , the subjects were divided into two groups . The first group consisted of the first 15 consecurive patients and 11 consecutive volunteers who were asked not to swallow any saliva ( they were asked to spit it out ) . In the second group ( the next 23 patients and 23 volunteers ) , the subjects were allowed to swallow saliva at 30 second intervals . The acid clearance test failed to discriminate between patients and volunteers in the first group as it was grossly prolonged in most of the subjects ( both patients and volunteers ) .
Idiom: basket case (used idiomatically: yes)
Leblois said his division would continue to benefit from the recovery of the US economy and its performance was a leading indicator for the group as a whole . Optimistic assessments aside , the fact is that Bull 's role as a hardware manufacturer continues to weigh financially on its potentially more profitable ventures . In systems integration , for example , Gartner Group rates Bull fourth in Europe and sixth in the world , which is a fact that continually gets lost amid all of Bull 's other bad news — and the French authorities seem to be oblivious to how badly the regular injections of state cash to prop Bull up play in the outside world , causing the company to be regarded as a corporate basket case that would no longer exist if it were subjected to the normal commercial disciplines faced by all its foreign competitors . DATA CONNECTION OFFERS ITS OWN FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVANCED PEER - TO - PEER NETWORKING Router manufacturers debating whether they should license IBM Corp 's Advanced Peer to Peer Networking code or go with the Cisco Systems Inc - inspired Advanced Peer - to - Peer Internetworking , have a third choice .
Idiom: show someone the door (used idiomatically: yes)
And Larder , who was Goulding 's mentor on the 1990 tour to New Zealand , warns that he must control the wild instincts which keep getting him into hot water . A four - match suspension , imposed for a high tackle on Wigan 's Shaun Edwards , cost the 21-year - old his place on Great Britain 's summer tour Down Under . More controversy followed when Leeds showed him the door following an incident at a North Wales training camp . And he was carpeted again this week for an incident on his Widnes debut against Castleford on the opening day of the season . He was hauled before the disciplinary committee after a video showed him clashing with opposition scrum - half Mike Ford during a brawl .
Idiom: rule of thumb (used idiomatically: yes)
But she did not know where the young men slept , either . There was a tin tea - caddy decorated with neo - Chinese , kimono'd figures in a garden , on a shelf beside the stove . She measured tea into the Whitsun treat pot , one , two , three , and half - filled it , judging the proportions by rule of thumb . Then there were footsteps on the stairs . She stood quite still , with the tea - pot lid in her hand , fragrant steam rising in her face .
Idiom: down and out (used idiomatically: yes)
He had opted for the cynical , guarded approach , and now he could see that for all the safety it had brought him —here he was , in his second year , still solvent , heart intact , unmugged and even succeeding in his studies , despite all his mother 's fears —every defence had its price , and he had paid in a separating distance , incomprehension . Perhaps the young black man was not mad ; people did talk to themselves . Perhaps the old man with the torn shoe was not some desperate down - and - out with fists full of stolen mushrooms ; maybe he was just an ordinary person whose shoes had split that lunchtime , while shopping . He looked at the traffic roaring by , and over it through railings at the leafy greenness of Gray 's Inn , edging into view on his right . He would remember this day , this walk .
Idiom: hit the headlines (used idiomatically: yes)
The trouble is that taken overall the drop in academic competence has not been dramatic . It is simply another instance of ‘ graceful degradation’ . ‘ It does not hit the headlines ; it does not readily rise to the top of any politician 's list of immediate concerns,’ says Sir Eric . ‘ Yet in the long run — and we have already had a pretty long run — the results are potentially devastating.’ Malcolm Brown is a freelance writer
Idiom: marching orders (used idiomatically: yes)
The aristocracy travelled much for non - utilitarian purposes , but in ways which have nothing in common with modern tourism . Noble families moved from town house to country house and back again at regular seasons , with a train of servants and baggage vehicles like a small army . ( Indeed , the father of Prince Kropotkin issued his wife and serfs proper marching orders in military fashion . ) They might establish themselves in some suitable centre of social life for a while , as that Latin - American family did which the Paris Guide of 1867 records as arriving with eighteen wagons of baggage . The traditional Grand Tour of the young nobleman had not yet even the Grand Hotel in common with the tourism of the capitalist era , partly because this institution was only now developing — initially as often as not in connection with a railway — partly because noblemen hardly deigned to stop at inns .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
If you are leaving your caravan at night , leave a light on . You can buy an inexpensive ' night light ' which is either electronically triggered to come on as darkness falls or is battery - operated with a timer switch . And just as you would keep a watch on your neighbour 's house if they were away , you should do the same for unoccupied caravans on the site and report anything suspicious immediately . BOATS A boat can be a target for a sneak thief on the look - out for an easy opportunity .
Idiom: off the record (used idiomatically: yes)
TOM CLARKE , the shadow Scottish secretary , has lost support among his fellow MPs after controversies stirred up by his recent remarks about water privatisation and the Scottish financial industry . While an overwhelming number of Scottish Labour MPs contacted by The Scotsman this week underlined their support for Mr Clarke , some of his original supporters indicated they would not support him in the shadow cabinet elections later this year . Many back - bench MPs , angered at the recent press coverage of Mr Clarke , strongly backed him and urged their colleagues to end their damaging off - the - record attacks . The MP for Aberdeen North , Bob Hughes , commented : ' I gather some people are sniping away off - the - record . I think it is appalling , quite atrocious — some people seem to have a death wish . '
Idiom: in the final analysis (used idiomatically: yes)
Confronted with such a situation , with no sure indication as to how , if at all , a satisfactory clarification of particular identity might be found , we might be tempted to think that the best course to follow is to try and see if we can make do without relying on this awkward and intractable concept . Why , it might be asked , is the concept of particular - identity , as distinct from purely species - identity , at all necessary for a complete description of the world ? Might it not be possible to interpret all references to ontological existents along Platonist lines in terms of references to species of one kind or another , and the characteristics of species ; thereby providing a proof that the basic ontological existents are , in fact , species , and that the " problem of individuality " , in the final analysis , reduces to the problem of species ( or quite generally : qualitative ) identity ? In order to see why this assumption is untenable , it is sufficient to consider what is involved in making identifying references to species . In using the phrase " the same A " in relation to a species I am already implicitly acknowledging the distinction between the species in question and its exemplifying instances .
Idiom: on the nose (used idiomatically: no)
Go on , have one , kipper your lungs and keep your brain intact . Is n't life bedizened with jaunty contradictions ? Just when you think you 've got it straight , along comes the Fool with his pig 's bladder and whops you on the nose . By the way , I 'm no idiot . I could tell Gillian and Stuart were n't thrilled to see me at the airport .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
The British businessman ’s body was allegedly cremated before any autopsy was conducted . None of the lurid tales about Bo ’s wife have been proven . And the reasons for her husband ’s political disgrace remain murky , to say the least . Things always tend to get interesting in China before a National ~ People ’s Congress , where the Party ’s next leaders are anointed . Leadership change in most democracies is a relatively transparent process ; it follows national elections .