Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: at sea (used idiomatically: yes)
Harry Pascoe had inherited his ketch from his grandfather , Tristram Pascoe , and at twenty - four he was already one of the leading lights among the fishermen of Polruan . He was tall and broad and muscular ; he had a large , square face , a thickly built nose and lips that allowed a glimpse of white teeth when he smiled . His eyes were an astounding blue and his complexion was ruddy from a life spent mostly at sea . Of his voice , it was said that he could make himself heard from the harbour mouth to his Aunt Bridget 's kitchen in a full - blown gale ; but for all his thunder and lightning , his thigh - slapping guffaws and crude sense of humour , there was in Harry a man who needed the love of a woman , a man who , having been brought up by an uncle with strictly puritan views , longed for the approval and admiration of his elders . This gentler self had been covered by a hard , outer shell .
Idiom: call someone's bluff (used idiomatically: yes)
Bethany Megan Robinson , . Calling bluff IT IS time to call Labour 's poll tax bluff . They advocate returning to the rates . In 1988/89 my wife and I ( both pensioners ) paid £ 715 in rates .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
No , occasionally I 'll do something like that mind you . There 's plenty of room , yeah there 's plenty of room for him to get passed in . Yeah I was annoyed , up at Christine 's school the other day , I was waiting for Anita , and there 's driveways all along that road Mm , mm . so there 's stops where you can park on those
Idiom: game on (used idiomatically: no)
The range and richness of sport as a component of popular culture has been overlooked by those who take a ‘ diffusionist’ view , concentrating on how middle - class games and values were passed on to industrial workers via muscular Christians and social reformers . Two major points emerged in our analysis of popular participation . First , there was no effective imposition of middle - class games on urban workers in the name of ‘ social control’ or ‘ rational recreation’ ; second , a distinct and introverted tradition of sport grew up combining old - established popular traditions within a more systematic national framework . While there was no shortage of articulate individuals with the intention of improving the lower orders through their play , the impact of churches , youth movements , and employers was largely restricted to the provision of facilities and routine organization . Ideologically they did not get very far .
Idiom: once in a blue moon (used idiomatically: yes)
And you 're forty something and straight and divorced and celibate and a mother and I could n't have found a more complicated situation to fall in love with . And I bet no man has ever appreciated the lava flow of sensuality so near your ice - perfect surface . Jay'd had enough men to know they treat a woman 's body with anything from contempt and rage to inept uncertainty and fear ; once in a blue moon only , with real fascination and tenderness . But there 's never the sure intuition that lies between women , welds them together . Like home , like the home you dream of , where people accept you and love you just the way you are .
Idiom: straight from the horse's mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Rob … I 've decided to leave Woodline . You might as well hear it straight from the horse 's mouth.’ Rob whistled . ‘ Luke 's not going to like that one bit,’ he said slowly , his blue eyes puzzled .
Idiom: life and limb (used idiomatically: yes)
To disarm reluctant government ministers , the transnationals pointed out that there were other vast reserves in South America , Mexico , and Alaska , and that rather than find themselves restricted with petty regulations they would prefer to spend vast amounts on exploratory research elsewhere . British governments had no strength to resist these arguments , and as a consequence the North Sea Oil installations , working literally at break - neck speed unfettered by safety regulations comparable to those operating on - shore , had a fatality rate eleven times greater than the construction industry , nine times higher than mining , and six times greater than quarrying . Carson concludes , after carefully researching the individual incidents which constituted this high rate of fatality ( as well as those involving serious injuries ) that the majority could have been avoided if the ‘ political economy of speed’ had not been allowed to supersede the ‘ political economy of employees lives and limbs’ . With the internationalization of capital and the concentration of power in the hands of fewer and fewer transnational corporations , national law violation may well become old fashioned . These giant corporations may simply opt for law evasion .
Idiom: as good as new (used idiomatically: yes)
Section 1 of TDA 1968 is a powerful deterrent and can apply to an honest trader who misdescribes his goods . In R v Ford Motor Company [ 1974]1 WLR 1200 , the Court of Appeal had to determine whether the trade description " new " was a false one where a car , damaged in the care of forwarding agents , was repaired and supplied by the dealer as a " new car " . The court held that a new car which is damaged and then repaired so as to be " as good as new " can still be regarded as " new " . Much depends upon the type of damage and the quality of the repairs so that , for example , where an engine is damaged , a car may be restored to newness through a new engine being installed . It should be noted that the criterion " new " applies not just to the condition of the car but also with regard to whether the car has been registered .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
Doormen plan : Middlesbrough has become the first local authority in Cleveland to approve a proposed licensing scheme for doormen . If Stockton , Langbaurgh and Hartlepool follow suit , the need to train and register bouncers could be incorporated in public entertainments licences by April next year . Cleveland Police are co - ordinating the scheme . AIDS support : Profits made from condom machines in Middlesbrough 's public lavatories are to be paid to Cleveland AIDS Support .
Idiom: kick the habit (used idiomatically: yes)
AN ESSEX health promotion unit has lined up several schemes to encourage smokers to take their final puff on national No Smoking Day on March 10 . Essex Rivers Healthcare health promotion unit will be opening its doors on the day and will welcome smokers wanting advice on how to give up the habit . Former chest physician Dr Howard Williams and Jayne Devonald , the ‘ smoking’ health promotion adviser , will be on hand from 11 am to 3 pm at the Healthy Colchester Information Shop in Trinity Street to give help to anyone wanting to kick the habit . For people in the Halstead area Dr John Markham , of The Surgery , Kings Road , Halstead , will be running a display throughout the week . He hopes to organise a stop smoking group soon .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: yes)
They would have borne fruit even if mankind had been spared this new misfortune .
Idiom: brass neck (used idiomatically: yes)
The same chap also revealed that he was given the nickname Colonel because he was so self - important.’ Amiss exploded with laughter . ‘ I feel a grudging respect for his brass neck,’ he said . ‘ It takes real guts to carry off such a successful fraud . Go on .
Idiom: blow a fuse (used idiomatically: yes)
Wendy and Mary take a long large selections of books and yarns each month , give talks and demonstrations from time to time and are a mine of information on all things knitting — they do the same for other knitting clubs in the area . Wendy and her husband also stage one of the friendliest , most enjoyable knitting exhibitions each year with a Fashion Show , talks and demonstrations . Wendy , very kindly , checked Billy 's carriage on her own machine when it was giving trouble and when , rather embarrassingly , it blew a fuse on Wendy 's console , she did n't even charge Billy for the replacement and repairs . A recent seminar with Susanna Lewis was , says Mrs Bond , brilliant . Jacquard designs
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: no)
One either already holds a long trump suit and bids on that basis or one depends on good side - suit cards .
Idiom: take a bath (used idiomatically: yes)
Before she finished here and made her way to the sitting room , there were certain things she must say to Cissie , and she must say them without alarming the girl , yet , at the same time , make her aware that she was no longer a child , that she already had the mark of a woman on her . Beth called herself all kinds of a fool , for she herself had not realised how quickly the girl was growing up . From now on , when Cissie was taking her bath , that door would be locked , just as it was when Beth herself was bathing . The men , Matthew included , always had a strip - wash in the outer scullery . ' Right then , my girl . '
Idiom: word of mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
The study was approved by the human research and review committees of the participating centres and subjects gave written informed consent . SUBJECTS WITHOUT SYMPTOMS Caucasian subjects without symptoms and without a history of dyspepsia , peptic ulcer disease , or other upper gastrointestinal symptoms or abdominal surgery ( with the exception of appendectomy ) were carefully recruited by word of mouth among cowirkers , relatives , and friends of the investigators , and fellow workers . Some elderly subjects were recruited from senior citizens ' homes or choirs . No one had taken any antacids , bismuth preparations , or other drugs to treat dyspepsia within the past year and nobody was taking antibiotics during the three months before the study .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
The self - judgement which declares that the ego falls short of its ideal produces the religious sense of humility to which the believer appeals in his longing .
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
It was on Tuesday , the day before Nahum paid his weekly visit to London that Sarah met Peg Wooldridge . She supported a baby of about six months on one hip and carried a bundle of laundry . ‘ Good morning , Mrs Wooldridge,’ said Mrs Deacon , letting her in by the back door . ‘ Parson 's washing , Mrs Deacon,’ said Peg . ‘ I 'm real sorry it 's a day late , but the baby 's been ill.’
Idiom: get a handle on (used idiomatically: yes)
HP says its 705 Snake and particularly its 710 sales have exceeded projections . San Jose , California - based Cypress Semiconductor Corp , which is betting the company on its new HyperSparc microprocessor , for which it has no customers , is to cut costs by moving its US assembly operations offshore at the cost of about 200 American jobs this year — 100 have gone immediately ; it has n't said where assembly will be done . What makes Ross Perot think that he can get a handle on the US budget deficit that has defeated the last two administrations ? Well he is still legendary in Dallas for his lightning five - year spell with IBM Corp , when he met his annual sales target … in the middle of January . Qualix , the software distributor , has fashioned a new ‘ Cheap Seats’ program to bring the price of networked licensed Unix software below PC and Mac software .
Idiom: bring up the rear (used idiomatically: yes)
Today it is the home of his descendant , Commander Michael Saunders Watson and his family . THE CASTLE The Norman Towers — Entering through these it is easy to imagine the Knights of the Middle Ages setting off for battle , banners flying and a host of bowmen and falconers bringing up the rear . The Tudor Great Hall — the display of arms and armour brings to mind the Civil War when Rockingham was captured and occupied by the roundheads . The Panelled Room — 13th Century room , refurbished 1839 , and now with a wide variety of impressionist and modern paintings .
Idiom: take to the hills (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You know well enough , James — you must have thought — once the government is resolved , and we have talked ourselves hoarse and there is no ink left in the country — then the dragoons will come in and cart the young men away as though we have done nothing . We might as well be praying ! ’ ‘ The young men should take to the hills.’ Cameron looked at him to make sure he was in earnest . ‘ I was thinking just that myself.’
Idiom: count sheep (used idiomatically: yes)
He said : ' As from January payment will only be made on pure beef or beef - dairy cross cows put to a beef bull . ' Sheep counting made easy CHANGES in the Sheep Annual Premium Scheme regulations means that sheep farmers will have to count their sheep and record them from January . To assist them the Farmers ' Union of Wales has produced an easy - to - use flock record book costing 50p . £ m appeal by CPRE
Idiom: dead wood (used idiomatically: yes)
The answer seems to lie in facing up to the fact that one particular cycle or era has finally come to a close and therefore both personally and professionally it would be wiser to channel your energies into something new . But adverse planetary influences invariably serve a useful purpose — and never more so than right now . Take what occurs around September 4th and 11th , when the Sun is brilliantly aspected by Neptune and Saturn , as confirmation that your main objective now must be to cut all the dead wood out of your life and really start afresh . Leo ( 23 July to 23 August ) The Sun , your ruler , is now passing through the precise and painstaking sign of Virgo and that part of your solar chart related to your earnings and financial security .
Idiom: watch this space (used idiomatically: yes)
Editor 's Note : Thank you for your letter Mrs Surridge . We will indeed be publishing a picture of Goran in our Sweetspot section in a future issue so … watch this space . Edberg — Gentleman JUNIOR TENNIS WORLD
Idiom: give someone the eye (used idiomatically: yes)
There was an exhilaration in this strange new power . They did n't even need to be shown how high you could climb , how bravely you could wrestle . All you had to do was walk past in high heels and a tight skirt with your popper beads hanging down your button - up cardigan and a bra which shaped your breasts into sharply protruding cones and they exploded into admiring noises , gave you the eye , even followed you home . But how did you ever meet them ? Janina 's family , Methodism and history turned out to be the answers .
Idiom: pigs can fly (used idiomatically: yes)
Detractors of the program insist that the government is throwing money into a bottomless bucket . It might be too early to say , but researchers from Lima 's Universidad del Pacifico say that the informals are amazingly responsible , and punctually keep up with the interest payments on their loans . Pigs can fly Three little piggies learn the facts of life . Debbie Taylor tells a tale with a twist .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
We also started ' Small is Beautiful ' for the Christmas period . Both of these fulfilled my idea of bringing forward the ' unknowns ' . you chose to go ' public ' as a gallery when you moved , as Flowers East , to Hackney in East London . Now you have directors , shareholders etc . Yes .
Idiom: go overboard (used idiomatically: yes)
But I had done so not in the belief that indefinite British occupation of the Zone was practicable but in protest against a treaty which purported to give Britain rights of reoccupation and a policy which proclaimed that Cyprus , Jordan and Kenya afforded adequate geographical alternatives . The frisson of angry surprise and the instant impulse to prepare for a resort to arms which greeted the inevitable puncturing of those myths were therefore emotions I could neither share nor understand . Hunched in a remote and subordinate cranny of government — devising a rent bill at the Ministry of Housing and Local Government , as a matter of fact — I was not disposed to go overboard when our armed forces were launched into the attack in November ; but what on earth was intended to come out of it and how an occupation found untenable could be tenably restored and sustained by force was beyond the comprehension of this unmoved spectator . How did it happen , and what did it mean ? And what if anything does it mean still ?
Idiom: know the score (used idiomatically: yes)
Irish share - pushers Bailey McMahon , Dublin , in April 1988 , refused to send out its newsletter or written details on stock sold to prospective salesmen . The material did not bear scrutiny . Any potential recruit knew the score . Either he took the first plane to Dublin , or he rejected them out of hand . Likewise he knew to take with a pinch of salt the recruiting officer 's : " We will get TSA membership .
Idiom: above board (used idiomatically: yes)
The placing of Uruguay and Colombia in the third pool has satisfied the South Americans , and what used to be called the Iron Curtain countries can not complain . All that remains now is for the draw , which will be made in the Rome Sports Palace late this afternoon , to avoid such minor irritations as Holland joining England in Sardinia , thereby doubling the security problem ; Scotland renewing hostilities with Uruguay , whom they have refused to meet in friendlies since the 1986 World Cup ; and Austria playing West Germany , which would revive memories of the cynical conspiracy in 1982 which froze Algeria out of the second phase . Rest assured that whatever happens the proceedings will be above board . ‘ Innocent fans,’ said Sepp Blatter , the general secretary of Fifa , would be making the draw from an assortment of pots . Luciano Pavarotti will be there to strike the right note for an occasion of speeches , publicity films and general hype that is costing £ 1 million and will be seen by a worldwide television audience of 500 million .
Idiom: go to your head (used idiomatically: yes)
THE Brand New Heavies fled a packed concert after a run - in with Mafia - style gangsters . The London - based band , booked for a gig in Naples on an Italian tour , found the stage too small and insufficient power for their equipment . Guitarist Simon Bartholomew from the soul - funk group , in the Top 30 with Do n't Let It Go To Your Head , says : ' We told the promoter no way could we perform . ' Suddenly , these dark - suited guys in shades with giant dogs to frighten us . We were petrified .
Idiom: moment of truth (used idiomatically: yes)
Today there was a quick practice after all the equipment had been checked . Then the balloons were off rising above Herefordshire to eleven and a half thousand feet instead of the planned ten and a half thousand . And so the moment of truth . He says this is scariest thing I 've ever done in my life . He 's asked how he feels .
Idiom: to the hilt (used idiomatically: yes)
The silence and hypocrisy is deafening . God — who said religion and pop music do n't mix . And how pathetically ironic that a bunch of Americans , who normally carp on about freedom of speech and the First Amendment , resort to crushing records which contain perfectly innocent torch songs when they defend to the hilt the right of misogynist swine like 2 Live Crew to peddle their filth with impunity . Sinead 's right , there 's a hell of a lot wrong with the world — BP AND YEN AGAIN …
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: no)
The Financial ~ Crisis One Year After NEW ~ YORK – It is now almost a year since the world economy teetered on the edge of calamity . In the span of three days , September 15 - 17 , 2008 , Lehman ~ Brothers filed for bankruptcy , the mega - insurance company AIG was taken over by the United ~ States government , and the failing Wall ~ Street icon Merrill ~ Lynch was absorbed by Bank of America in a deal brokered and financed by the US government . Panic ensued and credit stopped circulating .
Idiom: vale of tears (used idiomatically: no)
Cornwall became more of a standardised railway with the demise of the timber-bodied clay hood . In their place arrived 125 new BR-sponsored airbraked CDA hoppers . Steam really did come to an end on BR when the state-owned narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol was sold , not without tears , to the Brecon Mountain Railway . In the deal were three steam locomotives and a new interloper in the shape of a diesel . The biggest , and most tragic , news event of the year was the 12 December Clapham disaster , discussed in detail elsewhere .
Idiom: go to the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
IT 'S HARD TIMES AT NATWEST NATWEST , Britain 's biggest bank , has been robbing Peter to pay Paul through the slump . The cash it has taken from the likes of you and me has gone to cover its losses caused by firms going to the wall because of the recession . Bank charges soared and flash new computers were introduced to scan accounts and make sure a chance to charge is never missed . Unfortunately most of the extra cash grabbed was swallowed up by bad debts .
Idiom: watering hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Those at the north end of Normangate Field remained essentially agricultural in character throughout the second century , after which they apparently went out of use . A single plot of land c. 42 m ( 137½ ft ) north - south by at least 18 m ( 59 ft ) east - west containing a timber built aisled barn , occupied the eastern side of the droveway , while on the west lay various shallow plots defined by post- and trench - built fence lines . Two of these , measuring 10 by at least 20 m ( 33 by 66 ft ) , and 6 by at least 16 m ( 20 by 52 ft ) respectively , each contained a water hole , suggesting , in the absence of any recognizable buildings , their use as animal pens . In contrast , the more commercially - attractive plots alongside Ermine Street soon attracted pottery production and then became built - up with strip buildings and workshops associated with various specialist activities , as Artis ' excavations made clear . This sequence was confirmed by the 1968–9 excavation of an aisled workshop set end - on to Ermine Street and served by a metalled side - street 4.6 m ( 15 ft ) wide along its southern side .
Idiom: keep up appearances (used idiomatically: yes)
Now that I 've seen his photograph and read his prose style , I ca n't imagine how he and Serafin ever contrived to live together . The more I think about it the bleaker the home life of Professor and Mrs Maitland begins to seem . Every door of the house I open seems to reveal the author of Fair Do 's ( and no doubt something rather more respectable , to keep up professional appearances , on someone like Kant ) , tremendously there , as on the back cover of his book , his eyebrows and hair curling coarsely . Here he is in the bathroom , wearing his grimy raincoat with the turned - up collar . Here he is sitting up in the marital bed , his jaw ruggedly clenched on his unlit pipe .
Idiom: make ends meet (used idiomatically: yes)
Lived on into old age . Er What were the kind of conditions of the people who w who went back in , did they go in bec because of they had , erm say large families or something like that and they had difficulty trying to make ends meet ? Er I do n't know whether that I do n't know whether that was a factor , er er er looking back er er I would n't know . But there was a a I know there was a a system in Notts you see whereby er the coal was dug on the basis of contracts between the management and er a man or two men
Idiom: go bananas (used idiomatically: yes)
And I 've heard about the problem on these new Glory models too.’ ‘ Problem?’ asked Mrs Lomax . ‘ They 're all going bananas — something to do with the computer.’ ‘ It droveitself,’ she insisted . ‘ I could n't control the thing.’
Idiom: catch someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
The daring officer subsided crestfallen . And Thiercelin wondered whether of all the men in the Grand Army , he alone realized that the charmless , unpopular Davout was a better soldier , and a better man , than the emperor , and might have served as an example to princes , had he only possessed a little more humanity . Then he caught Epitot 's eye , and realized that he knew it too . Davout waved at some papers on his desk . ' I do n't know whether you 're one of those who are interested in such things — from what I know of you I 'd say probably not .