Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: make a killing (used idiomatically: yes)
Work with nature and you can make nature work for you , advises Geoff Hamilton from his organic garden Earlier in the year , wherever you looked , whatever you read , gardeners were complaining of the constant battle against weeds . Gardening columns in the Sunday newspapers were full of it , magazines and television programmes gave advice and encouragement and the garden centres made a killing on weedkiller sales . The problem was the unusual one of a warmish ( well , for the plants anyway ) , wet spring . Ideal conditions , in fact , for the growth of all plants and especially the natives .
Idiom: take root (used idiomatically: no)
Christmas trees may hold back sea Scientists from the National Rivers Authority have asked local people at Mablethorpe , Lincolnshire , to donate their discarded Christmas trees to help find a cure for Britain 's eroding beaches . Coastal defence experts , faced with an unexpected rise in sea level and a resulting strategic review of shore defences , are hoping that the Christmas trees will take root and anchor down the dunes . The Christmas trees could provide a " cheap and cheerful " alternative to a concrete wall surrounding England 's windswept and treeless east coast . Independent , Guardian 28 December
Idiom: all and sundry (used idiomatically: yes)
More confident horses tend to ignore the other horses in such situations — unless they are stallions . But there is an exception . A gelding that is accompanied by a more may be extremely possessive of her in the company of other horses , and may be tempted to attack all and sundry — including other mares ! When we mix up strange horses in this way , it is not surprising that some should display aggression , as the horses have not had the opportunity to work out their social positions in relation to each other . We mentioned the gelding being possessive of the mare , in fact , being jealous .
Idiom: stand someone in good stead (used idiomatically: yes)
However , the MacSharry proposals look only in the most narrow , blinkered way for solutions . I offer the Minister the NFU 's five - point agenda , of which I hope he has taken note . It will stand him in good stead when he comes to argue against the MacSharry proposals . Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith ( Wealden ) I was interested to hear about the state of the Scottish agriculture industry .
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: yes)
The majority of the Franks are unlikely to have been affected as yet by Christianity . The " Vouillé " campaign and the following year mark the high - point of Clovis 's reign . In 508 Theuderic continued his father 's onslaught on the Gothic south , in tandem with the Burgundians . In the same year Clovis received some recognition from the emperor Anastasius . Gregory 's claim that he was hailed as consul and Augustus at Tours must be a misunderstanding , although an honorary consulship is not out of the question .
Idiom: stand the test of time (used idiomatically: yes)
The gap has been filled by Bill Rear 's excellent volume . Here is an example of all that is good in the British railway enthusiast movement moving into print . An author obviously dedicated to his art and expert enough to share his knowledge with the world has given us what should be the standard on the line which will stand the test of time . Sometimes the album format can be tiresome but in this case the paperback book has been ideally balanced with previously unpublished or rarely seen pictures and an excellent array of maps and other illustrations . I first recall the line in 1959 when as a young boy scout I was taken to camp at Pont - y - Pant .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
Right . Yeah it 'll have to be count . It 's out of order . Yeah , I know . Get on to .
Idiom: stand the test of time (used idiomatically: yes)
Du Pré and the LSO / Barbiroli 's Elgar , the BPO / Karajan 's Mozart , and the NPO / Barbirolli 's Mahler all show up well alongside more recent releases from such as Rattle , Pavarotti and Eliot Gardiner . What might we see in another five year 's time ? Will rattle 's Mahler stand the test of time as well as Barbirolli 's ? Will a new Carmina Burana wear as well as Previn 's St. Clement Danes recording ? FEATURE
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: yes)
The woman turned round and saw that the red crow was perched on the balustrade , flapping its wings like a man trying to keep warm and looking in at them , its head cocked to one side . An eye like a small black button glittered , fastening on them . " Given up on the game then ? " the red crow croaked . " Could have told you the Silesian Defence would n't work in One - Dimensional Chess . Where 'd you learn to ? "
Idiom: in living memory (used idiomatically: yes)
Heseltine aides feared most what , in the event , actually happened : that he would play the stalking horse role — forcing the resignation of Mrs Thatcher but ultimately losing to a third candidate . Heseltine had not publicly declared whether he intended to enter the leadership contest when , on 13 November , Howe made his eagerly - awaited resignation speech in the House of Commons . It was the most dramatic and outspoken resignation speech in living memory . Howe 's attack was two - pronged : he ridiculed official denials that a policy split existed in the Cabinet over Europe and he made trenchant ( and remarkably personal ) criticisms of Mrs Thatcher 's style of leadership . At the end of a powerful performance , made more remarkable by its unexpected ferocity , he concluded by urging Conservative MPs to consider whether they could continue to support Mrs Thatcher 's leadership .
Idiom: call the tune (used idiomatically: yes)
Environment ( or environmental constraints ) is kept as the ‘ environment’ . The first stage of creating the definition is to write down headings for each of the six CATWOE categories and try to fill them in . This is not always easy because we often get caught up in activities without thinking about who is really supposed to benefit or who is actually ‘ calling the tune’ . We may question our assumptions and look around the environment even more rarely . Even so , the difficulty for the individual creating a root definition is less than the difficulty in getting all the individuals involved to agree on the definition to be used .
Idiom: slippery slope (used idiomatically: yes)
Perhaps the conflict for the parent could be resolved by removing the means test until 16 , while social services departments might be able to obtain central funding for this small group of children . Not a comfortable option Many will see this paper as a fundamental attack on the NHS , a means by which a free service slides down the slippery slope of privatisation . They will be ignoring the slide that has already taken place — and is accelerating . The structure that I have suggested is sufficiently robust to halt that slide and ensure that acute care remains free throughout .
Idiom: take the piss (used idiomatically: yes)
C : Yeah , Earth to Prince . Mind you he 's probably taking the piss . He can do what he likes now he 's practically Mr Time Warner . LEMONHEADS : It 's A Shame About Ray
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
Early this year I secluded myself up here for a life of quiet , concentrated study and meditation , rediscovering myself in the vastness and solitude of the mountains . I feel wonderful inside and out , it has been the most productive period in ages , and one day I 'll need my sound nerves more than ever … My own plans are still totally up in the air , except that I am sure to resume my work when the new season gets underway — and then I am just going to make music wherever I am offered the best conditions for it . Later , if he was not offered those conditions , he created them for himself . Despite all this , and more that any fully researched biography of Karajan would reveal , it is a curious fact that writers of influence continue to play out their own strange fantasies when writing about the fictional Herbert von Karajan , a kind of latter - day Frankenstein 's monster of their own contriving .
Idiom: rank and file (used idiomatically: yes)
The chief superintendent for the area was a firm believer in community policing , and he put as his first priority the prevention of public disorder . However , it is clear that many of his police constables and sergeants did not agree with this approach . During the summer of 1985 there was evidence of increasing tension , and a prominent member of the Hornsey Police Federation was quoted as saying that rank and file officers ‘ desperately wanted to go in hard and sort out the criminals’ . Some serious incidents occurred during this period on the Broadwater Farm Estate , such as an attack on police by youths which resulted in one officer sustaining a bad head wound , and there was also a series of attacks on an Asian - owned supermarket . Senior police - officers appeared to play these incidents down , but black youths complained that on the estate they were increasingly harassed by the police .
Idiom: rest on your laurels (used idiomatically: yes)
' Spare me the ancient history . I can read it all on your file when we get back . And if I were you , I would n't bother resting on your very dusty laurels . ' She sure knows how to hurt a girl . But then again , so do 1 .
Idiom: fall into place (used idiomatically: yes)
Bjørnvig ( ARC ) . - ( DA ) Mr Commissioner , since the negotiations can end by falling into place in spite of everything , I would like to know the following : Can the candidate Member States be certain of being able to retain their high environmental standards , even beyond the transitional period of four years by invoking the environmental guarantee enshrined in Article~100 a , paragraph~4 , in the event that the EU has not approached their higher standards by that time ? The question can be answered with a simple ` yes ' or ` no ' .
Idiom: pull out all the stops (used idiomatically: yes)
After a thrilling final - set victory , the 43-year - old architect said : ‘ I had a bit of luck to win the third set and after Ian took the fourth I thought I would lose.’ ‘ To beat the defending champion has to be the highlight of my career.’ Australian Schuback said he was happy with his own performance , but his opponent kept pulling out all the stops . Twice former winner Tony Allcock cruised through his opening match when he beat Jersey 's David Le Marquand 7 - 3 , 7 - 2 , 7 - 1 in the concluding first - round match . South Africa 's Bill Mosley 's and Jeff Rabkin from Israel clinched a quarter - final place in the pairs when they beat Ireland 's Rodney McCutcheon and Cliff Craig 7 - 3 , 0 - 7 , 7 - 6 , 7 - 6 last night .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: no)
I came here because of Camus . Algiers was his city , the place that formed him and sustained him . During one of his first trips abroad , to Prague , he ended up in a hotel like this and ‘ thought desperately of my own town on the shores of the Mediterranean , of the summer evenings that I love so much , so gentle in the green light and full of young and beautiful women’ . For Camus the beauty of Algerian women was ‘ just part of the rapturous wealth heaped on the senses’ . Right , ‘ La Peste’ book cover
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: yes)
Afterwards , Little said : ‘ He may not be the biggest keeper in the world but technically he 's very good . ’ Poole 's most spectacular stop came from a ferocious 20-yard drive from Mickey Lewis on 33 minutes , with the keeper turning the effort around the post at full stretch . Oxford 's 21-year-old winger Joey Beauchamp embarked on several superb runs down the right but Oxford , missing the suspended John Durnin , had no-one to apply the finishing touch . And Leicester might have snatched all three points at the end as substitute Ian Ormondroyd set up Bobby Davison but the player blasted the ball over the bar . Oxford boss Brian Horton said : ‘ I 'm pleased in a way because we kept a clean sheet and we certainly created plenty of chances . ’
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: yes)
Tomba tumble ITALIAN Fabrizio Tescari won his first World Cup race as defending champion Alberto Tomba crashed out on the second leg of yesterday 's slalom in Sestriere , Italy . Tomba had led by almost a second on the first run . American Julie Parisien overcame a stomach bug to win the women 's slalom in front of her home crowd in Park City , Utah . Sweden 's Pernilla Wiberg finished second .
Idiom: toe the line (used idiomatically: no)
I hate to say it but Diana played it brilliantly . She called their bluff . ' Observers believe a bargain was struck and a compromise reached in which Diana would get increased freedom and yet appear to toe the Palace line . And that is how matters have been left . The new partnership allows Diana to base herself at Kensington Palace and to continue to see her circle of friends including James Gilbey and James Hewitt .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: no)
I tell what I saw . The English came over a crest , face to face with the Lord Owen in open field . And they spurred forward to pursue and take him , no doubt believing it a happy chance for them , and the Lord Owen caused his horse to appear to drop lame , and so encouraged and led them until they were spread all along the field in open order , within close range of the bowmen in the woods . When he had them so placed , he spurred ahead and drew dear , and the archers cut them down like corn . Only a few of the rearmost broke away and escaped back towards Ruthyn .
Idiom: plain Jane (used idiomatically: yes)
In Fort Worth , families vie for places as hosts , and then cheer for the competitors assigned to them . They take them to museums ; they give them cars to drive around town ; they introduce them to everyone worth knowing in Texas . There are often , among the competitors , girls from Eastern Bloc or otherwise under - privileged countries who have been brought up to believe that a monumental talent requires total dedication , who have been told that great minds do not fuss about small externals , who have been led to suppose that for a great genius to be a plain Jane is only appropriate . The illusions of such young women are rapidly shattered by the grandes dames of Fort Worth . Before their anxious eyes , these innocent girls see the much - beloved skirts of black bombazine they brought from home consumed in flames .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: yes)
Some building society mortgage rates cut In response , the Abbey National Building Society is to cut its mortgage rates to between eight point one and eight point five per cent . Some others also plan to make cuts . Lamont limits public sector pay to 1 Public sector pay settlements have been limited to a maximum of one point five per cent .
Idiom: at a pinch (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ But at my back I always hear time 's winged chariot hurrying near.’ They do n't need chariots with wings to get themselves up the stairs . And I do n't bother to find myself a reflective surface wherein to follow them - although no doubt the gleam in Rainbow 's eye , or the slick of moisture on Anya 's parted lips , would do at a pinch . I 've seen it , heard it , felt it , tasted it all before . OK , I admit it .
Idiom: by leaps and bounds (used idiomatically: yes)
HARTLEPOOL United manager Alan Murray gave a vote of confidence to 17-year - old goalkeeper Steven Jones on the eve of his debut against Third Division leaders Stoke City . The Middlesbrough teenager will join the full - time payroll in the summer . Murray said : ‘ Jones has worked hard at his game and has progressed by leaps and bounds . ‘ Jones was at the club as a YTS player when I arrived . I admit I was not impressed at the outset .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
9.30pm : Heart rate 125 , alcohol 38mg . LIZ 'S numbed brain means her reactions have slowed down , her balance is affected and her perception of time begins to become inaccurate . Her heart rate has soared as she dances but the alcohol in her blood is gradually falling . The risk of joints damage increases dramatically during dancing — especially in high heels , which puts between four and five times the normal stress on knees and ankles . Alcohol is broken down by the chemicals called enzymes in the liver through which blood circulates once every four minutes .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
Carrick suggested that a maximum of three outside players should be recruited — one an overseas professional — to strengthen the team immediately . ' No ' thundered the vast majority of every poll conducted by newspapers , radio and television , members and public alike . Carrick 's argument , that of the man who earns his living playing the game , would make sense anywhere but in the Ridings : without the addition of a West Indian fast bowler and the option of adding two more experienced outside players , says Carrick , the chances of his youngish team ever winning trophies and thus making money , are severely limited . Without incentives , goes the argument , the drift of talented young players towards more successful counties , with open doors , will accelerate . His supporters , including some in the Yorkshire media , point out the difficulty in attracting sponsorship to an unsuccessful team and a slow decline in the membership figures .
Idiom: catch the sun (used idiomatically: yes)
In the Kalahari Desert The sun rose like a tarnished looking - glass to catch the sun and flash His hot message at the missionaries below —
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
In June and July , a number of small French outposts in the Indian and Pacific Oceans responded to his appeal . On 26 August , the territory of Chad in French Equatorial Africa and its governor Félix Eboué rallied to Free France . On 27 August Cameroon followed suit , and Congo did so one day later . These successes encouraged de Gaulle to press ahead with a more ambitious operation , which he had proposed to Churchill a month earlier . His plan was to launch a Free French expedition , supported by British warships , to rally the important port city of Dakar , the capital of French West Africa .
Idiom: cross swords (used idiomatically: yes)
And despite Kenny Dalglish 's spending spree , Moran , 36 , is still going strong at the sharp end of the Premier League . Dalglish managing Moran is a turn up to start with . The pair crossed swords in the eighties during their heyday with rivals Liverpool and United . AMAZED On one occasion at Anfield , Dalglish had his cheekbone fractured in a clash with Moran — but at least the Rovers boss knows Moran is granite hard !
Idiom: turn heads (used idiomatically: yes)
He looked … well , she did n't really know how he looked . Sort of pleased , and kind . Thoroughly confused , she turned her head and stared blindly down at the fire . ' How much holiday do you have left ? ' he asked quietly . ' Less than two weeks , ' she mumbled without looking at him , then wondered suspiciously why he wanted to know .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
He 's right . But the logic must not stop there . Land set aside in the EC must not be the green light for imports from other countries either — whether from countries in the GATT negotiations , or from Eastern Europe . The Minister has also said that it ' is no good raising standards here so that our farmers pay the cost — while others use the old methods and flood our markets with crueller but cheaper food'’ . I support that .
Idiom: leave well alone (used idiomatically: yes)
Bacterial and fungal infections almost always occur at the site of an earlier wound . Work back in your mind to the possible source of any abrasion — could it be something with a rough edge in the pond , or are there ectoparasites ( ie Argulus ) breaking the skin ? As you build up your experiences over the years , you will develop almost a sixth sense and know when to medicate — and when to leave well alone . the HEAT is on Dr DAVID POOL of the Tetra Information Service focuses on the problems of summer pond keeping … Throughout the summer the warm weather and increased activity of both pond fish and plants can lead to a number of problems in ornamental ponds .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
THE 1980s opened with British Transport Hotels ( BTH ) still running around thirty traditional railway hotels ; with its Travellers-Fare wing sprucing up its portfolio of dull , old-fashioned refreshment rooms , and restaurant cars continuing to suffer declining patronage as journey times shortened and eating habits changed . The HSTs had effected one major positive change : an increase in hot snacks in the age of the microwave . The decade ended with the railway hotels not merely privatised but in many cases under second and third owners , generally poorer in standard and distinctly without the nation having benefited ( since they ran at a profit anyway ) , with Travellers-Fare privatised and healthier ( both profitwise and in what they served ) , and with InterCity rethinking the role of the restaurant car and with many chefs still preparing meals on board . It was in station catering , so long the Cinderella , that the changed order of the 1980s made its first mark . The fast-food revolution arrived in style in October 1980 with the opening of the first Casey Jones restaurant at Waterloo .
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: no)
This may be because they occur only in association with a particular element , like the cran — of cranberry , or because they occur with a particular semantic value only in the context of one other element , like the —en of oxen , the ab — of abnormal , or foot in foot the bill ; in a case of collocational uniqueness of either of these types , no contrast in which the unique element participates can be tested in a distinct linguistic environment . Or a semantic constituent may be untestable because it is completely determined syntactically , like —ness in His kindness was overwhelming , and thus does not participate in any contrasts at all . For some of these items — for instance , foot in foot the bill — there is a strong intuition of meaningfulness ; for others , like cran — , intuition is less certain . Clearly , some way of deciding is needed . There are two principal strategies for proving that a collocationally unique item is a semantic constituent .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Once you 've got that you could fiddle around with that and we used to lower a station down , tie the end , we 'd do the best we could to do it . We 'd always get one , we never lost one yet . And course they were on hinges , the doors , on er the hinges on in the centre hole under the water and course you always knew where then to , where to fit what we used to call fish for th fish for the chain . So with the pole ? With the pole and a big hook on .
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
feel younger , longer Our special section takes a look at how growing older affects our attitudes , careers — and looks . Can a younger lover beat the ageing blues — or would a change of style do the trick for you ? Plus our exclusive workshop to help you feel younger much longer . First , Madeleine Kingsley takes a look at milestone birthdays .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
The point is that the threat of take - overs reduces the long - term security of employees and managers . If a change in control occurs employment contracts may be terminated , with the result that employees lose the gains from firm - specific training . Investment in training will therefore be discouraged , and managers are similarly discouraged from causing the company to engage in research and development and other projects the return from which will only be reflected in managers ' rewards in the long term . It may thus be observed that there is a ‘ trade - off between the disciplinary effect of takeovers and their disruptive impact on investment and long - term growth’ . No conclusive view about the contribution of the market for control to management short- termism is , at least as yet , possible .