Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: in the saddle (used idiomatically: no)
Cranston bellowed . ‘ A tenth of the rats you catch!’ Ranulf flashed the coroner a dagger glance but Cranston was already rocking to and fro in the saddle , laughing uproariously at his own joke . ‘ I think it an excellent idea,’ Athelstan murmured . ‘ And we shall talk about it again .
Idiom: money talks (used idiomatically: yes)
This switch in the attitudes of the medical establishment has removed the last justification ( if there ever was one ) for cruel factory farming practices . The factory farm doors are now being flung open and the terrible truth behind them is driving shoppers away from chops and steaks and poultry of unknown origin and sending them flocking in search of free - range eggs and chickens . Money talks The output of no fewer than 30 government ' think tanks ' was devoted to the cost - cutting priorities of animal rearing in post - war years . Labour costs were slashed by packing as many as 100,000 chickens into one shed , where they could be ' looked after ' by just one or two workers .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
A lot of people are waiting to see what that brings and how it will affect diesel cars . ‘ We have Peugeot and Citroen diesels . I think they are perceived as the state - of - the - art diesel vehicles . Drivers will be looking at the turbo variants , as their performance is more equivalent to petrol versions.’ Tony Busby , general services section leader with BP Chemicals , says : ‘ I came here because people are always popping into my office to seek advice on what choice to make .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
The British Deaf Association ( BDA ) was another such charity . This had been one of the 150 organizations that had written asking for patronage when Diana became engaged , and had been turned down . Then , quite out of the blue at the end of 1983 , they had a letter from the Palace saying that the Princess had decided she would like to be their patron . It was no coincidence , perhaps , that its president was the Marquess of Salisbury , married to Mollie Salisbury who had spent so much time helping with the garden at Highgrove . The Princess has a curious effect on pregnant women .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
That 's where the Americans score over us Yeah . they speak out , they 're clear what they want , what they do n't want mind you they go over the top a little bit at times . With the yahoos and the screams and the what 's happening over there ?
Idiom: pass the buck (used idiomatically: yes)
Hawkins said : ‘ I understand — I 'm not making comparisons — that the President of the United States was faced with a problem similar to the one you 've just confronted me with . He asked the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff if he should pull out the Ariadne which they knew , of course , was sitting over the crashed plane . The Chairman said , quite rightly , that that was n't his responsibility , the old and honoured American tradition of passing the buck . The President decided that the Ariadne should stay.’ ‘ Well , I could come all over bitter and say that 's very noble and gallant of the President , especially as there 's no chance of his being blown out of his seat in the Oval Office when this little lot goes up , but I wo n't .
Idiom: set eyes on (used idiomatically: yes)
Dot did n't know what a banana tasted like , though she 'd heard Mrs Parvis talk about them often enough . ‘ D'you know , my dear,’ said Mrs Hollidaye . ‘ Down here we have n't set eyes on a banana for years ! I must say I 've almost forgotten what they look like . Though my son , that 's my eldest , in the Royal Navy , wrote that he has them in the Pacific.’
Idiom: off the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
Benny looked around the schoolyard . Mother Francis was looking the other way . With all her strength Benny Hogan launched herself off the wall down on Maire Carroll . The girl fell over , winded . ‘ Are you all right , Maire?’
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
All day Coleman sat in a hot studio staring at one picture and maintaining hours of nonstop commentary to out - Dimbleby the best of them . Today David Coleman no doubt enjoys the Colemanballs Private Eye prints that have nothing to do with him : Snooker : ‘ For those of you watching in black and white , the green is the ball behind the blue.’ Boat Race : ‘ I do not know who is ahead , but it 's either Oxford or Cambridge.’ Cricket and Brian Johnston : ‘ The batsman 's Holding , the bowler 's Willey.’
Idiom: out of the question (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr Stephens report also says a private facility would add to parking problems in Hollyhurst Road . He slams the company 's parking proposals as ‘ wholly inadequate’ to catering for the extra visitors . Labour borough councillors , who threw the plan out last year , say the inspector 's report vindicates their view that a private hospital in the grounds of the Memorial was out of the question . Labour 's prospective parliamentary candidate Alan Milburn , who campaigned against the plan , added : ‘ I am absolutely delighted to hear Darlington wo n't be getting US - style private medical care.’ But Tory ward councillor Peter Jones said the planning inquiry had ‘ missed the point’ and a golden opportunity had slipped through Darlington 's fingers .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
In a high , squeaky voice , she said , ‘ Come to me in Jesus 's name!’ The usual bunch of hypochondriacs shuffled forward . Clara Beeding opened her eyes and looked quite relieved to see Jasper Lewens , Tracy Johnson and the guy with the wart . She had dealt with a case of peritonitis in 1995 , and apparently it did n't work out too well . ‘ It 's my neck,’ Jasper Lewens was saying in a rather whingeing tone .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: no)
Or was it something men took responsibility for ? Well , well I do n't know , I think , well the men u of course we did n't use the French letters did we ? So I mean if the man was going to take it on himself I mean er he used the French letter then when that clinic started up as I would say , the women would go there you see stop that lark because they did n't even they did n't even let , er take very kindly to the French letters some of them did n't you know , the men . But er I should say myself that er it all depended on the man really you know in a way did n't it , either one way or th other . It all depended on the man .
Idiom: true blue (used idiomatically: yes)
You do n't put the tourniquet on at all , do n't mention tourniquet in , in first aid work , it 's a no no area Say if it 's in such a secluded place you know if you 're gon na be there for twenty , er for days , there 's no help Well if he was there and you came along well that 's two people , so it 's not that secluded , okay , so we have to look on the positive side , if at the end of the day you 're going to get to a situation where , okay , you can see that the ordinary erm true blue course of events is just not gon na work , then it 's down to you , you have then got to make up your own mind what you 're going to do for the casualty and your own safety , okay , if somebody had been bleeding that long and you could n't of got help for them , what would your priority now probably be ? What do you think they 'd be like by now ? Dead
Idiom: go downhill (used idiomatically: yes)
I did go out with one of me mates once and he was going burgling and I needed to do one 'cos I had no money or nothing , strung out , and he went to the Old Hall Estate and broke into a house and I got in through the window with him and I just looked around and saw all these photographs of , y'know like , the family that lived there with the kids and that and I just got this horrible feeling , so I just got out the window and walked away , even though I was strung out and I did n't pick nothing up , I just left him to it 'cos , like , though all the burglaries I 'd done , they 'd all been shops . I 'd never done an ' ouse before . After that , things started to go downhill . It was getting out of hand , like . I could see meself doing it for years , like .
Idiom: go hand in hand (used idiomatically: yes)
There are also two series of coins in which a secular character is more explicit , one bearing the name AVDVARLD REGES , and another showing a diademed portrait with ‘ sceptre’ and a reverse with the moneyer 's name WITMEN around a cross . Aufvald may be Eadbald , King of Kent 616–40 , but whether or not this is the case , the coins point to both a royal and ecclesiastical responsibility for their production . Gold allowed the easy storage of wealth because of the high ratio of value to bulk , and its being minted by royal and ecclesiastical courts may reflect the need to administer justice , maintain officials and finance commerce , and goes hand - in - hand with the development of written law and taxation ; in the oldest Kentish laws , fines were listed in gold ‘ shillings’ and in silver . By the end of the seventh century , possibly c . AD 675 , a shortage of gold forced a change to silver coins ( sceattas ) and their frequency in Kent points to both Kentish supremacy in exchange and , perhaps , the direction in which commerce was moving when the change was necessary .
Idiom: tongue in cheek (used idiomatically: yes)
' I 've got a list of bed and breakfasts . The tourist office said I would n't have any trouble finding somewhere . ' ' No , you should be all right , ' he agreed , his smile still in place , ' but you 'd best leave after lunch tomorrow to give yourself plenty of time — just in case you get side - tracked,'he added , tongue - in - cheek . ' Ha , ha . ' Returning her gaze to dark hair and broad shoulders , she asked , ' What did you mean about it being a joke ?
Idiom: give someone a bloody nose (used idiomatically: yes)
It was supposed to begin at 5 a.m. on 5 October , on condition that the Iranians did not continue the war . President Bani Sadr of Iran said that his country was unwilling to respond , with the inevitable consequence that Iraq simply went ahead unilaterally and then cut the experiment short . Iraq 's attempt to give the Tehran government a quick bloody nose was only a partial success . Territory was gained , to be sure : Qasr - e - Shirin quickly , and a strip running down to Mehran . Khorramshahr , grimly dubbed Khuninshahr ( city of blood ) by some Iranians , was the subject of a good deal of contradictory reporting before it eventually fell late in October .
Idiom: true to form (used idiomatically: yes)
There was no room for any more deadly mistakes . Methodically , Pétain set about ensuring there would be none . De Castelnau , true to form , had dictated the immediate recapture of Fort Douaumont , but after one suicidal failure Pétain immediately rescinded the order . ‘ Conserve your strength,’ he told his commanders ; ‘ the counter - offensive will follow.’ Instead , a ‘ position de barrage’ a well - organised defensive wall was to be erected along the ‘ Line of Resistance’that Pétain had traced out the night he took over command .
Idiom: heart to heart (used idiomatically: yes)
OURSELVES AND OTHERS Ethnocentricity is the natural condition of mankind . Most peoples of the world do not , in their conservative heart to hearts , like foreigners and display feelings of hostility ( often tinged with fear ) towards them . This indeed is one of the most widespread ways in which people declare and affirm their identity — by saying who they are not . Today , however , especially among the younger generation , we see a very different set of attitudes in western countries .
Idiom: see stars (used idiomatically: yes)
It is bad enough for the club hacker in the monthly medal , but infinitely worse for a tournament professional when there is a great deal of prize money at stake plus those vital Ryder Cup points . Another problem was that the show business element attracted a different kind of spectator . It was a deliberate policy to appeal to the family and the television audience , who came to the tournament to see their stars , not the golf stars . So there were large numbers of spectators who simply had no idea that you should be quiet when a golfer is about to hit a shot . In fact the professional golfers almost took a back seat , and it always afforded me some wry amusement when Ryder Cup golfers of repute were ignored by the spectators who were intent on getting the autograph of some star from a television soap opera .
Idiom: for the hell of it (used idiomatically: yes)
He remembered the last time he had been in this situation . On that occasion he had been ten years old As children between the wars , Yanto and his friends spent most of their Summers out in the estuary between tides . They could all swim like fish and occasionally , just for the hell of it , he and one or two of his braver friends would deliberately allow themselves to be cut off from their home bank by one of the smaller , less fearsome tides . Once the trough had flooded to a manageable width , the boys would swim for it , usually finishing up about one hundred yards upstream by the time they had struggled through the rough water and reached the home bank . The one occasion which was flashing through Yanto 's mind at this moment involved just three of the local water babies .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
Do n't collect the cress from the wild ; you buy the stuff as a salad garnish from most supermarkets and it will root quite readily in a glass of water . Finally , do investigate siporax as a filter medium : it appears to convert nitrate one step further alone the trail , to nitrogen gas . Ponds on a split level I intend to start building two ponds in my garden . I will link the two by a waterfall , because my garden is split level .
Idiom: close to home (used idiomatically: no)
Gluckman quotes one example of this from the ethnographic literature , an analysis of African village life in which gossiping between one lineage and another is believed to introduce a risk of sorcery . The fights of women ( held to be the main culprits ) who take their grumbles to outsiders provide an opportunity for these outsiders to bewitch the entire lineage . Another example , much closer to home , relates to the persecution of witches in pre - industrial Britain . A cursory glance at the literature in this field reveals the importance of suspicions concerning gossiping groups of women . Witches were also often midwives and healers , and it is interesting that their persecution coincided with the beginning of a ' takeover ' process in which the ( predominantly ) male medical profession acquired control over the care of women in childbirth — an area in which women were originally autonomous .
Idiom: heart to heart (used idiomatically: yes)
Of course she could say it was for the children , as people always did … It was true , up to a point . How terrible it was to have those easy phrases , trotted out so often in the course of gossip , or heart - to - hearts , or in magazine articles , or even court cases , become so real . It was never the sort of thing you thought about when you were young , when you were — or thought you were — in love , and all the future shone with promise . Problems belonged to other people .
Idiom: set eyes on (used idiomatically: yes)
Aline sees more of him on nights in Marcus.’ ‘ How 's she getting on ? I 've not set eyes on her since I got back.’ ‘ When does anyone see the night girls , love ? I 've only run into her once when she was coming back from nights off .
Idiom: fly the flag (used idiomatically: no)
To register , groups and individuals must phone Belfast 683000 . The aim of the Challenge Day is to encourage people of all ages to experience the fun of exercise and to incorporate a daily exercise routine into their lifestyle . The penalty , if Belfast loses , is to fly the Rostock flag over the city comes up trumps , Rostock will have to fly the Belfast flag over its city hall . Cash boost for Belleek Pottery THE first stage in a major investment programme at Belleek Pottery is being opened today by IDB chief executive Desmond McVeigh .
Idiom: down the tubes (used idiomatically: yes)
A monstrous form lay on it , covered by sheeting . I could see by its outline that it was at least notionally human . Of the machines clustering about the bench , I gained no clear idea , except that , by the head , a tank of a red liquid stood above it , dripping its contents down a tube which led under the sheet . And there were other tubes and other wires which crept under there , coupled to other tanks and other machines which quivered and laboured as if they also had some dim expectation of life . They did their work to the accompaniment of siphoning and sucking noises .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: yes)
The lower rate of SMP is to go up from £ 46.30 to £ 47.95 a week , and the weekly earnings threshold is increased from £ 54 to £ 56 . Free to campaign A short report in the Financial Times for 19/20 December 1992 states that women who were sacked from a mushroom farm after refusing new contracts that they alleged had made cuts in their pay , had been given permission by the Court of Appeal on 18 December 1992 to carry out a leaflet campaign to persuade shoppers not to buy the farm 's produce . All three judges allowed an appeal by the Transport and General Workers ' Union , which represented the 89 women sacked by Middlebrook Mushroom , and lifted an injunction which had blocked the campaign . Middlebrook said that the campaign amounted to a direct and therefore unlawful interference with its contracts of supply with supermarkets , but the Court of Appeal seems to have thought that this was overridden by the right of freedom of speech .
Idiom: in the loop (used idiomatically: yes)
As soon as the wall was mended , another truck 's brakes would fail . He could see the bar opposite too . The road dipping down into town and the bar with its brown tin roof and its dusty verandah , and a woman running out into the street , hair horizontal in the air behind her , strings of wooden beads swinging in a loop around her neck like a cow 's jaw chewing , her mouth wide open , a wedge hewn out of her face , as if someone had taken an axe to her , as if her mouth was a wound and her screaming the bleeding . He looked across at Georgia . Her head on the pillow .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: yes)
Even better I thought to find a society that automatically lets its existing investors know when a better deal becomes available . Sadly , in this second objective , I have to confess total failure . The more I looked at different societies , the more I saw the little traps lurking in the small print … My little local survey drove me to the conclusion that the Woolwich , in fact , offers some of the lowest rates on the market . Eventually I was drawn to a sign in the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society advertising 11.3 per cent.’
Idiom: tough as old boots (used idiomatically: yes)
She 's still looking a little wan . But the pale complexion will be masked in the make - up room . And she has shown already , beneath her frail exterior , Kylie is as tough as old boots . When Kylie first got involved in the film , rock megastar David Bowie was to have been the film 's executive producer . She was delighted at having the chance to work with one of the rock world 's most distinguished performers who had already branched out into the movie business .
Idiom: left and right (used idiomatically: yes)
The drawback is that this method allows very little latitude for error or changes of plan , but it does give a very realistic effect with excellent colour matching . FRONT PROJECTION For front projection , the projector is still threaded up reversing left and right , as in rear projection ( it is put in the ‘ wrong’ way round in order to come out correct in the final composite ) ; but instead of being behind a translucent screen it s in front of , and to one side of , a glass beaded screen which reflects nearly 100 per cent of the light falling on it but on y in the direction from which it came Though the projector is at 90 ° to the camera - screen axis and its beam is therefore initially parallel to the plane of the screen , passing in front of the actors in the foreground this beam is deflected by a half - silvered mirror at an angle of 45 ° to the beam This semi - transparent mirror is coated at the front ( unlike normal mirrors , coated behind the glass ) with a very thin layer of aluminium — silver tarnishes too easily Alternatively , the layer of aluminium may be spattered on , so that tiny reflective spots of metal are interspersed with tiny transparent gaps So , although it reflects the beam , the camera can photograph both the action and the reflection from the screen through the mirror Though the mirror reflects the still or moving image from the projector on to the actors and any foreground props or sets as well as on to the screen , the level of illumination of the image is much less than that on the actors , so the camera records only that part of the image reflected from the screen . Equally important , the bodies of the actors conceal their own shadows on the screen , provided they do n't move too fast and the camera stands still , or at least does not move sideways This restriction can be irksome at times in which case rear projection — otherwise largely superseded — comes into play . ZOPTIC PROCESS
Idiom: sell your soul (used idiomatically: yes)
It turns out that both ladies have been at the Rossellini anti - wrinkle juice — with increasingly disastrous consequences . So far , so good and we have the movie that the misconceived She Devil should have been . But you ca n't sell your soul without a hefty penalty and for eternal youth read everlasting life as every bump and scratch sees the women crack up like second - hand cars . When they both snuff it — Streep is pushed down the stairs and Hawn shot — the movie 's special effects come into their own as failed plastic surgeon Willis sets to with the spray paint and filler to patch up the damage . Death Becomes Her is a glitzy , glossy affair which glides through its paces in vapidly enertaining Zemeckis style , but a movie which starts out with a huge talent to amuse loses its impetus .
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
ha , how can I say , what , whe when you 're talking about fa , I mean fast moving consumer good are fast Mm . moving off the shelves and into the shop and , what we would do was erm deli people now do er , stock an order by computer and , and people like Sainsburys were doing that in the seventies , you know , and they would actually work over er work on erm data erm , from their computer and order er erm you know , okay , they 'd be an event at the weekend or something and they 'd , they 'd of , increase it or something , but they would technically work out exactly what the throughput of certain items were . And it goes through the till now does n't it ? Yeah .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Boyz N The Hood’ draws on Singleton 's own experience of growing up in South Central LA . ‘ It 's not my life frame by frame but my heart is in every scene of this film,’ he says . It follows the coming - of - age adventures of three teenage boys , obsessed with sex , rebelling against their parents and worrying about the future . But where the most profound problem for the white teenagers in John Hughes ' popular brat - pack drama ‘ The Breakfast Club’ was alienation from their affluent parents , for the black kids of The Hood it 's avoiding being gunned down in random gang violence . ‘ You ai n't really down , between the ages of 13 , 14 , 15 , you 're not really down less you know how to shoot a gun,’ he says of life in South Central LA .