Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
But at least if his mother could tell , he reflected , she had not made any sign . In fact Flavia Sherman had paid less attention than usual to her two sons since her arrival at the camp . The dawn ride alone with Jacques Devraux through the breathtaking natural beauty of the tropical forest had first heightened the pleasurable feeling of pent - up excitement that had been growing within her in recent days , then eventually left her feeling tense and on edge . Since the evening of the reception at the governor 's palais when she had turned her head to find him looking at her , the memory of the naked desire she had seen in Jacques Devraux 's eyes had smouldered in her mind . Because she knew he would be meeting her at the road alone , she had risen very early and bathed and scented herself with special care in her suite at the Continental Palace that morning .
Idiom: cut and dried (used idiomatically: yes)
Cameroun and South Korea are the teams to avoid from the fourth pool . Certainly England will not complain if they are confronted with Costa Rica , and 1950 is a sufficiently dim memory now not to have bad vibes about the United States . Yesterday 's proceedings were not entirely cut and dried . The organising committee took four hours to announce the seedings and draw order , much of the time being taken up trying to persuade West Germany , who had assumed they were going to Verona , to switch to Milan at the last moment . The problem stemmed from Turin 's — and therefore Fiat 's — demand for an attractive seed to grace the city 's new stadium .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Yeah well … ’ Laverne passes his hand through his hair with a weariness of responsibility well beyond his years . ‘ Listen , Laverne , it 's no problem , it 's just one of those things.’ I step back , prepared to leave , unwilling to dwell on any disappointment . Underfoot , a soggy tiger - trap of a burrow roof gives in like brown sugar .
Idiom: turn a blind eye (used idiomatically: yes)
Since 1979 when the Conservatives came to power Durham Constabulary has received approval for 40 extra officers , a three per cent increase . Mr Milburn is writing to Mr Baker with figures showing that while 29,021 crimes were recorded in the county in 1978 , the figure for the nine months to September 1991 was 63,418 a 118.5 per cent increase . ‘ It simply is not good enough for the government to turn a blind eye ; Darlington needs more police officers,’ he said . Labour would provide more Bobbies on the beat . Planner fears further car chaos
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: no)
Some 22 demonstrators and activists were brought to trial at the Beijing municipal intermediate court on Jan. 5 and 26 , in connection with the pro - democracy demonstrations which ended in the government crackdown in Tiananmen Square on June 4 , 1989 [ see pp . 36720 - 22 ] . The State Council spokesman , Yuan Mu , said on Jan. 10 that a policy of " leniency " was being adopted in the trials , which were closed to foreign observers . Prison sentences of two to seven years were handed down in January to 15 students and intellectuals . Wang Dan , the most wanted student leader , was convicted on Jan. 26 of " counter - revolutionary incitement and propaganda " . His sentence , of four years in prison with one year 's deprivation of political rights , took into consideration his repentance and his assistance in " exposing " others , the court said .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
Follow grass ridge to the summit of Pen yr Ole Wen . Go east descending a spur on a well used track , with little rock steps to reach the track at Afon Lloer . Follow this track over a stile heading south . Descend to meet the footpath going west on the north side of Llyn Ogwen to reach the A5 . Turn left onto the path to each the tea hut at Ogwen ( 649 603 ) .
Idiom: with a will (used idiomatically: no)
We must be prepared to focus unsentimentally on antiracism 's inability to respond to other distinctive aspects of these new forms of racism . Apart from the way that racial meanings are inferred rather than stated openly , these new forms are distinguished by the extent to which they identify race with the terms ' culture ' and ' identity ' , terms which have their own resonance in antiracist orthodoxy . The new racism has a third important feature which enables it to slip through the rationalist approach of those who , with the best will in the world , reduce the problem of racism to the sum of power and prejudice . This is the closeness it suggests between the idea of race and the ideas of nation , nationality and national belonging . We increasingly face a racism which avoids being recognized as such because it is able to link ' race ' with nationhood , patriotism and nationalism , a racism which has taken a necessary distance from crude ideas of biological inferiority and superiority and now seeks to present an imaginary definition of the nation as a unified cultural community .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah the other morning I hell of a squeak of brakes and they had two vans and as you used to turn the corner by Swatons , the bollards are out Yeah the wrong , the wrong side of the road , of course you 've got the blind bend , somebody had gone round there , somebody else was coming down old Whitton Road legally
Idiom: get up someone's nose (used idiomatically: no)
' Why ca n't bloody rabbits come and eat my lawns ? ' Adam always referred to ' my lawns ' , ' my house ' , ' my furniture ' . It had got up Rufus 's nose a bit , though Adam had a perfect right to do this . It was his , all of it , and it went to his head rather . Nineteen - year - olds seldom inherit country mansions , after all .
Idiom: on the blink (used idiomatically: yes)
She told a Dublin newspaper : ‘ I wish to express my apologies to those I let down.’ The promoter claimed he was told of her decision one hour before the show . Mel 's on the blink ACTOR Mel Gibson has had to take his driving test again — for blinking . His photograph on the licence had his eyes shut , making it illegal in California .
Idiom: run riot (used idiomatically: yes)
And when it comes to appointments , they just get on the blower to somebody and say ‘ give me your views’ , and it 's the same circle of people they know and trust . It 's not necessarily done with bad intentions , but unless there 's much greater flow in and out , then I fear we 're on a downward path . This is not the sort of complaint one would expect after years in which Downing Street was running riot by appointing one maverick after another . In fact , the Great and Good are not nearly as changed as popular myth would have it . The spectacularly political appointments of the Thatcher years , like sending the right - wing journalist Lord Chalfont to be deputy chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , are outnumbered by the nomination of much more traditional figures .
Idiom: nine times out of ten (used idiomatically: yes)
You hear them going off . The only time we really react to them is when , perhaps , it 's on our car we do n't them to disturb anybody and you 're trying to fumble about with your keys and switch the thing off . If you 've got an alarm which is faulty and repeatedly goes off then , nine times out of ten , you ought to switch the thing off in the first place . And I think there was a local radio article er a couple of days ago that said that car alarms do not work any more house alarms do providing you 've got good neighbours to respond to it . The prices of alarms , as well , you 'd be quite surprised they do not range from a thousand .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
Two assailants were pressing Agrippa whilst the other three had apparently forgotten me and were intent on bringing my master down . I closed my eyes and spurred my horse forward , my huge sword rising and falling as if I was the Grim Reaper himself . It 's a wonder I did n't kill Benjamin but , when I opened my eyes , two of the rogues were dead of huge gashes between shoulder and neck whilst Benjamin was on the point of driving his sword straight through the breast of a third . Agrippa , his fat face covered in sweat , had already despatched one but now had lost his sword and kept turning his horse sharply to counter his final opponent . I waited until the fellow turned his back , charged and felt my sword sink deep into his exposed shoulder .
Idiom: clutch at straws (used idiomatically: yes)
I have n't eaten all day . Ca n't we eat around here ? ' She knew she was clutching at straws but nothing would get her up the West End . ' But I booked the table especially . We 're celebrating . '
Idiom: high and low (used idiomatically: no)
It 's living with the consequences that 's difficult . " The teacher can help the children reflect by focusing the discussion or task in hand , or s / he can create opportunities for the children to consider their work for themselves . Sometimes we need to reflect publicly , sometimes to provide space for a few moments of private reflection — this might mean the children sit quietly alone while the teacher asks questions which they respond to in their thoughts , or the reflection might take the form of a diary , or perhaps an " emotional map " charting the highs and lows of a journey / adventure / exploration . Showing or sharing work always contains possibilities for reflection . If a small group has shown its work , try to encourage discussion in terms of meaning , rather than by judging it .
Idiom: hot and heavy (used idiomatically: yes)
The next day the sun woke them early , beating down from a clear sky , baking those tiles it could reach on the terrace so that the children hopped over them , nimble as cats on hot bricks . The distant hills were burnt to the ashen colour of the landscape Martini 's horseman rode through , each crowned by its sweltering farmhouse , now turned into a holiday home . Jacqueline ran naked , pulled at skirts and trousers , whining at the heat , but no one was prepared to take a hot and heavy child in their arms . Hugh wore a pair of neat white shorts which made him look ready for tennis . Haverford fanned himself with his panama hat and wheezed like a rusty concertina .
Idiom: wide of the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Hollywood’ , he called it , compared with some of his more serious orchestral and instrumental works which could more properly be ranked with French films and Calvacante . ‘ It is of course a hotch - potch of good and bad’ said the Musical Times in 1930 , admitting that it also was nevertheless ‘ the hit of the season’ . A performance such as this persuades us that such assessments are quite wide of the mark , and almost as unjust as the neglect of Summer 's Last Will . Rio Grande 's gaiety and sense of beauty triumphantly survive the fashions that found it ‘ smart’ ; and a hotch - potch is exactly what it is not . One of the most striking qualities evident here is its unity , not a note too many or too few .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: no)
First correct entries out of the bag win . GENESIS CLIP GABRIEL 'S WINGS PETER Gabriel has launched an amazing attack on former rock pals Genesis . Gabriel , who split from the supergroup in 1975 , claims his career has suffered because of his association with the band . The talented singer has won acclaim for speaking out against injustice with hard-hitting songs like Biko and Shock The Monkey .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: no)
This led to a lucrative offer from Hollywood . ‘ Disney executives flew me out there and gave me the kind of treatment I 'd always dreamed about when I was an actress … bouquets , champagne , limousines,’ says Lynda . But the project still has n't seen the light of day . Last year Prime Suspect , her nail - biting drama about a woman CID officer tracking a serial killer , had viewers hooked , and later won a British Academy award . The follow - up , Prime Suspect 2 , will be shown in December .
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: no)
' Bog Oak ' ? Ooh , maybe 25 ? ' Luke said sourly , ' I hear nice things about ' The Old Botanical Gardens ' . ' They talked about other Christmas flops and bombs , delaying for as long as they could any mention of TCT 's ' Tis He Whose Yester - evening 's High Disdain ' , which had cost practically nothing to make and had already done 120 million in its first three weeks . ' What happened ? '
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: no)
We trooped along and he more than likely brought his mate John Grey along with him . He looked much the same as he did later , with a T - shirt and his 5000 volt haircut . We had a few drinks and all thought he seemed a bit of a laugh so we asked him to come back to the shop with us and have a bit of a sing . He was obviously nervous about it , but he came . We put a few records on the jukebox and got him to mime along .
Idiom: to a T (used idiomatically: yes)
She 's been asked to sit on a human rights commission and now she 's full of stories of gruesome tortures in Turkish prisons , of Russian poets locked up in psychiatric wards.’ Violette grinned . ‘ It suits Mat to a T.’ ‘ I think she 's wonderful.’ Katherine paused , took a deep breath , looked at Violette 's face in the mirror , her own next to it .
Idiom: in the pink (used idiomatically: no)
A CRACKED old plate , given to a hard - up student by the owner of a house she moved into , has brought her £ 22,500 . The 17th century Lambeth plate , which was held together by glue and string , was bought by a London dealer at a Sheffield auction . Soccer side in the pink A FOOTBALL team is putting rivals in the shade — after painting their opponents ' dressing room PINK . Third Division Torquay were told the colour would make visitors feel less competitive .
Idiom: nuts and bolts (used idiomatically: no)
And then in a few minutes Dennis is going to join with me in explaining to you how we are going to make the quality planning procedure work for you . We 've already decided that a typical organization will in fact use the same procedures and work instructions on all its work , because an , a typical organization manufactures ice - creams . Or it makes nuts and bolts . And they do the same thing day in day out . And the way in which a hierarchy of documentation is structured in such an organization , is by having policy from which procedures are developed , from which working structures cascade .
Idiom: play into someone's hands (used idiomatically: yes)
Until the last couple of years , Fujitsu looked the most likely company to catch IBM up in terms of size and reach , but the company is now beset by all the problems that assail IBM , led by an over - dependence on mainframes . In the mid - range , its key products are derivative , coming from its ICL Plc affiliate and Sun Microsystems Inc , while in personal computers it is an also - ran in Japan , not visible in the US , and only a significant player in Europe by proxy via ICL . Its strongest American card is its 44 % stake in Amdahl Corp , and while IBM appears to be playing into Amdahl 's hands in the short term , Amdahl knows it has to build a big new business almost from scratch out of Unix and its Huron applications development and delivery environment if it is to grow much beyond its present $ 2,500 m or so annual business . Nor is Fujitsu in any position to improve its position with another acquisition — its balance sheet is too stretched and it ca n't use its shares — too few US investors would want to hold them . Loser
Idiom: Jekyll and Hyde (used idiomatically: yes)
And she said , but I did n't realise how somebody erm , could change that much Mm , mm . must oh she 's like Jekyll , Jekyll and Hyde . Mm But I do n't know , I honestly do n't know what become of , become of that women I honestly do n't , I mean she 's sixty now .
Idiom: keep tabs on (used idiomatically: yes)
They talked about the difficulty of getting food in , when all they could find was Chinese takeaway ; about strange knocks at the door of the hotel room , and why the Iranians sometimes left unexpectedly , and who the hell they were really dealing with ; about North 's pressing need for aspirin ; and about getting the hostages out , for which the only foreseeable currency was arms . The hostages mattered terribly . Although so little was heard from them , those who kept tabs on them were convinced that they were slowly fading away . Occasional letters and photographs would come from Terry Anderson , an AP journalist captured in 1985 ; the face grew more haggard , the eyes more accusing and staring . Of William Buckley , the CIA station chief in Beirut , his captors sent back videotapes as he died , slowly , of the effects of pulmonary oedema and neglect .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: no)
The Oscar nominations Midnight Cowboy received were Best Picture , Best Supporting Actress ( Sylvia Miles ) , Best Director , Best Screenplay adaptation , and both Voight and Dustin for Best Actor , forcing each of them to practise their smiles for the possibility of losing out to the other . In the event , the award went to the veteran midday cowboy John Wayne for his performance in True Grit and/or for never having won an Oscar before . Life magazine ran an article entitled ‘ Dusty and the Duke’ in which they contrasted the poles - apart stars with photos of Wayne in colour and Dustin in black - and - white . Later , both Dustin and Voight avowed they were rooting for Wayne , despite the wide political divergence between them and the older star . ( The same year , Wayne had acted in and directed the gung - ho Green Berets , which supported US military involvement in Vietnam . )
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
Requests Neville who oversees the zany stock - takes once a week keeps a watchful eye on the joke , gag novelty market . There 's always a demand for jokes and it goes right across the board,’ says Neville.’ ‘ All age groups and especially girls coming in for hen party gimmicks naughty , rude practical jokes they are certainly selling well . ‘ We do have some strange requests one man came in and said can I have a Veronica Lake wig!’ laughed part - time assistant May Orritt .
Idiom: put paid to (used idiomatically: yes)
Your Hero is Back and needs help to rescue the captured children being held by the Vicious Vegetables . We fell about laughing at the jogging carrots , head butting parsnips and other whacky characters as we jumped , climbed and ran about the many levels . A well aimed flower bomb soon put paid to the battling vegies , but only for a few seconds to give you time to pass , save the children and leave quickly . Shin up the fireman 's poles to heights never reached before but before careful the potato does n't bash your head in at the top . Game players every where are now queuing up for a copy of this excellent graphical game with breathtaking colours .
Idiom: get a move on (used idiomatically: yes)
She 'd been told it was malignant and now , in a few minutes , a surgeon would remove it . Avril was worried — but not about the operation . ‘ Would you tell everyone to get a move on?’ she asked a startled nurse . ‘ I 've got a visitor coming at six o'clock and I want to make a good impression on him — it 's twenty to four already.’ Avril had planned to have her hair and make - up done by two fellow patients , in time for her special visitor , widower Peter Spencer , 54 .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: no)
I have changed a lot , ' she answered . She was older , but still beautiful . I had never before seen such a soft light in those once proud eyes , or felt such a friendly touch of her once cold hand . ' It 's strange , Estella ! After so many years , we meet by chance , here , where we first met ! '
Idiom: up to scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
ended with Lisa Stansfield . The Eighties began with The Magic Of Boney M and ended with the never - ending saga of the Rolling Stones . At the start of the decade the 2-Tone bands were keeping everybody up to scratch about racism , and by the end of it a member of Duran Duran had bought himself a house in South Africa . Queen played at Sun City and were reviled , then played at Live Aid and were forgiven . In 1980 U2 were four callow youths from Dublin , and in 1989 people come looking for miracle cures in Bono 's front garden .
Idiom: a hair's breadth (used idiomatically: yes)
In earlier times in North America these animals provided the Indians with many of their daily needs . But it was commercial hunting by European settlers that devastated the animals ' populations . The classic case is that of the American bison , reduced from millions to a handful of individuals , and saved from extinction by a hair 's breadth . Men continue to hunt in North America , rarely these days for subsistence , but more usually for sport . But the effects can still be devastating .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
This is the same young man who bit the ear of the governor — and we can only meet and get to know him in the novel itself . Get to know as opposed to get at . The ‘ At Tikhon 's ’ chapter , rejected by the editor and finally abandoned by the novelist , gets at , ponders the case of , somebody we never even meet there : the smiling man outside the monastery is Raskolnikov , and the document in his pocket recounts Svidrigailov 's deeds . The pondering , the getting at the absent Stavrogin , proves successful ; many acute observations buttress the central ‘ lukewarm ’ truth about him , and analysis spills over into the notebooks where Tikhon 's God's-voice function appears at its clearest . ‘ Try to hold something sacred , no matter what it be , ’ he exhorts Stavrogin who replies ‘ What for ? ’
Idiom: writ large (used idiomatically: yes)
That area should now be hived off along the line delineated in Map B. The new Northern Ireland should then be firmly secured within the political set - up of the United Kingdom by being treated thereafter on exactly the same basis as , say , Yorkshire or Lancashire . The very last thing either community in Northern Ireland needs is Belfast City Hall writ large transferred to Stormont . WLF Belfast 5 YOUR STARS
Idiom: in the soup (used idiomatically: yes)
Science is still puzzling on the handedness of all sub - units of protein and nucleic acid in earthborn living cells . It is a mathematical possibility that our mirror images exist on another planet . Perhaps , in the primordial soup , left and right handedness were in free competition until some small chance advantage became overwhelming through the evolutionary progress . But it is more likely that a physical restraint influenced the swirling liquids — just as bad weather cyclones and hurricanes are anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise south of the equator of spinning planet Earth . Neither does science know why a majority of humans prefer using their right hands to their left hands .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
Some companies and plants need to be available for personal contact at ~ all times but find it uneconomic to have their own round - the - clock control centre . The new Building Systems Service subdivision offers them a cost - effective alternative with its intermediary service .
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: no)
One way is to change the angle of the shot so that the light comes cross - wise and hence will not be reflected straight back to the camera . Another is to reduce the proportion of dark background area relative to the subject , either by shifting to a more suitable setting or by moving in to a bigger close - up so that the dark background is reduced in size . The symptoms of over - contrast are not always easy to spot on the monochrome viewfinder picture , so it pays to be specially vigilant if the light is very bright . Another video weakness to guard against is the coarse and grainy look of plain surfaces in bright primary colours , especially reds . Shiny plastic rainwear and children 's toys are common examples .