Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: hit the ceiling (used idiomatically: yes)
Private Richard Downs , 19 , said he was serving as a bar steward in the officers ' mess of the First Battalion Duke of Wellington 's Regiment on election night — April 9 . By 4.30am pint glasses were being hurled around the mess while officers chanted ‘ Vote Tory’ . One tankard hit the ceiling , another broke a window . Stormed Finally , when an officer fell off the bar , Private Downs complained about their behaviour .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: no)
A woman in a black ~ dress is pulling a cart and is standing near two men who are seated on a park ~ bench
Idiom: sleight of hand (used idiomatically: yes)
Robarchek ( this volume ) sets his discussion of the Semai within the frame of what he argues has become a ' sterile dichotomy in Western thought ' as a direct result of the ideas of these two philosophers . Sexism Third , the views of the innate aggressionists and their followers reflect — and implicitly reinforce — sexism , since it is usually man who is presented in the Hobbesian mould , with a sleight - of - hand extension of man into Man . Here the subject of enquiry purports to be an understanding of human nature , whereas the object of study is in fact the male half of society . Woman is either ignored or presented as innately less aggressive than man .
Idiom: for the time being (used idiomatically: yes)
First was the increase for inflation and that comes to fifty three thousand pounds this is referred to in paragraph four thousand pounds is equivalent to two point six percent and the committee 's fully protected for inflation . The second element is the real increased resources for the committee and that comes to thirty five thousand pounds and that 's something at one point six percent . Now if you can just say on that , that that excludes any resources for the economic development action plan and for the time being resources for that initiative are being held centrally into Personnel and Finance sub - committee 's budget and as the action plans develop then money will be released from a contingency there to er go to the Planning Department or to whichever department that has actually been implementing that particular part of the action . The final element in the change of eighty four thousand pounds between years is the reduction in the committee 's budget four thousand pounds for efficiency savings , which we discussed and agreed at the meeting in September . Focusing then on how the new money has been spent , and this is covered in paragraph seven and eight of the report the thirty five thousand pounds conditional resources for Policy Resources Committee has been added to by six thousand seven hundred which er savings from existing budgets within the committee so there 's a total of forty one thousand seven hundred to er each new developments or er or other pressures within the committee and the items that you see before you here have been discussed between the Chairman and Vice - Chairman of this committee er County Planning Officer and Chairman and Vice - Chairman of the Policy Resources Committee , so it 's these sorts of discussions that these items have arisen in front of you .
Idiom: keep someone posted (used idiomatically: yes)
Chapter 33 Ferrand was very pleased with himself . He had , of course , kept Nora posted on his acquisitions over the year , so she knew he already had more than half the land they were after . But only yesterday he had pulled off the best purchase yet — not the biggest , but a vital strip of land running along the foreshore . He was rubbing a red crayon over this latest addition to his map when Nora arrived .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: yes)
' François — please , there 's no need for that . I … ' Jean - Paul half - rose from his seat , but the boy had gone , weaving his way through the throng of people behind the bar . Jean - Paul shrugged , and sank back into his chair . He looked very flushed , almost guilty , Isobel thought curiously .
Idiom: every last (used idiomatically: yes)
Echolocation in bats , although unknown in Paley 's time , would have served his purpose just as well as any of his examples . Paley rammed home his argument by multiplying up his examples . He went right through the body , from head to toe , showing how every part , every last detail , was like the interior of a beautifully fashioned watch . In many ways I should like to do the same , for there are wonderful stories to be told , and I love storytelling . But there is really no need to multiply examples .
Idiom: catch a cold (used idiomatically: yes)
It came after Benn failed to attend a press conference at London 's Bloomsbury Crest Hotel to publicise his WBC super - middlewight title defence against Nicky Piper at Alexandra Palace on Saturday . Hearn rang him at his home to plead with him to change his mind but Benn just snapped : ‘ I 'm not coming.’ But later it was revealed the real reason for Benn 's no - show was that he was too frightened to catch a cold . He only arrived back in England on Tuesday from his sunny Tenerife training camp . Hearn said : ‘ What happens next depends on what is said by Nigel — he 's in breach of contract and I could fine him , although I do n't like that.’
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
But if you would n't tell me I had to find out the only way I could,’ Travis explained , tightening his arms about her . ‘ How did you find out?’ Curiosity got the better of her . ‘ With logic and a slice of luck . I knew you were protecting someone , but I could n't be sure who .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
' Darling Edouard , ' she said . ' I love you in a very special way and I knew you would understand . I did do the right thing , did n't I ? ' ' Most certainly . ' He smiled .
Idiom: on the mend (used idiomatically: yes)
Vincent had looked up Sien and been dismayed to find her and the children in poor health and deplorable conditions . She had not gone back to whoring , but eked out a miserable living as a washerwoman , for which she lacked the stamina . It was Theo and their father in unholy alliance who had talked him into abandoning Sien when she was on the mend , he now alleged . They were both cruel and worldly . Upset by what he had seen and casting around for someone to blame , he translated his guilt into aggression and resurrected the threat of marriage to Sien as a supposed solution .
Idiom: have the last laugh (used idiomatically: yes)
After the infamous Mike Gatting - Shakoor Rana row in 1987 , Graveney , 65 , said of Pakistan : ' They 've been cheating us for 37 years and it is just getting worse and worse . ' Pakistan have n't complained yet but ICC secretary Colonel John Stephenson has sent a FAX to their Board ' asking whether there is any official objection ' . Smith has last laugh Graham Otway ROBIN SMITH last night laughed off reports that an injury could wreck his early tour plans in India .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: no)
Is that what you 're trying to say , Mister Johnny ? ' But Mister Johnny just laughed ; he was bored with this game . He wandered off round the room , looking at himself in the mirrors and pulling faces and laughing . Albert said , ' I 'm sure he did see Mr Evans and I think what he saw him take was an envelope . I saw one in the box once when she was trying her pearls on to see if they went with one of the dresses .
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
In summary , a disappointing performance for me . As I say , it is the chorus which too often fails to rise to the occasion . But readers may be attracted by the line - up of vocal soloists and , by and large , they will not be disappointed . Recorded sound is clear but unexceptional and the booklet contains full Latin texts with translations and a helpful introduction to the work by Andreas Glöchner . N.A.
Idiom: white hat (used idiomatically: yes)
The only parties she attends are in a business capacity … ' She sat down at the helm , resting one hand on the tiller , and thrusting the other into her pocket . In navy rope - soled canvas espadrilles , a white cricket hat and a yellow swimsuit under the shirt , she 'd felt equipped to face whatever the day might bring . But there was no fail - safe way to dress for outings in Roman 's company . Whatever she wore , she 'd feel acutely self - conscious .
Idiom: cut and dried (used idiomatically: yes)
The fact that most of them already had criminal records was widely publicised and used as evidence of their guilt in the Chai Qing Feng case . The Guangming Daily had carried an article on 4 June , stating that , ‘ a gang of ruffians violently beat a Beijing University postgraduate to death.’ ( GMRB 4 . 6 . 1988 ) The case , it was said , was ‘ basically cut and dried’ , thus publicly condemning the six before they were even tried . Other newspapers carried similar articles in an effort to show to the Beida students that something was being done quickly about the case . After the speedy ‘ trial’ and a statutory appeal , which was dismissed , as is usual within a few hours , one of the six was executed and the others started long prison sentences .
Idiom: walk of life (used idiomatically: yes)
But this meant that the areas with most problems are usually those where property values are low and where there are therefore fewest resources available to pay for remedial services . Second , while many other tax sources are buoyant , property assessments only rise slowly and so more revenue means raising the tax rate and this always causes trouble as the tax is regressive , weighing more heavily as a percentage of total income on those in the lower income ranges . These weaknesses as administrative agencies partly explain the suspicion of local government in the central departments and among many politicians and others in all walks of life . In part , these feelings sprang from the tremendously centralized tradition of British society and administration . It was felt by many politicians and officials that local government , in its recent form , was slow and inept so that the departments dealing with local authorities either developed a mass of controls to enable them to watch over local authorities or actually withdrew services from the local authorities .
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: yes)
Silk Slippers may not enable Sangster to challenge the Arab supremacy , but an English Classic success after a five-year gap would come like manna from heaven . Silk Slippers certainly looks the part , being a staying filly with speed in the mould of Midway Lady , who took the 1,000 and Oaks three years ago . What was so impressive about Silk Slippers 's victory was that she twice had to overcome difficulties in running and William Hill 's offer of 33-1 about the daughter of Nureyev for the Oaks is particularly tempting . She certainly looks a more attractive three-year-old prospect than Digression , who won the big juvenile colts ' event , the Royal Lodge Stakes . Digression won well enough , but the big minus factor against him is the fact that he is by the American stallion , Seattle Slew , whose progeny have tended not to train on over here .
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: yes)
Burns waved cheerfully to him and walked back to the main entrance . ‘ I 'll see ye,’ he called . Billy did n't hurry till he was out of sight . Joe Burns was lying about finding the gates and the back door open . He was lying when he said he 'd checked the house .
Idiom: between a rock and a hard place (used idiomatically: yes)
That scarcely needed saying . Lisa felt a chill go through her . Suddenly she was caught between a rock and a hard place . ‘ So , I would advise you,’ he added , nodding at her folder , ‘ to make a bonfire with those sketches and start again from scratch.’ That did it .
Idiom: bite the dust (used idiomatically: yes)
FRANK WIECHULA RAY WILKINS knows old club Manchester United will be all out for revenge today after Queens Park Rangers effectively cost them the title last year . Rangers ' stunning 4 - 1 upset win at Old Trafford on New Year 's Day was a demoralising set - back , and Alex Ferguson 's championship hopes eventually bit the dust . Now Rangers face the backlash in a top - five clash at Old Trafford today , with evergreen skipper Wilkins , 36 , saying : ‘ I thought they 'd have bounced back after that defeat . ‘ But United did n't , and looking back it was just the start of their slide .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
I ca n't say I was enamoured of the prospect of paying £ 150 entrance fee and about the same in annual subscription , but keen to do the right thing , I asked Robert Balfour , then Chairman of the Scottish Arts Council and Dawyck Haig to propose and second me . I could have saved myself the trouble . They do not have black balls at the New Club , but they have even more members in the legal profession than Muirfield ; and word reached me that the election committee had received objections to my membership too strong to ignore . On this occasion I was more relieved than sorry , yet could n't help but smile at the ingenious way they had managed to ease me out . Sadly , that was not even the last of the clubs to deny me membership .
Idiom: on the carpet (used idiomatically: yes)
The princess was very fond of stories , so she was eager to listen to the wise woman . " Sit beside me on my carpet , then , and I will tell you about the golden apple and the nine peahens . " But when the princess sat down beside her on the carpet , the wise woman snatched up her whip and lashed the carpet with it ; next minute they were far away , flying back to the king 's palace . And the king shut his daughter in a tower , lest she be stolen again . The poor young lord was grief.stricken at the loss of his bride , and the animals were very downcast in sympathy .
Idiom: do me a favour (used idiomatically: no)
I 've decided — unless you do n't want to?’ She hesitated . ‘ I do n't want you to do me a favour.’ ‘ Well I 'm not . Now let it drop.’
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: yes)
His mother hopes her complaint to the polcie will prevent anything similar happening to other families . An investigation has begun into an accident which killed a police motorcycle instructor . PC Peter Betts was on a training run when he crashed into a hedge as he tried to avoid a head - on collision with a lorry . Two other police riders escaped serious injury . GRAEME BOWD / Bodenham
Idiom: grist to the mill (used idiomatically: yes)
This sad , artificial division between the theoretical and the empirical is quite unnecessary , but reflects the structure of the sociological profession itself , affected as it is by its history and its own peculiar form of development in Britain . True sociology is never divorced from theory , yet it never builds its theory without facts , and the hypothesis , I contend , is the crucial link between the two . Background knowledge derived from population censuses , market research surveys , government annual abstracts of statistics , historical records and so on , are all grist to the mill of the social researcher . But when scientific method is employed to keep the work of sociology along the lines of a growing discipline then a close relationship between theory , hypothesis and facts must be maintained . The problem of designing a complete research project is frequently encountered by university lecturers who have to supervise undergraduate dissertations which are supposed to have some element , no matter how small , of ‘ research’ in them .
Idiom: strike a chord (used idiomatically: yes)
In the years between the wars G. K. Chesterton and Evelyn Waugh had been converts to Rome . The Inklings , as they liked to call themselves , were more commonly Anglican , but their views were blatantly traditional and unashamedly patriotic and backward - looking . J. R. R. Tolkien ( 1892–1973 ) , a Catholic by upbringing , wrote in praise of the remembered virtues of the British Tommy in the trenches during the First World War , and the enormous and highly improbable success of The Lord of the Rings ( 1954–5 ) , for all that it began as a cult in the United States rather than at home , struck a chord that was ultimately insular , tribal and boldly British . Where Modernists like Pound and Eliot had been intruders into island life , the new school of Christian apologists , in every sense that matters , were British bred even when they were not British born . Tolkien had been brought from South Africa at the age of four ; Lewis was a Belfast man schooled in England for whom , like his Mend Tolkien , the Western Front had proved the deepest trauma of a largely bookish life ; Charles Williams , an Oxford publisher who died in 1945 , was a Londoner ; Dorothy Sayers , who died a dozen years later , the daughter of an Anglican clergyman ; and Owen Barfield a London solicitor who shared with his friends a passion for all things lexical , and above all for the etymology of words .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
With equal determination , Annie was making it clear by chatting away happily to Ibn Fayoud and his schoolgirl friend that it would be rude to leave before the dancing had been under way for half an hour or so . To Kelly , watching them as she sipped her port , it was clear who was going to win . On training matters , Annie deferred to her husband ; on everything else , she had the last word . ' We 'd better have that dance , ' she said to Jack Butler . ' I get the feeling that my boss and his wife will be out of here before long .
Idiom: take it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
The tables were covered with the velvet Dave had found and the exhibits laid out in an orderly fashion . Then , I thought , we could finally sit down and take it easy . ' Take it easy , did I say ! It was all go from 8.00am until we finally finished at 5.00pm . The interest shown by the public surpassed all our expectations .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
It had been a sweet night — the shadows growing deeper as they 'd talked , until she 'd finally drifted off to sleep with his arms tight about her and his lips on her hair . Now , with the faint light of morning appearing through the curtains , she was content simply to gaze on his sleeping features , wishing the moment would never end , wishing she could lie here forever , holding the man who held her heart . Impulsively she touched her lips to his shoulder and he stirred sleepily , smiling as he opened his eyes . ‘ Good morning , little one,’ he said softly . ‘ Did you sleep well?’
Idiom: come to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
It is easier , for example , to say ' Jezebel ' than to go into a particular description of a certain sort of woman . Likewise , the circumlocution necessary to avoid describing someone as a ' Jekyll - and - Hyde character ' is a considerable argument in favour of the cliche . These expressions , and those like them ( Uriah Heep , Job 's Comforter , Don Quixote come immediately to mind ) involve a character who is used for a particular , and rather limited , purpose , namely the personalisation of a distinct quality . Characters and countries Other characters who exist astride their primary source are more difficult to analyse .
Idiom: rough and tumble (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ We have a tradition in our home of setting up a little crib and surrounding it with Nativity figures . We picked these up on a visit we made to the island of Haiti a few years ago , and they 've become part of our Christmas celebrations ever since.’ Kate describes their Victorian home as a ‘ scruffy , old family house that manages to withstand the rough and tumble of four children , two cats and a dog’ . But despite all the comings and goings , the Dysons ' home has an attractive , cheerful atmosphere . When you have young children it 's really lovely to decorate the house for them
Idiom: sign of the times (used idiomatically: yes)
With electronic aids to navigation proliferating on small boats of all kinds and technology advancing on all fronts it is hardly surprising that a revised second edition of this volume has been required only three years after first publication . Author Mik Chinery runs a powerboat school and has been involved in the incorporation of electronic navigation in RYA courses , a background which has enabled him to explain the principles and application of this still relatively new field . Although he sounds the traditional warning that all electronics are aids to ‘ proper’ navigation it is perhaps a sign of the times that he admits that many now see the chart - and- pencil methods as aids to the electronics … Also of note is that with increasingly user - friendly electronics one finds less in the way of detailed technical explanation of the operating theories , an entirely reasonable approach . Given the essential technical background and the sound approach advocated in Simple Electronic Navigation both the tyro and the more experienced should be able to select their electronics with ease and obtain better and more reliable use from them .
Idiom: have a cow (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm , I mean , horses , probably have two horses . I think we 're gon na This is good news , we can actually let you have all the cows . We 've actually got quite a good er cow stock ourselves . Are you sure he give fifty notes .
Idiom: new blood (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ My main function will be to complement Geoff Cooke . Really I 'm just looking to raise the pace and the tempo of the England side . We 're a little one - paced at the moment , so I want to raise the pace of the training sessions , although that does n't mean we have to bring in new blood quite yet’ . But whilst Best is certainly under pressure to continue England 's winning ways into the Five Nations Championship , the realist with the acid tongue and the blunt manners , which have been the bane of countless committeemen and lacklustre trainers over the years , is by no means just a dour pragmatist . What comes across is his deep determination to do himself justice and an abiding love of the game .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
I have one word of advice for those schools of thought which consider the risk of a relapse into the patterns of the 30s inconceivable : Read the book on monetary nationalism written by one of the greatest liberal economists of our century , Friedrich ~ von ~ Hayek .
Idiom: fall into place (used idiomatically: yes)
Fourth , the Port of London would continue to be one of the world 's great ports . Lastly , it was assumed that new powers for planning would become available , including powers for the control of land values . The plan fell into place . Functionally it was an interlocking web of economic and social purpose of great imagination : a masterly bringing together of a number of town planning themes . The overall design for Greater London took shape in the form of concentric rings according to population numbers and density , industrial location and use of open land for agriculture and recreation .
Idiom: get a life (used idiomatically: no)
' But when I was released , it meant we were starting from scratch . ' The university gave me some nice dinners and said ' do n't worry about coming back to work . It will take you four or five months to get your life back in order ' . When that time came , there was no job . ' Joe 's contract had been renewed during each year of his captivity but that did n't happen this year .
Idiom: hold the line (used idiomatically: yes)
Same system as they use on the aircraft . Yes , who 's calling ? Hold the line . That 's a good idea innit ? That 's the horrible bit there , .