Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: crystal clear (used idiomatically: yes)
There is a fundamental contradiction between the official figures ( which , as Teddy perfectly fairly pointed out , showed that 75 per cent of those who went on Government schemes did secure subsequent employment ) and the common experience that such jobs tended to last only for a few months . Many reported the impossibility of securing employment because of lack of experience — with the jobless total so high employers are making a priority of taking on people with experience who do not require subsequent training . There is a crystal clear Catch 22 situation here . There was a prevailing view that training schemes run by companies and firms were far better than those run by civil servants . Norman Tebbit was on television yesterday lunchtime , warning of still further legal wrangling over Maastricht .
Idiom: fit the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
Having installed himself and his family in a comfortable , modern house in Hendon , Chapman spelled out his aims in the programme for the first match . They were ‘ to make Arsenal Football Club one of the best football clubs from all points of view’ and to ‘ employ , without exception , the very best type of player to represent the club … above all , he must be a gentleman both on and off the field ; he must be a clever player , who can think out attractive , constructive tactics ; and he must be wholeheartedly enthusiastic and keen to make progress in the game.’ Buchan fitted the bill perfectly ; he was an experienced , thoughtful player who was always seeking to improve his performance and working out moves for the next game . The delay in his transfer over his sports shop confirmed Chapman 's estimation of him , for he admired players who sought to protect their own interests : ‘ This is an indication to me that the player who makes this demand has intelligence.’ Buchan scored 21 goals in his first season , giving Sunderland another £ 2,100 under the transfer terms , £ 100 more than they had originally asked for .
Idiom: sick to death (used idiomatically: no)
Make the best of it The best solution is to analyse each item in the room . If the existing carpet is in reasonable condition but you 're sick to death of it you could add rugs to cheer it up . If it is in very bad condition but you really ca n't afford to buy new carpet then see what the floor is like underneath . If there are boards that seem in good shape they could be stripped , sanded and polished .
Idiom: for the time being (used idiomatically: yes)
Felix and Herta ~ P. were safe here for the time being , but it was also the beginning of an anxious wait for the decision of the authorities until they were certain that they had been saved .
Idiom: by the book (used idiomatically: yes)
that you take all recommendations yes do it totally by the book , and Right . if it does n't work ,
Idiom: tit for tat (used idiomatically: no)
Such a mixture might include a small admixture of nastiness . Robert Boyd and Jeffrey Lorberbaum , in one of the more interesting follow - ups to Axelrod 's work , looked at a mixture of Tit for Two Tats and a strategy called Suspicious Tit for Tat . Suspicious Tit for Tat is technically nasty , but it is not very nasty . It behaves just like Tit for Tat itself after the first move , but — this is what makes it technically nasty — it does defect on the very first move of the game . In a climate entirely dominated by Tit for Tat , Suspicious Tit for Tat does not prosper , because its initial defection triggers an unbroken run of mutual recrimination .
Idiom: grind to a halt (used idiomatically: yes)
Our housework goes on behind the scenes , unnoticed , uncounted , uncharted as long as it is unpaid . We demand that our work should be recognised for what it is — we produce and reproduce in other people and ourselves the ability to work and go on working , we produce labour power . All other production would grind to a halt tomorrow if women were n't producing these workers . ‘ What we want is very simple : we want wages for housework . It is not a new idea , and it is the only demand around which all women can unite , the demand which makes explicit how it is that the working class is divided between the waged and the unwaged .
Idiom: nuts and bolts (used idiomatically: yes)
The bus driver kicked the travelling salesman where Cornelius had kicked Hamish . A group of shaven - headed yobbos , with tattooed cheeks and nationalistic leanings , observed this from the upper deck and came swarming down from the bus . The rugged manly types on the scaffolding flung nuts and bolts at them . The comforting young woman led the sniffing police officer up the stairs to her bedroom . ‘ And sold to the Sultan of Brunei , for twelve million pounds .
Idiom: up a tree (used idiomatically: yes)
They pace together through the forest in silence , scanning the canopy intently , sometimes stopping and listening for the calls of colobus . It may take only twenty minutes or as long as two hours before they find the monkeys and are sufficiently close to them to launch an attack . Suddenly , the driver runs up a tree , climbing swiftly , hand over hand . He will , if he can , isolate one or two monkeys from the main troop . Most of the chimpanzees stay on the ground as spectators .
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm completely disabling anxiety and depression that is moderate but persistent . And it needed something to break that cycle . And Prozac did the trick for me , erm it wo n't work for everybody , it 's not a happiness pill , it just restores you to to some sort of normality . You you 've been taking it for how long ? I 've been taking it continuously for two years , and I want to stress that I 've been taking eighty milligrams a day ,
Idiom: go places (used idiomatically: no)
Come on you 've got to live somehow or other good , right , now what do you mean by a good life ? Well you see things , go places have like out in the car or around So I have the
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
The alternative route down the locks became virtually impassable as the locks were allowed to deteriorate . According to a report , the second lock up was in fact so narrow that occasionally a boat would be partially gripped , causing it to plunge dangerously . Whatever the reason , the committee decided in November 1908 to reinstate the locks , ostensibly to pass night traffic but , in the light of events , this was an undeclared anticipation of a decision to discontinue the plane . A sum of £ 1,000 was allocated . The reinstatement was thorough , taking place over two years and costing much more than the original estimate .
Idiom: under the influence (used idiomatically: no)
He posits a difference in the attitude to risk on the part of management on the one hand and shareholders on the other , the former being much more risk averse than the latter , given the effect of insolvency on managers ' jobs and on the value of their shareholdings in the company ( which often constitute a considerable proportion of their total wealth ) , together with the possibility of personal liability in the event of winding up . The shareholders , in contrast , at least as far as large and sophisticated investors are concerned , have no interest in increased diversification within the firm , since they will already have spread the risk associated with investment in a particular company or industry by holding a diversified portfolio . Under the influence of excessive risk aversion managers are thus liable to cause the firm to grow to an inefficient size and to engage in other forms of behaviour which are sub - optimal from the shareholders ' point of view , such as making low dividend payouts and an inadequate use of the company 's borrowing capacity . Coffee regards risk aversion as being responsible for the construction of bloated , inefficient mega - firms in the 1960s , in turn creating the setting for the wave of ' bust - up ' take - overs of the late 1980s . As he points out , the difference between the asset value and the depressed share price of the conglomerates concerned gave bidders an opportunity to make a profit by disposing of ill - fitting activities or otherwise increasing efficiency by reducing the scale of operations ( though in fact the record of take - overs in increasing efficiency is mixed and not all take - overs are explicable as moves to reduce inefficiency in the target ) .
Idiom: come up trumps (used idiomatically: yes)
From c.1720–30 coffin furniture had been produced by hand - operated die - stamping machines ; Pickering 's was power - assisted . Nevertheless , some of the coffin furniture produced during the 1730s was of a high standard , though the designs were limited , rococo in style , and copied ad nauseam by a multitude of tin - plate manufacturers in London and Birmingham . Some manufacturers could come up trumps and it is regrettable that we do not know the name of the supplier of a truly splendid set of stamped gilt copper grip - plates with integral coronets and a trinity of really charming chinoiserie bells on the 1777 coffin of the Second Earl De La Warr at Withyam , Sussex . Of the three extant trade catalogues for coffin furniture of the period 1783–1826 — all in the Victoria and Albert Museum — that of 1783 by ‘ J.B.’ issued through Tuesby & Cooper , Coffin Furniture Ironmongery of 221 Borough High Street , Southwark , is by far the finest . ‘ A.T.’
Idiom: walk all over (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's your house after all ! You 've got to put your foot down ! Do n't let him walk all over you!’ The other woman , as if torn between a friend whose authority she respected and a husband whom she loved , explained with melancholy , ‘ What can I do , that 's how he is ! And he 's always been like that .
Idiom: get it up (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah . Oh our Clayton said , said do n't get your stuff up Asda , he said just keep , hang on to your grocery money Yeah and get it up there yeah . So I thought well that 's alright then . See you 'll be able to get your Christmas cheese and all the bits and bobs .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
This is the vet to me he goes your dog 's got brown teeth you got to brush it brush the teeth banged his tooth with the collar , he had a metal collar Oh Dempsey 's tooth there 's all blood coming out of his mouth I said see , serves you right . sympathetic cos he was kicking the shit out of him . Stupid dog !
Idiom: body blow (used idiomatically: yes)
And Zinoviev , crying , " This day we have paid our debt to the international proletariat , and struck a terrible blow at the war , a terrible body - blow at ~ all the imperialists and particularly at Wilhelm the Executioner ....
Idiom: sling your hook (used idiomatically: yes)
The hon . Lady said,’ Oh , yes . Are you going to vote Tory?’ The woman said,’ Look , I 've got six of these eggs in my basket and if you do n't sling your hook back to south Derbyshire , you 'll have these on top of your head.’ Mr. Speaker I did not detect a question in all that , but carry on .
Idiom: for good measure (used idiomatically: yes)
They have apparently agreed that I 'm simple - minded . They are quite certain I do n't know a word of Greek but even so they 're still very cautious . Much given to allusions and cryptic references , all made , for good measure , in a Macedonian dialect.’ ‘ Which you learnt at your mother 's knee?’ ‘ A bit later than that .
Idiom: a hair's breadth (used idiomatically: yes)
Yet had I hardly a foothold there . I was only sure that I was charmed , and no mistake . It is only necessary to behold thus the least phenomenon , however familiar , from a point a hair 's breadth aside from our habitual path a routine , to be overcome , enchanted by its beauty and significance . Only what we have touched and worn is trivial , our scurf , repetition , tradition , conformity . To perceive freshly , with fresh senses , is to be inspired .
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
I deserve my £ 1,800 a week handout to pay for mansion David Leigh FLAMBOYANT fallen tycoon Trevor Deaves insisted yesterday that he was entitled to let the taxpayer foot the mortgage bill for his million - pound mansion . ' I did n't go begging to the DSS , ' said Mr Deaves , 39 . ' They rang me .
Idiom: come to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
Well let 's forget about that , let 's forget about the two thousand odd people who 've said no , let 's forget about the fact that there were these accidents in that road , because no we 've got the M forty the A forty four — well the A thirty four as it was — has been relieved of a lot of traffic and from a point of view from the Gipsy Working Party Committee they may well feel that they are even more entitled to go ahead with this site . Now I do n't agree with that , and I 'll tell you why . Because something has come to my mind only during the past few days , when I learnt that the Gipsy Working Party by five votes to four had recommended that the Rockhill site go forward for consultation . Now let 's look at Chipping Norton overall . It 's not going to stand still forever .
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: yes)
There was talk before the start of the competition having become more intense ; of the gap between McLaren and the rest having been reduced to the point where we might have a race on our hands . That may turn out to be the case as the likes of Ferrari , Williams - Renault and Benetton - Ford get into their stride later in the season , but on the streets of Phoenix , Senna had no trouble in scoring his 27th win . It brings him into joint second place with Jackie Stewart in the league table of grand prix victories , but there is still some way to go before Senna matches the 44 won by Alain Prost , the man the media love Senna to hate . They started from the front row on Sunday , Senna having produced his usual stunning lap to take pole , Prost following through in the Ferrari with a lap notable for its customary smoothness and precision . The local television station made much of the rivalry between these two , but , in the event , Prost never got close enough to even suggest the onset of further controversy .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: no)
Jeremy Seabrook on mendacity and the election 17 Coming from behind Christopher Harvie on how the Scottish Tories played the electoral game for all it 's worth 18 Not of this world Our politicians have their heads in the sand , says Fred Halliday
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: yes)
if it was seventeen per cent , oh I can do that it 's point one seven , but when it 's seventeen point five , and where does the point go ? I 've got two Yeah , well , I was in a bo , I 'm in a book club , and you have to add your own erm per centage on Yeah , I see . so I do that that way when I 'm doing it to practice .
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
rubbish , yes . Did n't you see the load of crap he got ? Once in a while when you 're lonely a bit Did you see that chap playing Misty this morning on the piano ?
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Bucharest protesters defy brutal clampdown . By Foreign staff SECURITY forces launched a fresh assault on tens of thousands of demonstrators in the centre of Bucharest late last night at the end of a day in which violent repression was reported to have cost at least 20 lives in the Romanian capital . Reports from East European news agencies and diplomats gave graphic witness accounts of earlier violence in which armoured vehicles crushed demonstrators to death and police shot at anything that moved . Western correspondents have been refused entry to the country .
Idiom: come unstuck (used idiomatically: yes)
Manager Billy Cruddas said : ‘ We have two cup finals now , but I hope we do n't conceded goals like those the other night.’ Second - placed Stockton , meanwhile , can go top of the table if Durham slip up if they beat Horden at Teesdale Park . Defender Peter May is out injured for Stockton , whose manager Alan Robinson said : ‘ The minute we take things for granted we will come unstuck.’ Dunston , still on the fringe of the race , are hoping their players avoid injuries in their Sunday football commitments , as Sunday teams catch up on matches . Dunston manager Peter Quigley , whose side still has six games to play , is without David Wright for today 's away game at Prudhoe .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
Because quality is hard to define with precision , reputation has a great bearing on suppliers , ability to deal with agents and to command premium prices in a volatile market with a considerable fashion element ( for example , colours for festivals ) . Although these conditions place a premium on the ' intangibles ' of technical and market knowledge , they have not led to full verticality in the firms ' fixed assets . Instead , some multinationals have invested in knowledge systems that provide access to state - of - the - art breeding , disease control and cultivation techniques in a form that allows them to control much of the total chain without investing directly in all stages . They can thus avoid the costs of variety and added risk in a volatile market . They have also invested in superior packaging materials , storage and transport systems and market knowledge .
Idiom: on the ropes (used idiomatically: yes)
She could detect only agony : her eardrums rupturing under the pressure ; something cracking and tearing free , deep in her chest . Ellwood shifted the sole of his foot to put it directly behind Annie 's head , knee bent . He took the strain like the anchor - man on a rope , pushing hard against his own backward pull — all the power in his leg and all the power in his arms — his face a rictus of effort , his lips drawn back like someone enduring pain . Over Annie 's shoulder he could see Tessa watching in a nightmare of dumbness , a silent scream of terror belling from every line in her face , from her wide eyes , from her rigid limbs . A quietness came into Annie 's body .
Idiom: get lost (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ The Headmaster says it 's a man - eater,’ continued Mcduff . ‘ I remember some scientists visited the school a year ago and tried to find it but their search failed . One of them got lost in the corridors and another dropped some important equipment into the sea . If the Headmaster 's in one of his bad moods he threatens to throw people to it.’ ‘ One day we will find out what it looks like,’ said Endill .
Idiom: take liberties (used idiomatically: no)
Jeeves : That very tray ( pause)(cough ) . Might I take the liberty of reminding Sir that Sir 's favourite programme 's on the air soon ? Bertie : Vair 'soon ?
Idiom: go to seed (used idiomatically: yes)
Thirty years , more or less , have gone by the boards since a ragtag group of artists converged on a spot in lower Manhattan called Coenties Slip . The Slip was in reality two short streets on the waterfront just north and east of the Battery bordering a V - shaped park which , in Herman Melville 's day , was a working boat slip . The area had been going to seed for many years after the ship chandlers who once thrived there went one by one out of business . They left behind them a mouldering group of small loft buildings whose interior columns might once have been ships ' masts . In the late Fifties and early Sixties these proved irresistible to a group of penniless artists looking for space for free .
Idiom: have someone's number (used idiomatically: yes)
It seemed to me that somebody like Michael Crawford would be an absolute past master at giving a riveting performance by appearing to do almost nothing . ‘ His agent was sent a script and it was turned down . I rang his agent and said : ‘ Do you think I could have his number so that I could persuade him?’ The agent just gave it to me , which obviously meant he wanted him to do it and is unusual because they do n't normally give out telephone numbers . I rang Michael and said I 'd like to go over and persuade him , and drove to his cottage and talked at length about how I saw it and why I really wanted his sort of ability and personality .
Idiom: by the by (used idiomatically: yes)
Actually the idea that that 's what happened has probably got round the parents already . Boys talk , you know , and everyone was aware of her medicinal vagaries . Mr C. is looking like Dr Jekyll after a nasty spell as Mr Hyde , by the by . And he 's on the phone again.’ ‘ Really?’ said Septimus Coffin .
Idiom: on the square (used idiomatically: yes)
Timisoara and Arad were reported to be on a general strike . Hungarian television also carried witness accounts of killings in Arad . It quoted a Polish couple who arrived in Hungary yesterday as saying that they were in a large shop on the main square when two or three thousand people began chanting anti - Ceausescu slogans outside . ' Suddenly , armed soldiers broke the shop windows and opened fire on those inside , at everyone , indiscriminately . Those who could not escape met their horrific , futile deaths there , ' they said .
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
So she did not tell him that she was too shaky later to resume the conversation for a different reason ; she did not describe to him — or to the readers of Blot — what ensued . For it turned out that she felt protective towards the actor George Felix and preferred to keep their encounter private . And she had an incoherent sense that he and she together were being pushed in squares of black - and - white across the game board , and she did n't want to comply with the games masters by speaking aloud , let alone complaining , of the antagonisms they orchestrated . When the interview ended , and Jean - Claude Meursault had risen , shaken her hand gravely , and then quickly joined the group around the camera at the end of the track to Miranda 's right , she began sketching in her small pad and taking the occasional photograph when the noise levels permitted . The scene began again : the drone of the invective started up as one actor read :
Idiom: come out in the wash (used idiomatically: yes)
Former Tottenham defender Paul Miller , now a financial consultant , is heading the group attempting a £1 million buy-out and talks were ‘ at an advanced stage ’ last night . Miller admitted : ‘ Barry has done a magnificent job and in the interests of the team we would want someone of his calibre back in charge as soon as possible . ’ Angry Fry vowed to take Barnet to an industrial tribunal for unfair dismissal — promising that the story of his stormy relationship with Flashman would ‘ all come out in the wash . ’ Fry promised to watch this Saturday 's match at Halifax from the terraces — despite Flashman banning him from the club . Other acts of defiance against Flashman include .
Idiom: bits and bobs (used idiomatically: yes)
And that will really aggravate everything Yeah . that I 'm w now , so what I suggest we do , is before we say we must make your premenstrual tension better with various manip various bits and bobs , and there are quite a few things we can do to help . We really ought to do some baseline blood tests , and say Yeah .
Idiom: public enemy number one (used idiomatically: yes)
Crows drive islanders up pole By Robert Reid , Scottish Correspondent ELECTRICITY engineers and linesmen on the Orkney islands went into battle yesterday against their public enemy number one — the hooded crow . Thousands of the birds , also known as Hoodies or Corbies , inhabit the windswept islands off the north coast of Scotland despite the lack of trees . Instead they use the plentiful supply of power poles strung across the countryside for nesting sites .
Idiom: off and on (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah so , that 's it Oh I can imagine it being a bit strained off and on with er two lots of parents or do they know each other well and everything ? She gets on alright with er Phil 's mother and father Yeah