Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: come to grief (used idiomatically: yes)
I think that some people may not realise fully too is that in order to make a decision you have to be full informed , and teachers are very busy people and a teacher really is spending nearly every moment of his day either teaching or preparing to teach , and it 's impossible , therefore , to establish in a school or a community college the faculty committee structure that one might have in a university , where people do probably spend some time informing themselves before debate . erm it 's a very great problem . One would like very often to have more erm people involved in decision making , but they simply do n't have the time to inform themselves and one or two experiments in the kind of democracy you might Brian might have had in mind , came to horrible grief where decisions were taken simply uninformed and where the small number of people present who were informed were n't able to persuade the majority and the history of education is littered with them most unfortunate examples of this . I think the approach of parents is very often really quite a simple one erm that they have a number of very well defined expectations of the school and that is as far as one individual parent is concerned , that the parents wants the child to go to the school , he wants that child properly controlled , provided that it 's done in the way in which he particularly approves , and if you have fifteen hundred different parents there might be fourteen hundred and eighty five different techniques at work here , and then he wants the child simultaneously to be successful and happy . And traditionally , I find , British parents tend to erm say on the one hand we 'll let the school get on and do their professional job — I find it quite depressing they do n't ask for more say in the organisation , but they do demand , quite rightly , the right to criticise when things go wrong .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Too busy to realize I 'm writing . So I 've looked at it at the end of day and thought well my God ! And he 's looked at it and just said well look at it . Do n't spend
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: no)
Sometimes it clouded over with rays of darkness . ' Yes , and back again . ' She sat down on a rock . From here she could see to the house , the standing stone between like a lightning . No rabbits today .
Idiom: go to the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
They are not good reasons for change . The creation of the Premier League is therefore irrelevant and potentially harmful . If in five years time Middlesbrough are the richest club in the North but Darlington , Scarborough and Hartlepool have gone to the wall , we might reflect on the formation of the so - called superleague with some bitterness . MIDDLESBROUGH 'S annual ten kilometre road race will almost certainly be an event on its own this year and is expected to attract 700 runners . Until now the race has been organised as part of the larger Middlesbrough Festival , but the council has not yet determined the date of that event .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
Only having moved into this new warehouse apartment just over two months ago , Laura still was n't quite sure how most of the ultra - modern appliances actually worked . Maybe if she and Julie did n't have such tiring , exhausting jobs they might have more time to concentrate on the culinary arts . As it was , the only items in this futuristic , state - of - the - art kitchen with which she was totally familiar were the microwave oven , the toaster and the electric kettle . What an indictment on her way of life ! With a wry shrug of her slim shoulders Laura made herself a ham sandwich before wandering back into what the estate agent 's particulars had referred to as ' a huge reception - room ' .
Idiom: fall in line (used idiomatically: yes)
Democracy will take over in Panama,’ Mr Baker insisted . Battle for Panama , pages 10 and 11 ; City Notebook , page 12 ; Leader comment , page 18 ; Still trapped in the jungle , page 19 ; War shatters sunrise , page 20 Fowler falls in line on charter . By Michael White , Chief Political Correspondent THE Government will today fall into line with the European Community 's proposed Social Charter when the right of workers to belong — as well as not to belong — to a trade union is enshrined in its Employment Bill .
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: no)
A Roman coin came from under the tower at the restoration of 1855 , but one can not make too much of that . And then , finally , out of sight but only fifty or sixty yards from this room in the field next the garden , there lies buried the main street of the old village that was wiped out by the Black Death . One walks between the banks that show where the houses stood , marking how blocks of squared masonry thrust in one place out of the turf ( a more important building than most of them ) , and how the tree - roots twist among the rubble footings of the peasant dwellings ; and one picks up pieces of twelfth- and thirteenth - century pottery — mere sherds , bits of rim , of sides , of bases , but all datable : nothing later than the Black Death , when the great silence descended . PLATE 120 . Didcot Power Station , Oxfordshire .
Idiom: bark up the wrong tree (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Only once . I gather he 's pretty much on edge . His wife is going round the bend , thinking he 's under suspicion , but I 'm sure she 's barking up the wrong tree . Not that she 's the only one . Their busybody neighbour is convinced that he did it.’
Idiom: to a turn (used idiomatically: yes)
One of the nuns went in . After a while she came out and was replaced by the other . When it came to Steiner 's turn , he went in and sat down , finding the darkness surprisingly comforting . He hesitated and then that ghost from childhood rose again and he said , almost automatically , ' Bless me , Father . ' Father Martin knew it was him of course , had to .
Idiom: tired and emotional (used idiomatically: yes)
HEADCLEANER Au Fou WHO KNOWS what petty grievances fester in the dark recesses of Martin Willis ' imagination , but on ‘ Au Fou’ there seems an endless stream of negative subjects he can roar and screech about in snivelling , tired and emotional voice , rather like the Incredible Hulk moaning ‘ I do n't wanna go to school’ . The most effective track lyrically is ‘ Exxon’ , a refreshingly blatant swipe at multinational corporations and the atrocities their profit - making causes . But the most bizarre is ‘ Song For Megan’ , the vocal performed with consummate professionalism by a hiccoughing five - year - old girl .
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: no)
Aside from dealing , as I have been doing , with one of the major subjects and themes of Cuzco painting , an inventory could be made of ways in which painters departed from European models , or from academic notions of excellence . There are peripheral insertions , like borders of flowers , or tropical birds which populate the background landscapes of many religious paintings . Or survivals at the level of colour : liking for flat and intense colours , local earth and vegetable dyes , which may go all the way back to the ancient textile traditions such as that of the Paracas culture in Peru . Also , intensification of the colours in the angels ' wings as compared with Europe . These questions were not merely ‘ academic’ .
Idiom: get on someone's wick (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I do n't know who McCloy is and I do n't . I just said that to Charlie to needle him . Always bragging and boasting , he got on my wick.’ Wexford did n't have to absorb any more of the squalor to see what Cullam meant . This house was the very embodiment of sleazy discomfort .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
As she went round to the boot she saw the furtive movement in one of Mrs Aldiss 's bedroom windows . Busybody , she thought . It had not occurred to her that the snooping might have been on a more professional level . She swung the boot cover up and reached inside for the two carrier bags of supplies . One had toppled over , and eight oranges had rolled and scattered about the small compartment .
Idiom: man and boy (used idiomatically: yes)
take a journey to the arctic fishing grounds … Visitors to the National Fishing Heritage Centre sign on as a crew member of a 1950 's steam trawler and journey to the Arctic fishing grounds . Revolutionary special effects recreate the working conditions of a deep sea voyage , above and below deck , providing an insight into the hardships experienced by the many men and boys who went to sea and the occasional heartache of those left at home . the exhibition evokes every possible aspect of the trade from finding the fish to landing the catch . Visitors will encounter the hubbub of the radio room , the authority of the bridge and the bustle of the dock as the lumpers unload the fish .
Idiom: look the other way (used idiomatically: no)
Many of our people sickened and died , and we buried them in this strange land . I can not tell how much my heart suffered for my people while at Leavenworth . The Great Spirit … seemed to be looking some other way , and did not see what was being done to my people . ( Joseph ) A petition for a new home , submitted by Joseph in December 1877 and endorsed by Captain Randall at Fort Leavenworth , was disapproved by Sherman . In July 1878 , though , the Bureau of Indian Affairs assumed responsibility for the Nez Perce , and transferred them south to the parched 7000-acre Quapaw Reservation in Kansas Territory .
Idiom: stand someone in good stead (used idiomatically: yes)
She had dressed her hair daringly with ivory combs , sweeping it straight back from her face to emphasize her high cheekbones , then letting it fall behind her in a dark torrent that contrasted sharply with the pale silk of her gown . Her cheeks were already aglow from a combination of the heat and the exhilaration of being the centre of attention , and this had lent an extra , youthful radiance to her beauty . " She gave up on me a long time ago , but she made sure that my two sons , Charles and Joseph , speak the language of her forebears , and that will stand us in good stead in your colony . " He paused and beamed affably at his host once more . " We thank you most heartily , Monsieur le Gouverneur , for your kind and hospitable welcome . "
Idiom: back to the drawing board (used idiomatically: yes)
After many blunders and dropped stitches it was eventually finished . When I started to make it up to my horror I found the stripes did not match up front and back . So it was back to the drawing board , undo the back and reknit it . At last , wonder of wonders it was finished for the second time , I tried it on and it drowned me . ‘ Never again’ I said and gave it to my sister - in - law ( she 's a big girl ) and I felt glad to see the back of it .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: yes)
Polar desert is the area of bare rocks and soils beyond the tundra , where only a thin , patchy covering of plant life is found . Confusingly , the same terms are used also for the plant communities of these regions . In its botanical sense tundra is a working abbreviation for arctic tundra vegetation , the tough , low - lying vegetation that typifies the arctic treeless area . There is also mountain tundra , a similar kind of vegetation growing on high mountain slopes in lower latitudes . Similarly the term polar desert covers both the area and the vegetation characteristic of it .
Idiom: above board (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ How?’ ‘ You 're going over there as Michael 's girlfriend . And it 's imperative that you play it all above board . Contact the police once you arrive to let them know you 're looking for him . That way you 'll be able to see Laidlaw without arousing their suspicions .
Idiom: get away with murder (used idiomatically: yes)
It is important to make access an integral part of land management agreements wherever possible , but the landowner must be the one to decide on this and enter into a voluntary agreement to provide access . Access will be improved more quickly by securing agreements than by adopting a fundamentalist approach with the attitude that ‘ we will not be moved’ . For a long time local authorities have been getting away with murder — they 're not keeping maps up - to - date and have low maintenance budgets for rights of way . They have n't shown the political will to sort out the problem — there has been an element of divide and rule . They are reluctant to waste money on access when ramblers and landowners ca n't get one and sit down together to agree on what 's needed .
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: yes)
More and more camcorders are coming off the production lines with this useful feature ; however , it is not a point which need concern you unduly if you happen to have one of the older machines , as the effect is noticeable only on edits where there is a big change in the character of the colours at the shot - change . Let 's turn now to some problems you may have encountered on your sound recordings . Camcorder microphones are contrary devices : sometimes they fail to pick up the sounds that they should , and sometimes they hear things that they should n't . Unlike light , which can reach the lens from sources far beyond our galaxy , sound is a very localised phenomenon . Its ability to travel over distance is limited , and it is therefore a commodity which the recordist has to reach for .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
This was well below the levels which had been necessary to meet the annual growth of demand before the War ( 712MW had been completed in 1938 ) , and also well below the level of around 1000MW a year which the CEB now considered necessary . It was fully recognised by the Government , moreover , that it would take some years for normal conditions to be restored . At the first meeting of the Central Authority , Shinwell had told Citrine and his colleagues that a reasonable aim would be to meet full demand by 1951 ' if that was at all possible ' in the light of other national investment demands . The Government 's economic planners knew full well that , with shortages of essential materials such as steel , even that was an optimistic target . The planners had in fact already taken out of the hands of the industry a good deal of the coordinating responsibility for making up the plant backlog , recognising electricity supply as a crucial sector in their overall economic planning and taking steps to intervene directly where they were dissatisfied with the progress made by the Pre - vesting electricity undertakings .
Idiom: rock bottom (used idiomatically: yes)
What the money men thought of it THE measures should be enough to push shares to an all - time high . We now have the lowest rates in Europe and rock bottom inflation . The Chancellor had a narrow tightrope to walk and he managed to please a variety of people . It now depends whether housing and industry will take the reins .
Idiom: make a killing (used idiomatically: yes)
And hospital chiefs concentrated too much on specialist medicine and not enough on emergencies . TYRANT MAKES SHIRTS FOR M&S SERBIAN dictator Slobodan Milosevic is making a killing — with a £ 5million deal to make shirts for Marks & Spencer . Labour 's Robin Cook said Milosevic runs a factory producing school shirts . Mr Cook called for the withdrawal of the import licence to ‘ hit Milosevic in his own pocket’ .
Idiom: make a splash (used idiomatically: yes)
The computers will be in the schools for the start of the 1983–84 school year . Not to be outdone , Hewlett - Packard , Atari and IBM are also committed to donations , according to Phil Daro , California 's administrator for technological education , Radio Shack and Texas Instruments may also join in . But Apple is going to make the loudest splash . All told , it will more than double the number of computers in Californian schools . The grand plan , according to Apple , is to help make the state 's youngsters ' computer literate ' .
Idiom: bar none (used idiomatically: yes)
A few points to bounce around . Billy is a dickhead . Rosie Perez is the sexiest actress in the world bar none . Only a headcase would prefer a ball to her . Sidney is almost as dumb .
Idiom: game on (used idiomatically: yes)
Date : We d , 1 Sep 1993 10:51:28 + 0100 Subject : Oldham game comments A few impressions of the Oldham game on Monday night . I was in the middle of the kop for this game , and in the first half it was very much the place to be . Leeds attacked the kop - end goal , and looked like scoring on several occasions .
Idiom: against the grain (used idiomatically: no)
Maybe it was the forthcoming U.S. date(s ) that inspired them , maybe it was the smell of money but on December 10 Rough Trade made an error by issuing a New York dance mix version of ‘ This Charming Man’ . The record , aptly renamed ‘ This Charming Man New York’ , was originally intended to be a DJ pressing only but Rough Trade changed their minds and issued the offending article nationally . It was n't that the new treatment was particularly bad , it was just that the very idea of a re - mix fell directly against the grain of the code of ethics publicly laid down by The Smiths . Not surprisingly , and with good cause , the cries of ‘ Sell out’ went up all around the country . This was he first sign of weakness .
Idiom: to all intents and purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
A visit was planned to the Garden Festival at Ebbw Vale in South Wales where , in theory , there were no steam trains . This proved to be correct although the specially built funicular railway is an interesting example of that kind of engineering . Wandering around the surrounding countryside soon brought a glimpse of steam and the astonishing view of a collection of large ex Great Western locomotives standing to all intents and purposes outside a locomotive shed in the midst of the wastelands of Blaenavon on the side of Coity Mountain . PREPARED We had come across the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway about to enjoy a ‘ Tank Engine’ weekend of some kind .
Idiom: good offices (used idiomatically: no)
Around her neck she wore the famous ‘ Regent’ , the diamond beyond compare in its beauty which is part of the Crown jewels , while on her head sparkled a magnificent tiara . Another American , Dr Evans , who was the Imperial dentist , was also frequently invited together with his wife . Often visitors to Paris used the good offices of their embassies or legations to procure an invitation , for on these occasions there were no formal presentations to the Emperor or the Empress , except for the Ambassadors and their wives . The guests assembled in the Salle des Maréchaux , what Mme Moulton described as ‘ the Grand Salon’ , and at nine o'clock a small procession entered consisting of the Court officers , all in their evening costume of blue with velvet collars , followed by several attendants and then , in the middle , the Emperor and Empress . Napoleon III wore the uniform of a general of division , suitably garnished with crosses and plaques , while Eugénie wore a dress either of velvet , satin or moiré silk , usually in one of her favourite colours , blue , white , or mauve .
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
Thousands of dangerous Candy machines are still in use despite a recall by the manufacturers . A fault in the drying cycle means that the machine overheats and can catch fire . One Candy owner , Eleanor Bellamy , has already died , and others have escaped from their smoke - filled homes just in the nick of time . None of them had heard about the recall . More than 40,000 of these lethal machines were sold between 1986 and 1988 .
Idiom: come up trumps (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah . he knows what we want to eliminate . Oh he 'll come up trumps for us . I 'm sure he will . What about the animals this morning then ?
Idiom: draw a bead on (used idiomatically: yes)
And the drink - drive combination , it really is n't possible out there . If you so much as loosen your seatbelt or drop your ash or pick your nose , then it 's an Alcatraz autopsy with the questions asked later . Any indiscipline , you feel , any variation , and there 's a bullhorn , a set of scope sights , and a coptered pig drawing a bead on your rug . So what can a poor boy do ? You come out of the hotel , the Vraimont .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
DEFENDING Tory Michael Fallon hit back at the results of The Northern Echo poll of Darlington last night saying there was ‘ no way at all that Labour are 12 points ahead in Darlington’ . Pointing to the Conservative Party 's own canvassing returns which show that they have a 20pc lead over Labour he added : ‘ Our own returns based on a sample twenty times the size of The Northern Echo survey show a quite different picture . The Northern Echo poll is ludicrously out of line with national opinion polls and out of line with our own survey figures.’ Referring to our doorstep survey , Mr Fallon said : ‘ I am suspicious of the circumstances in which the poll was taken , knocking on every fifth house in certain streets is unsatisfactory . ‘ My own wife was included in the sample but disregarded because of her known political views.’
Idiom: up against it (used idiomatically: yes)
She was so like her . So much so that even her ‘ father’ would have had difficulty telling her from the real thing . DeVore smiled and reached out to brush her face tenderly with the back of his hand , watching as she pushed up against it gratefully . Yes . She was nearly ready now .
Idiom: never you mind (used idiomatically: yes)
And he said , Well what would you prefer , go to school quietly or come with me over the hedge to have a spanking . Well both are awkward , I said , but I will stand a light spanking if I can come home with you after . Er never you mind the children , she said , you go home , I 'll take charge of him . And she got hold of me in her arms and carried me kicking and screaming into the school . And I was very upset for the first day , then I started settling down .
Idiom: get stuck into (used idiomatically: yes)
Device drivers are made to enable DOS to do things it would not normally be able to do — like treat another machines drives and printers as though they were its own . The problem with device drivers is that they have to be installed in your CONFIG.SYS file , and it is usually helpful to have an install routine guide you through the process — lord knows , just about every other program you come across these days insists on writing to CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT . Unfortunately for those of a nervous DOSposition ( rotten pun , I know ) the FastLynx package has no install utility , so setting up the device drivers to enable what amounts to a two machine network involves rolling up the sleeves and getting stuck into editing a file or two . This is where the manual really scores with its comprehensive explicitness . All the possible permutations and combinations of server and client are explored , examined , dissected and explained in minute detail , together with advice on the loading order of device drivers and so on .
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: no)
Poor Preston , did I scare you ? ' ' I was worried about you , ' he said . They took the same tube into work but walked apart on the final stretch to the office in case anyone saw them together and jumped to the right conclusion . There was a note on Preston 's desk . ' Call William , ' it said , ' soonest . '
Idiom: get stuck into (used idiomatically: yes)
And it says a lot for our low expectations that most people automatically go for the salt as soon as their plate arrives at the table . The consensus of medical opinion suggests that too much salt , saturated fat and sugar is bad for us . ' Throw away the chip pan ! ' say the coronary experts ; ' Get stuck into fruit and vegetables ' . It 's not a message the food industry is enthusiastic about . The industry 's line is that there is no such thing as bad food , only bad diets .