Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: small potatoes (used idiomatically: yes)
Time to laugh THE good councillors of Darlington , bent on keeping the wages of sin away from the eyes of their townsfolk , may ponder the growing demands of the homosexual community to have more representation in the ranks of the police . Barring the Chippendales and now this talk of withholding Swan Lake from its citizens ' eyes will , I think , be small potatoes compared with the prospect of having homosexuals in the police force . Already a number of police forces have issued directives against discrimination making it inevitable that Darlington police will have a homosexual policeman . The townsfolk deserve better guidance from its leaders .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
When a British citizen might seek redress for a grievance through his MP , the West German is likely to turn to his representative in the regional assembly or Landtag . Consequently an MdB is much less harassed by routine constituency casework than is a conscientious MP . He is free to consider himself first and foremost a participant in the nationally important business of the Bundestag . Voters ' choice on party lists ? Two questions about the WGMS remain .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
Did you work out what it was ? I think it was probably a ring , that sort of like went on for about a minute or so , Oh , that 's called a howler , that 's a howler , if you leave your handset off the hook for more than a minute , 25 seconds , or is it 60 I ca n't remember , for a length of time you get the howler . It just basically says , put your handset back on the rocker . The beep in the earpiece is when you 're on the phone , either to somebody within the press , or outside the press , and another call comes through for you from the switchboard , and you 're engaged , obviously , and so they camp onto your extension number , and you receive a beep in the earpiece , now you can speak to these people if you key in R star 1 .
Idiom: name names (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh you see if they want her back to testing they 've got ta pay for the resource to er for us to , to , to recruit somebody else in the meantime . And whether it 's Michelle we release back is another issue . I did n't name names in the thing in case anybody saw it in case you No it 's up to us to , to decide how the best way to handle that is . But there is budget in the testing resource budget to be able to accommodate for cover we would then decide how best to handle that .
Idiom: call it a day (used idiomatically: yes)
THE Brazilian driver , Gil de Ferran , exploited a small gap at the start , swooped into the lead , and from then on was never headed in the second race of the British Formula Three Championship at Silverstone yesterday . His task was made easier when Marcel Albers , the second - placed Dutchman , after setting the fastest lap , was forced to go into the pit with electrical problems . Though he rejoined the race a few minutes later , Albers , who won the opening round of the series at Donington , was forced to call it a day four laps later . Rugby Union : Quins rally best troops for another big effort By John Mason
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: yes)
But Saturday 's tragic loss of life offers the Provisional leadership little opportunity to allay the blame that rests squarely on its shoulders . The return to Warrington where a gasometer was destroyed three weeks ago may appear to set a curious pattern to the IRA 's logistics , but it may be that recent arrests and seizures of weapons and explosives in London in early March has inflicted a major blow to their intentions in the capital . It could also be that those who remain to resume operations in London are lying low because of the fear of target surveillance by increased security service activity and resources . The attack on Warrington may simply mean that there remains intact in that area of England a small cell of perhaps no more than two activists who escaped detection and arrest in operations following the gasometer explosion . Shortly after that attack , the IRA said it would increasingly target industrial infrastructure as part of its economic war to induce a declaration to withdraw from Northern Ireland by the Government .
Idiom: hit the headlines (used idiomatically: yes)
Wimbledon from the premiership were running out to do battle and they were very nearly beaten at their own game … United gave everything they 'd got … they matched the big boys in effort and endeavour … down a bit on speed and power but that 's what you 'd expect … If Hereford had made more of their chances they could have hit the headlines Wimbledon never looked that good … there were flashes from John Fashanu … Alan Judge in goal dealt with those …
Idiom: lend a hand (used idiomatically: yes)
Trusty nodded . ' One day he will learn better about us , but in the meantime there must be some other place for us . It 's up to every one of us to Lend a Hand and find it . Between now and next Pack Meeting shall we all keep our eyes open and our minds alert for a place ? ' The Pack nodded vigorously .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: yes)
But despite all this , Paul presses through by continuing the course of action . The fifth strand in their story is seen in the clear conversions to Christ that result . Because the ministry has been brought into being by God , the result is that it bears fruit , whether it is among the gentiles in Pisidian Antioch or the whole group of hearers in Lystra . The final consequence of all this activity is : new churches for which they appoint elders with prayer and fasting before returning to Antioch ( Acts 14:23 ) . Clear call
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
This , together with a rise in TV advertising , helped boost Anglia 's profits by a half to £4.8 million in the six months ended June . LION 'S SHARE : Anglia 's Survival is a winner Cuts on cards THE cost of borrowing is coming down at last . First bank off the mark is Lloyds , which slashed the cost of personal loans , overdrafts and credit cards by between 1.4 and 2.8 per cent — the first reduction for a year .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
( A build - up of milk or papers is a real give - away . ) 6 . Does a neighbour keep an eye on your house while you are away ? ( Try to leave an address and telephone number . ) 7 .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
In some such cases specific protection , in the form of import controls , subsidies or state purchasing , may be justified on socialist grounds , for instance if the industry is a struggling ‘ infant’ with good future prospects ( ‘ good’ , that is , in respect of the efficient satisfaction of social need ) , or even a struggling ‘ geriatric’which stands a good chance of reviving its fortunes through a thorough re - investment programme . And in cases which merit protection , if that is still not enough to induce voluntary investment of funds offered by the national investment bank there is again a prima facie case for nationalisation . On the other hand there may be industries within the national economy in which enterprises stand to be progressively undercut by their international competitors in the long run . In such cases protection may be justified in the short term to alleviate the employment effects of a rundown of the industry but long run protectionism would reduce the potential material living standards of the working population . In such cases there has been a shift in the pattern of ‘ comparative advantage’ on an international scale .
Idiom: give and take (used idiomatically: no)
NEWCOMER : Marie Gillain co-stars with Depardieu ACCORDING to the British Medical Journal , ‘ If you want to be happy for a night get drunk , for a year get married , and for a lifetime get a garden . ’ A PASSER-BY paid £4 to take part in a police video identification parade of a robbery was given the police photographer 's expensive leather jacket to wear and asked to jog down some steps and round a corner . He must have taken a shine to the jacket because he turned the corner — and never came back leaving the police red-faced . PLANE RIDICULOUS
Idiom: know no bounds (used idiomatically: yes)
Each of my hand - fed morsels tasted different ; indefinable combinations of spices and textures which were quite new and delicious to me . But my judgement may have been clouded … Over the days that followed their hospitality knew no bounds . They drove us as far as the mud roads would allow in the royal land - rover , and down to the bay where a pearl - oyster hatchery was being tried for the first time ; and at night there were more festivities , and endless delectable maidens vying for our attentions … On the fourth day they took us up to Wolio , the old fortress that sprawled across two hill - tops overlooking Bau - Bau .
Idiom: behind closed doors (used idiomatically: yes)
Another attack in which Nofomela claimed to have taken part was in Swaziland in 1983 , when the ‘ death squad’ crossed the border to ‘ hit’a house occupied by African National Congress cadres with grenades and small arms . At least two ANC men were killed in the attack . The board of inquiry called yesterday for a full and open judicial inquiry into the alleged activities of the death squad , noting that the present McNally investigation was an inter - departmental inquiry behind closed doors . It pledged to continue its own inquiry . Meanwhile , violence continued in Natal , where a power struggle between Inkatha and pro - ANC organisations rages despite repeated appeals for peace .
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
Like its industry , America 's armed forces spent much of the 1980s automating their warehouses and distribution systems . Much of the equipment — and many of the management techniques — now supplying troops in the desert are the same as those working in factories back at home . The air force , for example , keeps track of its stock on a $ 200 m system built under contract by Computer Sciences Corporation in El Segundo , California , using IBM mainframe computers and off - the - shelf database software from Computer Associates in New York . One obvious difference between military and commercial systems is the built - in security . A bigger one is sheer scale .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
' And if they bring the chainsaw we 'll make a ring round it , ' I said . ' You 've got to be prepared to die for what you believe in , ' Elinor said passionately with a toss of her wayward locks . ' Well , er , ' said the vicar , ' I 'm not so sure about that but I 'll certainly ring the church bells . ' ' There 's no need to play anything fancy , ' Otley advised . ' Just a plain ding - dong'll do . '
Idiom: sitting pretty (used idiomatically: yes)
The first opportunity to do so was offered precisely by the Potsdam Communiqué . On 5 August he made a statement in which he said that Spain " was not begging for a place in any international organization and would certainly not accept any such place unless it were commensurate with her historical importance , size of population and her services to peace and culture " , including neutrality during the Second World War . In the autumn of 1945 , Franco was sitting fairly pretty . The western democracies might have condemned his regime , but they were clearly not going to intervene to overthrow it . This , in turn , weakened both the Republicans in exile ( who , in any case , were bitterly divided among themselves ) and those in Spain ( who , moreover , could do little to avoid the repressive clutches of the regime ) .
Idiom: pick up the tab (used idiomatically: yes)
It does not set individual drug prices , but rather limits companies ' overall profits to 25 per cent . ‘ The companies can charge what they like for drugs , then be as inefficient as they like , and stay under the profit ceiling . The NHS picks up the tab,’ he says . The NHS buys nearly all prescription drugs in Britain . A report from the Auditor - General in January said that the Department of Health had trouble assessing company efficiency and establishing ‘ fair’ returns .
Idiom: get lost (used idiomatically: no)
He read the signs everywhere , in their books and pictures , their sundered lives . Something had broken down in them . They had got lost in themselves . Their modern subjectivity tormented them with a consciousness of what they had lost . He saw the age into which he had been born as a civilisation in decline , and said so .
Idiom: night and day (used idiomatically: yes)
The thermal tide could carry molecules generated by solar uv radiation to the night side where they revert to other forms with the emission of uv radiation . A similar mechanism may also yield the Ashen Light , a faint radiation at visible wavelengths and seen from the Earth to emanate from the night hemisphere . The circulation of the massive atmosphere of Venus results in a very small difference in surface temperatures between the equator and the poles and between the night and day sides , a few Kelvin in both cases . Moreover , the axial inclination and orbital eccentricity of Venus are so small that seasonal variations are negligible . 4.4.2 Surface volatiles today
Idiom: carry the can (used idiomatically: no)
the need for more information about environmental conditions and business conditions in the countries researched ; the need to carry out research in a variety of different contexts , environments ( and languages ) . It can be carried out by : in-house staff or an international marketing research organisation .
Idiom: take liberties (used idiomatically: yes)
( see Chapter 20 by William Stearn ) . Linnaeus respected Miller 's work and corresponded with him after his return to Europe ; there are ten letters from Chelsea in the Linnaean collection covering the period from 1752 to 1768 . The first five are in Latin , but Miller , realising his limitations , wrote in August 1763 , ' I have taken the liberty of writing to you in English , being informed that you can either read it yourself , or have some persons who can translate it for you ' . These letters ( see also Chapter 20 ) throw some light on Miller 's last decade . He continued to cooperate in the exchange of books , plants and seeds and he contributed specimens from Chelsea for Linnaeus 's son , who was forming an ambitious herbarium .
Idiom: down at heel (used idiomatically: yes)
When Marevna finally went home at dawn : ' Max Jacob stood with a missal in his hand and Modigliani was still on his feet methodically tearing the rest of the wallpaper off the walls and singing an Italian song . ' There were too many stories of that nature , and it was in that year that Modi was labelled for long after his life . A down - at - heel English journalist , Charles Beadle , lived nearby and shared a passion for gardening with Beatrice . He collected the scurrilous gossip and the half - truths about Modi , much of it from Beatrice , and sent it to be collated by Douglas Goldring ( Charles Douglas was his pseudonym ) , who produced the book Artist Quarter , the first extensive biography in English of Modigliani . Published in 1941 , it influenced many biographers .
Idiom: grasp the nettle (used idiomatically: yes)
It was rife in Saturday 's crowd . It is a pity about Gray because he has given much to the club over three years . He does not appear , however , to have grasped the management nettle or to have found a way of dealing with its stings . Criticism in this space during an inexorable slide this season has always been delivered with a heavy heart . But it has always produced two results : support from other fans who think Newcastle are n't half lucky and complete silence from the club which many fans also accuse of poor public relations except on one occasion when the assistant manager was economical with the truth .
Idiom: on the mend (used idiomatically: yes)
Jonathan Price , the Welsh union 's commercial executive , said : ‘ New regulations on amateurism allow players to be paid for promotional work . That 's what our players do.’ Relieved Mel 's on the mend Graham Fisher MEL STERLAND bounced into Elland Road yesterday with the best news Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson has heard for months .
Idiom: cut corners (used idiomatically: yes)
Informal labour relations tend to be more exploitative than those within the legitimate economy . Fly - by - night workshops only get contracts if they are prepared to do the work very cheaply . If sweatshop bosses are to be competitive they must pay their workers low wages for long hours , cut corners on health and safety and forget about such niceties as job protection . If there is a drop in demand the informal outfit has to carry the risks and absorb the shock of fluctuations in the market . The only people who really benefit from this are the larger companies that enjoy the benefits of both an informal workforce and government grants , loans and subsidies .
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: yes)
Radio Baghdad 's offer to withdraw from Kuwait , for example , was broadcast in advance of Gorbachev 's meeting with Tariq Aziz to raise the meeting 's diplomatic stakes . The role of information in an internationally mediated environment has sinister implication when combined with the new high - tech modes of warfare currently being tested in the Gulf . As tv onlookers we are placed at the centre of events no human being could ever witness in the flesh , by close - ups of a bomb 's- eye view of the interior of a ventilator shaft right up to the moment of impact . But the larger picture is systematically distorted by the military and political calculations concerning the strategic uses of information and disinformation . Whole chunks of ‘ enemy territory’ are ‘ disappeared’by means of censorship , radar and the wholesale destruction of Iraqi communications facilities .
Idiom: have it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
The total collapse of the ‘ Hitler myth’ was reserved for the last phase of the war . Defeat and Disaster The ‘ Hitler Myth’ collapses The Führer has it easy . He does n't have to look after a family . If the worst comes to the worst in the war , he 'll leave us all in the mess and put a bullet through his head .
Idiom: do someone proud (used idiomatically: yes)
W. A. Murch , Minister’ . John outlived his wife by just over two years , dying on 5 June 1828 . His old friends the overseers did him proud to the very last : in their generosity they provided him with a 14s . funeral . John had been the last of his generation . There were now to be fewer and fewer Titfords in Frome as time went by ; many had died , some had left town for good .
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
That is the diagram Yeah I know . Then you was up and running . And then it sort of you , you lost your track slightly with the referral side I know .
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: yes)
After all , what sort of conspiracy is it when the victim has to browbeat his supposed aggressors into taking part ? In the end we gave in . The only thing on our minds was getting it over with . Dennis had an early - evening business appointment at a client 's house . He would n't be gone long , he assured us , but the look Karen and I exchanged confirmed that it would be long enough .
Idiom: get the picture (used idiomatically: yes)
It shows the percentage of the sample who say they ' like ' , ' dislike ' or ' do n't mind'each task when asked a direct question about that task . Two percentages are shown in each case : one relates to first responses to the question ' Do you like … ? ' and the other to all responses . By asking the women what they liked or disliked about the task in question , and whether their attitude was reversed in any particular circumstances , I was able to get a more complete picture of their experience of each task , and also to learn something about the characteristics these different housework tasks are seen to possess . Of the six tasks , ironing is most disliked : three - quarters of the sample report a negative attitude . It is disliked because it is physically an exhausting activity ; more than any of the other tasks it consists of actions which have to be repeated time and time again with little variation .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
Another important aspect of this is the issue of whether community economic development was merely a palliative measure with limited potential for addressing the problems of unemployment and deprivation experienced in areas such as West Belfast . As such , by getting involved in this process , people were effectively exploiting themselves , that is , by creating poorly paid jobs , and under - resourced enterprises which offered inadequate training opportunities to those involved . Through their involvement , rather than creating a platform for development , people were letting the government off the hook by attempting to find superficial and limited solutions to deep - rooted structural problems . By addressing this broad issue it would be possible to develop a better understanding of what community economic development was about . Having done this , the next area which needed to be addressed was present economic development policy as experienced in West Belfast .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
But Paula , who shot to fame back in the ' 70s in the hit TV shows The Lovers and Man About The House , is staging a cover - up . Nibbling at her lunchtime sandwiches , she is perched on the edge of a chair by a window overlooking Williamson Square , high in the Playhouse heavens . Crowds of shoppers below are sweltering in the summer heat . But Paula , dressed in light grey leggings , sweatshirt and a blue denim jacket , looks as cool as a cucumber .
Idiom: keep a straight face (used idiomatically: yes)
OXFORD badly need to brush up their slapdash act on the training ground before they meet Cambridge at Twickenham in just under three weeks . Sloppy handling , poor co - ordination and a lackadaisical defence left them well adrift of Major R V Stanley 's XV at Iffley Road yesterday . Any match of nine tries ( five by Stanley 's ) is bound to be entertaining but Oxford committed so many errors in every department that it was hard to keep a straight face while assessing their contribution . In addition their captain Brian Smith persisted with his wayward goal - kicking long after it became apparent that he should pass the task to someone else . Perhaps it was asking too much of Oxford , who have not won a game for a month , to exercise the same shrewd control at half - back demonstrated by Farr - Jones and Porta .
Idiom: on the dot (used idiomatically: yes)
Joint - ill can affect the older foal so any lameness should be treated with suspicion . Richenda Oldham visits THE HORSE RANGERS OF HAMPTON COURT Every Saturday and Sunday , on the dot of 8.30am , hordes of uniformed children of all ages can be seen converging on Hampton Court in Surrey . Dressed however in striking green riding outfits and cowboy - like felt hats , these boys and girls are no school outing participants . They are in fact Horse Rangers and their destination is the Royal Mews of Hampton Court Palace .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
Adam gave it to me the other day so that I could lock up . I also have a key to the security cupboard . ' Tearing open a pocket in her bag , she took out the offending objects and thrust them towards Rourke . ' Does that make me a suspect ? ' she asked , her spine rigid . He did not answer , but then , there was no need for words .
Idiom: give someone enough rope (used idiomatically: yes)
You cold - blooded bastard . Eighteen months . You gave me enough rope for eighteen months , and now … He gripped the back of the chair in front of him . Edouard de Chavigny looked up .