Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
At present teacher training is urban orientated . The few experiences of community education , linking formal with non - formal methods such as the bi - lingual education in Scotland , have only begun to demonstrate the validity of a community orientated approach to learning . Such experiences are too few and far between , and in too early a stage of development to demonstrate their effectiveness . Any change in formal education is likely to be a slow process of adaptation to changing circumstances , rather than a rapid shift of course . Recognising the constraints , it is still important for institutions involved in training personnel who will have an educational role in rural areas to emphasise the potential which the rural environment has in educational terms and to understand the social and cultural characteristics of such an environment .
Idiom: sweep the board (used idiomatically: yes)
The Battle for the Thorpe Cup was fought between two boys football teams in exciting matches . St Mary 's A team won 3–0 and the B team scored an impressive 9–0 against their opponents . The girls from Middlesbrough St Mary 's also swept the boards with a 24–14 scoreline in the netball match and a draw against a mixed hockey team from Blackburn . This gave them a resounding lead in the contest for the McCormack Shield . The return matches will be played in Blackburn on the weekend of March 13th when Blackburn 's St Mary 's College will be out for revenge .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
Effete southern alternatives - fat Filofaxes or electronic Psions - lack dramatic resonance and spoil the line of the jacket . Happily for Geoff McQueen 's Stay Lucky ( Yorkshire ) small black notebooks containing solid gold clues are still common currency in Leeds . Stephen 's book has disappeared after he died in bed with his accountant 's wife , engaged in urgent cash flow analysis . This at least showed some foresight , since the number of beds in which Stephen might have missed a heartbeat and a vital document were legion . Stephen 's feisty Yorkshire wife Sally ( Jan Francis ) thereafter is harried by the accountant 's heavies , while the accountant ( James Grout ) is being hounded by a second set of heavies on the track of a very expensive painting .
Idiom: cost the earth (used idiomatically: yes)
Fast cars do n't mind if you buy fast car magazines . 5 If the seat sags in your fast car it does n't cost the earth to refurbish it . 6 Fast cars always want to go for a ride .
Idiom: throw down the gauntlet (used idiomatically: yes)
France 's leader understood what he was doing . Although at first he had to consolidate his position at home , it was always his ambition to undermine the European order which had come into being after the defeat of his uncle . Since , in 1850 , the one bastion of that order which had escaped major trouble in 1848 was the Russian Empire , it was likely that at some point France would throw down the gauntlet to the tsar . By raising the question of the Holy Places the French President not only gained ground at home but also set in train a long - term policy . Nicholas , on the other hand , was labouring under several misapprehensions .
Idiom: fall in line (used idiomatically: yes)
It appears that due to the history and cultural values of Japan , it is easier for the Japanese to suppress their ‘ egos’ , focusing instead on the greater good . Transforming an idea into reality therefore becomes less of a problem as individuals are less likely to pose barriers . But they will , instead , ‘ fall in line’ to move an innovation ahead . The difficulty for Japanese corporations is the front end of the innovation process . Their devotion to the group makes it less likely that they will think in creative ways that are tangential to , or radically different from , those of the group .
Idiom: put the kibosh on (used idiomatically: yes)
The True Brit had all the usual pictures , but there was a sinister announcement . Tomorrow , it said , our ace reporter , Ron Barton , will bring you exclusively Amaranth 's life story written by the new Madonna herself . She was under the impression that Charles had put the kibosh on any exclusive agreement with Barton , and most certainly nothing had been said about her writing her life story . What had he found out about her ? There were secrets she would prefer to keep to herself .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
Dr Einon , an expert in children 's play , put James through a series of tests to probe his IQ , memory and creativity before and after four hours of playing Super Adventure Island , in which Master Higgins battles to rescue Jeanie Jungle from the wizard Dark Cloak . She found no change in James 's IQ . But his memory and creativity scores increased after playing the game , even though he was tired . Dr Einon says : ' What is absolutely certain is that playing the game for this length of time did not make his scores worse . ' Dr Einon started by asking James to repeat telephone numbers , then to remember a sequence of words , then to repeat word lists after counting backwards from ten to one as a distraction ( see graph ) .
Idiom: get a move on (used idiomatically: yes)
She would get hold of Mrs Hnatiuk after church and see if she knew anything about it . No good asking Olga Stych ; she 'd just stick her nose in the air and say that Boyd was doing very well . ‘ Hurry up,’ she said , as if the church service would be over all the quicker if Maxie got a move on . And then she said : ‘ Mebbe he 's one of that gang that has been holding up grocery stores.’ ‘ Mebbe,’ said her husband .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
As an artist , he had always made an adequate living , and Willises , carefully packed in stiff board and oiled paper , were despatched — since a number of his patrons were in the Merchant Navy — to ports all over the world for collection . But these commissions , mostly for the originals of jokes and cartoons which Willis had managed in former times to sell to magazines , had grown fewer and fewer in the last ten years , as , indeed , had the drawings themselves . After the war the number of readers who would laugh at pictures of seasick passengers , or bosuns getting the better of the second mate , diminished rapidly . A few distant correspondents , untouched by time , still asked confidently for a painting of a particular ship . Dear Willis — As I am informed by those who ought to know that you have " taken the ground " somewhere near London River , I expect you can tell me the whereabouts of the dear old Fortuna , built 1892 , rigged when I last saw her in 1920 as a square foresail brigantine .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ When I was talking to him , he had this habit of looking over my head and I wondered whether what I was saying was going in , but he was digesting it and seeing how he could turn it round to his way of doing things . The only thing that made my hair stand on end was when I would say : ‘ Dive through that window there and , as you go through it , hit it with your fists clenched together , tuck your head down in between on your elbows , get through and , as you go through , go into a roll.’ He would go through it sideways , with one arm out , turning his head to the camera . I would say : ‘ You 're going to break your neck.’ Then I began to realize why , and he said to me : ‘ If I go through as you say , viewers ca n't see my face and they 'll think we 're using a double .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
This ought to bring in enough money to put us back in the black .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm time of your actual service and all of your service is aggregated over you know over your career . So if you do have some breaks erm subsequent service is added on to that . So at the end of the day you 'll get a total amount of er years and days times the average salary and that divided by eighty . In your lump sum you 've normally er three times the pension . Where it will differ is if anybody has any service before the thirtieth of September nineteen fifty six for that part of the lump sum the calculation is based on erm is based on a sorry oh one thirtieth of each year .
Idiom: have it both ways (used idiomatically: yes)
This chain of events suggests that Britain got into medium- and high - level waste technology early , but then abandoned the middle tier . It also means that we now landfill wastes that should be incinerated . But one can not have it both ways : for UK wastes ( the import of wastes for landfill is now outlawed ) the options are landfill or incineration , and people local to either hate the one near them . There is another option : export . The UK exports no wastes , but accepts them from countries which either have or should have the capacity to destroy their own ‘ chemical arisings’ , as scientists call waste products .
Idiom: hold water (used idiomatically: yes)
It was , as Tom had said it would be , a fairly small affair . Faye lay on an Oriental couch amid a pile of silk brocade cushions and was happy to have the party guests come to her instead of herself circling amongst them . In one hand she held an iced tonic water and on a small table beside her was a cocktail plate of spicy - fried chicken wings . Just how spicy - fried Belinda found out very soon as a smiling older woman passed around the dish of hot , plump morsels . She had been eating mechanically until now — the vol - au - vent , some olives , a sliver of cheese — trying unsuccessfully to drown the sensation of Tom 's kiss that she could still taste and feel so strongly on her lips , but , as soon as she bit into the juicy chicken wing with its sizzling red coating of spiced crumbs , her mouth began to burn with a very different feeling .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: no)
It appeared that the excitement of seeing me had activated Cedric 's weakness . I was up against the wall and unable to obey my first instinct . to run for cover so I held my hand over my face for a few moments before speaking . " Is that what you meant ? " Mrs Rumney waved a lace handkerchief under her nose and the faintest flush crept into the pallor of her cheeks .
Idiom: in the clear (used idiomatically: no)
There are a number of inconsistencies in that scheme , not least British Gas ' delightful decision to interpret the er scheme in a way which they had n't interpreted six months ago . I 'll be delighted to hear from British Gas as to how they can actually turn round and change a national agreement without having any formal discussions with the trade union side at any time at all . So it 's absolutely essential that we do go forward formally and take up all the issues in relation to the minimum achieved performance levels and the scheme arising from the consolidation of the effects of last year 's pay settlement , but as er most of the delegates from British Gas will know , I 've been er ensuring that we first of all get all of the reports in from the regional joint indu regional joint trade union secretaries to ensure that we have as much information for once as British Gas has , about what 's going on within the company , and secondly we 've had er full debates on the trade union side to ensure we were well aware of just exactly what our recollections were of what happened last year and to ensure we 're going forward in a clear and a positive way . So I could n't agree more , and that will be taken up in the fairly near future , following the information that I 've been gathering in the various meetings that I 've been having round the country on this . I had a most interesting meeting in Scotland with all of our lay delegates there , erm on Friday and some of you within British Gas will know that in Scotland they 've even more problems with the M A P L than any of the other regions because they were operating a different system to start with in the first place .
Idiom: out to lunch (used idiomatically: yes)
So nobody saw Rupert return to his house , or standing in his overcoat in the unheated hall , opening late Christmas cards , then going from room to room switching on electric fires . The New Year came and with it a kind of hope , though of what Penelope was not sure . She was invited to a few parties , kissed good - night outside her door in South Kensington , taken out to lunch by a young man training to be a chartered accountant , and to an Italian film by another who was ‘ in the City’ ; she was beginning to forget about Rupert when one evening towards the end of January she was later than usual leaving Toogood and Shelve , the publishers , where she worked as secretary to Mr Shelve . An elderly female novelist had come in at a quarter to six and Penelope had found herself trying to explain why her latest novel had not been reviewed in the Sunday Telegraph , why it had not been advertised more widely , why copies had not been displayed on the bookstall of a friend 's local station , why it had not yet been reprinted . It was perhaps fortunate for both of them that Mr Toogood was in America and Mr Shelve was at home in Haslemere with influenza , but publishers had to go to America and they were also as likely as anyone else to catch influenza , Penelope explained .
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
At 23 , he believed he was now ready . He wanted to take on the Glamorgan job again , whenever Butcher may decide to retire , and he was pleased to be thought a contender to take England to India if , as is expected , Graham Gooch opts out . To be summarily told that he has now dropped in the county pecking - order , that he can not expect to graduate to the captaincy , came as a shock . Morris is a decent , amiable guy , one of the best on the circuit , and he bit his tongue when many others in his position would have made a public scene of it . But he was hurt alright .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
Famous for imaginative hair designs in commercials and print advertising . ] As an individual artist , I nominate India Miller . Her work is different and always tries to break new ground . Her work with long hair is excellent . She has a good taste level .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
And it is equally inadequate to suggest that the audience should only respond morally , elevated by the supposed triumph of good over evil — even though for many people now this is undoubtedly the effect of tragedy . The Greeks , as Goethe divined , were attuned to experience intense feeling in the spirit of an aesthetic game . But until now the members of our theatre - going public have not been so attuned : a public brought up with entirely false expectations , a public of " critics " evincing a half - moral , half - scholarly , predisposition . The reaction of the more serious dramatists of our era to this public was to appeal to irrelevant moral - religious feelings or to use contemporary material to arouse equally irrelevant socio - political emotions like patriotism . But these well - meant attempts were bound to fail from the sheer perversity of the enterprise .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: yes)
Similarly , ‘ vocational’ training was regarded more as a means of making prisoners work hard than of training them for a task to which they were individually suited . And the absence of systematic programmes to teach basic literacy added to the impression that the prison was regarded in reality as little more than a ‘ warehouse’ for inmates , not a vehicle for their improvement . Above all , there seemed to be little recognition of the special needs of people who were destined to spend very long periods behind bars : the long - termers were treated not very differently from the short - termers , and relatively little thought seemed to have been given to the risk of mental deterioration in an environment without stimulus . Thus , while the basic living conditions were markedly better than I had expected , it has to be recorded that the ‘ psychological’ character of the institution ( as , I suspect , in most prisons in India ) appeared to me harsh , negative and even cruel . IV PROSPECTS FOR REFORM
Idiom: turn the other cheek (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr Kaplan 's best chapters are those on Romania and Greece , which he knows well . But read his encounter , at the Serbian Orthodox monastery of Grachanitsa , with Mother Tatiana , a tough Serbian nun . Having slugged back a glass of plum brandy , she says : ‘ I 'm a good Christian , but I 'll not turn the other cheek if some Albanian plucks out the eyes of a fellow Serb , or rapes a little girl , or castrates a 12-year - old Serbian boy … ’ After this horrifying war , which the Serbs started and in which they committed most of the horrors , people will want to ponder how such things came to be said . Newspaper publishing
Idiom: on and off (used idiomatically: yes)
It was seldom , of course , that he met people who did n't already know . " Are you — he tried to speak as a real writer would one of my regular readers ? " " On and off , " said the inspector . Stephen now remembered he had said his name was Manciple . " You must know the moor like the back of your hand . "
Idiom: err on the side of (used idiomatically: yes)
Time to turn one 's thoughts to matters of a more intellectual calibre . I refer , of course , to ' Doyler ' that monumental personal manifesto from the purple pen of that cultural hero of the New Ireland , Mr. Mick ' Micko ' Doyler'Doyle . And if Sam Snort hails ' Doyler as monumental ' is he , perhaps , erring on the side of being excessive in his praise ? He is not . Because to put it in the kind of terms which the man would best understand , the book is a monumental cock - up .
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: yes)
We 're just hearing what Stan 's been saying about the way the Tourist Boards are erm classifying hotels and trying to assist us , the consumer , I mean how do you view it ? You 're a professional , after all . I think it 's absolutely the right way to go , and I think that one of the things that the English Tourist Boards are doing , which is quite right , is to make people more aware of their classification and grading schemes . There 's no point having this fancy scheme if people do n't know it and also trust it . I would like to see them actually promote the fact that it 's very much an independent assessment .
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: yes)
In Oxford v Moss ( 1978 ) 68 Cr App R 183 ( DC ) , an engineering student at a university read the contents of an examination paper . All the goodness and virtue went out of the paper by his action . The court held , however , that confidential information , i.e. the questions on the paper , was not property for the purpose of the Theft Act . Accordingly , the accused 's behaviour did not amount to an intention permanently to deprive the owner of the information . If the accused had taken the paper itself , he would have been found guilty of theft of that piece of paper if he did not intend to return it , but that charge does not reflect the nub of what the accused did , namely cheat .
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
Its not on your card though int it on your card , oh for some reason or other she does n't put your number on your card , I ca n't understand that dear I really ca n't If your name 's on , if you 're on , you know if that 's your number She kept putting her name in er different book
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
But there was nothing on the back of the door , except the screws and nuts that held the knocker on , so he said " Pooh , pooh ! " sand closed it with a bang .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Finn and his son Oisin were heroes of the cycle of epic tales , The Fianna , which celebrated all the gods and kings of Ireland . Together they founded a band of tried warriors , known as Fenians or Finn 's people . Few soldiers passed the entrance test : the candidate stood in a hole in the ground up to his waist , wearing no armour . Then , said The Fianna : … must nine warriors , having nine spears , with a ten furrows ' Width between them and him , assail him and at the same time let fly at him .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: yes)
Although the first step can be steroid injections , my GP referred me for surgery at Wanstead Hospital , south London . I had the operation under general anaesthetic . First , the surgeon made a vertical three - inch cut upwards from the base of my palm . Then he was able to lift back a flap of skin each side of the incision and get to the extra body fluid that had collected around my wrist . This was simply drained off and then finally the cut was stitched up .
Idiom: part company (used idiomatically: yes)
Alisjahbana declares that even before the war he ‘ showed a leaning towards … German Fascism with its mythbuilder Alfred Rosenberg , its agitators Hitler and Goebbels’ . What is certain is that he quoted approvingly words he attributed to Nehru : ‘ Even if the Indian people do not agree with Nazism and Fascism , even if the Indian people recognise the evil of Nazism and Fascism … they will surely part company with the British . They have no wish to help the British in the present war.’ As was his custom , Sukarno adapted Nehru 's actual words to reflect his own hostility to the Dutch and his growing admiration for Japan .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
She kept repeating to herself that it was an irrational fear , but logic did nothing to quell the lurking terror . She had no idea what the MI5 man was aiming to do , or to whom he owed his ultimate loyalty — except himself . The only certainty was that she had a few seconds to act . Urquhart had broken off the lamp flex for a purpose — to strangle her or tie her up , or both . He was toting the gun for a purpose — to shoot her through the head or knock her unconscious , or both .
Idiom: never you mind (used idiomatically: yes)
His voice was menacing . The older policeman looked at the children , a question in his eyes . ' Never you mind them , they 'll hear what you got to say sooner or later . Now spit it out , man . I ai n't got all day . '
Idiom: slip of the tongue (used idiomatically: yes)
' I 'm not a lad , ' said Nooty . ' Sorry , ' said Dorcas . ' Slip of the tongue . In my day girls stayed at home most of the time . Not that I 've got anything at all against them getting out and about a bit now , ' he added hurriedly , not wanting another Grimma on his hands .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Everybody begins to talk for effect . Next thing , ministers will arrive at meetings with their lawyers . Then we 'll have recorders in our pockets and all that . You simply ca n't run anything — a business , a newspaper , a government — if the honour and privacy of the personalities involved are completely unguarded.’ Ah yes , say the diarists ' lobby .
Idiom: keep tabs on (used idiomatically: yes)
ICL aims to be at the forefront of a new wave of parallel systems designed specifically for commercial transaction processing . Gartner Group expects the market to start to gain momentum from 1995/96 . ICL parent , Fujitsu Ltd , had no hand in development , but is keeping tabs on its sibling 's progress . Once complete , Fujitsu could negotiate a marketing deal for the technology , although it is currently occupied by its own Sparc - based parallel processing effort — see page two . UNIX LABS BEATS OUT IBM , MICROSOFT TO WIN CHINA FOR SVR4.2
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
Ann do you want a smoke before you go in ? Why do you ? I 've got some in my bag actually Right I 'll show ya , here are
Idiom: child's play (used idiomatically: yes)
And if you 've got any sense at all , you wo n't underestimate me . Venetians know all about intrigue . Working out what you 're up to is child 's play.’ ‘ So play ball and tell me my plans , then,’ she said resentfully . ‘ I told you .