Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: yes)
Her dessert of blueberry gateaux was untouched . Later she sipped black coffee . William , 10 , and eight - year - old Harry were given airline packs of colouring books and puzzles but chose to concentrate on a new computer game . The highlight of the trip for the boys was when they were taken into the 747 cockpit halfway through the flight . One first class passenger heard Harry exclaim : ' It 's great .
Idiom: on the bubble (used idiomatically: no)
Because they all believed the polls . Had there been no polls , the result would not have caused such unanimous amazement . The geomancers led everyone to take their eye from the ball and fix instead on an illusory bubble that burst at about 2 am on Friday . There is a possible explanation for the gobsmacking outcome which directly implicates the polls . It has been suggested that those who lied to the pollsters , for whatever reason , later recoiled in horror when starkly confronted with the implication of their mendacity — Glenys Kinnock in Number 10 — and voted Tory .
Idiom: sleep rough (used idiomatically: yes)
It was a man . He was yet to reach his thirtieth birthday , Magee thought , but ravaged beyond his years . How long he 'd been sleeping rough no one could tell . Magee looked closely at him , trying to focus on the face in the darkness , to pick out his features beneath the grime that covered his face like a second , darker skin . The smell was almost unbearable ; Magee could feel it clogging his nostrils .
Idiom: hit the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
So there 'll be one racing certainty for Gold Cup week next year , the Irish will be back . In part two : Men of Courage . A crunch match for Gloucester in the title race . Hitting the mark : Can Oxford United keep up their winning ways ? And breaking a cardinal rule . The Queen ends four centuries of church division . I dealt drugs in jail .
Idiom: out of the box (used idiomatically: no)
Nyhavn , full of character and teeming with life , was just the sort of place that Suzie would love : two rows of picturesque houses flanking either side of a canal which was lined with old fishing boats , their tall masts and graceful rigging moving lazily as the light wind ruffled the water . Behind the beautifully restored façades of the buildings with their smart paint and gabled roofs there was evidence of a rich and varied culture , Gina observed , walking down the crowded cobbled pathway where restaurants and cafés spilled out towards the water 's edge . The presence of tattoo shops , ' topless ' discothèques which offered dancing and music almost twenty - four hours a day were a reminder that Copenhagen was an active and important port , yet the overall effect was charming and romantic as flowers spilled out of window - boxes and the cafés and restaurants vied with each other to attract custom by the quality of their food and their individual décor . Walking slowly , she allowed her eyes to roam over the seated lunchers , hoping to catch sight of Suzie 's dark curls , but although once or twice her heart leapt to her mouth in anticipation of discovery she was finally forced to admit defeat . Finding an empty space at one of the cafés , she ordered coffee and a smørrebrød — a large buttered open sandwich — covered on this occasion with her choice of salmon , smoked eel and shrimp and garnished with a variety of delicious accessories .
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
If the underconsumption thesis is correct , then richer societies should have the highest levels of military expenditure . He points out that since the Korean War those countries with the highest growth rates — Japan , Sweden , Germany and Austria — have had the lowest levels of military expenditure as a percentage of GDP . Furthermore , since the Korean War , military expenditure has , by and large , been falling as a percentage of GDP and material living standards have been rising in most capitalist economies . This only began to be reversed as a trend after 1975 . More interesting , for Smith , is the fact that those countries with the fastest rising unemployment levels and the lowest growth rates per annum in the West — Britain and the USA — were also the two countries with the highest level of post - war expenditure on arms .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
INDIA 'S six-wicket victory over a South African President 's XI in Pietermaritzburg last night was marred by unruly crowd scenes . The day-night match finished with both teams fleeing from the pitch after home captain Peter Rawson , by prior arrangement with umpires and batsmen , deliberately bowled four byes . The previous ball had been stopped just short of the boundary by some members of the crowd who had engulfed the pitch . Rawson then bowled the next ball wide of the stumps before joining his team in a frantic dash for the pavilion . Pakistan opened the World Series triangular tournament in Perth with a five-wicket victory over the West Indies .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: no)
So can you tell us , please , where the additional ten million We only went through Sorry , Mr Chairman , where the additional ten million cuts would have been made to fund that . Well cuts need it .
Idiom: hand to mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
But living with Jean - Claude convinced me that this is flawed thinking . Because my experience was not of being poor , the discomforts of the poverty that I had to put up with in the rue Victorie did not suggest themselves as unending . For Jean - Claude , who had always been abjectly poor , there seemed no way of escaping a hand - to - mouth existence by his own efforts : only a miracle could effect it . ( Maybe I appeared as that miracle ? ) He was thirty - three .
Idiom: put someone in mind of (used idiomatically: yes)
Boswell tried to rally by saying that in India there is a distinction , and Johnson put him down hard . ‘ Nay , do n't give us India . That puts me in mind of Montesquieu’— ; the French philosopher and belle - lettrist whose Persian Letters may have formed the inspiration for Goldsmith 's Citizen of the World : both employed the satirical device of having their society scrutinised by visitors from a far - off land . Johnson claimed that whenever Montesquieu ‘ wants to support a strange opinion , he quotes you the practice of Japan or of some other distant country , of which he knows nothing’ . Dinner conversation that evening took in gout , on which a distinctive book had been published some years earlier .
Idiom: yesterday's news (used idiomatically: no)
Knighton remained ummoved as the money rolled out , Ferguson paying more than £ 4 m for Gary Pallister , Paul Ince and Danny Wallace . Indeed Knighton seemed to have re - established control and credibility when David Murray , the wealthy chairman of Rangers , announced his support ‘ and advice’ . Then came yesterday 's news that Knighton was reportedly negotiating a sale , including a £ 6 m profit and a three - year contract with the club for himself , with one of three groups : the United directors Amer Midani and Nigel Burrows , the media tycoon Eddie Shah , and the former estate agent and local radio entrepreneur ( and Blackpool FC chairman ) Owen Oyston . Midani , the wealthy Lebanese who had always believed that he had first option should Edwards ever decide to sell , after trying to buy the club himself , insisted more than once : ‘ United must not be caused embarassment,’ and seemed to be the one participant in what became an increasingly shabby affair who was conscious that great dignity was at stake . To have the affairs of a club of such majesty as Manchester United conducted in a hole and corner manner has sickened more than many of their vast , worldwide following .
Idiom: to the bone (used idiomatically: no)
When the Clarets lost last year 's final Joe O'Sullivan ( below , right ) was the victorious manager . He will be hoping for another success , this time as Chelmsford boss . Man 's finger cut to bone Knife attack victim bent blade in two A KNIFE attack victim fought off his assailant and bent the 10 in blade in two with his bare hands , a court was told yesterday .
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
A card with a strip of recording - tape is fed through the machine , and the teacher records whatever is desired — a reading of the text on the card , questions , comments , instructions or anything else . The tape carries two tracks , so that pupils can record their own versions , too . When the card is fed through the machine , the teacher 's voice is played back , and the pupil can simultaneously read whatever is written on the card . The machines are not cheap , nor are the cards ; but they are useful . Synchrofax Audio Page
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Barry , where are we?’ ‘ Sixty - fifth floor , chief . And in the nick of time.’ ‘ Is it all right for you to say sixty - fifth floor?’ ‘ Do you see a sixty - fifth floor , chief?’
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: yes)
We were staying in a seedy hotel in San Francisco close to the red light district . We 'd had dinner and were on our way back to the hotel when I told him I was going to go for a walk before going to bed . Once he 'd gone , I was approached by a woman who started rubbing my stomach and putting her hand down my trousers , which I must say was enough to make me say yes immediately . Since I only had $ 11 on me , all I could afford was a blow - job . Nothing happened for about three years after that .
Idiom: call a spade a spade (used idiomatically: yes)
Just to complete the picture . Well we had him for the weekend and er looking back on the weekend we were reasonably impressed with the man and his wife . And er from his conversation he appeared to be a homely sort of a chap and er he was outspoken but he would call a spade a spade . Er in church his diction was clear for all to hear . He spoke well to the children and er his sermon message did have a , a reasonable amount of substance in it .
Idiom: packed like sardines (used idiomatically: yes)
SUSAN Breeze , wedged in a corner of the crowded third - class compartment , cautiously massaged her left arm , which was cramped , and tried to wriggle away from her portly neighbour , whose big fur collar had been tickling her neck for the last half - hour . Vaguely she wondered who had coined the phrase ‘ packed like sardines’ . Sardines , she thought , travelled in luxury compared with human beings forced to use the railways at Christmas time . But she had been battling against these odds for five hours , so perhaps her judgement was a little warped .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
Although the diurnal range of air temperature in deserts may be very large , that of the temperature of the surface of rock and dust is often considerably greater . Some instructive figures are given in Hume ( 1925 ) . Generally speaking , the minima recorded in the air and on the rock surface are the same , but the maxima recorded on rock considerably exceed the air maxima , the actual amount of the excess depending principally on the nature of the surface and the relation of the surface to the prevailing wind . For example , the maximum excess of surface temperature over air temperature varied in Egypt from 4C ( 7F ) on slate to 18C ( 33F ) on flint , while sands and gravels in sheltered places had temperatures exceeding the air temperature by 20 degrees C ( 36 degrees F ) . As , however , the air , even in deserts , is never completely dry , the effects of temperature changes can not usually be isolated from chemical effects .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: no)
Is that a jigsaw ? That could be that one . It is , it 's gon na be one of those pot things you pick them out of . Says it 's not a jigsaw , but it is . Are you going to have them little pins ?
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
' Riding the fucking mushroom cloud ; never even occurred to me . ' ' You 're not gung - ho enough , ' Andy tells me , refilling my whisky glass . ' Aye ; you 've got to be a real man to play this game , ' Howie says , winking and taking up his glass . He 's a brawny Highland lad from one of the nearby villages , one of Andy 's drinking partners . A bit rough and ready and with a highly incorrect attitude to women , but amusing , in a raw kind of way ; a man 's man .
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
Erm just er when I first started , I 've already mentioned I think that erm there are about seventeen erm students at universities with major scholarships within the maximum of this erm hundred and fifty pounds a year and erm we inter had to interview all these erm applicants , erm which was n't a very arduous task because there were n't so many of them but Mm . we had to get erm reports from the Examining Boards erm on their performances , in the Higher School Certificate Exam erm , they had to take two main subjects and two subsidiaries and according to the recommendations of the Examining Boards , then , by and large , they er received a major award or , or they did n't but erm there was a consolation prize for those who did n't erm get a major award because there were a few , what they called , special loans erm offered by the Education Committee . These were fifty pounds a year Mm
Idiom: get the picture (used idiomatically: yes)
… is a technique used to identify potential customers and their needs . 2 From the information collected you should be able to get a picture of the typical … 3 Market research is a way of finding our the social and … climate of an area .
Idiom: in the driving seat (used idiomatically: yes)
All in all it was an excellent performance by North Down in the field , limiting the North West side to after they had won an important toss . But they wasted a good position at to two to lose the next eight for runs , the North Down bowlers sharing the wickets evenly . McCrum had his eye on a century when he cruelly slipped at the crease and was run out , but his stand of for the second wicket with John Gilliland , who made 32 , put his side firmly in the driving seat . Condemn Robin Haire and Adrian Semple made sure of knocking off the remaining runs , leaving them with an over and a half to spare .
Idiom: true to form (used idiomatically: yes)
I collect and season most of my wood , which I feel gives me a head start over the clinical pieces available at timber yards.’ Slug in ash ( above ) and tortoise in burr elm ( right)Making no bones about methods or means , David is a proud user of mechanical aids , ranging from lathes to the Woodcarver , from drum sanders to a Black & Decker Powerfile . That is not to say that the more traditional tools and methods are not in evidence in his workshop , but , true to form , he feels that the finished work is more important than the means . He is a free spirit , with a long way to go , who should be closely followed Bob Wearing 's Workshop
Idiom: slip of the tongue (used idiomatically: yes)
Bush / Gore : There is a Difference BOSTON / ROME : Any reader of non - US newspapers could draw two conclusions about America ’s electoral campaign : 1 . that there is little difference between the two candidates ; 2 . that a mere detail – a slip of the tongue , a false step , a piece of gossip – could decide the election . Both conclusions are wrong . Start with the first .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
Read the charge - sheet . I had expected it at some point . But do n't forget this : Gustave has been in the dock before . How many offences are there this time ? 1 That he hated humanity .
Idiom: hot air (used idiomatically: yes)
It may seem strange to start by describing the best method of removing old finishes , but there is probably more work done on renovating old furniture and existing woodwork than on new wood . OFF WITH THE OLD Old finishes can be removed with a blow-lamp , hot air stripper , by sanding or with a solvent paint and the varnish remover . However , all but the last method can damage the wood , which is not important if the wood is to be painted , as this will obliterate any damage . The best method of removing old finishes from wood that is to be re-finished with a transparent or semitransparent coating , is with a solvent paint and varnish remover .
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: no)
' I 've considered it , ' he says , ' but it 's a class ' A'drug . If you get caught with more than seven tablets you 're in big time trouble . ' Ecstasy is sold across the North East in night clubs and ' raves ' all night dance parties in warehouses under brand names designed to appeal to its young market . For £ 10 to £ 20 users buy tablets or capsules called White Lightning , Pink Panthers , Triple X , Green Monsters , Phase Four , White Doves and California Yellows . The Government is increasingly worried by the spread of Ecstasy since it arrived in Britain in the late Eighties .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
The one type of company which can totally dispense with the provisions of the Act relating to auditing of the accounts is a so - called ‘ dormant company.’ Under section 250 it is treated as dormant ‘ during a period in which … there is no transaction which is required by section 221 to be entered in the company 's accounting records ; and a company ceases to be dormant on the occurrence of such a transaction.’ The most obvious and common example of such a company is a ‘ shelf company’ while it remains on the shelf . But there may be legitimate reasons for incorporating a company which is intended to remain dormant indefinitely or for retaining on the register a company which for the time being has ceased to carry on business but which the members may wish to use at some time in the future for the same or some different business . A company does not obtain the exemption merely by being dormant .
Idiom: dry as dust (used idiomatically: yes)
It mean in fact that they were thinking of abstractions in quite a different way from the way we think of them . erm The technical word for this is that for them , universals are self - predicating . That sounds very dry - as - dust and unintelligible . It means , in effect , that they had a quasi - sensuous way of seeing abstractions . They saw abstractions as in some way warm and coloured , and the sort of things to which you could appropriately apply quite vivid adjectives .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
Westley 's arrival from Southend means Wolves have a bull in defence too . He was booked for a wild foul on Carl Bradshaw , so there was an element of justice when his clearance found Rostron and the Owl - in - exile advanced to equalise with a cross - shot that may have been more cross than shot . Out of the blue , you could say . The same failure to push out of defence quickly and as a unit when clearing their lines , which gives the goalkeeper a clearer view and often wins an offside decision , helped Gannon score a well - taken winner , also from outside the penalty area . Wolves huffed and puffed , but they could not blow Tracey 's house down again .
Idiom: behind the scenes (used idiomatically: yes)
SIBLING STRENGTHS Julia Snell writes about the careers of Rob and Sarah Morrison , the brother and sister team which forms the backbone of British freestyle The success of a sports team or personality often relies on the hard work of those unseen figures behind the scenes — the manager and the coach . They may not bask in the limelight when results are good , but their vital contribution to organisation , sponsorship and training are a key factor in sporting success or failure . Rob and Sarah Morrison are two of those shadowy figures who have contributed so much to the growth of freestyle in Britain .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
In some cases , such as Lower Framilode , steam was used to power everything in the mill , whereas in others , such as Stoke Orchard Mill , it was limited to providing the power for ancillary equipment . The adoption of steam power in such places as the docks meant that the milling operation was no longer limited to water - powered sites , often in remote locations . The first in the docks area was the Gloucester Steam Mills , arriving around 1840 . It was followed in 1850 by the City Flour Mills of the brothers Joseph and Jonah Hadley . Their operations began on a modest scale , using a small steam engine to drive two pairs of stones and some ancillary equipment , but so successful were their efforts that they installed two new larger engines and built their own warehouse .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
Growth and other manoeuvrings motivated by no logic other than a defensive one are economically damaging by - products of an active market for control , causing a ‘ huge diversion of managerial effort into devising ways to reduce a vulnerability that did not grow out of managerial inefficiency’ . The side - effect that has caused greatest concern in recent years , however , is that of ‘ short- termism’ . This is a condition in which managements become excessively concerned with short - term profits with a view to keeping share price high and thus avoiding the attention of bidders . In order to boost short - term accounting profits companies may be tempted to cut expenditure on items such as training , research and development , and investment in productive capacity , all of which are essential to a healthy economy , on the basis that they will show a positive return only in the longer term . This tendency is said to be exacerbated by the growth of institutional holdings , the institutions themselves exhibiting a short - termist attitude , conspicuous in the fund managers engaged by them .
Idiom: dot the i's and cross the t's (used idiomatically: yes)
Evidence of efficacy A related misunderstanding stems from the fallacy that it is the aim of medical researchers to obtain absolute evidence of efficacy . It is perceived that researchers wish to dot the i 's and cross the t 's . In fact , the aim is to obtain reasonable evidence ; if reasonable evidence already exists , further research is unnecessary . The legitimate debate hinges on what constitutes reasonable evidence .
Idiom: kill the fatted calf (used idiomatically: yes)
Some theologians have suggested that the essence of the gospel is nothing more than forgiveness as it is enshrined in the story of the prodigal Son . The father sees the son coming home after all the bingeing — the wine , women and song — and runs out with love and says : ‘ How good it is to have you home ! Kill the fatted calf ! ’ That is the gospel , they say . It is , however , only one half of the gospel .
Idiom: keep tabs on (used idiomatically: yes)
The World Cup finalists Ruggeri , Batista , Pumpido , Olarticochea , Giusti and Burruchaga are joined by two newcomers , Dezotti in attack and Simon at libero . These days , Bilardo is constrained to do his team coaching down the transatlantic telephone line , since half his squad play in Italy , France or Spain . Given the difficulties of keeping tabs on faraway players , it comes as no surprise to learn that Bilardo has appealed to one of the key figures of his 1986 World Cup team , the 34-year - old Jorge Valdano , to end his two - year retirement . Valdano , who gave up playing after struggling to throw off a viral - hepatitis problem , has agreed to attempt the unlikely come - back . In the meantime Dezotti , who has scored eight goals for lowly Cremonese in the Italian First Division , has a chance to stake his claim to Valdano 's old position .
Idiom: look on the bright side (used idiomatically: yes)
Just like the 2 small riots at Sheff Utd a couple of years back . Never mind Scum . you can ‘ Always look on the bright side of life’ , or even on the runway for ice . From : Date : Thu , 21 Oct 93 13:56:58 + 0100
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
She paused and closed her eyes . ‘ Do you know , I think I 'll be disgraceful and have even more brandy . But it 's your last night , and maybe it does n't harm , once in a while.’ She ground out her half - smoked cigarette and nodded . She took the sprigs of parsley and watercress and chewed them , then lit a fresh cigarette .