Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: down in the dumps (used idiomatically: yes)
HARD - UP university students from the Southern Board area may have to wait longer than usual for their grants after Thursday night 's bomb attack in Armagh badly damaged the Board 's offices . The warning of delays came as workers tried to get the offices , which are in the devastated area around the Mall , back into working order . Down in dumps A GROUP of young people from Northern Ireland are setting off this week on a trip to one of the world 's poorest regions . Six members of the Christian Fellowship Church in Belfast will spend two weeks with the people who live on the dumps of Mexico 's Reynosa . Border gang targets elderly
Idiom: high and low (used idiomatically: yes)
On the other hand , it might he argued that when he moves from the concept of impersonal truth to the concept of a personal God , he is distinguishing , in traditional Advaitin fashion , between higher and lower levels of truth or reality . But acceptance of this argument involves acceptance of the superiority of the higher , impersonal level of truth over the lower personal level of truth and the acknowledgment of two levels of knowledge . Gandhi , as we have seen , sees no superiority in conceiving of God in impersonal rather than personal terms so it is difficult to see how the traditional distinction between higher and lower levels of truth can be applied to him . The fact that he uses both personal and impersonal descriptions of God supports this point . If the question is asked whether Gandhi is not aware of the dangers of contradiction in his use of personal and impersonal terms to describe God , the answer might be that it would depend whether the personal use of the term God refers to an entity , or being , in the form of an extra - mundane person , whether or not a contradiction is involved .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
He denied the move amounted to a defence review , however . Signs of upturn in housing market A SURGE in mortgage activity raised fresh hopes yesterday that the housing market has finally turned the corner . Building societies report that net new commitments in February — the amount of new mortgages in the pipeline — rose 75 per cent on the depressed level in January to £ 2.72 billion . The director general of the Building Societies Association , Mark Boleat , said the rise was encouraging and supported the reports from housebuilders and estate agents that the market had turned up since the beginning of the year .
Idiom: save the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Indeed , it could be said that the secret of his success lay not so much in his ability to use to his advantage the divisions within his own forces as in his perception of conservative Spain 's deep - seated desire for a leader who would restore and conserve the country 's identity as a great world power . As we have seen , the seed of the idea of Franco as the providential saviour and guardian of the " true " Spain had been planted in his and his admirers ' minds during his time as the Director of the Military Academy in Zaragoza . Nurtured by his part in the suppression of the October revolution in Asturias , in 1934 , it took root definitively when his troops crossed the Straits of Gibraltar from Africa in August 1936 , thereby saving the day for the anti - Republican insurgents . The ensuing war saw the myth consolidated militarily and politically . By the end of the conflict , Franco was seen as having triumphed , single- handed , but for occasional instances of divine intervention , over evil .
Idiom: over the hill (used idiomatically: yes)
And that will be good news for all waterway users . ( wes ad lib)(anne ) Still to come on Central News , tales of two Attenboroughs . ( WES ) One of them is Mike Teague , formerly of Gloucester , now playing for Moseley , and adamant he 's not over the hill . BOB HALL / Reporting MIKE TEAGUE / Moseley
Idiom: neck of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
The beech hedge is trying to set an example by maturing . Boundary disputing is more than demeaning ; it is also expensive . What has emerged in my neck of the woods is how common such conflicts have become in the newly - prosperous backyards of rural Britain . There is a corker gathering steam not far from my cottage over the siting of a compost heap . In the next village , where neighbours were quarrelling over a shared driveway , the judge pleaded with them , in vain , to go away and spend their money on a sea cruise .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
He turned back to Elinor and Donald . Donald looked , thought Henry , like a perfect blend of Doctor Kildare and Gillespie , the older , wiser doctor of the partnership . Donald was perfectly poised on the edge of middle age — greying curls , the big , sculptural ears , the solidly Roman nose all suggested power , maturity , certainty . Henry concentrated on Donald 's face and , as so often these days , found it easier to look as if he was listening by doing the reverse . He timed his nods and yesses and ' Indeeds ! ' on an entirely mathematical basis , interspersing them with a sort of pucker - cum - squint that could be mild disagreement or the preface to some statement of his own .
Idiom: keep a lid on (used idiomatically: yes)
Men who get pestered by them . Erm we used to get complaints about kerb crawlers , but as you know , we had a a new law that was allegedly attributed to Nottingham , which made it an offence to , in certain circumstances to kerb crawl , looking for prostitutes . But erm generally , s what we say , keeping the lid on the problem . You wo n't stamp it out . Again by tradition , it 's the oldest profession , it 's always been with us , possibly always will .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
I dreamt of Uncle Rory coming home , driving the old Rover Verity had been born in , the window open , his arm sticking out , him smiling and holding the missing folder in his hand ; waving it . In the dream , he had a funny looking white towel wrapped round his neck , and that was when I woke up and remembered . My white silk scarf ; the irreplaceable Mobius scarf , the gift of Darren Watt , had been in the missing bag as well . ' Noooo ! ' I wailed into the pillow .
Idiom: man and boy (used idiomatically: yes)
In 1904 , US President Theodore ~ Roosevelt argued that , “ there are occasional crimes committed on so vast a scale and of such peculiar horror ” that we should intervene by force of arms . A century earlier , in 1821 , as Europeans and Americans debated whether to intervene in Greece ’s struggle for independence , President John ~ Quincy ~ Adams warned his fellow Americans about “ going abroad in search of monsters to destroy . ” More recently , after a genocide that cost nearly 800,000 lives in Rwanda in 1994 , and the slaughter of Bosnian men and boys at Srebrenica in 1995 , many people vowed that such atrocities should never again be allowed to occur . When Slobodan Milošević engaged in large - scale ethnic cleansing in Kosovo in 1999 , the United ~ Nations ~ Security ~ Council adopted a resolution recognizing the humanitarian catastrophe , but could not agree on a second resolution to intervene , given the threat of a Russian veto . Instead , NATO countries bombed Serbia in an effort that many observers regarded as legitimate but not legal .
Idiom: hot under the collar (used idiomatically: yes)
Activity : ‘ Letter writing’ 1 . Many of us become hot under the collar over local issues , whether it is poor transport services , an objection to the proposed siting of an amusement arcade opposite where we live , or the lack of sports and other social facilities . Read the letters page of your local newspaper and become acquainted with the style , manner and length of letters written by other citizens . When you have done this , compose a letter stating your views on an issue of your choice and with the intention of publication in your local paper .
Idiom: chapter and verse (used idiomatically: no)
INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED Chapter and Verse introduced language students to literary texts — complete short stories , poems , prose extracts — to be read for pleasure , for discussion and for language improvement . Chapter and Verse covers a wide range of unsimplified texts ranging from Shakespeare , Ben Jonson , and Dickens to Roger McGough , Muriel Spark , and John Steinbeck . Rather than providing a survey of English Literature , the ten units are aimed to guide students towards acquiring the linguistic and critical awareness which will enable them to read for pleasure , discuss and write about literature . The authors have chosen to group the texts by theme ( for example , Money , Pleasure , Education , Identity ) .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
The selection of what are known as quince rootstocks by fruit researchers earlier this century changed the situation by bringing about a degree of control of the vigour of the grafted trees . The two most common rootstocks used nowadays are known as ' Quince A ' and ' Quince C ' , the latter being the more dwarfing stock , but ' Quince A'bring the most used by fruit growers . To say the least , however , it is difficult to grow regular crops of fine juicy pears in local conditions . Do I hear someone comment —'you can say that again ' ! ' Yes , I know of warm , sheltered south - facing walled gardens where good crops of quality pears are produced in ' good years ' , but such ideal sites being used for cordon , fan and espalier - trained pears are few and far between .
Idiom: make hay (used idiomatically: no)
There are now ninety miles of carriage road in different directions , and above 500 carts . At that time , green crops and sown grasses were almost absolutely unknown , and very little natural hay secured for winter use . At present every tenant makes as much hay as supports his stock in winter ; and has not only potatoes , cabbages , and meal in abundance for his family , but also frequently sells corn and potatoes , and feeds his cattle up to a third more weight than his predecessors were wo nt to do . Most of the gentlemen farmers have turnips , rye - grass . and clovers in great perfection , and the smaller tenants are anxious to follow their example . The cultivation of wheat was , until very lately .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
That difficulty on one sense overshadows the successes that the agency has had , and this is particularly successful in the area of catering training training and business training . We do run er an organisation called Lincoln Energy Save out of the Horizons Agency , which er , completes insulations programmes , er , in er , properties . It 's in part a government , and partly E C funding programme , and er the rules on that have been changed which will make many more people eligible for assistance with er , er insulation on their houses . Trained people are on the way , and many of the people that we train go onto work college , other commercial agencies . So there are successes in Horizons Agency , you just have to at the moment by the difficulties in finding the necessary funding to cater for people who are not great achievers in terms of output funding .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
This battle must be fought by herself alone , and if she lost , she would lose alone . Then , almost magically , as she realised this , something stirred inside her and that something was excitement and courage . The same glorious sensation as she had felt that instant when , poised on the highest diving- board , she had known that this time she really did dare , that moment of poise and thrill before the free-fall . She clenched her fists , spread eagled her arms and legs and called , exultantly , to St Margaret that she was ready . And St Margaret , her cheeks glowing with the realisation of her strength , the knowledge that she indeed held the great dragon at bay while this new young warrior prepared herself for combat , felt a moment of disappointment , anticipating a return to the boredom of heaven .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
If the pre - contract enquiries and the local search are satisfactory then you can proceed to sign the contract and pay a deposit . This is where you may have a problem , particularly if you are a first - time buyer , because the deposit payable is usually 5 per cent of the total value of the house , sometimes even 10 per cent . That means that you have to find , for example , £ 2,000 to £ 4,000 in ready money as a deposit on a £ 40,000 house . The organisation lending you the money will not advance this to you , you have to find it from somewhere else — either your savings or a short - term loan . Completing the deal
Idiom: pissed off (used idiomatically: yes)
then you know it 's probably it 's probably possible possible yeah but erm you know I mean some people do actually get total , totally pissed off with the university and the course and everything and , and decide to chuck it in , you know , er in which case I 've done that before though . Mm .
Idiom: show a leg (used idiomatically: yes)
He looked down at the woman . She was a pitiful sight , still lying where she had fallen , too terrified to move an inch . Ashen - faced , she was gibbering quietly to herself , her petrol - sodden hair plastered to her head and her dripping gown showing her legs almost to the crotch . Shamlou began feeling an immense sense of power , and was aware of his loins stirring . Momentarily he had a vision of the woman in the garden .
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
Until , that is , the proud owner installs one of today 's high quality sound cards . Fitting a sound card to a PC is not a difficult task — we 've covered the installation of expansion cards enough for anyone to be able to do it , and the Laserwave Plus is no exception . As you can see from the photo , there 's little to fiddle with on the card — no jumpers to mess about with unless you really want to , because all IRQ and DMA settings are software configurable . The hardened jumper - fiddler can do it the hard way , of course , but the software approach is by far the easiest — so you can plug it in and forget it , you wo n't need to whip it out and fiddle with it . The software installation is as straightforward as installing the card .
Idiom: lend a hand (used idiomatically: no)
Lend a hand , darling , ' he shouted . ' Is n't that what girl guides are supposed to do ? ' ' I wish someone would lend me a farm hand , ' said Dancer 's Interior Designer sulkily . ' Wilhelm wo n't speak to me since I chucked his Filofax in the jacuzzi . He 's nice , ' he added , as one of Dancer 's workmen went past wielding his JCB like Ben Hur .
Idiom: throw in the towel (used idiomatically: yes)
He has signed ex - Portadown winger Vic Kasule and he is now looking south for defenders . ‘ If that does n't come off I will bring in players from junior football,’ he said . ‘ Some players threw in the towel , and that is just not acceptable.’ Erwin is aiming to do his home - town club a favour by beating Glentoran at Inver Park next week — a result which could help smooth Ballymena 's path into the Gold Cup quarter - finals . Ballymena boss Jim Hagan was ‘ happy enough’ with yesterday 's performance , but not the scoreline .
Idiom: on the hop (used idiomatically: yes)
Most memorable was Tory , haughtily holding her very intelligent head in the air , but missing her husband , who had left her for a ‘ woman officer’ . Next door was her school friend Beth Cazabon , the doctor 's wife and a writer . Like Julia , in the earlier book , Beth catches things ‘ on the hop’— almost as a student whose mind is more imaginative than philosophical will react to a first reading of Bishop Berkeley by quickly turning his head , hoping to witness the sudden appearance or disappearance of those external objects which are supposed to depend on his perception of them for their existence . Unlike Julia , she is not at all domestic , for she is plunged in her writing — as other novelists might wish to be . Compassionate and relentless as God ( in whom she does not believe ) , she sends her creatures forth and calls them home , having ( like Thomas Hardy ) a love for funerals , although she has never been to one .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
During the sweltering I d of 1333 , a camel caravan could be seen winding its way through the narrow passes and defiles of the Hindu Kush . On the principal camel sat an irascible Muslim judge . He had been travelling for eight years and was now heading south towards Delhi , the capital of the Sultan of Hindustan . Sheikh Abu Abdullah Muhammed ibn Abdallah ibn Muhammed ibn Ibrahim al - Lawati , known to his friends by the diminutive Ibn Battuta , had left his birthplace of Tangier in the early June of 1325 . He was then only twenty - one , a callow aristocrat fresh from law school .
Idiom: back to square one (used idiomatically: yes)
Laura will receive the drug , Cisapride , which helps with the movement of her small intestine , for a week , after which doctors will decide on the transplant , the hospital said . Her mother Fran , 27 , said : ‘ Laura is not well at all now . She really is back to square one . ‘ It is all a bit overwhelming and we are more frightened now than we were at the start because we know so much more about her condition . ‘ There is a high risk of her not surviving the transplant but she is in a hole now .
Idiom: in this day and age (used idiomatically: yes)
What we are saying there are other emergencies and I get down to the word loneliness now is there any reason why senior citizens should n't have the facility whereby they can make telephone calls if those , they so desire , to members of the family who in many instances they have n't seen for long periods of time ? There are many many people who live in houses on their own ca n't get out and again it 's an indictment on our society when you hear and read about the telephone profits that er that B T are making . I do n't consider it is wrong in this day and age that it is wrong to try to uplift and give to our retired people , every decent condition that is going in order to enable them to live their , the way they are entitled to do . On that basis , chair and having got this off my chest I 'm gon na get me bucket and spade , and I 'm gon na go to the beach this afternoon . Thank you .
Idiom: pull strings (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ But how did the Milettis know , for that matter?’ ‘ Because it was they who had you sent here , of course ! You do n't , for heaven 's sake , think that things like that happen without someone pulling strings , do you?’ Zen looked away . He had just remembered where he 'd heard the phrase with which Crepi had rung off .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
Zamora — he 's probably related to the guy Wayne beat on his Los Angeles debut five weeks ago ( who knows?)— hung in gallantly to weather the storm and was warmly embraced by McCullough at the finish . ‘ He was a solid little hombre,’ grinned Wayne . ‘ I thought I had him in the second round be he wriggled off the hook.’ McCullough is learning fast . It 's clear that ace coach Eddie Futch has taken a shine to him .
Idiom: get a life (used idiomatically: no)
Female speaker It is a long day , but you do the show and you have a buzz , so you go to the pub . I do get a social life out of it . But you ca n't just go home and watch TV after the show because you are on a high . Male speaker
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
Creamed Rice . In those days only Boulestin thought of actually inviting people to lunch to eat scrambled eggs . It goes without saying that he did not serve scrambled eggs with smoked haddock , he cooked the haddock first , flaked it , and mixed it with the beaten eggs before cooking them . He added a little cream to the finished scrambled eggs and put fried croutons round them . In January the same breakfast dish appears as a first course before the cold turkey and salad , the meal to be ended with English toasted cheese .
Idiom: out of your mind (used idiomatically: yes)
Seen through those jaded , cautious eyes , the messy hotel room seemed something to be protected . Albert himself took Sam back to Bella . ‘ You 're out of your mind . Saying I drink!’ he yelled at her . ‘ Do n't shout in front of Sam.’
Idiom: watch this space (used idiomatically: yes)
Steve White of Swindon says they 've still got some tough teams to play but they are in good form and if they do n't get into the play - offs it will be their fault STING Team news Glenn Hoddle is having a fitness check tomorrow … but there could be a call up for former England winger Brian Marwood who 's on trial with the club … transfer speculation is linking Ross Maclaren with West Brom … its the dealine next week so watch this space … on form Swindon are top dogs … they've only lost one game in two months … but Derby have the power to beat anyone … five games … five defeats … one goal … that 's Oxford 's sorry story … over the last few weeks … their last win was at Wolves a month ago … the million pound man Joey Beauchamp hit the winner …
Idiom: make the grade (used idiomatically: yes)
Tournament after tournament , I 'd miss the cut by one or two shots each week . I had enough in the end . It decided me that I was n't going to be good enough to make the grade . It was a real low part of my life . Around 1978 I quit my job with the Hunts at Hartsbourne , and then started a period of my life I really try to blank out .
Idiom: curry favour (used idiomatically: yes)
? I 'm expected not only to foot , but also to add up , all the bills . Collocations like foot the bill and curry favour , whose constituents do not like to be separated , may be termed bound collocations . Although they display some of the characteristic properties of idioms , bound collocations are nevertheless , as far as we are concerned , lexically complex . 2.10 Idiom and ‘ dead’ metaphor
Idiom: as a rule (used idiomatically: yes)
The whole collection covers 60 years and there are about 3,500 . I 'm not sure exactly how many I have , but in this room alone there are about 200 . ' As a rule , the Edgsons prefer putting up pictures to displaying traditional ornaments . ' People always comment on the large number of pictures , but we 've always displayed things on the walls and have never particularly liked putting up flowery wallpaper — or wallpaper at all , ' Catherine explains . ' We prefer groups of things .
Idiom: with a vengeance (used idiomatically: yes)
CALL ME old , call me antiquated , but I remember a time when The Railway Children were , if not quite press darlings , then at least going on the occasional date with the media . They were on Factory , they were churning out some debonair guitar pop in the form of ‘ Brighter’ and ‘ A Gentle Sound’and they were liked . Then they signed to Virgin and the Mighty Lemon Drops syndrome struck with a vengeance , ensuring that , up until‘Every Beat Of The Heart’ meandered chartwards , policemen would n't even speak to The Railway Children let alone arrest them . And really , in spite of the quartet 's realised commercial capabilities , this cunning reissue proves precisely why they were ignored for so long . The problem with ‘ Native Place’ is there is absolutely bugger all wrong with it .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
We have established the institute with a view to facilitating the research .
Idiom: join the club (used idiomatically: yes)
Aged 51 , he is ' on the technical side ' with Tioxide , a subsidiary of ICI , at Billingham , and has been hooked on croquet for almost 20 years . He was introduced to it as a game played in the garden before coming north from Devon in 1970 . Working for ICI enabled him to join their club at Norton Hall where a single croquet lawn has been in existence and played on at least since the end of the 1939–45 War . Mr Waterfield likens a game of croquet to a game of snooker and personally believes that the outdoor game preceded the indoor , with both based on similar objectives . ' It is n't unlike golf in that it has a handicap system so that the better player can play against a less experienced person , ' said the father - of - two .