Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: not worth the candle (used idiomatically: yes)
Today , these taxes are still levied by many Third World governments because they are straightforward to collect and hard to evade . They are paid by a small number of people at export shipping centres on goods difficult to conceal . Generally it 's not worth the candle to try and dodge the revenue authorities . Sales taxes are another form of indirect taxation popular in the South . Frequently the sales tax is levied on the importer or the manufacturer because it is easier to collect at source .
Idiom: all wet (used idiomatically: yes)
If you tip the chair up she will . Oops there she goes , poor dolly . falling over , and I pick her up , oh poor doll , she gets all wet , she 's falling down now . Oh dear . Oh poor dolly , oh
Idiom: get on someone's nerves (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh I 'll go and see her , see the babies before Christmas . Christmas yeah . But he gets on my nerves . Yeah . Do n't want to be bloody stuck up there with he do you ?
Idiom: chickens come home to roost (used idiomatically: yes)
At Blackwells , Karen George suggested that art books at bargain prices had posed a particular challenge , especially as bargains attracted ' the uninitiated , who do n't really know the difference ' . But it was left to Bruce Coward of the Harbour Bookshop in Dartmouth to explain the origins of the bargain bookshop phenomenon ( beyond the obvious attraction that cheaper items , including books , will have in times of recession ) . ' The chickens have really come home to roost , after years of overproduction from publishers , ' Mr Coward said . ' Their warehouses hare full of unsaleable stock , so it 's only too easy to get cheap books ; and a member of the public does n't know the difference between a previous edition of , say , the Oxford Companion to English Literature selling for £ 5 and the new edition selling for £ 25 — especially since the new edition is n't always better . ' Stuffed seagull shop
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
The reality is that having a comprehensive and fairly - balanced service agreement is a tremendous advantage to any executive , but it is not in itself enough . Ultimately , your personal qualities are most important . If job security is what you seek , then besides setting your agreement down in black and white , you should strive to be well organised , willing to discuss your grievances rather than bottling them up and prepared to react flexibly if circumstances change . Keeping a job file Your employer will have a personnel file containing a potted history of your career with the company .
Idiom: stand the test of time (used idiomatically: yes)
Three guillotine motions were tabled for discussion of the Bill that became the Education Reform Act 1988 . Mr. Andrew F. Bennett Should we not remind the House that that legislation was supposed to stand the test of time ? Because it was rushed through , another piece of legislation is now needed to put matters right . Is that not a very good illustration of the problems to which misuse of the guillotine to ram legislation through the House and the country can lead ?
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: yes)
However efficient we think that we are , if we 're honest with ourselves we have to admit we all sometimes make a mistake . And of course the same is true of shop assistants so do please make allowances for human error . And the next time you buy something from a shop and find there 's something wrong with it do n't just jump to conclusions that you 've been deliberately cheated . You may have been of course . But it 's much more likely to be due to human error .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
Once he himself believes what others believe about him , he is doubly enslaved . He is not only a prisoner but is conditioned to be his own jailer too . Just as any oppressed man is most enslaved when he becomes shameful in his own eyes , so the Christian is deepest in captivity when not only in his believing but in his doubting too he dances to the tune of his culture 's parody of his faith . This attitude to doubt it a part of our Christian shame today . Families of doubt
Idiom: curiosity killed the cat (used idiomatically: no)
In fact , these two warts are so enlarged that they look like long swellings behind the animal 's eyes , covered with pores through which the poison seeps . Bearing in mind that it only takes 20 milligrams of this poi - son to kill a dog , and that a cat is equally susceptible , it is clear that here we have a serious threat to an incautious feline . Perhaps this is the origin of the old expression ‘ curiosity killed the cat’ ? Fortunately most pet cats , if they do encounter a toad , quickly learn that it tastes bad and , after one preliminary nip , rapidly drop the squirming amphibian and never make the same mistake again . Only the really savage hunter , who sinks his fangs deep into the toad 's neck at its very first contact , will suffer a major trauma or death .
Idiom: put down roots (used idiomatically: yes)
Experience of urban mission in other areas of the world needs to be applied to the European situation . If there is little or no local Christian presence , then a team from outside needs to be brought in . Ministers for such tough assignments need pioneering gifts ( i.e. they need to be made in the apostolic mould ) and cross - cultural training if a church is to put down local roots . Unfortunately , theological colleges give little specialist training in the area of new church planting or moribund church rejuvenation . AGREE ON YOUR EVANGELISTIC GOAL
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
At present we have only one lubricator and we are trying to locate and purchase a large 12-feed unit.’ But the lubricator is not the largest missing item the company has to contend with — there is no tender ! A new one has to be built from scratch but fabrication can only start when plans are eventually acquired from York . While purpose made wheels may be made available , a set from a Class 40 diesel are on standby for its use if necessary . The general condition of the boiler is very good and there appears to be not a great deal of work to be done .
Idiom: down the hatch (used idiomatically: no)
The Dons have already had a written offer of £ 3million from Italy . But we expect Alex Ferguson to try again for - Stuart Pearce at Forest , perhaps offering Neil Webb in part - exchange . DOWN THE HATCH , SAY BASS BREWERS Bass will tomorrow pull out of their proposed £ 9.5 million sponsorship of the new Premier League . And they 're so angry they may also drop their current backing of the Charity Shield .
Idiom: behind the scenes (used idiomatically: yes)
EMPLOYEES MAY have seen stories in the press recently about how much local government is going to cost but may not be aware the Council staff provided information which was quoted in the controversy . Staff in Lothian 's Finance Department played a crucial part in questioning predictions of reform costs and savings produced for the Government by consultants Touche Ross . Assistant director Bill Wilson and technical accountant Raymond Wood did some behind - the - scenes calculations and found the consultants ' conclusions wanting . Their findings were then used in reports by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities . The COSLA report estimated that official estimates of costs and savings have been miscalculated by as much as £ 100 million .
Idiom: on the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
Fellow team full of hope FRENCH trainer Francois Doumen is brimming with confidence over The Fellow 's bid for a second successive victory in Kempton 's King George . The Fellow finished third to Sibton Abbey on unsuitably soft ground in the Hennessy last month , and Doumen ( above ) expects faster going for the £75,000 Boxing Day showpiece . Corals quote The Fellow as 11-8 favourite , a position he inherited from the injured Remittance Man , with Bradbury Star 7-2 . But Doumen feels The Fellow should have headed the market from the start .
Idiom: in no uncertain terms (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You think that she and I would make a happy married couple . For once , your judgement of people proved faulty , sir . I asked her to be my wife , and was rebuffed in no uncertain terms.’ ‘ Surely to God you would n't take that for an answer?’ Bragg said roughly .
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: no)
It was then that the ME-10 left the other unit standing . It also offers superior distortion sounds , which leads me to my conclusion that if it 's just a simple , workable sound processor you 're looking for , with the least financial outlay , then the ME-6 will do the job . If , however , you 're after more sophistication in both sound and facilities , and if you occasionally like to wander on the wild side , then the ME-10 is the way to go . Of course , these products have more to compete with now that there are units like DigiTech 's new RP-1 about , but where the ME-10 scores highest is its ease of programming . Both of these devices represent typical BOSS value for money .
Idiom: no laughing matter (used idiomatically: yes)
A certain national tabloid put it a different way today : Yanks 2 Planks 0 . It is a humorous response . But the result is no laughing matter . Taylor is adamant that he is not going to quit . But this is not a time for personal pride and stubborn resistance to stand in the way of the cold , hard facts of life .
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: no)
' No , Jack , absolutely nothing doing . Very quiet , ' she replied shamelessly . I was never much good at golf , and lacked patience and coordination ; but I once caught a pound trout on a Dunlop 65 golf - ball , and it happened like this . Near to where I live , in Caithness , there is a small loch , ideal for a quick cast if time is short . The loch is very weedy and fishing restricted to only a few clear patches ; but there are some super trout to be had , deep bodied and golden in colour .
Idiom: within an ace of (used idiomatically: yes)
Harry Hanger joined the Palace from Bradford City in the summer of 1909 and his stylish performances at wing - half were an attractive feature of Palace sides until the outbreak of the 1st World War . Harry 's control of the ball was renowned . ‘ No player … has shown greater ability to retain possession of the ball … his passes are invariably accurate and reach a forward so that the latter can make rapid headway’ eulogised a Palace scribe back in 1913 , by which time H.H. ( as he was popularly called ) had become our club captain — indeed it was while Harry was our skipper that we had our best Southern League season and went within an ace of winning the Championship in 1914 . Honoured by the Southern League , Harry was awarded a Benefit by the Palace in season 1914–15 , but whether this was ever taken up is uncertain because the designated game against Croydon Common could not be played on its original date , and by that time Harry was away in the services , where he was killed in action during the 1st World War . HANLON , Wally
Idiom: take it on the chin (used idiomatically: yes)
And Nick de Paul asserts that a caddie is ‘ a gentleman 's gentleman’ . On the other hand , Sandy Lyle 's caddie Dave Musgrove sometimes gets the other side of the coin from the affable Scot , who occasionally brings his bagman a cup of tea in the morning before they play ! Good caddies have good temperaments . just watch Ian Wright getting a lambasting from Seve Ballesteros and see if Ian ever answers back , or , indeed , reacts in any way other than to quietly stand and take it on the chin , metaphorically speaking of course . As Ian says , ‘ The caddie has to be the whipping - boy when things so wrong . He just has to set his chin and take it if ‘ we've’ used the wrong club.’
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
Back in the bad old days of the ‘ tripartite system’ and the 11-plus , when it was more acceptable to know your place , and upward mobility was not such an unquestionably good idea , life was easier and less personal for teachers because to a much greater extent their values were stably enshrined in the organization and structures of the schools for which they worked . To the extent that these values were questioned , by young people , their parents , or society at large , teachers could see themselves as representatives or custodians of what was in effect ‘ company policy’ . They were not themselves in the dock . Today the questioning from all sides is much fiercer , whilst company policy has got thinner and more nebulous , retreating into the traditional notions of ‘ standards’ and ‘ testing’ , technocratic concern with ‘ vocationalism’ , or humanistic waffle about fostering the development of the whole person ' . The combined effect is to leave individual teachers feeling more accountable , but more confused and less supported .
Idiom: weather the storm (used idiomatically: yes)
All three judges gave McCullough the nod . As usual , he fought with whirlwind ferocity , rocking the rugged little Mexican with blows to the head and body in the second round before cutting loose again early in the fourth . 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.’
Idiom: come in from the cold (used idiomatically: yes)
After the break , the world 's finest pilots . A record number of display teams are set to take part . And the star of the show … the Russian Bear comes in from the cold . In Central News tonight : Securicor murder : A guard is killed by a stolen van .
Idiom: night and day (used idiomatically: yes)
Can give and keep At the same time . Night and day it sits Above the ocean like A kindly eye , keeping
Idiom: go overboard (used idiomatically: no)
Luke Rowe broke the news to him . " We lost him , " he said bluntly . " He went overboard off the Gribbin . " " Overboard … What d'you mean - ?
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
Interest rates are set , as I said , in a way that is compatible with our commitment to the exchange rate mechanism and to bear down on inflation . That policy has been successful . There is nothing in the long run that is more damaging to investment than inflation . VAT Mr. Turner
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
Can you run one monitor on two graphics cards to enhance performance ? The technologies you are referring to are called Scalable Link Interface ( SLI ) for Nvidia graphics cards and CrossFire for AMD graphics cards . If you search SLI and CrossFire you might be able to find better results .
Idiom: come to think of it (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Good luck,’ said Sophia , seeing her off on the doorstep . She felt somehow that her sister needed it , for it seemed only too probable that if Rupert was interested in any woman it was in Ianthe . Archdeacon 's son and canon 's daughter - what could be more suitable when one came to think of it . It was true that Penelope was a vicar 's sister - in - law , but that was a poorer , meaner thing altogether . Sophia tried to see her sister as a spinster and it was not so very difficult — a rather eccentric spinster not even looking as if she might once have been ennobled by some tragic love affair .
Idiom: go through the motions (used idiomatically: no)
One minute I had a nice clean case bust wide open , stiff sentences all round and bonus promotion points for yours truly . The moment that fucking kraut mentioned Miletti I knew I could kiss that sweet dream goodbye . We went through the motions and pulled him in , of course , but by the time the magistrate spoke to him Mayer had changed his mind . He 'd never met Daniele Miletti , never seen him , never heard of him . The kid was back home in time for lunch.’
Idiom: down the road (used idiomatically: yes)
The Conservative Conference : Easy lie the locks that would bear the crown By COLIN BROWN MICHAEL HESELTINE yesterday eclipsed the conference with a sideshow at the Grand Theatre , a couple of hundred yards down the road from where the full conference was taking place . The Cabinet outcast managed to upstage Kenneth Baker , the Conservative party chairman , who has been taking acting lessons from Kenneth Branagh . The big question now is how soon the blond from Henley will eclipse the blonde from Finchley , who is said to be planning a speech which would make Joan of Arc sound hesitant .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: no)
This invariably shows some modest dip in earnings in the immediate future to be followed by continual improvement stretching to infinity . Each year the ‘ hockey stick’ moves on a year , or sometimes two years , and the only certainty is the constant conviction that five years out everything is going to be all right . Anybody who has operated in business for more than five years knows that invariably in five years the business is not all right unless something has been done about it . When you analyse the ‘ hockey sticks’ you usually find the claim that , despite all practical experience to the contrary , a simultaneous combination of your own increasing volume with increased prices will work the miracle . This is an even more beguiling picture since the forecasted increase in demand will bring the existing plants up to capacity and necessitate the building of a new one , of course on much the same technological base as exists today .
Idiom: eyeball to eyeball (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Rooster’ comes to the compilation courtesy of The Rolling Stones ' 1964 remake of Howling Wolf 's original , yet I doubt any of these would recognise the song from the Reid boys ' howling assault on it . It is frustrating to know that they can still , if they wish , punch the button marked ‘ Excess’ . When I was eyeball - to - eyeball with the humiliations of puberty , my greatest hero was skiffler Lonnie Donegan . Lonnie 's art lay in the reinventing of American folk and blues tunes and his anguished keening on such glories as ‘ New Burying Ground’ and ‘ Frankie And Johnny’is as unforgettable as a first kiss . The Wedding Present approach his ‘ Cumberland Gap’ but must have known they were doomed to failure .
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: no)
' When I first watched Michael Chang play tennis , ' Jose recalls , ' I told several people that I believed Chang could do well at the French Open . I thought it might take two years of training . ' Higueras admits , ' I worked on Michael 's game . Chang achieved his potential fast , spotting his strengths and hitting the ball on the rise . Plus , Chang executed well during match play .
Idiom: in the soup (used idiomatically: yes)
Not likely . I drink it because it 's the tastiest stuff I know . Put it in the soups too when you 're not looking.’ She winked at him and laughed again . ‘ And one thing 's for sure,’ she continued in her big voice , ‘ your mother will never have a cough.’
Idiom: go to town (used idiomatically: no)
' Singing Kettle ' has a natural authenticity and it 's wonderful fun ' . ( The Scotsman ) BBC Radio Goes To Town BBC Radio focuses attention on the Festival this year by broadcasting a whole range of radio programmes from Belfast across the wavelengths , on Radio 1 , Radio 2 , Radio 3 , Radio 4 and Radio 5 . Most programmes will come from the Elmwood Hall , but other venues will be used .
Idiom: run amok (used idiomatically: yes)
The NME quickly attempted to stamp its personality on the soulless office space ; Burchill and Parsons turned their turf into the infamous Kinderbunker , a sectioned - off area defended by entirely apocryphal barbed wire and glass . CSM and Mick Farren instituted ‘ Kitsch Corner’ decorated with all manner of gaudy tat . The NME 's resistance to the move was legendary and was reported in The Guardian of May 12 , 1976 , an article by Robin Denselow detailing the fact that the journalists had removed ceiling panels , daubed graffiti and generally run amok . A week 's issue was missed after a spate of illness and walk - outs and eventually IPC agreed to give the paper its head and sanction a move to Carnaby Street . Reports persist that the final straw came when an emotional Mick Farren threw a typewriter through the windows , from whence it travelled the 21 floors to ground level at high speed , narrowly missing terrified pedestrians .
Idiom: time will tell (used idiomatically: yes)
The vote will be seen as a victory for the local authorities , who put so much pressure on the clubs , and many of the delegates were relieved that the vote had taken away the threat of possible punitive action from their local councils . ' It takes all the pressure off us and we can now start to play rugby again , ' a representative from Ebbw Vale , whose ground is owned by the local authority , said . What the repercussions will be in South Africa — where the ageing president , Danie Craven , has threatened to support rebel tours — only time will tell . Craven has said that Welsh players will still be chased by South Africa in spite of this vote , but the WRU is confident that they have shut off the avenue to the Republic . Last night 's resolution from the WRU committee read : ' For as long as any rugby player living in the Republic of South Africa is the victim of racial discrimination under the laws of that country , neither the WRU nor any of its member clubs will become involved in any matches organised under the authority of the SA Rugby Board .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
If you do get into trouble at this stage , it is likely to take one of three forms : 1 The model does not make it over the top of the loop and starts to fall inverted . This is why you started at a safe height . Hang on to the back stick and full power and the model should right itself .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: yes)
It was wonderful that they should all be sitting round the table , laughing . She loved her father because he could make everyone laugh . When supper was over , they played games . There was a game where you blew up balloons and sat on them . Dad was better than anyone ; he burst six balloons , one after the other .
Idiom: throw down the gauntlet (used idiomatically: yes)
When the British were attacked for their role in the Boer War , Hyndman and Quelch for the British Social Democratic Federation prepared a dossier on the crimes of other imperial powers as the basis for condemning all — and so exonerating the British as no worse than the rest . Others began to develop a countercase . At Amsterdam in 1904 , a Dutch delegate , Van Kol , threw down the gauntlet —‘The new needs which will make themselves felt after the victory of the working class and its economic emancipation will make the possession of colonies necessary , even under the future socialist system of government . , The need for tropical products , for outlets for exports and surplus population and to offset ‘ the deadly competition of colonial labour’ , all entailed rethinking the old position . ‘ Can we abandon half the globe to the caprice of peoples still in their infancy … ? Must we not understand by socialization of the means of production that the means of living and working belong to everyone?’
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
I actually think we should n't take too much notice of the letter . I do n't No , no but I mean , th there 're so many issues that we are trying to get to grips with we have to actually communicate it to people and say well this is But it 's how to do it that 's the problem . Yes
Idiom: down the drain (used idiomatically: yes)
I think we 'll lose any hope of a properly integrated transport system . Male speaker I fear that safety standards will go down the drain as people seek to make most profit . Female speaker I think we wo n't get a unified transport system .