Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: make or break (used idiomatically: no)
Phosphate is the least problem and , perhaps because of the almost profligate use of bone meal and the very long time it takes for the phosphate to be released by bacterial decomposition , is very seldom indeed the cause for worry . Nitrogen shortage normally shows out as small , sickly , pale green foliage . When it is serious , spots and patches of yellow and red appear as the green chlorophyll is not made , or breaks down . Potash shortage is often an induced condition caused by too much nitrogen reducing the potash content to an unbalanced proportion . In addition to the flabby growth and increased susceptibility to pests and disease that follows , the visible indications show out as brown patches which spread and coalesce round the leaf edges .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
He tripped over his groceries and sprawled on the pavement at the mouth of the alley . Scrambling to his feet , he tripped again as he half - crawled , half - ran down the sidewalk . As soon as he turned the corner , I grabbed the wallet and sprinted down the alley . Emerging in the darkness , I vaulted the chain - link fence surrounding the park and ran through the high grass into the trees . Squatting behind an embankment , I paused to catch my breath and let my pounding heart settle down .
Idiom: lend a hand (used idiomatically: no)
Seb , standing on the top board with binoculars , was peering into Miss Lodsworth 's garden in excitement . ' That blonde one looks very prepared to me . 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 .
Idiom: make waves (used idiomatically: yes)
Financial Times 30 January Energy Wind power makes waves in the Netherlands The Dutch government has set a target of producing 1,000 megawatts of electricity by the year 2000 thorough wind power generation . This would be sufficient to provide 10 per cent of the country 's electricity needs — enough to power a city the size of Amsterdam .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
They were great champions and everyone who saw them on the ice thought they were lovers . But they were n't , even if the stocky little one wanted them to be . The tall , fair - haired man fell for another woman skater and his little partner 's heart was broken . No , I 'm not talking about Torvill and Dean . I 'm referring to the Russian stars Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov , who set the skating world alight as partners back in the early 1970s .
Idiom: brass monkey (used idiomatically: yes)
Danny replied , looking at what Billy was pointing to . ‘ All I can see is a bloody empty yard wiv a shed in it . What 's so excitin ' about lookin ' at a poxy empty yard on a night that 's fair set ter freeze the cobblers orf a brass monkey?’ Billy hunched his shoulders and did a quick shuffle . ‘ Was n't I the best prospect Bermondsey ' ad for a long time before I got me wound?’ he asked .
Idiom: crystal clear (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr. Yeo The verdict of Londoners on whether London wants a Labour - led Greater London council reborn will be seen when we judge the results of the general election in the London constituencies . I am confident that those results will pass a crystal clear judgment that people are afraid of the Labour party in London . They can see what it is like in Lambeth , in Southwark , in Hackney and elsewhere . They will further pass judgment that the Government want to see that enormous capital asset across the river sold for hotel or residential accommodation , and a huge capital receipt — probably more than £ 100 million — distributed to the old London boroughs for productive use in their areas .
Idiom: get cracking (used idiomatically: yes)
" Do n't bother , " Matthew said . " I have arranged for both builder and architect to be here at two o'clock . We can then get cracking about the conversion . " " Why did n't you let me know before ? " Sara asked .
Idiom: out of thin air (used idiomatically: yes)
I think it 's been successful in trying to break down barriers a bit , and I think at least some of the representatives erm the head boy and girl and deputy head boy and girl at Priory School and some of the people from Rings School and so on at least have contact now on a fairly regular basis with local councillors , local council officials and so on . I think it enables young , the young people that have been coming to those meetings to find out too the problems that councillors have and local authorities have , in actually trying to carry out the sorts of things they want . For example , on the building that we 're talking about shifting , first of all we 've got to find a site for the thing , then we 've got to get planning permission , then we 've got to get the actual permission of the owner of the land , then we 've got to make sure that erm electricity 's laid on , that there 's erm water laid on , that there 's some sort of toilet or other facilities and so on , and when you add all that lot up , it 's quite a complicated sort of series of bureaucratic procedures you 've got to go through , and it 's not a question of , you know , of people saying to us , ‘ Well , as councillors , well , do this for us,’ and we can magic it out in six months out of thin air . There 's an awful lot of paperwork that 's got to be gone through , an awful lot of people to see , an awful lot of red tape really to get through , first , I mean just to make sure that the thing 's safe and complies with health and safety standards . And that 's something which you have to get across to young people , and if they 're involved in the actual discussions on this , they 're involved in the organisation , they begin to see the complexities , and they 're less inclined to think , to automatically assume that erm people are n't on their side and do n't want to listen .
Idiom: read between the lines (used idiomatically: yes)
One must follow him line by line and read no less clearly between the lines : there are few thinkers who say so much between the lines .
Idiom: fly in the face of (used idiomatically: yes)
We are in an election period and the guillotine motion is for election purposes . It has nothing to do with the inspectorate . What the Government are doing about the inspectorate is extremely foolish and flies in the face of its proud history . Mr. Anthony Nelson ( Chichester ) If ever there was a case for the timetabling of Bills , it is the shenanigans over this Bill .
Idiom: under the sun (used idiomatically: yes)
In the narrow field that sloped upwards at the back between scrubby thickets Donald 's rake lay with its teeth in a swathe . Most of the field was still quilted with cut hay . It had been so dry that two days under the warm sun had been enough without letting it stand in stooks or draping it on the hedges . Now it could go straight to the byre . Cameron looked round the neighbouring fields , some shorn close and yellow , some still fledged with feathery grass and sparkling with daisies and buttercups .
Idiom: hair of the dog (used idiomatically: yes)
A permanent state of booze-induced stupor was considered good form by these people and it was not long before ‘ to be altogethery ’ meant absolutely blotto . As a result , overtones of totality came to be attached to the word — for example , he 's altogether washed up — and the term still denotes absolute nakedness . As for the supposedly curative hair of the dog , this stems from the ancient belief that the only cure for an infected dog bite was a poultice of milk , bread and fur from the offending animal . It makes as much sense as treating burns with a blow torch . TODAY 'S Book Of Things You Did n't Know … is now on sale , published by Simon & Schuster for £3.99 .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: no)
If it is handled the " Profitboss way " , people will accept it . They 'll accept the money and accept the opportunity to escape . If there is to be charity in business , make people redundant and do it well . TODAY 'S STEP Be courageous .
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: yes)
Billy Gilbert was Palace 's tough - tackling central defender and occasional full - back from 1977 to 1984 , and was a vital member of our 2nd Division championship side of 1979 . Billy came to the attention of Palace devotees when our Junior team proceeded to the Final of the 1977 FA Youth Cup and then beat Everton over two legs , but he came into the League side in October that year as deputy for injured skipper Ian Evans , and was the undisputed possessor of Palace 's number six shirt by the end of that 1977–78 season . After gaining another Youth Cup winner 's medal in 1978 , Billy became a dominant central defender alongside Jim Cannon and was a key member of the side that took the Palace back into Division One in 1979 with the best defensive record in the club 's history ; Billy also gained the first of his eleven England Under 21 caps that season . Billy was a tower of strength in Palace 's two years in the 1st Division , 1979–81 , missing only five of our 84 games there , and then his sturdy and dependable displays helped to keep us from further embarrassment after we had returned to Division Two , so that every Palace fan was sorry to see Billy opt to leave us for Portsmouth in the 1984 close season . GILES , David
Idiom: white hat (used idiomatically: yes)
A man with a white hat and brown shirt is behind a woman in red and is looking to the left
Idiom: no holds barred (used idiomatically: yes)
HAEFLIGER ( piano ) It may be thought unwise to present a young a artist in repertoire as familiar and well - recorded as this , but one only needs to listen to the first minute of track one , the F major Sonata , to realise that Haefliger is in complete command and has something unique to offer , namely youthful energy , dash and charisma . This is very much a young man 's conception of Mozart , and many will find the no - holds - barred approach works as the perfect antidote to those who nurture an overreverential conception of Mozartian style and grace . Haefliger 's Mozart is ultra romantic , and he commands an enormous daytime range . His range of colour and tonal shading makes you sit up .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
Yet her belly , in spite of her defeat , goes on filling with new life . Another picture , a pen and pencil drawing , is a more devastating exposure still . Like the other , it is of Sien , this time sitting in bed with arms folded , propping up her naked breasts . It is of a remarkable ugliness . One flinches , physically hurt by it .
Idiom: save someone's skin (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Yes,’ the Doctor answered firmly , fixing Richmann with a penetrating gaze . Richmann pursed his lips in thought . This could be a trick to save his skin , he thought , but if he does know something and he dies without telling it … . ‘ We can always kill you later , I suppose,’ he said wistfully . Ace was busy remachining parts from several guns as Benny rushed in , waving the print - out she had got from the computer .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
I combed my hair , then quickly snatched up Topsey , my rag doll , and took the letter from Dad and went off . The ride on the tram was not far ; only a halfpenny each way . When I arrived and rang the bell it was Albert who showed me in . I told him I had a letter from Dad for Mary . But Mary was out so I gave him the letter and began to tell him about the trouble at home .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
People kept saying to him , ' Stop picking your nose , ' and he could n't do anything about it . He looked an awful fool . ' ' Serve him right , ' Mrs Wormwood said . ' He should n't have put his finger up there in the first place . It 's a nasty habit .
Idiom: larger than life (used idiomatically: no)
If someone told you that a major ensemble of some twenty bronzes has recently been permanently installed in a public park hard by Wall St and that its subject is an allegory of greed , would you believe it ? Believe it . Tom Otterness , the sculptor , has created a true epitaph for the Eighties in his ' The Real World ' a pocket Disney and - by - way - of - Hieronymus Bosch in which diminutive doll figures cute at first encounter — cavort in the open air among what are , for them , giants huge Molochian beings awash in and sometimes even exploding with money , money symbolized by thousands of larger - than - life one - cent pieces . This is only a glance at the complexity and detail of the work 's program ; full delectation of its supreme subversity means a visit to Battery Park , the City 's hugely agreeable landscaped park and esplanade along the Hudson River from Chambers to Barclay streets . Otterness is busy these days .
Idiom: for a song (used idiomatically: yes)
He pinned a huge map of the diocese on his study wall , and then outlined his own archdeaconry in red . Eight deaneries lay within it , of which only one — Woodborough itself - had any kind of urban character . The rest were a maze of villages with names that sounded like the refrain for a pantomime song , villages whose lives were as far removed from those Manchester lives he had known for so long that it was as if they inhabited another planet . He had wanted this change , not least because he felt that the rural Church was being neglected , that progressive Church thinking was forgetting to take into account that huge section of the population whose rhythms were dictated by quite other influences than urban ones . He had also felt that , contrary to popular supposition , a dangerous loneliness might afflict priests living and working in rural places , however lovely .
Idiom: anyone's guess (used idiomatically: yes)
In the absence of detailed requirements , the question of what gives a true and fair view is notoriously subjective . What is more , Trafalgar 's treatment was supported by its auditors , Touche Ross . If the case had gone to court , it 's anyone 's guess what would have happened . But Trafalgar caved in , and its chief executive is leaving the company earlier than might have been expected . In the GPG case ( see this issue , p 13 ) , the Panel went even further .
Idiom: in the clear (used idiomatically: yes)
Bukhari ( 1984 ) 74 Cr . App . R. 291 ) . If the risk of this happening leaves the prosecutor up a gum tree , it is apparent that the Crown Prosecution Service may have an interest in ensuring that something has been done prior to trial to remove the need for a dock identification , whether the police can see a use for one or not . ( If the suspect , having been asked to do so , refuses to take part in a formal identification procedure the prosecutor is in the clear , as the refusal provides a justification for the dock identification : John [ 1973]Crim . L.R. 113 . ) The position is , of course , quite different if the witness knows the person concerned well enough to say : ‘ I was hit by a man I know well and whose name is Jack Spratt.’ The prosecution will then know themselves to be in a position to prove identification from the outset , and a parade will only come into the picture if Spratt specifically requests one .
Idiom: cramp someone's style (used idiomatically: yes)
In the new jazz climate , the anonymity of Peter King , one of the unsung great British saxophonists , has lifted a little— partly because one of his admirers is Ben Watt of Everything But The Girl , who is also the producer of Crusade . Given that background , the album is unsurprisingly pop - influenced , with a velvety studio atmosphere , tunes by Smokey Robinson , Donny Hathaway and Joni Mitchell , even a funk version of Blue Monk . It all represents King a little too effectively marketed to tingle the skin , but underneath it all there is the same fluidity , the same lightning double - time runs , the same sense of shape , declaring that repackaging can not really cramp his style . The opposite extreme is represented by the Russian saxophonist , Vladimir Chekasin , sometime member of the Ganelin Trio , caught here live on the Munster Jazz Festival . It is a delicious jumble of free - improvising sound - effects ( percussion shuffles like dogs sniffing , demented woodpecker noises , thumps like paperweights dropped on upstairs floors , sudden yelps and barks ) , manic pastiche of military marches , bolero music , and awards - ceremony pomposity , with Chekasin 's raw , scorching horn slashing through it .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
From Scardroy , where the public motor road ends , there is another old drovers ' route through to Loch Gowan and Achnasheen , so even without a car some interesting trips could be made taking in the Conon Corbetts by using post bus and train services . Chilly Changes . My first attempt on these hills ended at about 1500 feet when two of us were simply blasted off , which I suppose served us right for even setting out on a morning dark and grey as a used Brillo pad . But it is a long way to upper Strath Conon , especially from the Welsh Marches , whence my companion had drive . The situation reminded me of an announcement made on a flight over the Himalayas .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
With the notable exception of Britain most of them in one way or another involved the banks , either directly or through the fashionable device of the crédit mobilier , a sort of industrial finance company which regarded the orthodox banks as insufficiently suited to or interested in industrial financing and competed with them . The brothers Pereire , those dynamic industrialisers inspired by the ideas of Saint - Simon and enjoying some backing from Napoleon III , developed the prototype model of this device . They spread it all over Europe in competition with their bitter rivals the Rothschilds , who did not like the idea but were obliged to follow suit , and — as so often happens in periods of boom when financiers feel heroic and the money rolls in — it was much imitated , especially in Germany . Crédits mobiliers were the rage , at least until the Rothschilds won their battle with the Pereires and — as also often happens in boom periods — some operators ventured a little too far across the always hazy frontier between business optimism and fraud . However , a variety of other devices for similar purposes were also being developed , notably the investment bank or banque d'affaires .
Idiom: come clean (used idiomatically: yes)
Male speaker It 's the worst kept secret in the prison service . What we 'd like them to do is come clean sit round a table and talk about running it properly Voice over An announcement from the Home Office confirming the reopening of Oxford is expected in the next few weeks
Idiom: go to town (used idiomatically: yes)
You cheeky devil get that stapler , got one in the garage ah , you want to see some of the twenty five year olds going to town down here I 'm only ten and a half stone with dyed blonde hair
Idiom: fall into place (used idiomatically: yes)
And it had been easy to ignore them , not to listen , to walk away , when he believed them to be just dirt . But when they were made respectable , vouched for by his own father , when they were associated with his own parents , and with his own existence … it was quite different . Many things had fallen into place as a result of his father 's explanation : drawings on lavatory walls , the shape of girl babies , the strange scufflings in Jimmy Thompson 's rabbit hutch when they put the black buck Jumbo in with Snow White … He had lain awake for hours that night , as a whole new world of discovery and excitement and evil unrolled before him . Never had he learned and understood so many new things at once .
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: yes)
Others freak out and enjoy the chance to frolic . So out come the glove puppets , the posters and the toys which can be used to illustrate the point . Anything goes , and the more he goes down - market the more they love it . Warm smiles play over the faces of the grannies as the meenister cavorts . His critics even smile in anticipation of a rhetorical question meeting with a devastating reply .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
I was partnering Sandy Lyle against Lee Trevino and Sean Connery and I was shaking so much with nerves , I could n't even balance my ball on a little wooden tee at the first . Trevino tapped me on the shoulder and said : ‘ Sure is a hard course , is n't it , Max ? ’ And this was before I 'd even hit a ball ! But what made the round most memorable was my caddie . Old Willie , they called him .
Idiom: have an eye for (used idiomatically: yes)
Watching the full - starred heavens that winter sees , Will this thought rise on those who will meet my face no more , ‘ He was one who had an eye for such mysteries?’ And will any say when my bell of quittance is heard in the gloom , And a crossing breeze cuts a pause in its outrollings ,
Idiom: by the book (used idiomatically: yes)
Robert Nugent Esq . they offered us 3d per bay in lieu thereof . The waste is a small perquisite that hath been granted us for several hundred years past , which we are able to prove by our ancient Books of Record , which have been no less than 14 or 15 times ratified and confirmed at the General Quarter Sessions . The sense of right here goes well beyond the simple assertion of customary practice and is strengthened by the involvement of the local Member of Parliament and the approval of the justices at sessions . More than 500 weavers went on strike in defence of this " ancient custom " , staying out through the winter from November to February before they were reduced to acceptance of the threepence compensation .
Idiom: new blood (used idiomatically: yes)
Dr Mawhinney becomes Health Minister while Mr Needham becomes a minister at the Department of Trade and Industry . The new Northern Ireland Ministers are Mr Mates and Mr Robert Atkins , the former Sports Minister . The Treasury , where two ministers were election casualties , receives an infusion of new blood . The appointment last week of the Thatcherite Mr Michael Portillo as Treasury Secretary has been balanced by Mr Stephen Dorrell , a prominent ‘ wet’ , switching from Health to become Financial Secretary . Mr Anthony Nelson ( Chichester ) , a former merchant banker , also ends his exile on the backbenches by becoming Economic Secretary at the Treasury .
Idiom: high and low (used idiomatically: yes)
It was my mother who brought me to my senses . She heard me practising at home one day and said , ‘ This ca n't go on.’ After that I searched high and low for a new teacher , and when I found one I had to start from scratch . My leaving Lula caused quite a scandal in Berlin ; but that period with her could have been deadly for me . Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was invested Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the Queen last week
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
This stone was put up by Francis Troy in loving memory of Fanny Robin , who died on October 9 , 1866 , aged 20 Gabriel looked anxiously at her to see if she was upset , but she remained calm . She asked him to fill in the hole , and have the broken water pipe repaired . Finally , to show she did not hate the woman who had caused her such bitterness , she replanted the flowers herself , and cleaned the muddy gravestone , so that the words could be read clearly . Then she went home .
Idiom: on the fly (used idiomatically: no)
In this month 's safari we focus on the Dragonfly Nymph The Dragonfly ( Odonata)with its large paired wings is a familiar sight around the margins of lakes and rivers , in the fens and marshes and even on brackish lagoons . Most people know that they hawk and feed on other flies . They are one of the earliest known insects , fossils being around from the Carboniferous period , and today there are some 4,000 species worldwide . Underwater , their nymph is just as efficient a predator and unlike the roaming adult , it lies in ambush for other insect nymphs , and larvae , for other aquatic bugs , and even for young fish fry .