Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: bring the house down (used idiomatically: yes)
Cruel , a little , but not savage : Alix could see Hannah smiling gamely , taking it in good part , and wondered if she was also taking in the rather subtle sub - text of allusions to drugs other than nicotine . One could never tell how blind Hannah 's blind eye really was . It was Eric 's turn next : his presenter appeared in jogging track suit , and false beard , and needed to do little more than puff heavily round the stage several times intoning ‘ no , not on the roof , no , not on the roof , to bring the house down , rousing laughter even from those who did not know that these were the mysterious words that the Warden had uttered in a loud cry when abruptly roused from slumber during a session of group therapy . One of two of the visiting psychiatrists were brought forth in a psychiatric chorus , singing in psychobabble : Bob Saxby was presented giving a learned discourse on the nature of the pot , insisting reassuringly in a phrase that needed no exaggeration , so frequently was it heard from him in real life , that ‘ a few irregularities add charm to a pot’ . An example of a charming pot was produced , to much mirth .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: no)
He cleaned out a pocket and tapped in a nut . Ten feet . He placed the hook in the worn pocket and stood in a sling . Five feet . He got out the cheating stick and clipped the peg , swarming up in a daisy chain of quick-draws .
Idiom: up a tree (used idiomatically: yes)
' The bear turned and eyed Trevor and went after him … ' It was the last time Cherry , 45 , was to see her common - law husband alive . ' I had got part way up the tree when the bear grabbed one of my shoes and pulled it off , ' she recalled . ' It hauled me to the ground with a thump and started mauling me on the back and neck . ' After Trevor , 46 , was attacked by the grizzly , Cherry — dripping with blood and in agony — had to leave her lover and seek help .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
The stale water in the puddles and pools outside is much more attractive . It may be full of microbes and rotting vegetation , but these are natural and organic and only give it an attractive flavour . Veterinary authors issue dire warnings about the risk of ‘ transmission of disease’ resulting from permitting your cat to drink from ponds and puddles , begging the question of how so many wild animals manage to remain perfectly healthy . In reality , the risk is really rather slight , though even this can be eliminated by taking more trouble to rinse off all the detergent from the cat 's dishes . Because cats are many times more sensitive to detergent contamination than we humans are , much more rinsing than usual is required .
Idiom: plain sailing (used idiomatically: yes)
( ABOVE ) STARTING OUT WITH GOUACHE If you have never had a go at gouache before , TOM ROBB 'S advice should make it plain sailing ! SHIP AHOY ! IT IS MUCH BETTER TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF LIGHTNESS , ESPECIALLY AS GOUACHE PAINT IS MUCH DARKER WHEN IT IS DRIED
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
Peaty alluvial soils characteristically have an O horizon which usually occurs at the surface but can be interbedded with freshwater alluvial sediments . The soils may have a high water-table . Rankers have H , O or A surface horizons more than 10 centimetres thick which rest directly on hard noncalcareous rock or rubble derived from such rock . Incipient E and B horizons can be present . Brown rankers have a brown or dark brown A horizon .
Idiom: at cross purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ How did they know where you were staying?’ ‘ That 's no secret , anybody could have found that out!’ ‘ Mr Maxwell , I understand only too well that you would like to pay this ransom as quickly as possible and take no risks and that since I want to catch these kidnappers , we are working at cross purposes to a certain extent . Nevertheless , unless there 's some cooperation between us , your daughter could lose her life . You need the help I can give you because if you unknowingly make a false move or fail to react promptly because you 're not sure what to do , your daughter will be dispensed with as being too risky a property .
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
Q. Why do experts disagree about the importance of cholesterol ? A. They do n't . Decades of research on a major scale points the finger at cholesterol as one of the key risk factors for heart disease . Precisely how the disease process works is still a mystery , and a great deal remains to be learnt about it . In the meantime , people should not be advise to seek guidance from the tabloid newspapers , which are more interested in a ‘ good story’ than scientific accuracy .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: no)
' We moved from Belfast , ' Joan says . ' We 'd dreamt of coming near the mountains and the sea and were out for a drive one Sunday afternoon with that idea in the back of our minds . Then we saw a ' For Sale ' sign on the old house about five miles down the road , where our shops and restaurant now are . We bought it , along with 60 acres , and opened a farm shop for the first three or four years , to sell our surplus . And then somehow it spread out — first a coffee shop , then a restaurant .
Idiom: speak volumes (used idiomatically: yes)
Douglas of the FO is a toff of the old school , with an in - built aversion to the grubbier end of our trade . As such , his face was a picture last week as he was obliged to read out his extraordinary statement about Amendment 27 . Body language can speak volumes on these occasions . Douglas affected a dispatch box pose which enabled him to deliver the juicier bits of the legal volte- face to a point in the mid - distance somewhere above the Opposition gallery . Kenneth Branagh would have been hard pushed to better the sheer professionalism on display .
Idiom: look the other way (used idiomatically: no)
Flies , we can well imagine , must have had a hey - day in such an environment , and those attracted by the flesh and the dung of horses would have had to be whisked off Charles 's meat — perhaps by boys with birch whisks specially employed for the purpose . Little wonder , in a sense , that so many children died in early infancy , or that those who survived would have built up a set of antibodies we might well envy . Had Charles looked the other way — south , over the town bridge — we have a very good idea of exactly what he would have seen , thanks to a contemporary engraving by Abraham Crocker . There is the Blue House and the Blue Boar , the Market Place still divided by buildings across the centre of it , and the spire of the unrebuilt St John 's church rising in the middle distance . A tranquil enough scene , we may say , once the squads of militia had departed and the floods abated .
Idiom: odd one out (used idiomatically: yes)
I was the odd At the moment ? I was the odd one out you see because everybody else had curly hair . I thought wait till Tuesday . Wait till Tuesday !
Idiom: bottom drawer (used idiomatically: yes)
The adventurers could even try a little blackmail of their own . For the fiendish GM , some of the information here might be inaccurate … Finally , the scribe 's petty cash box is in the bottom drawer of the desk , and contains 2 GCs , 71 SSs , and 145 BPs . 60–63 . CHAOS CHAMBERS
Idiom: hold water (used idiomatically: yes)
How about if I said well the reason why they migrate is that they do n't know about urban unemployment , you know if , you know , it 's a lack of information problem . If they knew that the unemployment rates were twenty or thirty percent in urban areas that they would n't migrate but because they do n't have that information that 's , that 's the reason . I mean does that hold any water , do you accept that ? I mean it 's a logical , it seems plausible anyway , erm empirical evidence , however , suggests that that is n't why we have rapid migration or such a large degree of migration . Empirical evidence suggests that erm migrants are reasonably well informed about employment prospects in urban areas .
Idiom: do someone's head in (used idiomatically: yes)
She did n't believe it . A man , whose face she had been unable to see , had suddenly appeared , pulled her out of the shit , and then disappeared . In twentieth century slang , this planet was ‘ doing her head in’ . She kept close to Spike , making sure he did n't wander out of her sight . They were moving towards the space station .
Idiom: by heart (used idiomatically: yes)
All I It was a small word , but one with a wealth of meaning . Thirteen per cent , the figure was . Every pilot in his squadron knew it by heart . The surveillance missions were frequent and regular . Out of every hundred aircraft which ventured over the border , eighty - seven returned safely .
Idiom: drop a hint (used idiomatically: yes)
The plain fact is that us women are fussy . The mere sight of a dandruff - laden shoulder , a grimy collar or a grubby fingernail is enough to bring the most promising of romances to a sudden end . Unless , that is , you can drop enormous hints with family - size bottles of Head and Shoulders , biological washing powder and a nail brush the size of a hedgehog . Two of my brothers used to be car mechanics and would use ANYTHING washing up liquid , bleach , industrial strength cleaner to get those tell - tale oily fingernails clean before they ventured out on a date . Instead of buying them aftershave at Christmas , their eyes lit up at enormous , giftwrapped , tubs of Swarfega .
Idiom: up with the lark (used idiomatically: no)
The Plaza troupe were delighted with themselves . A critic had coined a phrase for them and it was taken up as a catch phrase —'They dance as one woman and what a woman . ' Whilst they were appearing in Up With the Lark at the Adelphi Theatre , they coped admirably with their filming schedule but were furious when Sickert produced a picture of them called High Steppers . He had the habit of hoarding newspaper cuttings that interested him and occasionally created a picture from one . The Girls regarded this one with loathing as it shows them with heads and legs all at different angles .
Idiom: hand in glove (used idiomatically: no)
A European officer would be in charge , assisted by three African NCOs , one of whom , it was hoped , would be Shartuyan ole Rendeo , the man who had won the Japanese sword . Windley was anxious to avoid any misunderstanding as to the purpose of the camp ; the main things , he emphasized , were to be flexible and ' to treat the Moran with the greatest good humour and avoid any suspicion of it being a labour camp . The iron hand in the velvet glove is really the key to handling them . ' The Moran training camp never materialized in quite the form Windley envisaged , the Masai , as usual with administrative projects , declining to extend their co - operation beyond token financial contributions . A number of attempts were made to introduce such courses in the next few years , but as experiments in applied anthropology they were all failures .
Idiom: see eye to eye (used idiomatically: yes)
Bonard 's shoulders lifted dismissively . ‘ They have many differences . Fernand was employed by the previous owner and does not always see eye to eye with Alain on the way the estate should be managed , but no … ’ ‘ So what do you suppose it was?’ asked Chrissie . ‘ He would not tell me .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
Linnet — who could doubt it ? — had endured untold agonies beneath her cool , just a shade too persistent smile , finding little consolation , perhaps , but hardly so much as she had pretended , in the renewed attentions of Uriah Colclough . Gemma had winced slightly — Amabel would never forget It — as they left the church and , later that day , had started to lose her baby . A day of celebration and a day of tragedy , one superimposed upon the other , so that Amabel , who did not even wish to be rational , found it easy to believe that Ben Braithwaite had broken not only Linnet 's heart , but Gemma 's . " Never mind , my darlings , " she said now , bathing them both in her overflowing affections , Gemma propped up on her pillows looking polite and pleasant — surely that could not be right ? — Linnet still remote and very tranquil . " Never mind . "
Idiom: lose face (used idiomatically: no)
Jalalabad has up to now disproved this theory . Since March 8th , when the guerrillas began their assault , the defenders have contested every yard . Pakistan 's military intelligence service , the ISI , which is assumed to be directing the attack , has lost face . The probability , though , is that the guerrillas refused to be directed . Although Pakistan has been the conduit for the arms supplied to the guerrillas by America and Britain , the guerrillas in the field have been their own men .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
WELSH extremists have threatened to firebomb five English families out of their homes for being ' racist colonists ' . The terror group Sons of Glendower sent warning letters to the BBC in Bangor , Gwynedd , setting a deadline of March 1 — St David 's Day — for the families to get out of Wales . As police mounted round - the - clock guards on properties last night , one of those named vowed not to back down . ' I 'm not going to be forced into anything by these loonies , ' said shopkeeper Ray Sutton . Mr Sutton , 51 , who moved to Llangybi , near Lampeter , from Kent seven years ago , believes he is a target because he refuses to place advertisements solely in Welsh in his shop window .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
WIGAN ATHLETIC 'S mysterious new owners are standing by for an instant bonus — a third found FA Cup-tie at Old Trafford and the Pounds 100,000 minimum windfall it would bring in . First there is tonight 's second round tie against struggling Third Division Bury to negotiate — a nerve-shredding 90 minutes with the thought of pitting wits against the stars of Manchester United enough to inspire both sides . A London consortium took over Springfield Park last week , installed businessman Michael Morris on the board and issued specific instructions to Chief Executive Brian Hamilton : ‘ Get a few results and move us up the Second Division table . ’ Hamilton , who will be released from admin duties to work closer with coach Dave Philpotts on the training field , says : ‘ That suits me fine . It 's nice to have new owners who do n't think we are down among the dead men . ’
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: no)
Not so Glenavon . The early season jungle drums which had sounded so ominous for manager Alan Fraser after two dodgy defeats , now beat out a different message . Glenavon are on the march again with a Gold Cup quarter - final place in the bag and a £ 1,000 jackpot as the first team to score ten goals in the tournament . Add to that a £ 60 bonus for each away goal and Glenavon left Clandeboye £ 1,360 richer . More important they signalled their re - emergence as a force again .
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ We have gone ahead with the investment to make the company grow and there is obviously a relationship between the size of turnover and the numbers of people employed.’ Seton 's results for the year ending February 28 , restated under FRS3 disclosure standards , show the pre - tax figure at £ 6.1 m , compared with £ 4.3 m last year on turnover marginally ahead from £ 37.2 m to £ 38.6 m . A successful £ 13.1 m rights issue in January this year helped offset the £ 14.2 m spent on acquisitions designed to focus the business on over the counter products which now comprise 25pc of group turnover . Gearing was reduced by 3pc to 39pc . Seton is also involved in sports and leisure goods , a recession - hit division which saw sales fall during the year , although operating profit increased by 7pc .
Idiom: no can do (used idiomatically: yes)
' But it 's better to be safe than sorry . I think you ought to get her taken off the scheme . ' After a brief pause for thought , Stuart Baxter said , ' No can do , Vic . There 'd be the most almighty row if we appeared to be sabotaging an Industry Year project simply because this bird is a member of CND . I can just see the headlines — RUMMIDGE FIRM SLAMS DOOR ON RED ROBYN .
Idiom: no pain, no gain (used idiomatically: no)
the difficulty is not to be hidden — we ourselves have no right to hide it . Nor , however , is it to be submitted to the terrorism or plain language , that mythical weapon or those who prefer the comforting repetition or the ideological caress ; who do not want to READ . Or , in the slogan of American aerobics teachers , ' No Pain , No Gain ' . It was a note often sounded in battles to come . MacCabe and Heath had studied in Paris , and Signs of the Times has its niche in postwar cultural history , marking the first major re - entry of French intellectual influences since Eliot 's adherence to Remy de Gourmont and the French neoclassicists , half a century earlier .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
However , it is now recognized that progress in this direction requires a great deal more cooperation in other fields , such as monetary and budgetary policy , than was originally acknowledged . The Marjolin Report ( 1975 ) identified such weaknesses in the previous conception of EMU and suggested that cooperation on a much wider basis was required before EMU would become tenable . The Tindemans Report ( 1976 ) recommended a gradual approach towards EMU , and suggested that the countries able to proceed in the direction of monetary union should do so , and others should follow suit later when conditions became more favourable . Neither of these reports , however , has made the previous mistake of trying to set targets or deadlines for the eventual achievement of EMU . At the Bremen summit conference in July 1978 a new impetus was given towards monetary union by the agreement of heads of the nine Common Market governments to press ahead with a detailed study for a new European Monetary System ( EMS ) .
Idiom: in no uncertain terms (used idiomatically: yes)
Let 's go have a smoke.’ It 's still the easiest way to get thrown out of hospital . In fact , the three of us , all with duty - free Marlboros well alight , were shown the door in no uncertain terms . Once outside , I threw my cigarette away . ‘ Where 's Armstrong?’
Idiom: true blue (used idiomatically: yes)
In May 1985 , however , an event occurred which was fundamental to the future of the Hinkley C plan . Somerset County Council went orange . After a hundred years of true blue Conservative control , the electors decided they wanted a change . In an astonishing shift in voting patterns , they elected twenty new Liberal and Social Democrat councillors , giving the Alliance , together with a small Labour group , an overall majority of seven seats . A year later , in the aftermath of the Chernobyl accident , the County Council officially changed its attitude on Hinkley C from ‘ neutrality’ to one of opposition to the proposed Pressurized Water Reactor .
Idiom: steer clear of (used idiomatically: yes)
I exchanged the Wrasse ( by then measuring about 10″ ) for another fish at my local shop . Everything since then has been fine . I think readers should be warned to steer clear of these fish in the future . A The Lunar , or Moon Wrasse , Thalassoma lunare , is a commonly - available fish , but it full potential is not often appreciated by the hobbyist . This is a species capable of growing to well over 12″ in length in double - quick time , under the right conditions .
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: yes)
Fanged skulls within potent crosses adorned his knees . The giant was wearing an engraved power sword and a similarly enchased bolt gun in a holster of brass lined with slithery lizard hide . How could any man be so huge and powerful in the flesh ? How could he radiate such ruthless adamantine presence ? Lexandro 's wilful , wayward , snook - cocking soul was seared for several seconds .
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
But she must n't interfere . Pamela climbed out of the pool and reached for her towel . Formentera might do the trick . At dinner that night everything was curiously flat . There were the usual quiet couples and at a discreet corner table , a rather superior single lady who kept nose in a library book and herself to herself .
Idiom: ride roughshod over (used idiomatically: yes)
The best that can be hoped for , on their behalf , is that human beings are kindly disposed towards them . The most primitive people , as we have seen , have a clear sense of what is owed to them in social and quasi - commercial transactions . For others knowingly to ride roughshod over these expectations is where the concept of ‘ exploitation’ begins to get a foothold . But animals can have no expectations in this sense since they lack moral personality — a sense of rightful give and take . The entitlements that animals assuredly have , embodied in prolific legislation , are those that human beings have given them .
Idiom: under the microscope (used idiomatically: yes)
Little was known in English - speaking countries about the new synthetic drugs ( see Chapter 8) discovered in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s . In these circumstances military disaster from the commonest of all causes , sick troops , was a serious possibility , and a number of scientists gave urgent thought to finding better drugs to control , and preferably prevent the disease . The causal parasite , a one - celled organism which thrived in red blood cells and was named Plasmodium malariae , was first seen under a microscope in 1880 by the French physician Alphonse Laveran ( 1845–1922 ) while he was serving in Algeria . Improved microscopic methods and new synthetic staining materials from the German chemical industry made it possible to see the parasite in films of blood from malarial patients . Within a few years four species of Plasmodium had been recognized , responsible for clinically distinct variants of malaria .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
Mind you got out . Yeah . He 'd done the right thing . Yeah . Jane 's done sort of a good thing by getting out , but she 's gon na have to be an idiot
Idiom: on the spur of the moment (used idiomatically: yes)
Tartlets in a Hurry ( see p114 ) For those of you who invite people round for drinks on the spur of the moment , it is a very good idea to visit your local ‘ deli’ and purchase a few packets of ready cooked canapé cups and miniature tartlet cases . These have a long shelf life and can be served hot or cold , making them a very good standby to have in the cupboard . Suggested fillings
Idiom: behind closed doors (used idiomatically: yes)
( iv ) It can be adapted as circumstances change . Certainly the opening up of knowledge about finance does enable all heads of faculty to have an organisation - wide view rather than bidding behind closed doors . However , the weightings adopted may reflect individual bargaining power as well as the more rational assessment of need . Theory and practice combined
Idiom: on the fly (used idiomatically: yes)
SuperStar Pro claims to roughly double the capacity of your hard disk . It creates a hidden file on your hard disk which fools DOS into thinking it 's a real disk drive . The device driver then compresses any data saved to the disk and decompresses data read from it on the fly . The Optibase JPEG image compressor can reduce huge image files to more manageable sizes . A Recompress feature allows you to further squash already compressed drives .
Idiom: odds and ends (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Uncertain.’ There was n't a lot in the bag , Masklin had to admit . It contained mainly socks , papers , a few odds and ends like hairbrushes , and a book called The Spy With No Trousers . This last item had caused them some concern when the bag had been unzipped just after the plane landed , but Grandson Richard had thrust the book among the papers without glancing inside . Now that there was a little light to see by , Angalo was trying to read it .