Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: yes)
Sometimes a baby inherits an inability to use her eyes together and if her vision is equal in both eyes , the squint can alternate from one to the other . The simplest test for a squint , apart from observation , is to shine a bright light in the child 's eyes when she 's looking straight ahead . The reflection should be in the same spot on both eyes , so any deviation indicates a squint . The other way to find out is to cover each eye in turn ; if there 's a squint , the bad eye will generally move outwards to take over the job of seeing . Treatment : The sooner treatment for a squint is started , the more likely it is that binocular vision will develop , which will then push the eyes to move together .
Idiom: break the bank (used idiomatically: yes)
HOLYFIELD 'S DAFT DEMAND FOR DEFENCE IN ENGLAND HOPES of home advantage for Lennox Lewis when he fights Evander Holyfield for the world heavyweight crown is almost certain to be knocked out by the American 's £ 17.5 m asking price for a London bout . With Lewis 's share likely to be around £ 5.5 m , the British and Commonwealth champion 's handlers would have to break the bank to shift the challenge from Las Vegas . Lewis 's manager Frank Maloney said : ‘ Holyfield wants a guarantee of 28 million dollars . We 'll be doing all we can to bring the fight here .
Idiom: walk free (used idiomatically: yes)
I was safe.’ When she returned voluntarily from Canada last February , Bambi was not just put in solitary . She was kept in handcuffs and leg - irons right to the moment she walked free from Milwaukee jail . ‘ Writing letters was near impossible . So was taking notes during my daily 15 minutes in the library , for the law course I was doing .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
North has also found that a similar escapement was known more than a century and a half later to Leonardo da Vinci . Drawings of it are given in his Codex Atlanticus of about 1495 , but Leonardo can no longer be regarded as its inventor . The St Albans clock had two similar escapements , one to control the going - train and one to ring the bell each hour on a twenty - four - hour system with the number of strokes equal to the hour . According to North , it is not inconceivable that such an oscillating striking device , triggered at suitably chosen intervals by a hydraulic clock , pointed the way to the first mechanical escapement proper . The oldest surviving clock in England is the Salisbury Cathedral clock that was made not later than 1386 .
Idiom: drop a hint (used idiomatically: yes)
By all accounts , the Soviet Union sees the bullying Mr Ozawa — the power behind Toshiki Kaifu 's government — as someone it can do business with . Even so , the official response from Moscow so far has been muted . Hints have been dropped that the two smaller islands , Shikotan and the Habomai rocks , might be returned — in line with the pledge that the Soviet Union made in 1956 but later withdrew . More promising hints about the islands are expected from the Soviet foreign minister , Alexander Bessmertnykh , who was due in Tokyo on March 29th to agree on Mr Gorbachev 's itinerary . Few people in Japan expect Mr Gorbachev to make more than a few diplomatic utterances about the islands while in Tokyo .
Idiom: carrot and stick (used idiomatically: yes)
If you would like to know more about successful job hunting , including writing letters of application and interviews , ask for Jobhunt Booklet No 1 —‘Get that Job’.’ While some people may need this kind of advice this is highly insulting to unemployed people and reflects how the government view the unemployed . Current government strategy on unemployment has been described fairly aptly as being the carrot and stick approach . In this case , the carrots are the YTP , ACE schemes and other so- called voluntary training schemes . ( It is interesting to note that the right to benefit for 16 and 17 year olds has been denied and these young people either accept some form of youth training or get nothing at all . )
Idiom: set eyes on (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Who were they?’ Marian asked . She had known when she set eyes on them that they were nothing to do with the Smoke and nothing to do with the expedition that was preparing . They were sturdy beggars , Hugh told them , a sort of people rarely found in the forest , vermin whom the verderers would have been well able to control without an expedition had it not been for the outlaws . ‘ The outlaws are not like that?’
Idiom: go under the hammer (used idiomatically: yes)
Not for sale : a Thurn und Taxis show in Belgium BRUSSELS . As jewels and goldsmiths ' work from the Thurn und Taxis family go under the hammer this month at Sotheby 's Geneva , other , even more historically evocative works of art from the collection are on show in the Belgian Archives Géneral to celebrate nearly 500 years of the world 's oldest postal service , founded by the Thurn und Taxis , which began with a link between the imperial residence of the Habsburgs in Innsbruck and the court of Margaret of York in Malines , Belgium . ‘ The Thurn und Taxis post 1489–1794’ , organised in conjunction with the family archivist , Martin Dallmeier , includes paintings , graphic work and silver , much of which has never been exhibited before . Among the exhibits are a triptych formerly in the church of St Sablon in Belgium , a series of graphic works by Wenceslas Hollar and the Dutch artist Romeyn de Hooch , and portraits of Frans de Tassis and Eugène Alexandre de la Tour et Tassis ( until 19 December ) .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
From Les Amants to Pretty Baby he has often seemed to be using sexual subjects to make films about something else entirely , and in as much as sex and the life force are connected , his two sexiest films remain Viva Maria and Zazie dans Le Metro , which have nothing to do with sex at all . In Damage , from Josephine Hart 's novel , he gets more or less everything wrong from the word go . Seemingly unrestrained by their director , his principals , Juliette Binoche and Jeremy Irons , indulge in a perfect orgy of , in actor - speak , ‘ playing the result’ : their first meeting , before they are even introduced , is a wild farrago of fish - like glances , tortured swallowing and interminable silences , and Malle follows suit , equipping his female lead with a get - up — black leather , gloves , fags , sunglasses , four - inch heels and an Eton crop to make a Brazilian transvestite blink , never mind a research assistant at Sotheby 's , which is what she is meant to be . THE sex in the rest of the film , otherwise the usual rather silly collection of schematic cliches by David Hare , follows a similarly leaden pattern . There is the bonk on the floor , the bonk on the table , the bonk in the bed ; lace - top stockings are discreetly displayed , elegant bodices are ripped tastefully .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
These refuse sacks come in various gauges , the most suitable being 225 g . Standard size is 16 x 25 x 39 in , which is 40 x 63 x100 cm , quite enough for a largish kite , and costing only a few pennies . Although in itself durable , polythene sheet could hardly be regarded as pleasing in the long term , except where it has been colour printed on commercial kites . Most of the lower - priced Malay , Snake and Delta shapes , as well as the economic 2-line stunters , come with highly - decorated , printed sails that have proved the utility of this material ; but , for the home builder , the limitations will now be obvious . Paper
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I 've had enough of you!’ she cried vehemently , not waiting for his response . ‘ Why should I care what you feel when all the time you behave like a monster?’ she asked rhetorically . ‘ The last thing on Peter ' s mind — and on mine,’ she added for good measure , ‘ is going to bed together!’ Marc laughed , a derisive sound , his anger making his whole body taut . ‘ Forgive me , my dear,’ he ground out , ignoring the scarlet imprint on the side of his face , ‘ it seems I misread you at every turn — how extraordinary !
Idiom: tit for tat (used idiomatically: yes)
TARZAN WARNS ON TRADE WAR By Mark Davies A DAMAGING tit - for - tat world trade war loomed today with trade supremo Michael Heseltine warning of serious consequences . Mr Heseltine , president of the Board of Trade , said it was vital that talks between the European Community and American resumed . He was speaking before meeting European Community trade ministers .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: yes)
Will it burst with love again , like colours , speech that catches fire , tears of revelation from infinity ?
Idiom: on the button (used idiomatically: yes)
If you click on the control button in the top left hand corner of the window the control menu will appear . Select the Settings option and then Terminate in the dialog box that appears . Alternatively double click anywhere on the desktop to evoke the TaskManager and select the 1 - 2 - 3 task and click on the terminate button . You can use either method to kill rogue tasks but usually the system is left in an unstable state so save files and close all other applications before restarting . Windows 3.1 is much better in this respect and claims that it is safe to carry on after killing an application but I personally would still prefer to re - start Windows .
Idiom: in a nutshell (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I 'm not being coy,’ she said , laughing . ‘ How do I know what you consider to be the ‘ usual , very appropriate things’?’ ‘ Then I 'll tell you : in a nutshell , you look soft and warm and human . Not to mention lovely and a few other superlatives.’ ‘ Steady!’ she warned , still laughing .
Idiom: in high dudgeon (used idiomatically: yes)
Christ , I bet there is n't even a flight back from … Where the hell am I ? I see the sign saying Welcome to Inverness just as I remember where I left the car and where I left from this morning and just before I turn and stamp to the nearest desk and demand in my highest dudgeon to be taken to Edinburgh on a charted Lear if necessary or limoed immediately to the highest - starred hotel within a reasonable radius for a free overnight dinner , bed and breakfast and unlimited bar tab . Narrow escape from Terminal Embarrassment . People are walking past looking at me oddly .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
We found him in a night club with his wife , and Flynn went straight up to him and flattened him with a single punch . Mrs Fidler retaliated by sticking a fork in Flynn 's ear . She was probably the only person who ever got the better of Flynn in a fight . Brawling was a speciality with Flynn . Like every well - known actor playing tough characters , there was always someone drunk enough to shove him in the back with the challenge , ‘ OK , Mr Tough Guy , let 's see how tough you really are.’
Idiom: turn turtle (used idiomatically: yes)
When he returned , he was carrying four good - sized rocks in the crook of his arm . He loaded them into Carey 's shirtfront , filling it like a sack . The priest turned turtle and dipped in the water . Just above the spot where Carey had stood to fish was a spread of broom , so close to the edge that it seemed to be rooted in granite . Ellwood made it his landmark .
Idiom: back to square one (used idiomatically: yes)
The issues we are facing in the present crisis of faith touch on what I call the Square One Principle . Life can proceed with deceptive ease on the basis of a faith which was once vital but has become so taken for granted that it is no longer authentic . At that stage any pressure may be such a test for faith that the believer is faced with a choice : Give up or go back to square one . If we give up , then we abandon faith altogether . But if we go back to square one ( and so back to the roots , back to the foundations , back to the beginning ) , we will find a faith which is solid and secure .
Idiom: turn a blind eye (used idiomatically: yes)
MORE than 200 war veterans and war widows in Middlesbrough could lose out financially due to council cuts . Middlesbrough Council may follow the example of neighbour Langbaurgh in a move labelled ‘ despicable’ . The authority plans to stop turning a blind eye to disability and war pension income when calculating community benefits charge and housing benefits . Under current Government rules , only the first £ 10 is ignored but previously , both Middlesbrough and Langbaurgh ignored the whole pension and met the difference . The change of heart could cost a small number of veterans or widows more than £ 40 per week and save Middlesbrough Council £ 110,000 .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
The rest of us were as thrilled as ITV at last season 's denouement between the two clubs . It is also conceded that many viewers will want to see the match and that ITV were in a tricky position because on that weekend in February they are planning to screen a Littlewoods Cup semi - final . But besides the inconvenience to the long - suffering paying customer — and Liverpool 's have suffered more than any from TV whim — it begs the question of whether the tail is wagging the dog . It does appear that ITV is indulging in some manipulation of the finale , instead of reflecting it as they should . MILLWALL 's efforts to get themselves on television succeeded earlier this season when their game against Liverpool made The Match .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
Partly Byzantine and partly Romanesque , it was altered in the Gothic period by Arnolfo di Cambio when he was working on the cathedral . The exterior view ( 290 ) is still primarily Romanesque ; it is octagonal , 90 feet in diameter , and covered by an internal dome , 103 feet high . The façades are in three stages in black and white marble , surmounted by a low roof and lantern . Apart from the ecclesiastical buildings of northern and central Italy , there are many towers surviving from the Romanesque and Medieval periods when they were places of refuge , fortresses and , later , status symbols . Many towns were a forest of such towers but most of these have now been demolished .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
Carole Swan found to her horror that she was sitting next to Leroy Burns . ‘ Hungry , Missus?’ he impertinently inquired . Enoch Powell had been right all along . Grunte knew she was rather uppity about blacks . He put Franklin on the other side of Burns , and separated the Malcolms by making a sandwich of Bill O'Farrell .
Idiom: behind the scenes (used idiomatically: yes)
A brief list of these phrases which were in the documents in 1121 will show their relevance : The men who inserted these phrases knew what they were doing , and they knew also that it was important not to overdo the subject of the primacy . We shall probably never know what went on behind the scenes when these phrases were added to the documents . But it so happens that we can compare the situation during the years 1070 to 1123 with a similar train of events at Canterbury just a hundred years later . A comparison of the two will throw light on the crisis of conscience on both occasions .
Idiom: spin a yarn (used idiomatically: yes)
Mm . and it would appear in the simple times , before mine , even I had experience at Newark , that men could get a sub in the week because you 're actually in two days you 've actually earnt two days money and you have n't got it . And if a yarn was spun , or a general true story that a man had to have his train fare to get to Newark and he had to pay this and that , you could er get a loan on your wages . I got to be working where they made the tools in that of the engineering shop and er I travelled on a Sunday from Nottingham to London and What year would this be ?
Idiom: feel the pinch (used idiomatically: yes)
Ninety - eight per cent of all criminal cases are heard in the latter courts . It was upon them that the legal profession focussed in the early 1970s in an attempt to improve its tarnished public image . The magistrates ' courts provided an opportunity to do this while simultaneously bolstering flagging markets for solicitors , who were feeling the economic pinch of a depressed property and commercial market . In 1971 ' Justice ' , a group of liberal lawyers , published a booklet entitled The Unrepresented Defendant in the Magistrates ' Courts . This publication , read in conjunction with several other contemporary research findings ( Dell 1971 ; Zander 1969 and 1972 ) , stated that only 4 per cent of defendants were represented by lawyers , usually solicitors .
Idiom: sign of the times (used idiomatically: yes)
You need to spend time with each dog — and that requires a little bit more effort , especially if you decide to have two puppies at the same time . They will form the greatest attachment to each other— the more dominant will quickly learn to cope without its mate , the other will become a problem dog . Dogs living longer , multi - dog households and buying two puppies instead of one are all signs of the times . We should , however , recognise the problems that might arise as a result and make sure that we do not misinterpret any problem . We can not prevent old age , but we can be aware of its side effects ; we can prevent over - attached dog relationships — and prevention is always better than a cure .
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: yes)
There were a few Men dwellings standing out starkly in the snow but otherwise little sign of people . His ability to make use of winds and air currents improved each day , and he became increasingly skilled at spotting movement and danger . Any sign of Men and he was off out of sight using the dead ground between rises to stay hidden , and he was careful to rise when he could over ridges where rocks or trees broke the skyline and so camouflaged his presence . He slowed his flight north to let the milder weather in the south catch up with him . There was time enough for travel and now he wanted to watch in wonder the slow unfolding of spring beneath him .
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: yes)
Because the cause is not understood , the non - commital name ' painful rib syndrome ' was chosen to include the previously mentioned terms . It also has the advantage of including the main symptom — that is , pain , and being readily understood by patients . It was precisely defined as comprising all of the three features : pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen , a tender spot ( or spots ) on the lower costal margin ( including the xiphoid ) ; reproduction of the pain by pressing on the spot . This syndrome does not include pain and tenderness of the upper costal cartilages such as costochondritis , which is also common . Methods
Idiom: under fire (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I respect their decision , but I find it strange . ’ Although Lineker has just turned 32 , he quit the English game last summer — having made his intention clear for the previous seven months . And Taylor , under fire last week when the Lineker camp claimed he was jealous of the striker 's personality , image and status , knows he was thinking about it even sooner . ‘ I felt that as soon as I took over Gary had it in his mind that he was n't looking to play for England beyond the two years which took him up to the European Championships , ’ he said . ‘ But I have just been to America , where England will play a big tournament next summer against the US , Brazil and Germany .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
‘ We kept making chances , and at half time were told not to panic and start wellying everything forward , ’ said Sharpe . ‘ Sooner or later we had to start hitting the back of the net . When you 're down like that you just have to keep getting the ball into the box and that 's what I did . I kept piling in crosses and luckily the lads got on the end of them . ’ United 's fighting spirit was as impressive as their attacking .
Idiom: watch this space (used idiomatically: yes)
And , with luck , not long after that we will have in our very own editorial offices an electronic excuse for the mistakes that occasionally slide into these pages . But more of that when it happens . As they say elsewhere … watch this space . THE MOST NEGLECTED WILDLIFE HABITAT OF ALL Jenny Owen
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
In the past year it has set up outlets in Singapore and Taiwan . With the company 's founder , Toshio Sumino , still acting as chairman and president , and owning 16 % of the firm , Autobacs is the sort of entrepreneurial company investors like . This is why its share price has nearly quadrupled since it went public in March 1989 . But with a price - earnings ratio of 62 using next year 's official earnings forecast , the company 's shares are hardly cheap . Manufacturing
Idiom: in the offing (used idiomatically: yes)
As Tom and Mary 's one - year dating anniversary passed , Tom 's mother began to be cautiously optimistic that a wedding might soon be in the offing .
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
But , when the League re - started , we gave the public nothing.’ Trevor East , the new producer of The Match , explains the decision to wait for late autumn : ‘ People are reluctant to watch televised football or anything else on a sunny afternoon . Ratings dip right across the board . In any case , we have only 18 matches live and need to have some week - by - week continuity , building towards the climax . The deal does n't buy us a match every week.’
Idiom: wet behind the ears (used idiomatically: yes)
Luciano might have the crowd behind him , but he 's still wet behind the ears .
Idiom: keep the peace (used idiomatically: yes)
His first tasks were to erect fortifications , to intrigue to prevent the Arabs from uniting to expel the intruder , and to use the Jews to set up a highly efficient intelligence network . After he had beaten off three attacks to retake Aden , Haines was able to concentrate on his plans for turning a ramshackle town where 600 people , nearly half Jews , lived in squalor into the main entrepôt for Arabia and East Africa . An attempt to bring the imam of Yemen into alliance was vetoed by India , but he played tribal politics better than the craftiest of sheikhs , cheaply keeping the peace with well - placed bribes . At the same time , offering low rents to those who would agree to build in stone , he laid out a town which after seven years had a population of 25,000 , served by a free port . Haines had no friends in high places and his requests for administrative help were unheeded .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: yes)
We must hope that it ends safely and successfully.’ 16 The Hound of the Baskervilles That evening Holmes and I drove across the moor until we could see the lights of the Stapletons ' house in front of us . Then we got out and began to walk very quietly along the path towards the house . When we were very close , Holmes told me to stop .
Idiom: out of the question (used idiomatically: yes)
Medical men , as well as the military and defenders of the double standard , were strong proponents of the Acts . The act of prostitution itself has never been illegal . As the Home Secretary Ritchie put it in 1901 , ‘ To get rid of prostitution by legal enactment or by official interposition is out of the question — so long as human nature is what it is you will never entirely get rid of it … ’ , and measures such as the Vagrancy Act , 1824 , and the Metropolitan Police Act of 1839 were designed to regulate public nuisance rather than prostitution itself . There can be no doubt of the symbolic importance of prostitution to the Victorians . The use of terms such as‘social evil’ and the ‘ social diseases’suggests a widespread fear of the social implications of prostitution , and by the middle years of the century this fear was becoming part of a general social anxiety .