Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: close shave (used idiomatically: yes)
Sealey has been kept out of the first team picture at Villa by Nigel Spink . SEALEY : Extrovert CLOSE SHAVE ! HUGH JAMIESON WOLVES have won a race against time to clear £ 325,000 Paul Blades for tomorrow 's televised clash with West Ham .
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: no)
' It seems to me that if one sets up a quango and it spends 26 % of the money disbursed on its own administration , that is a pretty high percentage . ' Mr Sproat was not , he insisted , against the scheme from any reasons of philistinism , ' but I do not think this is the best way to encourage authors . If one decides to give away £ 5 m to encourage the arts , I do not think that it is a very sensible way to give it to my noble friend Lord Archer , who is a very rich man already , and who gets £ 6,000 a year out of the pockets of taxpayers who are very much poorer than he is . ' Mr Sproat was followed by Sir Roger Moate , who took up the theme , objecting ' to money being distributed under this scheme to those who do not need it and to giving tiny sums to the many who do need it . Wrong principle
Idiom: take the piss (used idiomatically: yes)
I I dunno I I I ca n't work out cos all of Dan 's girlfriends yeah Amber , Sonia and Honey most people have all said I do n't think she 's right for Dan and you know I ca n't I ca n't work out whether they actually think that or they 're just sort of saying that because he does n't talk to them as much or something , I do n't know . No . I mean but I mean I suppose it 's true with with Sonia and with Honey cos I mean like Honey 's a nice person , but there 's three things about her which are very bad , and that is like she takes the piss erm she 's lazy . is lazy as well . I know when he told me about when Zed told me about how she said oh ,
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
And Rovers coach George Fairburn revealed : ‘ Gary seems to grow in confidence the more he plays . ‘ He has been in and out of the side since signing as an amateur three years ago but in the past couple of weeks has taken the game by the scruff of the neck . ’ Chatfield 's ball-handling and kicking skills saw Rovers race to an 11-0 lead in the opening 25 minutes as he set up tries for Aussie centre David Liddiard and second rower Andy Thompson . Trinity hit back with a 34th-minute try from David Jones and substitute Paul Round charged over for another touchdown on the hour . But Chatfield had the final say to clinch victory .
Idiom: man's best friend (used idiomatically: no)
One year in ten , a slow poisonous trickle reaches the sea . THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE PENIS Man 's best friend or nature 's cruellest joke ? by Jon Wilde acorn , almond , arm baby maker , bald - headed hermit , bazooka , beef , beef bayonet , big bird , big foot Joe , bird , blue - veined piccolo , blue - veined steak , blue - veined trumpet , blow stick , candy stick , cannon , cherry splitter , chopper , cock , colleen bawn , cream stick , dagger , dangler , derrick , dibble , dick , dickery dock , dingaling , ding - dong , dingus , dinosaur , dirk , do - jigger , dong , doodle , doover , dork , driving post , end , equipment , ferret , flapper , four - eleven - forty - four , giggle stick , goober , good - time gun , gut stick , hammer , Hampton rock , Hampton Wick , hog , honker , horn , ID , inch , Irish root , jigger , jock , joint , JT , John Thomas , joy prong , joy stick , kidney wiper , knob , liver tickler , love truncheon , one - eyed brother , one - eyed trouser snake , peace - maker , pecker , percy , peter , peenie , piece , pillock , pipe , pistol , plonker , pole , pork sword , prick , prod , prong , pud , putz , rod , short arm , skin flute , stalk , stick , tagger , third leg , todger , tommy , tube steak , tummy banana , weapon , wedding tackle , wife 's best friend , willy , winkle , woofer , worm , yoyo , yutz I'M STARING AT IT NOW .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Am I infectious?’ ‘ No , no ! It 's one of those things that we think lies dormant , and can flare up if the patient has been under strain or run down . Or , of course , in contact with chickenpox.’ ‘ Well , to tell the truth , John , I am having a devil of a time with a contract in Cirencester .
Idiom: bottom drawer (used idiomatically: yes)
She turned back to Debbie . She felt dirtied in her old jeans , and her old student painting smock . The other women had n't pulled something out of a bottom drawer to come to the classes . The other women , Debbie and her friends , would have been shopping in Newbury or Hungerford , run round the boutiques , for something careless and suitable . Debbie 's husband owned a software business outside Newbury .
Idiom: cuckoo in the nest (used idiomatically: yes)
I think it started with her father , not being able to be what he wanted her to be . In looking at childhood photographs , her sullenness , always seeming to be apart , looking rather sour , tense . She felt a cuckoo in the nest . She felt that if she had n't been a girl , she would have been happy.’ The biography itself , to look at and hold , is also a representation of du Maurier 's No 1 and No 2 .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
Whilst many companies did not increase their dividends through the recession — indeed , quite a few cut their dividends — the overall dividend income from equities did not fall by an appreciable amount . Building society and bank deposit investors could hardly say the same . Massive volatility of income combined with total security of principle is , in the long term , more traumatic than the reverse . Now that interest rates are at historically low levels , considerable sums of money are moving out of the banks and building societies into equity based investments , the equity message seems to be getting home . I hope , however , that if there is another hiccup you will all hold firm and not be panicked into selling .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
Wooden sailing ships explored the world and later surveyed it . They carried passengers and troops , emigrants , convicts and slaves . They carried gold and coal , machinery and books , tea and wool , cotton goods and cheap tin trays , not only to the ends of the earth but also round the coasts and up the rivers . For hundreds of years the ship of the line was the ultimate argument of kings , frequently used . Ships like this are not things of a dim past , there were first - class passenger sailing ships on the Australian run within living memory * and there are Admirals alive who first went to sea in wooden sailing ships .
Idiom: sick to death (used idiomatically: yes)
BAD DOG OWNERS Dear Dogs Today I am absolutely sick to death of irresponsible dog owners who allow their dogs to foul public footpaths . This is the major reason why a very anti - dog attitude has developed . These dirty , uncaring individuals daily supply undeniable ammunition for the anti - dog brigade , leading to hysteria surrounding toxocariasis based on prejudice rather than fact .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
Dee , how did you , how did that feel , the feedback ? It was alright , but I did n't know why it was good , or whether there was anything I should do better , it was just alright then , that 's it , I 've done it . I think there 's a danger that you can go over the top with praise , in that you 're anxious to give quality feedback , the thing that you have to be careful with is that it 's not just meaningless like that , because that can be just as bad as giving negative feedback . You know , they do n't come with any idea of how they 've done really . This group , I want you to think about a member of staff that you have who is an asset , okay , a good member of staff .
Idiom: under the sun (used idiomatically: no)
The summer of 1913 was a good one — especially for the Keiths and the Mackenzies in New Zealand . Things had gone well for both families over the past few seasons and each farm was thriving . The boys of both houses , Billy Keith who was now seven and Sandy Mackenzie , five , and his young brother Stuart , or Stu , who was three , were growing up strong and healthy under the sun . The only girl , Roberta , or Berta , as the family called her , was the same age as her cousin Sandy and although ‘ chesty’ as they said , she was certainly spirited enough , and more than kept up with all the boys . She kept wishing her mother would have a sister for her , but Jean Keith was in no great hurry to oblige .
Idiom: wear the trousers (used idiomatically: yes)
I have a very observant Afrikaans friend , a medical doctor , also a great admirer of Mr . X , who maintains that all top - class golfers walk on the insides of their feet , thus enabling them to maintain the right shin post without effort , as against the bandy - legged player , who finds it very difficult to keep his right knee firm on the backswing . In fact , I can not think of any great golfers afflicted with legs divergent from the normal . The only ones who might qualify are Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance , but he wears such baggy trousers that it is difficult to see . What price a higher handicap for those of us of the bow - legged persuasion . PAYING FOR THE PRIVILEGE
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
The particularities of post - revolutionary Mexico are frequently subsumed by the decorativeness of the ethnic , by the generalised attractiveness of the radical avant - garde . For Kahlo , however , choosing to don the costume of the Tehuana , as for example in Tree of Hope ( 1946)(Fig . 8) , was to embody a powerful icon of cultural identity . Mexican Indian dress is extraordinarily diverse and by and large geographically specific , varying from region to region . The Tehuana dress is by no means the most decorative variant or the closest to pre - Hispanic forms of clothing . It is the mythology surrounding the women wearers of the costume which directed Kahlo 's choice .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: no)
It 's Yeah . Well yo , you borrow your money on the house till your mor , till it comes through . Uncle Keith did that . Well do you think it 's a lot ?
Idiom: take the plunge (used idiomatically: yes)
By using containers that can be used at all stages , it enables the caterer to optimise the organisation of all storage areas . Different sizes mean that the best use is made of the space available so that food loss and wastage are reduced . There are numerous areas within the kitchen environment where energy efficiency can be improved and once caterers take the plunge and decide to choose new technology operated equipment , then improved standards inevitably follow . Food handling He also includes a guide to equipment selection , training and purchasing .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: yes)
" Men were driven by greed and terror " in their quest for a new lord . For Louis the Pious 's following , the choice was painfully hard . Some preferred to lie low for a while . But most staked their future on making a new commitment swiftly . Nithard was one of the latter sort .
Idiom: scratch the surface (used idiomatically: no)
( Brown 1981 in an article entitled ‘ Eroding the basis of civilisation’ ) . Two more quotations of many hundreds serve to make the point that the distance between the two views is so large that they are probably not going to be reconciled by proof or disproof of the physical evidence . There is an environmental nightmare unfolding before our eyes … it is the result of the acts of millions of Ethiopians struggling for survival : scratching the surface of eroded land and eroding it further ; cutting down trees for warmth , fuel and leaving the country denuded … ( Eckholm 1976 : 77 ) . Effects of soil erosion in every degree of intensity can be found in Latin America , ranging from ravaged mountain slopes of the Andes to incipient dust storms in rangelands of the Argentine Republic .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: yes)
I was in the company of madmen . The person at the seismic camp was n't having a fit at all . He 'd had a heart attack in a small tent and was fighting for air through a web of mosquito netting and canvas . I sat him up , took him outside and injected him with some dangerously powerful drugs . By luck he survived all this and afterwards his Canadian friends decided to adopt me as one of the lads .
Idiom: pull out all the stops (used idiomatically: yes)
Shipments of products meeting their standards are expected in the first half of 1994 . MICROSOFT TO DEBUT 30-WAY NT SERVER COURTESY OF SEQUENT Microsoft Corp is going to pull out all the stops this week at Windows World , its launch pad for the infamous Windows NT operating system . Last week , practically at the last minute , it reportedly decided to press the code for a 30-way system on to its first CD - ROM . Previously it had only been expected to be able to offer a 16-way system in its first go - round .
Idiom: for the time being (used idiomatically: yes)
English vessels were unpopular among shippers because they were judged to be incompetently run . They were a discredit to a country in which trade was , moreover , still encumbered by the Navigation Acts which ensured preference for British shipping . An Act of 1849 repealed the Navigation Laws , enabling foreign ships to import into British possessions in Asia , Africa and America and to carry the goods of any nation into Britain itself , though the masters and three - quarters of the crew of British vessels were to remain British and the coasting trade was to remain in British hands , at least for the time being . The Mercantile Marine Act 1850 was seen by the government as dealing with the other side of the problem — that of raising the standard of British seamen and seamanship and of protecting the seamen themselves from the tyranny of their officers and the depredations of the shipowners . It was much influenced by evidence on the poor quality of the men employed in the merchant service provided by British consuls in all parts of the world .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
With the same thought in their minds , they hurried from the room . When they tapped at Dora 's bedroom door , a calm voice invited them to enter . She was sitting up in bed with a light shawl round her shoulders and a book on her lap , apparently quite composed . ‘ What is it?’ she asked , with the air of a headmistress disturbed by a couple of prefects during her lunch hour . ‘ We just wanted to make sure you were all right,’ said Melissa hesitantly .
Idiom: against the grain (used idiomatically: yes)
Our examination of one unremarkable sentence from Katherine Mansfield 's A Cup of Tea shows how it is possible to focus on the stylistic value of a piece of language by comparing with unwritten alternatives : " what might have been written , but was n't " . The comparison was only partial , since we considered only a selection of possible stylistic variants . Even so , this kind of exercise probably goes against the grain for a large number of readers , who will ask " What is the point ? " In considering variant realizations of the same message , we pointed out what seemed to be the stylistic values of the original and of the alternatives , and in passing gave reasons why none of the variants were quite so satisfactory as the original . This gives some substance , then , to the intuition ( which we hope other readers share with us ) that those seven words " The discreet door shut with a click " are Just right"for their purpose .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
The latest CNN / USA Today / Gallup poll showed Mr Clinton 12 points ahead , while Mr Clinton 's own pollster , Stan Greenberg , said his last minute reading put the Democrats seven points ahead . Although pollsters say the race is volatile , not one major national survey now gives the lead to Bush , who enjoyed a record popularity rating after the Gulf War only to watch it drift away amid worries over the weak US economy . But Mr Clinton , 46 , was yesterday taking no chances and set out on a final round - the - clock trek to nine states before heading home today to cast his own vote . There was one glimmer of hope for Mr Bush . A survey in the crucial state of Ohio gave him a slender lead .
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
I do n't think that 's impossible , and I 've suggested one or two ways in which it could be done . So do you think there 's got to be a C change in the way that Mrs. Thatcher approaches European issues . It 's not a question of a C change on the part of anyone , it 's a question of doing the right thing for the future . I think the opportunity is still there . You 're listening to the Fox Report .
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: yes)
She swallowed some tea hurriedly , then dropped the cup with a scream as the room was plunged into darkness . ‘ Are you all right?’ demanded Penry urgently , shining a torch beam in her eyes . ‘ Yes — only I 've broken your cup and spilled tea on your dressing - gown , she said breathlessly , running a hand down over the dampness on her chest . ‘ What 's happened?’ ‘ The confounded generator 's on the blink again.’
Idiom: rewrite history (used idiomatically: yes)
The miracle of today ’s reunified Berlin is a challenge – even a provocation – to all walls . It is proof that in a globally interdependent world , walls are unnatural and artificial – and thus doomed . Yet the truth is far more complex , for walls are a multilayered reality , and it is always dangerous to rewrite history in a Manichean manner , while confusing the realities of the past with those of the present . Nicosia , the divided capital of Cyprus , is the perfect antithesis to Berlin , and as such the best illustration of what happens when history does freeze . There , empty windows filled with sandbags continue to face each ~ other defiantly , symbols of a past that has not passed for decades .
Idiom: head over heels (used idiomatically: yes)
EUROPEAN EXTRAVAGANZA When the European Tour stages a tournament in England — a rare event these days , it 's dazzlingly international . The one in mind had a sponsor who sells Murphy 's Irish beer and a 46-year - old Argentinian winner , Vicente Fernandez , who did a head - over - heels roll on the last green after downing a mile - long uphill putt , the longest victory shot of the year . It was all good fun . Even TV commentator Bruce Critchley correctly diagnosed that Per - Ulrik Johansson 's heart ' would be beating ' after the poor lad muffed a bunker shot at the 71st hole to take 6 and finish joint second .
Idiom: no sweat (used idiomatically: yes)
Very good . Er it it 's really a matter of whether you feel you 'd like to do it . Yeah , no sweat . Yes , . Good , well okay I do .
Idiom: hit the road (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Oh sorry . I did n't mean to make light of your problems . It 's just from the way it came out , I thought you meant you decided to jack it all in and hit the road . I suppose it was n't quite like that.’ I laughed again .
Idiom: all things being equal (used idiomatically: yes)
Graduate recruitment in many businesses and industries now tends to be evenly split , and companies will not be able to afford to lose a large chunk of talent in which so much money has been invested , especially as women in any case tend to be less tempted by the ' grass is greener ' syndrome . But all that being said , there is a real problem right now . Kinnaird , who is chairing the seminar , says he is regularly asked to find a woman for a senior management job ' all other things being equal ' . The trouble is that things are not equal , and he can hardly remember placing a woman in such a job . A headhunter for ten years , Kinnaird has just been commissioned by his first female client , which speaks volumes .
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
The Kremlin thinks that now is the time to buy assets cheaply , using the current financial crisis to emerge as a powerful global economic player . As Prime ~ Minister Vladimir ~ Putin remarked at a recent meeting with the CEO of state - owned bank VTB , “ Perhaps we should buy something [ abroad ] ? Something that is up for grabs ? ” According to Arkady ~ Dvorkovich , an economic aide to President Dmitry ~ Medvedev , the government will support – both diplomatically and financially – the expansion of Russian companies abroad . Following the Russian - Georgian war , the West is scared that Russia ’s government will use its cash not just for economic purposes , but as an aggressive foreign ~ policy tool .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
Male speaker It 's very negative — there 's little to say navigation will be improved . They want revenue from us but there 's nothing about further opening up the river Male speaker They 'll just spoil the river if they demand licences — lots of groups who use the river wo n't be able to pay .
Idiom: first up (used idiomatically: yes)
They are highspeed ones but run slower than in Europe . With the temperature at -15 ° C maybe it is no bad thing to run them slowly . The Georgians tend to start the lifts only when they have to , so if you are first up each lift , you ask them to open the next one ! Once running , no problems — unless they break down , which resulted in a very short first day for us . On day one Viktor Ovoyaykov , a nuclear scientist from Leningrad , took us under his wing , giving us what we called ‘ chewing - gum wine’ which is a thin sheet of chewy grape ( you will have to go there to try it ) and insisting we all skied with him and his family .
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
So it was er hell 's pells for three quarters of a mile nearly for your dinner and hell 's pells back and I guess time you 'd done it you 'd have worn it off anyway . . But still it was er one way of getting a good meal , everyday . And of course the same thing applied with clothes and shoes , they always inspected the cleansiness and if your shoes had holes in or anything then once in a while there were new ones came in and y you were fitted out . But where that exactly came from I do n't know , the money , I do n't know , poor charity possibly . I do n't really know , but er they managed to keep us looking nice and clean and tidy er because one respected teachers and elders which , well , I do n't think I 've ever changed anyway , but today they do n't .
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: no)
Six years on , the job almost seems to fit him like a glove . That 's because he has worked closely with Micky Stewart and now Keith Fletcher to make sure the team runs along his lines . Graham is the first to hand out praise when it 's due , and when he voices his displeasure , the player concerned is left totally in the picture about the captain 's requirements . He has no time for players who are not totally honest with him or with their approach to the game . And he , as much as anyone , appreciates the amount of pre-tour preparation available to the team thanks to the Whittingdale plan .
Idiom: twist someone's arm (used idiomatically: yes)
I was still angry and resentful . ‘ Something smells awful in here,’ I said to the man behind the fish bar . As soon as I walked outside , the policeman jumped on my back , twisted my arm behind me and arrested me . There was a scuffle ; the other policeman came over and kicked me in the stomach . ‘ If it 's the last thing I do,’ I said , ‘ I 'll see you in the street and I 'll kick you back.’
Idiom: in the can (used idiomatically: yes)
It started well , but Hopper , who was acting , directing , and smoking , could not get the take he required . Did anyone out there , when they saw the movie , realize that they were smoking for real ? And could anyone imagine that in order to get those few minutes of screen imagery in the can , the three of them inhaled 1O5 real joints of excellent quality Mexican grass ? Each time they did a take , or reshot to get an angle , it was necessary to smoke almost an entire joint . This in itself created a double problem because the action of this scene moves from a point where Nicholson is talking normally right through to the point where he is stoned and slurred through smoking marijuana .