Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: off the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
We dined on spicy fish which repeated on me for most of the evening in the Jac , meeting pals , until I drowned it in an ocean of beer . ' Happy New Year ! ' Ashley yelled , flourishing a bottle of generic whisky with more enthusiasm than care ; she cracked the bottle off the oak - panelled wall of the castle 's crowded entrance hall , but without , apparently , causing damage to either . Clad in a sparkly jacket and a long black skirt , wreathed in silly string and clumps and strands of paper streamers from party poppers , her long hair bunned , she enveloped me in a very friendly kiss , breathing whisky and wine fumes . I kissed right back and she pushed away , laughing .
Idiom: read between the lines (used idiomatically: yes)
What they 're going to do for you . Yes but they do n't put it in words like you put , they put it in blooming complicated language , but tell lies . Do n't , read between the lines . See me and your mum'll know that . We 'll read between the lines .
Idiom: go straight (used idiomatically: yes)
Ooh and they loved every minute of it ! They really did ! I can comb my hair now and then we go straight up town . And it looks like nobody'll be able to drive in their car , except for Aunt Mary . Oh !
Idiom: jack of all trades (used idiomatically: yes)
A manufacturer can work closely with its suppliers , co - operating on the development of new components , for instance . It is like being part of the same company , but without the drawbacks . Unlike in a firm that is a jack of all trades , the supplier is an independent business subject to market disciplines rather than another bit of a big bureaucracy . From the supplier 's point of view , the relationship is better than simply one based on contracts , price and open bidding . Though the supplier has no guarantee of the business , it has an advantage and , once it has the business , the firm can be fairly sure it will keep it for a long time .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
Thus , Russell argues , although it may make good empirical sense to say that a " complete complex of compresence ( a given " particular " can not be " to the north of itself " , " above itself " , etc . , these situations can not be excluded on a priori grounds . A reduplication of such complexes while empirically unlikely is not logically impossible . But all this , to say the least , is highly confusing . For what sense exactly can be attached to a statement that a given particular is " to the north of itself " or that it " precedes itself " ? If the expressions " to the north of itself " or " precedes " are taken in their usual sense , then this is plain nonsense .
Idiom: fall by the wayside (used idiomatically: yes)
The view from the summit is far reaching , extending over half of Scotland and a confused jumble of a hundred peaks to the islands of the Hebrides . I can not recall seeing any other walkers when I climbed the Ben by the route I have described some thirty - odd years ago although the day was fine and the month May. This could not possibly happen today , when the tourist path is the scene of processions of aspiring and perspiring walkers with many fallen by the wayside . Ben Nevis is seldom lonely these days . THE BEN NEVIS RANGE
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: no)
Since the mid 1950s Grove had published much of the west coast American — and some of the international — avant - garde , including some of Kerouac , Burroughs , Trocchi 's Cain 's Book , Theodor Reich , and excursions into Zen Buddhism . It also published the Evergreen Review . The new material sold well , and Henry Miller 's Sexus , Plexus and Nexus leapt off the shelves — under the counter — at ten shillings a copy . To help cover the import bills Miles would take half the orders around the corner into Soho where at a higher price the proprietor of a dirty book shop would retail them to less artistically minded purchasers . Soon Godwin was to sell the shop to Collins — and trigger its slow decline — but before he quit for a job as chief editor with Penguin Books he decided to open a paperback section in Old Compton Street .
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: yes)
No , come on . Oh we know it . Tuesday the seventh when , I 've just got to write it in my book you see because I have n't gone that far ahead . Ah Ah
Idiom: head over heels (used idiomatically: yes)
' But that 's a wonderful place to go , Pogo . ' Yes , I know , g - good place for cricket , sailing , f - fishing and p - polo , but you would n't be there to watch me p - play . H - have to admit it , old thing , I 'm h - head over h - heels in love with you . ' ' Oh , Pogo , ' Madeleine breathed . ' I do wish you were n't .
Idiom: keep a straight face (used idiomatically: yes)
Then he looks nervously about him , bows , and accepts my hand . He kisses my fingers . For the first hundred yards we keep straight faces . Then , far enough away , we begin to chuckle . All our suppressed mirth escapes in little bubbles as we walk along the road .
Idiom: once and for all (used idiomatically: yes)
Blaming the primary sufferer , other members of the family and all those who are considered to have contributed to the problem . Initial disbelief in the disease concept and determination to find or reinforce one 's own ideas on the cause of addiction . Determination to deal with the situation " properly and once and for all " but coupled with the confusion of not knowing precisely what to do for the best , particularly in the face of vast quantities of advice all of which seems perfectly clear — except that it directly conflicts with other equally vast and equally clear advice from other sources . Love and concern for the primary sufferer and for other members of the family . A sense of loss of mutually supportive family relationships .
Idiom: get stuck in (used idiomatically: no)
The snag was that their accounting years often did not coincide with the April - March tax year . If a society 's year ended in , say , September , it passed on the tax the following January . So — the taxmen argued — in the new system , tax due on interest payments in the gap from October 1985 to April 1986 would get stuck in the society 's pocket . So special rules were made to deal with this . Unfair , cried the societies .
Idiom: win the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Light glinted on armour . Figures moved slowly in the darkness . Tallis gasped as she saw the bones of men and horses piled by the river and flung into the branches , grim remnants of those who had not won the day . Warriors crouched by the water , some drinking , some just staring . Tallis smelled blood and the more offensive stink of ordure .
Idiom: seal of approval (used idiomatically: yes)
So if a group is to be given authority , its members must be held accountable as a group , and unless this is done , it is very hard to take so - called group decisions seriously . If the CEO or the manager of the group is held accountable for outcomes , then in the final analysis , he or she will have to agree with group decisions or have the authority to block them , which means that the group never really had decision - making power to begin with . Alternatively , if groups are allowed to make decisions without their manager 's seal of approval , then accountability as such will suffer , for if a group does badly , the group is never fired ( and it would be shocking if it were ) . In the long run , therefore , group authority without group accountability is dysfunctional , and group authority with group accountability is unacceptable . So images of organizations that are more like symphony orchestras or hospitals or the British Raj are surely nothing more than metaphors to express a desired feeling of togetherness — the togetherness produced by a conductor 's baton , the shared concern of doctors and nurses for their patients , or the apparent unity of the British civil service in India .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
CLASS A : 42 kgs T McCarthy ( Transport ) w/o ; 45 S Warbrick ( Gemini ) v J Ashton ( Arrow ) ; 48 A Riley ( Gemini ) v T Ham ( Boarshaw ) ; 51 T Moore ( Tuebrook ) v M Armstrong ( Collyhurst ) ; 54 C Harris ( Gemini ) v R Munroe ( Gallagher ) ; 57 A Clarke ( Tower Hill ) v M McDonough ( Fox ) . CLASS B : 45 kgs K Brown ( Wallasey ) v Y Hussain ( Blackburn ) ; 48 W Toohey ( Gemini ) w/o ; 51 L Eedle ( Gemini ) v J Ollerhead ( Barton ) ; 54 C McGowan ( Tuebrook ) v A Grimeley ( Ancoats ) ; 57 C Wall ( Gemini ) w/o ; 60 K Fessey ( Sefton ) v A McVey ( Hamer ) ; 67 N Collins ( Gemini ) w/o . Chemics ace Tony at the crossroads Tony Myler … the Widnes star is facing a decision over his future after an injury - hit career By Nick Walker
Idiom: under the table (used idiomatically: no)
No . No , no alright , no ok . Can we now move on to item item three what criteria three is under table one . Located within ten miles of York . Well in fact the discussion on Friday morning went along the lines that the new settlement should be located within six to eight miles or six to ten miles .
Idiom: pull the plug (used idiomatically: no)
Eurotunnel appears to be hanging on only by the skin of its teeth . The banks have decided that the company is in default on its loan agreements . This would entitle them to sack Eurotunnel 's management , bring in new equity participation , and pull the plug on the £ 1bn invested by existing shareholders in the project . They have decided not to declare the company in default for the time being only because of the continuing discussions between Eurotunnel and the contractors , Transmanche Link . Eurotunnel 's only hope seems to lie in satisfying the banks ' technical adviser that his forecast can be reduced — which means at least to the contractors ' £ 7.5bn , if not to Eurotunnel 's own £ 7bn estimate .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: no)
No , I really came to see if you 've got any tweezers . I was down in the workshops and I 've run a great splinter into my thumb . ' He held out his hand for Merrill 's inspection . She reached for her handbag . ' You 're in luck .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
My mother is dead.’ The woman cried out , and sagged against the man holding her , pressing her face against his arm . He turned his head and glared at Sabine . It was a look she recognised instantly , although it was the first time she 'd seen it in the flesh . He was the young boy in the photograph , but over six feet now , with broad shoulders and lean hips .
Idiom: all the rage (used idiomatically: yes)
HERE IN the most eastern tip of Lancashire , wedged between Westmorland and Yorkshire , where Leck Fell rises two thousand feet into the Pennine chain and no roads cross , the small village of Leck sits snugly amongst lush trees , as remote and beautiful as anywhere in England . Through the park , landscaped in the eighteenth century , the River Lune winds along its spectacular valley — a valley that played such an important role in the Romantic Movement . In the 1760s the Lake District with its rugged and dramatic scenery began to be all the rage with artists of all sorts , and in their wake , as usual , the dilettanti rich followed limply behind , thinking there must be something in this search for the sublime through unadulterated nature . Below the Lakes , the Lune valley too afforded all that was truly picturesque . Gray and Mason wrote about it , Mrs Radcliffe raved about it , Turner painted it .
Idiom: too clever by half (used idiomatically: yes)
The fall is real enough ( remembering my earlier distinction between real and literal , p. 36 ) , and to take out the story of Adam and Eve is to make a terrible hole in the gospel . It also creates serious difficulties for the theological understanding of Christ as the second Adam . We can all be too clever by half , and it is wiser to take the gospel story as it is revealed to us and presented throughout the whole of the sacred text of scripture . To reject the mythological character of much of the Bible is to run the serious risk of looking for the truth of scripture as if it were like the kernel in the nut , and ending up with nothing but the shell . Is this not what happens to Bultmann 's programme for freeing the authentic message of the gospel for modern man ?
Idiom: home and dry (used idiomatically: no)
Great idea : before grating orange or lemon peel , run the grater under the cold tap to prevent sticking . Clean cutlery : give forks and spoons extra sparkle by standing them in soapy water an ammonia , then rinse . Home and dry : use a hairdryer to dry the inside of wellington boots . This week 's Supertips come from Janet Scott of Penzance , who wins £ 50 . THIS IS OUR SHOW !
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: no)
I 've never seen a Saturday go so fast . Yeah it well I , come on ! Anything goes fast after Friday . Yeah . It 's not so much that it
Idiom: mind over matter (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm on my own . I 'm well scared . But mind over matter , I can do it if I really want to , and I will . If only for them I 'll do it . This place has given me my first identity really .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
But he was no more comfortable on the radio programme than he would have been on the real desert island . He found the whole conversation stilted and turgid . He was n't even let off the hook when it was all over . Stanley Baxter wondered whether choosing Michelangelo 's famous male nude , ‘ The Boy David’ as his luxury item was quite the choice a man with Kenneth 's reputation should have made . But he survived it .
Idiom: bring up the rear (used idiomatically: yes)
She must be pushing forty , he thought , but she 's still a good looker . He remembered the occasion when they had paid a visit to St Whatever - it - was on Magdalen bridge in Oxford . At Carole 's insistence they had climbed the long metal ladder which led inside from the roof of the nave to the top of the tower : Henry went first , Amaranth second ; by some accident of fate , David followed on her heels , leaving an indignant Carole to bring up the rear . The view from the tower was as nothing compared with the view Amaranth unwittingly presented . David did not know quite where to look , but it was one occasion , he subsequently recounted to his friends , when it was better to travel than to arrive .
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
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Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
mhm And I understand that there was a reception which erm in as far as I 'm aware was actually erm organised and financed by the contractors who were building the motorway . Ah that 's not so bad then , I thought perhaps the poor taxpayer was going to have to foot the bill . I yes , I mean it did make I did actually see a press release erm Oh I did n't see that .
Idiom: at sea (used idiomatically: yes)
The Austrian branch of the Habsburgs continued to give precedence to the representatives of its Spanish relatives , the pope insisted on treating the French and Spanish ambassadors in Rome as equals , and the Spanish government ordered its diplomats not to appear in public with a French one of equal rank , and thus avoid giving way to him . But the whole incident shows well how issues of this kind could envenom international relations and even threaten international peace . At sea the question of the salute allegedly owed by vessels , both merchant and naval , of one power to those of another , by firing a salvo , by lowering their colours , or more rarely by half - lowering some of their sails , was the equivalent of these struggles for precedence on land . Until the 1660s it was , at least in its most acute and dangerous form , mainly an Anglo - Dutch contest . In the treaties with the States - General of 1654 and 1667 the English government succeeded in having its claims accepted by its rival ; and so sensible a man as Sir William Temple felt that nothing had ever given him greater pleasure than forcing the Dutch to give way once more on this point in the peace negotiations of 1674 .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
Stressing the group 's opposition to water privatisation , he said its decision not to support a referendum was purely on grounds of tactics . There were doubts about the practicalities and about what would happen if there was a poor turnout . During a full meeting of the convention later , Councillor John Connolly , of Central Region and chairman of the COSLA water and sewerage committee , said that since a great deal had been heard about taking stock it was time Mr Lang faced up to the fact that he had completely lost the argument for privatised water and sewerage services , including a franchise arrangement . In view of the massive public opposition it was difficult to understand how a ‘ listening’ minister could continue to pursue his own ideology at the risk of his own political execution . The president of COSLA , Charles Gray , made a renewed call for an independent commission to examine the future of local government .
Idiom: catch a cold (used idiomatically: yes)
THE GHOSTLY CARETAKER Jack Cartwright and his wife June and their two children Alan , 11 , and Melissa , 13 , had been on a camping holiday in the West Country , but unfortunately everything had gone wrong . The weather had been appalling and as a result the whole family had caught colds . Their misery was complete when the previous night vandals had visited their camp site and caused considerable damage , including slitting the Cartwrights ' tent . When the electrics on their normally reliable car had started to fail , Jack and June decided to cut short their holiday and return to their home in South Yorkshire .
Idiom: go straight (used idiomatically: yes)
Subjects correctly recalled a mean of 4.9 junctions each ( min 2 , max 8) . Some junctions were clearly recalled more often than others ( Cochran 's Q=220.5 , df=39 , p<0.01 ) , ranging from junction 17 , entering a dual carriageway from a slip road , which was correctly recalled by 14 of the 28 subjects to 11 junctions which were never correctly recalled . Seven of these 11 were junctions at which the driver had simply gone straight ahead past a minor road . To see which variables were related to a subject recalling a junction , point biserial correlations were calculated with each junction being scored as a 1 for a subject that recalled it and 0 for a subject that did not . Relationships with all the variables obtained and the degrees of freedom used in assessing significance are given in Appendix 1.2 .
Idiom: come to grief (used idiomatically: yes)
It was passengers who were supposed to benefit from Lord Paignton 's amendment , the rebels think they 've safeguarded the spirit of that vote , but experts disagree . The amendment the Government has put forward does not hold out much real hope for B R managers about remaining in the medium or long term in charge of viable business , to that extent the amendment does not carry out what I believe was the intention of Lord Paignton in in moving the amendment . So Mr MacGregor 's hard work may yet come to grief , even if he sorts that problem out there 's another obstacle to privatization running smoothly , many on the railways think the private sector will need a generous subsidy before they 'd be interested , if their not attracted the state will have to spend more to make the new structure work , a lot more . On The Record 's obtained a paper prepared by a committee including senior civil servants and the Treasury and Transport Department , called the Restructuring Working Group , the report forecasts an increase in the amount of taxpayer 's money subsidizing the railways , this year it will be eight hundred and fifty million pounds , after privatization , the paper says , the central government grant requirement would total some two billion pounds in nineteen ninety four ninety five . By owning the track and leasing the trains the Government can recoup some money , but will that calm Tories who see millions spent on privatization while other budgets are cut .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
ICL says this upward trend is continuing and that it has gained another 1 % in 1992 . ICL 's 1992 software sales in the UK came in £ 10 m up on expectations reflecting a hefty 120 % increase in Unix software sales , a minor increase in VME mainframe software sales and 50 % growth in application software sales — partly achieved via ICL 's expanding third party network . In the light of this success , it will be looking to expand the range of software it offers , particularly for vertical markets , through further software partnerships . Personal computer software looks to be a good money spinner too having grown 200 % though from an admittedly small customer base . ICL UK 's July acquisition of personal computer and Unix reseller Technology Plc is also paying dividends .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
Among the third generation of swept wings , many had an included leading edge or nose angle greater than the basic 90 degrees — more usually 105 degrees . The shallower angle meant that the aspect ratio of chord to span was higher . Additionally the spine lengths were reduced and sweepback on the trailing edge made the tip panels narrow and very pointed . This was intended to make the turn radius smaller and It worked as long as there was a strong wind . Otherwise , a tip would stall , lose lift , and the kite flipped over and fell .
Idiom: beside yourself (used idiomatically: yes)
You just ca n't believe it , you know , you 're sort of like this are n't you . Because all that happened to you , but you could n't use up your energy , you could n't help that child across the road , and suddenly you 've got to get rid of all that , and you take it out on the child . How dare you do thing like that , you know , you 're sort of , you , you just ca n't , you 're almost beside yourself , as you 're trying to use up all that adrenaline , all that energy that 's poured into your body as you try to help that child across the road , knowing in actual fact you ca n't . And again , although it 's not very pleasant for the child , because he 's had this terrible fright crossing the road , then he 's got this adult sort of , you know , looming over them and going mad as well . It , it helps you to use up this adrenaline , and that 's what you want .
Idiom: live and let live (used idiomatically: yes)
It is important , for any member of the Tit for Tat family of strategies , that the players are punished for defection . The threat of retaliation must always be there . Displays of retaliatory capability were a notable feature of the live - and - let - live system . Crack shots on both sides would display their deadly virtuosity by firing , not at enemy soldiers , but at inanimate targets close to the enemy soldiers , a technique also used in Western films ( like shooting out candle flames ) . It does not seem ever to have been satisfactorily answered why the two first operational atomic bombs were used — against the strongly voiced wishes of the leading physicists responsible for developing them — to destroy two cities instead of being deployed in the equivalent of spectacularly shooting out candles .