Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: sticky fingers (used idiomatically: yes)
Becky also commented on the new suit , but not until she had finished checking a lengthy column of figures . He was about to return the compliment by suggesting that she might have lost a little weight when she leaned across and helped herself to another jam tart . She ran a sticky finger down the monthly balance - sheet , then checked the figures against the handwritten bank statement . A profit of eight pounds and fourteen shillings , she wrote in thick black ink neatly on the bottom line . ‘ At this rate we 'll be millionaires by the time I 'm forty,’ said Charlie with a grin .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ No,’ she replied slowly . ‘ The business is my own . Built from scratch , out of nothing.’ He read aloud , ‘ Robyn Drew . Landscape Design’ .
Idiom: take the piss (used idiomatically: yes)
There was an incident at the Albany Empire one December when I was doing a Solidarity benefit for an audience of worthies , like Sting . Very bourgeois . I was taking the piss , suggesting they pour petrol over themselves , set themselves on fire . Someone threw a beer bottle at me , and hit a guy who was behind me about to pour a pint over my head . I looked round and there was blood streaming from this guy 's head .
Idiom: in the dock (used idiomatically: yes)
His summing - up left the jury in no doubt about his own views and would have required a jury of quite exceptional perversity to have brought in a guilty verdict . The verdict of acquittal was easily predictable but was , nevertheless , a great relief . Hugh Fraser predictably had been most anxious to join his friend and colleague in the dock . I had considerable difficulty in dissuading him from this course and only did so when I was able to convince him that , far from assisting Aitken , it would damage his cause . Hugh Fraser 's later career was rewarded — no doubt forgiven for his participation in the case , or possibly because it was unknown — by a knighthood , but nothing more .
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
I 've noticed climbers do this a lot . Before any girls get excited at the prospect of all these crotch - obsessed men packing out Glencoe bars , and rush off to join a climbing club , I should point out they also smell like a circus tarpaulin and regard ten pints of Guinness as an aperitif . So if we must accept that these climbers , or danglers , are kings of the mountains , then who comes next in this rigid pecking order ? It 's the scramblers . I , apparently , am a scrambler .
Idiom: at sea (used idiomatically: yes)
in green and black and silver , the emeralds of Manjiku burst like stars in the bubbles on her limbs , and she 's amazed they 're so beautiful , for she 's not been in the water at night before . — When Manjiku comes , she shuts her eyes and lets herself fall down his throat past the barbed teeth and come down to land in the foul bilgewater in his gut . He begins to shake , she 's rocked from one side to the other as she feels the tail thrash at the sea and Manjiku rear and toss . She opens her eyes , all is white , snow - white , she can not see , but she puts up her hands to stop falling down , still the roll and pitch goes on , she 's thrown about and her head bursts into stars against the whiteness till all at once he splits open and there 's no more night blindness nor blind whiteness neither , but the good hot yellow sun up above . She 's cast up ashore and a man 's standing before her , waiting for her to open her eyes .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
— to organise six courses for the introductory coaching award and to train 90 coaches . Assessment — by recording and reviewing number of courses and coaching awards gained , and , if appropriate , recording the constraints which contributed to the results falling short of the target . In others they will be more difficult , especially in terms of performance in competition . Review of Objectives
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
To pack all this equipment into a boat of this size and still allow operators the maximum operating efficiency and working space was not easy . A full scale mock - up of the wheelhouse was built to make sure that all equipment could be fitted in exactly where it was required and comments were invited on the precise layout of instrumentation and equipment . Similarly teams of medical advisers were brought down to William Osborne to inspect and comment on the level and location of medical equipment so that as the boat was built the right equipment was installed in the right place . William Osborne 's project manager , Steve Answell , who was responsible for master - minding the nine - month building phase , commented ‘ The amount of detailed investigation and the thoroughness with which it has been done represents the most comprehensive thinking that has ever gone into a new lifeboat in all the thirty years I have been associated with building them.’ So , after two years of design and development and nearly a year in the building , what happens now ?
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
Oil provides 70 % of Mexico 's export revenues ( $ 16.6 billion in 1984 ) and is vital to the country 's economic health and to the servicing of its massive $ 96 billion foreign debt . US customers take some 50 % of Mexican oil exports . Although Mexico was not an OPEC member in November 1984 it cut exports in line with OPEC reductions to help maintain prices and has generally taken care not to step out of line , though it has stated that it would act unilaterally to defend its market position . In per capita terms , Venezuela 's long history as an oil exporter — between 1929 and 1969 it was the world 's leading exporter — has made it the richest country in South America . Venezuela too has serious debt problems which were largely caused by OPEC production cuts and falling prices but has the distinction of being the only Latin American country to reschedule its foreign debt without an IMF loan .
Idiom: act of God (used idiomatically: yes)
The ravages of the sea continued : Broomhill , Bracklesham , Aldrington and others joined Old Shoreham and Old Winchelsea beneath beds of shingle . Repeated French raids also continued . The pressures of acts of God and war produced their own troubles ; agricultural poverty found itself pressed with increasingly heavy taxation and baronial exactions from a monarchy and feudal lords anxious to recoup their losses and being none too scrupulous about their methods . In 1381 , the depressed peasantry exploded in revolt , appealing with singular naivety to the king for help . Although it was the men of Kent and the other home counties who took leading parts Sussex did not escape .
Idiom: on and off (used idiomatically: yes)
As one of the cyclists on the Spanish run in late August , I would like to say a heartfelt ‘ thank you’ to you and your organisation for the kind and efficient way in which the operation was handled . In particular , to the hosts Gail and Paul , who coped magnificently with our needs and requirements , and managed to produce food and drinks for us with very limited facilities . Also to the drivers , who not only drove with such care that the passengers were n't inconvenienced in any way , but also doubled as bike handlers to get the bikes on and off the trailer , inevitably a dirty job . The food and drinks offered by the hosts were , I thought , just about right , and very reasonable in price , which encouraged us to use this service , despite the service station stops . To be able to produce such a variety , with only a microwave and a supply of hot water , was little short of miraculous .
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: yes)
For all the reasons that I have given , we are determined to introduce a minimum wage that will offer decent protection to decent people whom I , my hon . Friends and , indeed , Conservative Members represent . We hear scaremongering that a minimum wage will destroy jobs . We heard the same thing when the Labour Government introduced the Equal Pay Act 1970 . Conservative Members and their predecessors came out with the same sorry story that paying women acceptable wages equal to men 's wages would destroy jobs . It did not happen .
Idiom: for good measure (used idiomatically: yes)
What about Wittgenstein , Frege or Russell ? Or Quine for that matter ? And let 's add Godel for good measure . Rawls ? But the most objectionable aspect of his article is the airy complacency with which he identifies the psychological morbidity of all but his chosen few .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
Their winter homes were log cabins , either free - standing or half sunk in the earth and covered with turf . In summer they lived in conical tents or huts roofed with birch - bark , and sometimes on houseboats similar in appearance to the Chinese sampan . The transport animal in the middle Ob and Yenisei regions was originally the dog , but its use to pull sledges was on a primitive level , and only the Khantys and Mansis sometimes harnessed dogs in teams . Much of the clothing of the forest peoples of western Siberia was made of cloth woven from nettle or linen fibre , but garments were also made from the skins of deer , fish or birds . The way of life of the northern Samoeds of western Siberian now known as Nenets and Enets , was , like that of the Tungus , centred upon reindeer herding .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
And technology was now offering a key to this problem also . Modern cook-chill processes , using liquid nitrogen , chill partly cooked food very rapidly to just above freezing point at which temperature it will keep perfectly for several days . Heating in a simple convection oven is all that remains to do on board ; and this system , coupled with a range of basically similar ( ‘ modular ’ ) trolleys formed the basis of ‘ Cuisine 2000 ’ begun experimentally between Euston and Manchester in August 1985 . Modular catering cars retained an orthodox grill for that perennial favourite , the Great British Breakfast , which in 1987 accounted for 630,000 out of the total of 1.1 million main meals served . Preparation of the food ‘ on shore ’ now offered private contractors a foothold in the core of the business , and this in turn led in 1987 to the highly symbolic step of privatising the railway sandwich .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
A balancing act being practised on both sides of the Atlantic CLIFFORD GERMAN , City Editor , analyses the Chancellor 's attempt to raise revenue without halting the recovery THE Chancellor yesterday adopted President Bill Clinton 's policy of balancing rather modest immediate measures to reduce the budget deficit with a promise of progressive corrective measures in the longer term . The Labour leader , John Smith , and his colleagues will certainly be grinding their teeth over a strategy which pre - empts their own promise to draw up longer - term plans for the economy . Mr Lamont has also put his mark on Tory budgets for the next three years , regardless of whether he remains Chancellor .
Idiom: free rein (used idiomatically: yes)
A great deal of CIA activity has been concentrated in Britain where America has a huge investment in military and intelligence establishments . Since the war the CIA has been very alarmed at some of the left - wing British governments , many of whose politicians it regards as friends of Moscow . Because British intelligence has been reluctant to spy on a legitimately elected government and has also been forbidden from keeping ministers under surveillance , MI5 has welcomed the CIA 's intervention and given it a free rein in its British operations , always provided that it can share the resulting information . Despite the vast amount of money it has squandered the CIA has been remarkably unsuccessful in warning America about genuinely important hostile acts by Russia and her allies . It failed to warn of Russia 's ability to build an atomic , and later a nuclear , bomb .
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Good boy!’ She kissed his cheek . ‘ Now get out of sight until you see me come back . If I 'm not out in ten minutes fetch a constable.’ Hari moved along the dark passageway and from the kitchen at the back of the house she heard the sound of voices .
Idiom: add insult to injury (used idiomatically: yes)
Nicky Docherty 's car THIEVES broke into TV announcer and DJ Nicky Docherty 's car and took everything — except Des O'Connor 's album Lovin' Feeling . Nicky , of Falkirk , West Lothian , said : ‘ It was adding insult to injury to see Des 's face on the record cover smiling up at me.’ Joan Collins JOAN Collins , recently named one of the top 10 sexiest women of all time , flew into London from Argentina yesterday with just one thing on her mind — bed .
Idiom: out of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
The vessel wobbled , Holly - jack chittered and watched Tallis curiously , a girl again now that the haunting of wings had gone from her — for a while . Ghost of the Tree rattled his skull - staff and the loose branch tusks of the dead clattered their challenge of the lake . One of the males used a length of cut hazel to pole the craft out of the willow wood and into clear water . Holly - jack waved , then pointed ahead of them to the north . Mist , distance and the lake claimed the green men .
Idiom: come up trumps (used idiomatically: yes)
She put him on to researching the availability of marble vanity - unit tops and free - standing occasional tables . This time she insisted on negotiating direct with the manufacturer , but agreed to pay Colin a finder 's fee of 5 per cent if the order came up to scratch . To her surprise and relief he came up trumps , and the next time Stephen checked her progress she was able to report that the furnishings were to standard and on time . Someone else who seemed to have no difficulties keeping to schedule was Michael Stein — but then , as Stephen had begun to remark rather acidly , a major part of his job involved sitting on his arse under a convenient fan listening to the sound of his own voice . Michael had been hitting the phone , recruiting some key staff from hotels he 'd worked in in the past .
Idiom: make hay (used idiomatically: yes)
Make a fortune sexing out difficult fish for breeders ? b ) Rush out and make hay before you reach your sell - by - date ? c ) Write and remind the editor of PFK that it 's no fun being a female fishkeeper who 's irresistible to women …
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
' Come back , you bastards , come back ! ' she yelled . ' There 's two young women here are dying for it ! ' She put her glass down on a rock and walked into the waters of the lough , gasping as it rose up her thighs and touched her lower belly . It was icy cold by contrast , straight in from the Atlantic on the rising tide . God , she thought , those boys must be good on sailboards , or completely mental .
Idiom: in your sights (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ So doing the solo record was a real confidence - builder in my life . Any time you do a record , or any time you practise anything new , you 're trying to be better at what you do . You have that in your sights , to become a better musician , a better songwriter , a better record maker , producer , whatever it may be . And there was a neurosis and an anxiety involved around doing that solo record for me , because I 'd never done one before and I did n't know if I could actually pull it off . So , having done it , my confidence is built back up and I 've also become a better player and a better singer — hopefully .
Idiom: back to the drawing board (used idiomatically: yes)
Even more alien to the spirit of British law , is a recent amendment to the Directive which enables a member state to declare an object a national treasure ‘ before or after its lawful removal’ , and therefore take retrospective action at the point of sale or at any time subsequently . These are just two of many aspects of this Directive which give serious cause for concern , and it is not just Britain , but also Germany , Holland and Belgium that have reservations . The Directive must be sent back to the drawing board . The protection of what is truly important to the culture of the whole of Europe is too serious a matter to be left to unrealistic laws . It requires the cooperation of every citizen , and no law which unreasonably infringes the freedoms of that citizen can be expected to be effective .
Idiom: make a splash (used idiomatically: yes)
These can be placed anywhere on your knitting and can be big or small . You could make a regular all - over pattern , but I think that they look best spaced out or in a patch or a group . Completely all - over patterning would certainly not be practical if you are making garments for sale as it is fairly time consuming , but ' at random ' or in a close group they are splendidly spectacular and make a wonderful splash of colour and pattern . If you change the colours every few rows on the first part of the ' turn ' and reverse the colours on the second part , you get a circular change of colour which is quite marvellous — worth the effort of sewing in the ends ! The beauty of this kind of patterning is that you can produce really exciting and elaborate designs with the simplest machines .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: yes)
And if a patient 's really ill they try to keep it as smooth and fast a ride as possible . I think if i if they they So they do n't frighten them , you know , if you 're lying there you 're having a heart attack or you just had one the last thing you want to hear is sort of the noise of the siren , the panicking noise of a siren . Nee na nee na nee na nee na nee na na . Well this is the last time this hospital we hope .
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: no)
And , already in adolescence , both cared for the things of the mind . They walked together along the sands , and talked . Michael had a problem on his mind . He was the child of a religious father and a more vaguely religious mother . Yet his closest school - friend , that previous summer term , he found to be an agnostic .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
How many people do you know who never show on their faces or reveal in their words what they truly feel ? To smile when you are angry can be a normal physiological reaction . But how many people do you know who smile broadly at you , and speak in a calm and controlled manner , when all along they are fuming inside and never show it ? That , according to Paul , is ‘ falsehood’ . He 's not saying we should explode on the slightest provocation .
Idiom: on the button (used idiomatically: yes)
The narcissistic and windy urbanity of Freedburg and Kosuth means that they fail to convince us that there is something rotten in the United States . Where hedging of bets ( ' ambiguity ' ) is not just feasible but desirable , we can only assume that the problem is not cancer , but hypochondria . Kosuth 's show was not called the play of the unmentionable for nothing : for Establishment Man , the whole censorship scam must seem like a glorified game - show that can be viewed with Olympian detachment , fingers poised on the remote - control button . And for many in New York , it is a game show : in the Nineties the censorship debate is keeping contemporary art in the media spotlight , just as obscene auction prices did in the Eighties . The artworld exploits and thrives on both .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: no)
But this is a crude indicator , at best , for how business behaves . Industries dominated by very few giant firms may be ferociously competitive ; these few firms may invest at very high rates , as in Japan . The comparative stability of the oligopolistic structure in the United States may well have bred a complacency which Japanese and German capitalists , faced with rebuilding their position on world markets almost from scratch , could never afford . Once US firms followed a path of low accumulation , there was a strong tendency for them to stay on it . Wages were only pulled up slowly , implying weak pressure to scrap old plant and replace it with new .
Idiom: below par (used idiomatically: yes)
The same route gave him another birdie at the eighth . Suddenly he was three under par , sharing the lead . Suddenly there were more red figures , indicating below - par scores , against his name than Peter Snow has at his command in an election studio . Now those Palmer followers asking , not really surprisingly , ' who the hell is this guy , ' were being answered . Perhaps the enormity of what he was doing got to him — the difference , perhaps between hardened professional and gifted amateur — or perhaps it was simply that the holes became too tough for him .
Idiom: on the money (used idiomatically: no)
Geoff er Ken sent our week , thinking he 'd . That 's right . I said and now that 's how they ruddy well do , they play on your money do n't they ? Yeah , that 's right . And I thought if we can
Idiom: have the hots for (used idiomatically: yes)
Although from our experience of just a while ago I would say that , undoubtedly , beneath that frigid exterior there lurks an inferno of quite gigantic proportions.’ His lips twisted into a provocative smile . ‘ You had the hots for me , Robyn ; why do n't you just come right out and admit it?’ Robyn felt the crimson heat flood her face . ‘ Why , you egotistical , arrogant , big - headed … ’
Idiom: shoot the messenger (used idiomatically: yes)
Nobody likes to be the bearer of bad news . You do n't want to be the one who tells your boss that er a production line has broken down again or y'know that they 've failed to meet their sales targets for the third month running , whatever it is , okay ? People like to present good news , like to present themselves favourably and of course organisations , many organisations , do in practice have a y'know shoot the messenger y'know if the messenger brings bad news , shoot the messenger er philosophy . Y'know as a manager you do n't want to hear problems , you do n't want to hear bad news , you do n't want to hear disaster . It 's very easy then of course to punish the person er who communicates that with you er which ultimately can can er totally divorce an organisation from the reality of what it 's actually doing so that kind of philosophy , very destructive in terms of er effective communication .
Idiom: give up the ghost (used idiomatically: yes)
The doors would n't budge . I had to wait till dawn to see what I was doing,’ said Peter , of Taunton , Somerset , who suffered minor injuries . Ian gives up the ghost DRIVER Ian Sharpe reported knocking over a girl and was told by police : ‘ That 's a ghoul.’ Ian , 54 , was heading home in Maidstone , Kent , when the apparition just stepped out .
Idiom: money talks (used idiomatically: yes)
Twenty - three ? Twenty - four ? — had forty quid to throw away on a bit of sacking . Money talks all right , she thought . It was money that gave that snooty lift of the chin , too , that masterful stance and walk and that stuck - up voice . The girl approached the taxi and said to the driver :
Idiom: weather the storm (used idiomatically: yes)
CS 5 . Pitt , William ( 1759–1806 ) , English statesman and twice Prime Minister ( 1784–1801 and 1804–6 ) : ‘ the pilot who had weathered the storm’,DS 61 ; increased the tax on windows , OCS 28 ; sought to adopt a neutral attitude towards the French Revolution , but on France 's declaring war on England put Britain at the head of a powerful anti - French alliance , TTC iii 8 . Pitts . Johnny Pitts of 6 Great Andrews Street , Seven Dials , west London , was a printer of street literature and a rival to Catnach .
Idiom: burn rubber (used idiomatically: no)
' Most of them have never held anything more dangerous than a knife and fork before but after just nine hours training they are doing really well , ' he said . Now that 's a gear change ! ABOVE : The TT race record holder in a more conventional pose burning up the rubber ! Relax Joey ! After a hard day at the office — in Joey Dunlop 's case the Carrowdore 100 — our world motorcycle ace likes nothing better than unwinding with a cup of tea and a bite to eat .