Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: born and bred (used idiomatically: yes)
Cambridge president one man with a foot in both boats this years is 19 year old … Martin Haycock … he 's Oxfordshire born and bred but is the Cambridge cox Finally , the man with the largest feet in Britain has just taken delivery of what are believed to be the biggest pair of shoes in the world . John Thrupp has always had problems getting shoes to fit , so he had a pair of size twenty - ones specially made by a master craftsman .
Idiom: true blue (used idiomatically: yes)
Hezza , as Defence Secretary , wanted European forces to prevail . It that is not interventionist , then John Major is a charismatic leader . If the shampoo - swilling celebrants of the City , or for that matter the likes of true - blue Sheppard , think for a moment that this man is likely to preside over unfettered mergers and acquisitions activity in the recalcitrant manner of his 12 predecessors since 1979 , they are hopelessly wide of the mark . Heseltine has an awesome reputation in Whitehall for generating loyalty and enthusiasm among his civil servants — he is , in fact , accorded the sort of political devotion from his mandarins that he should expect from his daughter . In a break with tradition , he can be expected to be a Trade Secretary who gets things done .
Idiom: tit for tat (used idiomatically: yes)
Most of the leaders of the 1974 strike felt that they had achieved their goal when Faulkner 's power - sharing executive was forced to resign . Others , perhaps with greater foresight , wanted the strike to be continued until they had created an acceptable alternative political structure . The end of power - sharing had left a vacuum , which the constitutional convention had failed to fill , and Ulster staggered on with a vicious IRA campaign , tit - for - tat assassinations , unconvincing direct rule , and no obvious sense of direction . In an attempt to generate some sort of political movement , Paisley led the DUP into a United Unionist Action Council with the remnant of Craig 's Vanguard ( now called the United Ulster Unionist Movement and led by Ernest Baird ) , the paramilitaries , and smaller groups such as the Down Orange Welfare and the Special Constabulary Association ; in effect , the 1974 strike leadership without the Official Unionists . The aims of this new coalition were to press the British government into acting more forcefully against terrorism and to force a return to something like the old majority rule at Stormont .
Idiom: go overboard (used idiomatically: yes)
Gifford Tate had painted it a few weeks before she died . A fair painting ; free in style but at the same time a good likeness . Gifford had gone overboard a bit in the blues though … For some reason this thought made Edwin chuckle to himself . Francis 's owl - like countenance obtruded again .
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
The exchange 's chief executive , Peter Rawlins , then resigned ( and was this week the centre of another row , about his huge pay - off ) . The City is no longer confident enough to pay blithely for a new trading system being developed by consultants at Arthur Andersen . That is why the board has been considering developing an alternative system jointly with NASDAQ , the American over - the - counter market . The troubles of Lloyd 's , London 's main insurance market , are more familiar . Losses that look like totalling £ 6 billion in the years 1988–91 have ruined many names — the individuals who provide the market 's capital on the basis of unlimited liability .
Idiom: first off (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ No , not at all . I have inherited this case , in a way . It is helpful to discuss it with the main witnesses , first off ; brings it alive , if you know what I mean.’ ‘ For the last three bleedin ' weeks , I 've been trying to forget it,’ Parks complained . ‘ I doubt if you will be able to do that , until you know who the murderer is.’
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
But tonics deserve to be taken seriously . Somewhere in the corner of the vast pile of pharmacological agents available to us , is an obscure bundle of miscellaneous substances labelled ‘ tonics’ . It is not that they are not used : vitamins are prescribed and bought on a massive scale for people without the slightest hint of a deficiency , and ginseng is now sold in chemists and health - food shops in the UK to the tune of no less than £ 7 million a year . Neither is it that tonics are not requested ; large numbers of people get as far as the doctor 's surgery to complain of tiredness , lethargy and mild depression , and even larger numbers go straight to the chemist . But tonics and ‘ restoratives are at the bottom of the pile both in terms of their status as pharmacological entities and in terms of research .
Idiom: hit the jackpot (used idiomatically: yes)
They should call him burglar Brain , the way he pinched it . Hereford usually crack or collapse in the dying minutes . This time , though , they hit the jackpot with number 3 from Richard Jones . Rochdale 1 — Hereford 3 . The Gloucester rugby men were weekend winners too … they beat Nottingham by nineteen points to three at Kingsholm … but victory came at a cost … a serious injury to hooker John Hawker
Idiom: draw a blank (used idiomatically: yes)
Its main function will be to ascertain whether the results of the first investigation would appear as firm to another team going over the same ground . Once re - investigation becomes routine , the fact that a case has been referred for re - investigation should attract no more concern than the fact that a medical diagnosis has been subjected to the test of a second opinion . Indeed , there is already in existence a practice whereby a new team can make a fresh start where an earlier investigation has drawn a blank . It seems that such a re - investigation may take place without negative implications . One can not over - emphasise the need to remove any disciplinary flavour from the proposed system .
Idiom: down the drain (used idiomatically: yes)
It has got me really depressed . I do n't mind admitting that . It 's not just this town that is going down the drain , it is the country . Somebody has to do something . I am trying to find work but there is just nothing at all .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
How did you explain to your own s s satisfaction during those months that no talks were going on , that into into com into communicating with the quarry ? No , there was just nothing we could do . It 'd got to the stage where the workforce were not gon na talk to the management on a an official level , you know we were still talking informally at the picket line and , you know still trying to be helpful and offer our advice on what could be done to solve the dispute . But you know further up the ladder , the union officials and what have you , it was just , they tried , the council tried and all this , and nothing seemed to happen . Had there ever been a a feeling amongst the members of the lodge that erm that with this in increasing involvement with outsid outsiders , the local M Ps , the ministers of religion , the er Transport and General Workers ' Union , et cetera , as well as coverage by H T V and the B B C that there would be a kind of accumulation of pressure and you would they would give in ?
Idiom: get it up (used idiomatically: yes)
By day three of the Inspiral experience you 're getting used to it . Honestly . The memories of yesterday 's little discussion with Clint about Japanese prostitutes and not being able to get it up , and how the idea of being beaten by a fat old bint could be quite appealing ‘ as long as there were no electrodes’— it 's kind of the norm by now . It 's been a long day of trundling past an infinity of fir trees , and photographer Ridgers has hardly survived it . Sitting in their Scandia van , scouting for photo locations ( Forest ?
Idiom: get lost (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I 'll not harm you . I was wondering if you could help me ? I came to the school some time ago to investigate the giant eel and got lost . Could you show me the way out?’ ‘ Are you one of the scientists?’ asked Endill , cautiously returning to where he had dropped his ironing - board .
Idiom: add fuel to the fire (used idiomatically: yes)
Rance tried to convince Aung San of British goodwill but he replied that when Dorman - Smith had first returned ‘ there was more goodwill being shown by Burmese to the British than ever before’ . He alleged that Dorman - Smith had repelled them : ‘ down came the iron curtain ' . Concerning the current strike he declared ‘ AFPFL originally had nothing to do with it but now they were backing it and he was finding difficulty in restraining some of his party from adding fuel to the fire.’ Thakin Soe was ‘ very active and the country might well swing in that direction’ . Rance departed feeling ‘ more hopeful’ .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
Several plants have yellow leaves and very new eucalyptus leaves can look blue , so your scope may be much larger than you imagine . Another interesting idea is to create a silhouette picture . For instance , if you use a plain cream background you can create a design entirely in black , perhaps using Clematis montana leaves . Young elder tree and ash tree leaves can also turn black sometimes once they have been pressed . Elderflower buds become black if they are pressed when still green , and you could use these , or Clematis montana tendrils to fill in the design .
Idiom: new blood (used idiomatically: yes)
Male speaker Very early on I realised you 're entrusted the history and spirit of the Squadron . My biggest regret is that there 'll be no new blood keeping the spirit going . Voice over One - one - five Squadron is proud of its long service — well most of it .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: no)
The dear old lady had heard Annie shout : ' What a lovely surprise ! It 's Izzy - Jack ! ' Aunt Gertie was lying , awake , in the ' hole - in - the - wall ' bed . She tried to sit up , for her visitor . The pillow was placed behind her back , to give a measure of comfort .
Idiom: when all is said and done (used idiomatically: yes)
Havvie 's wicked eye was on Dr Neil again . It was as though everyone else in the little hall — Mr Sands , the curious spectators , Havvie 's party — did not exist — only the three of them left in the world . Oh , was not this delightful , to hurt again the girl who had rejected him , the girl who when all was said and done would have been a greater prize than the vulgar woman he had married for her money ? Sally - Anne deserved punishment for forcing him to do that , if for nothing else . And by her expression the wound he was dealing the pair of them now was a mortal one .
Idiom: get the picture (used idiomatically: no)
If there were changes in the terminals at the presynaptic side , they would have to be measured using the electron microscope , however , for they are not visible at light microscope magnifications . Doing this sort of quantitative morphology — that is , measuring the shape , number and size of cells in the brain — is , even today , with highly sophisticated image analysis and computing systems , time - consuming and , if one is n't careful , fraught with the danger of misinterpretation . How many of the hundreds of thousands of cells in each tiny brain region must one study to get a representative picture ? How can one be sure that what is being seen and counted is ' really ' present in the living brain rather than an artefact , an artificial pattern generated by the techniques required to fix , slice and stain the brain tissue to make it visible ? How can one scale up from what can be counted in a two - dimensional section to the three dimensions of living tissue ?
Idiom: over my dead body (used idiomatically: yes)
A meeting of the Birkenhead Police and Community Forum will be held the following evening at Tranmere Methodist Church Hall , Whitfield Street , Tranmere . DEAD WIFE 'S VOW OVER RELATIONSHIP ‘ She moves into our home over my dead body’ By Paul Byrne A PREGNANT woman found hanging in her garage had vowed that her husband 's woman friend would move into their home : ‘ Over my dead body.’ Eddie Gilfoyle is accused of murdering his wife Paula a fortnight before she was expected to give birth to their first child .
Idiom: take liberties (used idiomatically: no)
It 's only £ 800 per person , but you must provide your own top and the school takes no responsibility for injuries . Manufacturers , flushed with success over their pink fluffy man campaign , and greedy with the realisation that they can make hill - walkers wear anything as long as it 's described as a technological breakthrough , are sitting in their factories dreaming up new and more ridiculous things to sell us . Hoping to make some money , I have taken the liberty of submitting an idea to several of their research and development departments , and I should warn you that a patent is pending . Recognising that a lot of women are taking to the hills , and that they may feel a little intimidated by such a male - orientated sport , especially since they all dress in the same fluffy things as us now , I have come up with a startling new innovation . The thermal beard .
Idiom: every nook and cranny (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ … Doing what you want.’ Ken Berry too was deeply sceptical . Of the three men , Berry was the most innately conservative and cautious ; thorough and conscientious , his ability to explore every nook and cranny of a record deal exceeded even Branson 's . Berry knew the record business backwards , and he also knew that this was what Virgin 's success had been built on . Buying an airline seemed foolhardy and unnecessarily ostentatious : it affronted his sense of proportion .
Idiom: go up in smoke (used idiomatically: yes)
It was only an empty box . No one told Coffin about the bonfire . Nor did any intuition , any extra sense , alert him to the fact that part of the case he was quietly and imperceptibly building up inside him was going up in smoke . Chapter Nine While the ladies were fuelling their fire , in more ways than one , John Coffin was taking a walk .
Idiom: cast your mind back (used idiomatically: yes)
How observant of you to spot that Terry Wade 's shorts were a different colour and to suspect this was a tactical ploy . Of course it was . If you cast your mind back to the 1966 World Cup , you may recall that Pak Doo Ik , the North Korean forward , also wore odd shorts and he went on to score the winner against Italy , so I thought it was worth a try . Yours in charge , Les Bence
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
A further 12.5 million saw it on video . After Home Alone 2 's record - breaking success in the US , British merchandisers have let their imaginations run riot to devise everything from computer games to yo - yos bearing either Macauley 's face or the film 's title . Sports shops are stocking up on odd trainers as worn by the pint - sized star — leaving parents to foot a bill of around £ 160 when they are asked to provide the ill - matching black and white pairs . For less than £ 5 , parents can buy jockey caps and T - shirts with iron - on transfers . For under £ 10 , the film soundtrack can be bought on either cassette or LP before the prices rise to £ 14.99 for a Walkie Talkie set , £ 19.99 for an electronic board game , a Talk Boy cassette player or a talking Kevin Doll with the famous Culkin ' scream ' for £ 24.99 .
Idiom: go by the board (used idiomatically: yes)
And America 's hard - pressed banks are in no mood for adventurous lending . Matters have been made worse by the way investment banks scrambled to do junk - bond deals after federal investigators closed in on Mr Milken . Standards went by the board as they sensed a chance to break Drexel 's dominance of the junk - bond business . Many of the deals struck in this frenzied atmosphere are sure to go sour eventually , sending more companies to the brink . They will join companies already there .
Idiom: squeaky clean (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ We are an aggressive company,’ admitted David Wheeler , operations director at this plant and at Rechem 's other incinerator , at Fawley . For a place so hated , the Pontypool plant looks innocuous inside , like a cross between an oil refinery and a crematorium . Mr Wheeler , an engineer who worked for many years in the oil business , is a pleasant , slightly worried - looking man who can not bear the fact that no one seems to realise just what lengths he goes to in order to keep the plant squeaky clean and emission - free . In hard hats and protective glasses , we walked past the huge ‘ fume cupboard’ where the most noxious barrels are opened , and arrived at the vast , closed mouth of the furnace itself . It was hot , but not burning .
Idiom: easier said than done (used idiomatically: yes)
There 's a scuffle taking place on the adjacent platform : you hear the yells and the fists . To think that during the Blitz , families , stout - hearted folk , were down in these caverns holding hands beneath blankets and whistling the stirring refrains of Dame Vera Lynn . ‘ Get a ticket , not a criminal record,’ the ads urge you ; but this is easier said than done . The booking office is closed ( staff shortages ) . I stand in the queue for one of the new - fangled ticket machines clutching my one pound coin , but when it 's my turn , the dot matrix display has changed suddenly from CHANGE GIVEN to EXACT MONEY ONLY .
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: yes)
Since the majority of elderly people requiring help are women , then a great deal of the responsibility for looking after them will fall on women 's shoulders . Discrimination against carers We have a long way to go before society really shifts in attitude , and both men and women assume that caring is not only a woman 's job . Meanwhile , we have a situation where women find themselves discriminated against and often in a disadvantaged position because they are caring for others . Not only are men more likely to receive increased back - up support from professional services such as health visitors , home helps and nurses , they are also likely to receive more informal help from relatives , friends and neighbours .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: no)
A lot of my hardest stuff never made the cut : no point doing something amazing if nobody knows what it is !
Idiom: take heart (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I would not presume to assay,’ said Cadfael . ‘ He slips through my fingers . But time was when I would have said the same of you,’ he added wryly , and took heart at hearing Hugh laugh , if only briefly and softly . ‘ I know ! That was mutual .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: yes)
Can you find out more ? And also we do quite a few we can write at the bottom er for more inf if you have any more information or something in small print Mm . please contact and then we can do the next few hundred
Idiom: come to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Yes,’ said Owen . He found it difficult to pick the right words . Everything that came to mind seemed inappropriate . He wanted to say ‘ untidy’ but that was ridiculously inappropriate . Then he wanted to say that you could n't have bodies floating around but ‘ floating’ , in the circumstances , was hardly the word .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm very disappointed — it 's a bit of a shock . ‘ It was a real 100 per cent screw - up . It 's a lot of bucks but it serves me right.’ Price was disqualified after refusing to sign his card following a two - stroke penalty for moving an advertising hoarding . Under the rules he was deemed to have disqualified himself .
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It 's to do with getting better , getting OK.’ And Maggie came round the table and standing over Phoebe gave her a long silent hug . Meanwhile Rachel had taken a taxi to the museum ; she had entered by the back door and exchanged a smile with the doorkeeper . She crossed the dinosaur gallery , carefully averting her eyes from her own display , unlocked the solid door and arrived in the security and peace of her own office . Deliberately she sat herself down at her desk and examined her post .
Idiom: behind closed doors (used idiomatically: yes)
Seven or eight times out of ten , this is the phenomenon which greets those in the deliverance ministry when they are called on for help . The main features marking the presence of a poltergeist are moving objects , electrical high jinks , or mysterious noises . Local Christians took over our cinema to show the film Jesus of Nazareth and on the eve of the opening , the resident poltergeist threw a fit behind the closed doors of the projection room . The staff had heard it before on numerous occasions but nothing as severe or as noisy as on this particular night . When the caretaker eventually ventured into the room the following day , all was as usual .
Idiom: rule the roost (used idiomatically: yes)
The trio of intrepid wing - walkers take - off atop the Crunchie Stearman biplanes at their home base during the Rendcomb Aerial Derby . ‘ Guesting’ on the Save The Children Fund -schemed example was the somewhat backward Simon Ward ! In the main , biplanes ruled the roost at Rendcomb , although a warbird interlude included Spitfire IX MJ730/G - HFIX owned by David Pennell , but flown by Andy Sephton . Paul Warren put on the usual impressive display in the Grumman Tigercat , Norman Lees flew David Gilmour 's Mustang N51RR and Peter Henley put Mosquito T.III RR299/G - ASKH through its paces in a smooth , co - ordinated display showing the lines of this classic British World War Two aircraft . On the aerobatics front there was much to interest the audience , ranging from : Cap 20 G - BIPO , Laser 200 G - BOYZ , Pitts S-1E G - OTSW , Stampe SV-4C G - AYWT , Zlin Z.50LS G - MATE and Yak 50 G - IVAR .
Idiom: get a life (used idiomatically: no)
She looked at Scott , something close to pity in her voice . ' Look , Scotty , you should n't worry about her so much . She 's got her own life to lead , you know . ' And you wo n't be part of it for much longer . ' You 'd be better off looking for someone else , ' she smiled , her attempts at light banter failing miserably .
Idiom: be all ears (used idiomatically: no)
By PATRICK MARNHAM THE HIGHPOINT of the life of Jean-Louis Tixier-Vignancour came in 1968 when , against all odds , he saved the mutinous General Raoul Salan ( head of the Organisation de L'Armee Secrete ) from an expected death sentence for treason . With his deep voice , crumpled face , huge nose and ears and streak of cruelty , Maitre Tixier-Vignancour willingly symbolised all that was most demonic about France 's extreme right . After a brilliant student career at the Sorbonne he was called to the Paris Bar in 1926 . He started in political life as he meant to go on , sympathising with ‘ Action Francaise ’ and making his first political gesture at the age of 26 as one of the threatening , right-wing mob who were driven back by police gunfire when they tried to storm the Chamber of Deputies in February 1934 .
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh quite , yes . Mm . Have you noticed that by and large , not all the time of course but I should say that eighty percent of the time birds face that way ? No I 've never noticed which cos I 'm Mm .
Idiom: in the pink (used idiomatically: yes)
And I got ta do my bathroom as well . But only down to the tiles so mine'd only be half way . And it 's in a Rome pink it is , like a sort of a nice pink . It looks really nice it do . And she got her bath in the middle of the bathroom .
Idiom: on the cards (used idiomatically: yes)
A desk job , mainly . He might be posted to Indo - China , I suppose . It 's on the cards . He spends most of his leaves in Algeria — at our vineyards , you know . He likes it there.’
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Let 's get it clear , if I 'm going to knock you into shape , you 'll obey orders , answer up smartly when you 're spoken to , and be alert at all times . Got that , Private Nobody?’ ‘ Here , I 'm not an orphanage kid any more,’ said Dolly , ‘ I 've come of age , I ' ave.’ ‘ Yes , and you 're on the downward path,’ said Joe . ‘ Ca n't have any more of that .