Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
If one of those bombs went off prematurely we would all have been blown off the roof , and what good would that have done anyone ? We could hear the engines revving up as one by one the aircraft started their nerve - wracking blind journey down the runway , and miraculously each managed a safe take - off without dislodging their bombs . We could n't see the slightest movement in the fog , but gradually the noise of the engines diminished and died away , and the collective sigh of relief from the top of Flying Control must have had some part in the clearance of the fog , as by the time all four aircraft returned ( bomb - less ) we could actually see the 1,000 yard marker on the other side of the field . This was only a temporary relief , though . The fog came back over and over again that late autumn and early winter , and the dark days before Christmas that year were very dark indeed .
Idiom: point the finger (used idiomatically: yes)
No answer , silence seemed to be built into the family genes . Now he thought about it , Ted Mosse had n't been much of a talker . ‘ You are pointing the finger at him — them — being involved in the murders.’ It was a statement not a question . Why had she done it ?
Idiom: save someone's skin (used idiomatically: yes)
The dread in Downing Street this morning must be that yesterday 's panic policies wo n't work . What then ? Will the Prime Minister face the only alternative left and accept open devaluation , disposing of his Chancellor in order to save his own skin ? The life of this Government still has four and a half years to run , a terrifying prospect for us all . The only way to get rid of it would be for enough Tory MPs to join with the Opposition parties to throw it out .
Idiom: once and for all (used idiomatically: yes)
WASHINGTON , DC – In most developed countries , patients can be confident about the safety of blood transfusions . The problem is that maintaining a steady , uncontaminated supply of donor blood is not always easy . Is it possible to ensure an adequate supply of safe blood once and for all ? Today ’s blood supplies , often donated by volunteers , can be contaminated with HIV and other infectious agents . And donor blood must be kept in cold storage , where it has a 28-day shelf life .
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
And the speech was indeed a frank catalogue of the state of the personal computer business today : revenues down 14 % , Apple Computer Inc , IBM and DEC contemplating low margins and sinking market share , the astronomical cost of developing a new package , the failure of PCs to penetrate much beyond word processing and spreadsheets , the monopoly lock of a few software houses on the marketplace and engineering 's inability to develop an intuitive box , all conspiring to dissuade any sensible PC guy from putting any more money into research and development . Result : no innovation . Enter Taligent with its promised solution for rapid applications prototyping and customization in a hardware - independent environment just in the nick of time . Guglielmi of course declined to describe his object - oriented operating system beyond a few carefully chosen buzzwords . However , once he gets his base plan on paper , probably by September , he 's going to start making the rounds of vendors seeking their cooperation in getting all the plugs from device drives to protocols filled beginning at the desktop level .
Idiom: neck and neck (used idiomatically: yes)
Dreadnought held on to third place about a second or so behind Strega and Rare Bear . Rounding home pylon a battle developed between Mickey Rupp and Bill Rheinschild for fourth place . Bob Yancey and Kevin Eldridge were flying neck and neck with Yancey soon to overtake Eldridge 's Corsair . Strega turned the second lap at 475 mph , six miles per hour faster than the first lap and six miles per hours slower than Rare Bear 's 1991 winning speed . Strega 's Merlin engine was holding together !
Idiom: come to terms with (used idiomatically: yes)
This was our only common experience of the squalors of the literary world . On her return — still a little dazed by Greece : Everything here seemed so unreal that I had to come to terms with it as soon as possible , so that I can begin work . ( The pen is weeping for me . ) There is a curious feeling of walking on air , which I have never thought as agreeable a sensation as people try to make out .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
The price surged 6p to 96p amid rumours conglomerate BTR was to make a £ 750 m bid . Flames were fanned on reports that BTR 's broker had been buying Tarmac shares . Some 6.5 m shares are said to have changed hands in two hours . Elsewhere , FT - SE 's four - day record run halted and it closed at 2764.5 , down 27 . Weakness in New York and Hong Kong gave traders an excuse to mark prices lower .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
Because of the Suez crisis , short - term regulars to whom we 'd previously said our goodbyes were getting re - mobilised and returning to the Canal one . The National Servicemen were luckier . After some eleventh hour uncertainty and administrative hiccups , my Hastings landed in the fog at Lyneham in the November of 1956 . The day after I flew back , troops moved into the Canal Zone . It was the time of the sixty war .
Idiom: sour grapes (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ He died when the balance of his mind was temporarily undisturbed,’ quips Greenslade , whose conclusion will bring added comfort to Lloyd 's underwriters who wrote a £ 20 million personal accident policy for Maxwell . ‘ The sons , Kevin and Ian , will be the scapegoats , but there are an awful lot of people in the City who should be searching their consciences.’ Greenslade was dismissed from his Mirror post after barely a year , but denies any trace of sour grapes . City Diary : Other ranks ' rooms at Hamlyn inn MILLIONAIRE publisher and Labour Party benefactor Paul Hamlyn has bought his wife , Helen , a bijou chateau south of Lyons .
Idiom: power behind the throne (used idiomatically: yes)
About half way back , he made a brief stop and flung the empty gasoline can far into the night . CHAPTER 67 Unaware of the death of the sect 's figurehead leader , Grant , Springfield and their patchwork assembly of troops were preparing to take on the real power behind the throne — the sinister oriental who was using the organisation as a front for his Triad drugs network . As an enemy , he was still very much an unknown quantity to them . The only thing they could be certain of was his propensity for violence .
Idiom: off the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
Attached to the bulkhead between the hold full of gas drums and the fuel pumps , there was a large brick of strange pliable material with a wired board and cube set into it . Katze had never seen this type of explosive , but it did n't take a scientific genius to work out what the thing was . Having no idea of the detonation mechanism , he mentally called up the shortest route to the deck , while grasping the device and pulling it off the wall . The explosion lifted the ship a few feet clear out of the water , smashing the superstructure against the low tunnel roof even as the hull burst open with a blaze of fire . As the freighter slammed back down , the solid rock above began to loosen , huge boulders crashing into the decks .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: yes)
On some fabrics it may be possible to pull a weft thread from the fabric leaving a guideline along which to cut . Problems occur on some printed fabrics when the pattern has been printed off grain . With a small print , follow the design instead of the weave so that the curtain looks right visually . A slight deviation from the grain will not affect the hang of your curtains . In bad cases , however , with large patterns , by following the pattern your curtain could be so off grain as to adversely affect its drape .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
We have to ask of our church life : Do our structures and our services proclaim this doctrine of acceptance and freedom in Christ ? We have considered a topic which is , perhaps regrettably , not at the centre of Anglican attention . I do n't want to get it out of proportion with other great doctrines of the faith , but this subject goes to the very heart of the gospel and has radical implications for everyday life . I want to say in conclusion that it has as many consequences for the devout Evangelical as it does for the hardened Catholic . We have to confess that Evangelicalism has sometimes , perhaps even often , expressed itself in a hard , legalistic framework leading to a dull and often joyless form of Christianity .
Idiom: moment of truth (used idiomatically: yes)
Railway buffs , from a range of backrounds , are abandoning their inhibitions and donning overalls to sample the thrills of the footplate on a main - line steam engine . The half - day courses include two hours practical experience of firing and driving with full instruction on safety and how the engine works . And then the moment of truth as the eager new recruits take the controls and move off down a half - mile of track alongside the British Rail line . For 70 year old Bob Wackett and his son , Steve it 's the fulfillment of a life - long ambition . The courses at Quainton run once a month and cost cost £ 45 .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: yes)
Yellow with orange . Jade green with azure . And if the clash includes huge or small prints in jewel colours , played off against vividly checked tweeds , so much the better . Shape too has some new imperatives : designers have learnt the vocabulary of active sportswear shapes . The hooded sweatshirt and the parka , even the hooray Huskie have been re - interpreted in brilliant silks , satins and cashmeres .
Idiom: black and blue (used idiomatically: no)
Yeah . So I suppose you 've got to take it with a pinch of salt and it is n't true so some ways , but I do n't know . Yeah , I was arguing black and blue , and I was the only one , sort of saying , oh no I do n't think that 's right . Oh at least you , you know stuck by what you thought . stuck by your guns .
Idiom: run riot (used idiomatically: yes)
Standing in their way are old rivals Bath . They 're Gloucester 's bogey team . In the Pilkington final two years ago , they ran riot over the Cherry and Whites . Tomorrow 's game at Kingsholm … in front of thirteen thousand fans … offers a chance for revenge . Male speaker
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
The letter shrilly screams at IBM to come out of its catatonic stupor and save itself BEFORE IT 'S TOO LATE . It blames current top management and the board itself for not understanding how bad the problems are or knowing how to solve them . Authors Charles Ferguson and Charles Morris paint a dismal picture of the company 's record across - the - board since the 1970s and presage a painful decline leading to a disaster of enormous proportions that will drag down with it IBM stockholders , employees , suppliers , the US computer industry at large and the nation as a whole . It ticks off a litany of mistakes from its dependence on mainframes through to the conscious suppression of RISC technology and the grotesque series of blunders by which it handed over control of PCs to Intel and Microsoft . The absence of any viable or constructive action by IBM in the face of impending doom leads the authors to conclude that ' a collapse equivalent to those experienced by Wang , Control Data or Prime is not at all improbable . '
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
I must n't go to pieces , she whispered , tomorrow I 'll be brave , and ask Ricky round for a drink . Fortunately the Caring Chauvinist was away the following day , but Ricky 's number was always engaged . Only when she checked with directory enquiries did she learn that the receiver was off the hook . Getting home from the office , she found Violet and Perdita having another screaming match . ‘ I 'm not coming home at half - term if she 's here , Mum,’ complained Violet .
Idiom: to the bone (used idiomatically: yes)
My head.’ He felt really mean , sitting back in the cab , watching Manhattan by night . But Laura was a piranha ; she 'd have chewed him down to the bone if he had let her . Although he did not hold with lies , there were occasions when they were the best option . Like tonight .
Idiom: come to a head (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I 'd rather starve first than work for a man like that!’ ‘ Noble sentiments indeed , but you could find yourself changing your mind if you were pushed into that position . Still , there should n't be any need to let matters come to a head , not if you agree to be sensible and rectify your mistakes.’ ‘ My mistakes ! Oh , that 's rich , really rich , blaming me!’
Idiom: boots and all (used idiomatically: no)
The tights fantastic for Kim ! SLIP on these tights , girls , and you 'll look a real smarty pants — just like sexy Kimberly here . The funwear gives the impression you 're fully dressed from top ( well , middle ) to bottom — boots and all . It went on display at London 's Hosiery Show yesterday . And it gave a whole new meaning to tight trousers !
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
A State with more than one official language may , if necessary under internal law , declare the language of Letters to be used in specified parts of its territory . Failure to comply with this declaration , ' without justifiable excuse ' , renders the State of origin liable to pay the cost of translation . The Convention does not prescribe the language to be used in responding to the Letter ; the normal expectation is that the language to be used will be that in which the Letter was sent , but documents and evidence taken orally will be sent in the original language , whatever that may be . Rejection of Letter of Request The Convention creates an obligation to execute Letters of Request falling within its terms ; and the Letter is to be executed ' expeditiously ' .
Idiom: make ends meet (used idiomatically: yes)
And finally , an animal sanctuary threatened with closure because of a cash shortage has been saved thanks to Central South viewers . EVESHAM / Worcestershire The Vale Wildlife Rescue Centre in Evesham was struggling to make ends meet because the recession caused donations to dry up . Dozens of injured animals being cared for faced being put down . But since a report on our programme two weeks ago , more than nine thousand pounds has been donated to the centre , securing its survival .
Idiom: go straight (used idiomatically: yes)
No see you then . Did they try and drag you up the farm yesterday ? Well he 's , he actually was off the lead and he went straight through right to the other gate Oh and you kept them off the road did you ? You did n't just er
Idiom: get on someone's nerves (used idiomatically: yes)
Need to exactly find out before I knew I 'd got mucked up the whole thing and ca n't send there back either . Oh . The P word was getting on my nerves an awful lot this afternoon!. Dad took Peter to work today said I thought he was gon na to John when I came home , he took the whole front of Oh !
Idiom: pop the question (used idiomatically: yes)
I had dismissed marriage as being unsatisfactory . Even people who managed to stay married seemed to do it only by making incredible compromises which I thought was contemptible.’ But Stuart got serious quickly and popped the question six months later . ‘ I was so terrified that I fought him all the way . I did n't want to place myself in the hands of someone who might insist on more than I was prepared to give .
Idiom: by dint of (used idiomatically: yes)
The jaundiced eye sees not black and white but yellow and grey . It used to be that if you wished something to look white on television you had to paint it yellow . And as every greyhaired person knows by dint of experience , there is no black and white issue , only grey . All that is the conventional wisdom . But the prophet says where there is no vision the people perish .
Idiom: buy time (used idiomatically: yes)
It says the money is generous . Unions call it closure by stealth , they feel tricked . They were simply buying time , came out with a white paper that meant absolutely nothing and now we see the full effects of it . We 're about to lose our coal industry and er we 're about to lose it because of the incompetent blind dogma er of this present government . If I say that er the the reduction the industry is facing is about fifty percent .
Idiom: on a roll (used idiomatically: no)
Charles volunteered to have a look out and clambered on to the seat , testing the strength of the pipe running up the wall . Peregrine gave instructions from below . ' Right foot on the roll of bumph . I think the contraption will take your weight . ' ' Tricky … .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: no)
' Where have you been ? ' asked Den . ' To the pigs with the slops , where you should have been this mornin ' , ' replied his wife . ' See 's that bucket , ' said Den , holding out his hand . ' What bucket ? ' she asked . ' Sure , the one ye have in yer hand . '
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: yes)
In the Introduction and in Chapter 1 I rehearsed Giddens 's argument concerning ' time - space distantiation ' in contemporary societies and resulting ontological insecurity . Social life is increasingly centralised and concentrated ; national and multinational organisations and governments having increasingly dramatic impacts on people 's lives . At the same time , most people 's daily lives and face - to - face contacts remain relatively limited to small - scale localities . Indeed , the recent decline in spatial mobility means that daily life is increasingly limited to relatively small regions . This tension between locally - based life and nationally or internationally based markets and governments leads to what Giddens calls ' ontological insecurity ' , a condition in which people have a limited understanding and control over their circumstances and the processes affecting their daily lives .
Idiom: turn heads (used idiomatically: yes)
Dora accepted these ministrations without protest , but Melissa thought she detected a growing restiveness and a thinly veiled relief when at last they said goodnight and returned to their own room . ' What d'you suppose he meant ? ' asked Iris , yawning . Melissa turned her head without opening her eyes . ' What who meant by what ? ' ' Banana Split .
Idiom: by the same token (used idiomatically: yes)
In year groups of 200 students some 10–30 might undertake a work - experience with little preparation , follow - up or curriculum related activity . There was a twinning arrangement with a local employer which involved one member of staff and a limited number of students . This contact was increasingly in danger of disappearing due to the economic pressures on the company , and , by the same token , budget pressures on the school which were making it difficult to commit teacher time to a non - class contact time activity . Into this situation came the decision of Sheffield Education Department to provide support for curriculum development in secondary schools by providing cover for the release of five teachers to undertake school focused curriculum development in the academic year 1986–7 . At Hinde House this team of teachers was selected by the staff and centred its attention on the transition from middle schools to the secondary sector and the curriculum which should be provided in the Y8 group .
Idiom: at the drop of a hat (used idiomatically: yes)
I felt bloody sorry for them . The money was good if you worked hard , really hard , but it took a while to get good enough on the machines to do that . The top wage in the prison was around £ 2.60 a week and £ 3 in the workroom , and the woman who ran it — a civilian instructor , not a screw — was a real old dragon who put people on report at the drop of a hat . You can easily lose a job or be moved as a sort of back - handed discipline . It 's never proved or said that 's why you lose a job , but it 's a constant threat .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
No . No . If at the end of the day once we have gone through the goo the good housekeena keeping exercise and he has been put into an M S three post that you think he is not capable of , then you 've got two options . You have got to train that person which you could have been doing for years and for years .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah . Yeah . See , she 's got a single bed down there but we do n't let her sleep in it just she 's stopping in bed with us , cos no way am you know we might be sleeping here , petrol bomb might come through your window on a night when there 's a riot on . You know it might land on her her bed , see if it landed on our bed at least you can chuck the blankets off and protect her and take her out of the room , but when she 's in her own bedroom in a single bed you ca n't , you ca n't do things like that . Mhm .
Idiom: buy the farm (used idiomatically: yes)
' The book made us think about the nature of health . We could see that the health of the person is directly tied in with the health of the planet . ' With the profits from their books they made enough finally to buy Old Vicarage Farm , with four others , as an organic co - operative , in 1987 . But now the duo are selling up . ' It 's not been a failure of the organic principle , it 's been a failure of people , ' says Melville unhappily .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
No one knows that p unless he can say how he knows that p . The attempt to answer the question ‘ How do you know that p ? ’ by simply reasserting that p can not be successful . It begs the question . A sceptic who peddles the question without being willing to make an appeal to propositions such as these is not presenting an interesting philosophical position . Once the appeal is made , however , we are back with a scepticism that depends on an argument .
Idiom: out of the woods (used idiomatically: yes)
He needs to work furiously to rebuild his reputation and authority , shattered by a humiliating series of U - turns and political defeats which have all but torn asunder his party and even his Cabinet . Tories have been battling with each other in the Commons , on TV , in the newspapers and on the floor of the Tory Party conference with a ferocity never seen this century . Mr Major is by no means out of the woods , and must fight to defend his leadership at a crisis Cabinet meeting to be called early today . The overwhelming impression left after the debate is of a Tory Party spilt from top to toe over Europe , and a Prime Minister unable to heal the rift . In the Commons Mr Major bluntly warned that killing the Maastricht Treaty would be a ‘ fatal cocktail’ for jobs and prosperity .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
I felt envious of them . I wished Richard could see them together . We lay in bed with the window open . Outside , a backdrop of stars glittered . It was all we could see .
Idiom: sweep someone off their feet (used idiomatically: yes)
I did tell him , however , that the older boys — and I was form - master of the modern sixth — were keenly interested in what was going on in modern literature , but that they seemed to some extent cushioned against modern life in their ignorance , which was almost total , of such currents of thought as Marxism . Eliot picked on this . He was quick to point out that when they went up to Oxford — as most of my pupils would he likely to do — the impact of Marx , the one reputation which most politically - conscious dons revered , was likely to sweep them off their feet . ( I have since called to mind G. K. Chesterton 's remark in Heretics that ideas are dangerous and most dangerous to the man of no ideas : ‘ the man of no ideas will find the first idea fly to his head like wine to the head of a teetotaller.’ ) Of modern poets , I had of course spoken to the boys — and to the masters for that matter , for most had ventured no further than Hardy and Houseman , like the Brasenose dons — of Eliot , Pound and the later Yeats ; and I discovered that they lapped this up as if slaking a mental thirst .