Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: out of this world (used idiomatically: yes)
If Trudi , the friendly voice , can not make out what Mrs Satterley is trying to say , the owner of the shop , Mr Farquarson allows her to leave early in order to pop in and sort the problem out on her way home . Mrs Satterley says , ‘ I love doing lace and my Silver Reed has been playing up but — one phone call — and up comes Trudi . Their kindness is out of this world and I do hope they win your Gold St*r award . They deserve it.’ Well they have indeed won it Mrs Satterley and we hope that you will continue to enjoy your knitting , with their help , in spite of your poor health .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
No , nor me . I 'd say about four by six eight , perhaps ? So that 's , four eights are thirty two , to say the least . Mm ! Ah , ha ha ha ha ha ha !
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: no)
Bulk businesses have to survive on the basis of their costs , An outstanding example of this occurs in the whole field of petrochemicals . The Middle East in particular , with very low oil costs and large amounts of entrained gas , starts with an almost unbeatable comparative advantage in terms of its raw material costs , which in the petrochemical business typically are over half of the total cost picture . However , it is important when you see an advantage in one area not to minimize the advantages you may have in others . The capital cost of building plants in the Middle East is very high .
Idiom: weak at the knees (used idiomatically: yes)
These frantic struggles are very … inflammatory.’ She froze , aware of her heart pounding , with a deeper , slower echo of his , where their bodies were pressed together . Slowly , carefully , he pushed her away from him , flicking his lazy dark eyes over her nakedness before reaching to pull her swimsuit back up again , smoothing it over her body with a practised skill which left her weak at the knees all over again . She felt as if the scarlet patches must be permanently painted on her cheeks . ‘ Why should you assume that I 'm a virgin?’ she finally managed to say , twisting away to grapple inwardly for composure .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Do n't let them go . " He would put the better dealers on a table together . He wrote up the names of all trainees on the white board , and at the end of the day , he wrote up the sales scores of each one . It was as if marks for the day 's work were being displayed in the school classroom , and they had a similar effect of inspiring competition . The marks of one day were shown against those of the next , and so on .
Idiom: not a pretty sight (used idiomatically: yes)
Indeed , it seems that by the year 2000 , over 78 % of the population will be happily tuned into a whole variety of new channels beamed from above . Unfortunately , this means that any residential building you design could be littered with satellite dishes in no time at all . Not a pretty sight , we 're sure you 'll agree . Happily , however , it 's one you can easily avoid by talking to BSB today . When you do , we 'll explain how our advanced S.M.A.T.V. system means that just one master antenna ( only 60 cm in diameter ) will supply five new quality TV channels to any number of separate dwellings within one building .
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: yes)
Initial impregnation and embedding , if required , will have been completed as detailed above . With such difficult material , cutting on the usual diamond trimming saw is inadvisable , and water - based lubricants can not be used . Flat faces are produced by hand grinding on carborundum - impregnated papers ( ' wet and dry ' paper ) in the dry . With harder samples , a hacksaw will produce a face ready for lapping . The surface need not be perfectly flat or smooth .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Try again.’ Sybil tried again , with the same result . ‘ The line must be out of order . Never mind , I 'm going into Cheltenham tomorrow to the library . I 'll call round and see her … it 's only just round the corner .
Idiom: within living memory (used idiomatically: yes)
Jade is scarce because it can only crystallize in that form under geological conditions of heat and pressure which were confined to certain faults in the earth 's crust . These occurred in the Far East , in New Zealand and in Central America . Jade axes were being made by the Maoris in New Zealand , almost within living memory . According to Heinrich Harrer axes are being made from a jade - like stone in central New Guinea today . He says that the polishing takes several months .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
so you 're not getting no heating there , in that bedroom at all . cos there is n't no ventilator in it , and that 's the one we sleep in cos we 're frightened of people coming through the back door in the night , you know kicking in the back door , so we sleep in the other room . And our our the baby she sleeps in bed with us , you know cos we 're frightened in case owt gets bunged through the window , you know it might hit her , so we put her in bed with us . To in order to protect her . Yeah .
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
Sue thought that Pete was totally fucked off his head and really out of it . That 's absolute crap , he was so he was as sober as the day comes I can tell you and it was just a joke . Well maybe she was doing it to get Pete off the hook then . Well that made me feel worse actually . What ?
Idiom: act of God (used idiomatically: no)
She bit her lip and kept her peace , and even made them cups of tea with the same grace that her mother had demonstrated in the dark hours of the night . Maggie kept catching her eye with an expression of knowing amusement , but at the same time she obviously hated having these men stomping through her every possession and destroying any remaining magic in her secret chamber . Finally the men gave up , grudgingly admitted that the room was safe , and left muttering about ‘ freak accidents’ and ‘ acts of God’ . They recommended a glazier , a brush and an insurance claim . Phoebe thanked them wearily .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: yes)
Likewise , here she was now , years later , in Schiaparelli , heading for a fateful encounter which would completely and utterly change her life , my life , all our lives . She was at the top of the steps leading down to the front door of the Moebius Strip . She could see the lights inside , the drinkers and gamblers . And then the Perks came , scurrying up the steps on all fours like rats out of a cellar . Tabitha made a mistake .
Idiom: hold the line (used idiomatically: yes)
This is partly because of their ephemeral nature and partly because disclosure would often reveal either that very sensitive subjects were under consideration or that we had something in train about which we were not ready to make an announcement . Disclosure of the main standing Committees would thus give a partial picture only . Moreover having gone as far as this I do not believe that it would be possible for me to hold the line and refuse to answer any further questions about the composition and activities of the Committees . At the minimum we would be under pressure to reveal the names of the Chairman . This would make it harder for me to make changes ; and it would have implications for the responsibilities of Departmental Ministers since Select Committees would try to summon the Chairman of Cabinet Committees to give evidence in addition to the responsible Minister .
Idiom: watering hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Once again , I concluded that there had been no habitation . In this instance , however , the mystery as to why there should be artefacts at all in the soil was easily solved . There was a fairly decent - sized watering hole right in the centre of the field . This had long since dried up , but it seems that in the past the population from all the local area would come to this one patch . This was not on a massive scale , for the area was sparsely populated in the past , and remains thinly populated even today .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
The Cut — 500 feet wide from shore to shore , 45 feet deep , illuminated at night by a blaze of red and white lights — is of a size to dwarf the vessels passing through it . From down on deck , the cliffs rise up to the sky , quite blotting out the sun ; from 400 feet up at the viewing platform on Contractors Hill the passing tramps , container vessels and car carriers look like toys . Far below , on the winter 's day when I stood and watched , the Aleksandr Ulyanov — a 30,000-ton general freighter — was grinding slowly northbound , back to the Atlantic , back to Mother Russia ; a comfortable - looking , rust - stained Greek liner called the Corfu Reefer had passed heading south . The Mar Mediterraneo was waiting in the Pedro Miguel locks . The Hyundai No . 205 , carrying cars from Pusan to Savannah , was coming through the Miraflores .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
In addition to encouraging cooperation between her department and other disciplines she has established state - of - the - art procedures in Munich : three - dimensional , high - resolution ultrasound for verifying uncertain mammography results , minimally invasive diagnostics , and particularly gentle methods of removing lymph nodes .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: yes)
But not any longer . Now there was Rob , and even to think of being parted from him left her sick inside . She turned to him and closed her eyes , reaching for the back of his head , pulling his face closer . ' Forget it . ' She shivered , without knowing why , and he took off his tunic and wrapped it around her shoulders .
Idiom: in a nutshell (used idiomatically: yes)
Join the police force . Black And Blue is BBC1 's ' controversial ' 90-minute drama ( Sun 27 Sept , 9.25pm ) guaranteed to get the law and order brigade hot under the collar . In a nutshell : young country bumpkin black cop is drafted in to defuse the tension on a London estate and discovers who 's really doing the dirty work . Message : the police are bastards . Verdict : makes a change from The Bill
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
The really innovative side to the new BOSS then , is the marketing strategy . Customers simply specify whether they want Token Ring , Ethernet or a combination of the two and the thing arrives in a single cardboard box . Fool - proof , says Proteon : the most complex part is configuring the DNX 300 router , which the company claims anyone can get up and running in under 15 minutes . The box costs £ 8,000 and runs the same multiprotocol routing software as its big brothers . At the product 's launch , the company took time out to damn 3Com 's boundary routing scheme with faint praise .
Idiom: for a song (used idiomatically: yes)
Well probably because er you know we try and keep up er er certain standard every year and er you know it 's very important doing a video that you have the right songs for it , you know to get a story book set up for each song and this one we felt when we had it finished was probably you know the best we 've done so far and lucky enough we 've been proved right . Are you comfortable with videos because we do hear a lot of artists who are not comfortable on video . Well we are we like doing the videos because er in the early days we had a lot of problems I suppose with ourselves and with the video people because they had planned ideas for the songs . You know we had recorded maybe about ten twelve maybe fifteen albums before we started doing videos . Then all of a sudden these strange people started coming out of record companies who were involved in the video end of it and deciding this is what we should do with that song and sort of you know these were songs that we had planned and recorded and and all of a sudden these people were changing them .
Idiom: to the bone (used idiomatically: yes)
Laid out together in a bed of stone Whose rocky coverlet was rolled Away , stripping these sweethearts to the bone . No chance encounter has composed Their double genders in a single birth ;
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
There is no dog standing with its two front paws on a rock in the field
Idiom: work to rule (used idiomatically: yes)
At least we were earning some money , and they were ending up owing the company money I think . Was the the degree of cooperation , was it was it on an informal basis or was it er through the Transport and General that you got together ? Erm , we called a lodge meeting before the annual leave , annual shutdown , and in that lodge meeting all three quarries agreed to go on a work to rule as from the resumption of work , which is second week of August . I ca n't remember in fact if there was a Transport official there . I suppose there must have been but I ca n't remember .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: no)
' Too far for me , lass , ' Jake murmured . ' I 've come too far from the ways of men to be able to go back now … but we must get away from that sea ! ' He rose swiftly , holding out his hand . ' Come , now . They 've the deep sea still in their eyes , they 'll not glimpse us yet . '
Idiom: bear in mind (used idiomatically: yes)
In the event the conviction for capital murder was affirmed on the ground that ( the evidence being overwhelming ) there had been no miscarriage of justice , despite the majority 's view that the trial judge had been in error . Having examined the practice in different common law jurisdictions , their Lordships consider that the principles endorsed by the Jamaican Court of Appeal , particularly with regard to inconsistent previous statements , represent what will normally be an acceptable way of achieving fairness to the accused and they take the opportunity of saying that in a civilised community the most suitable ways of achieving such fairness ( which should not be immutable and require to be reconsidered from time to time ) are best left to , and devised by , the legislature , the executive and the judiciary which serve that community and are familiar with its problems . Bearing in mind the reference by Shelley J.A. , in Reg . v. Barrett , 12 J.L.R. 179 , 180 , to the concept of counsel for the Crown as ' minister of justice whose prime concern is its fair and impartial administration , ' their Lordships , while not feeling bound to accept in relation to Jamaica the comprehensive principles , almost amounting to criminal discovery , which the defendant has attempted to rely on , recognise that the ' Purvis – Barrett ' principles do not cover every situation in which fairness may demand that the prosecution make available material to the defence . Since the defence must be given a copy of the statement of a proposed witness who has not made a deposition , it must follow that , if a Crown witness 's evidence is intended to depart significantly from his deposition and to be based on his statement to the police , it is the duty of the Crown to give the defence a copy of that statement in advance of the hearing . An analogy is the need to serve a notice of intention to adduce additional evidence of a witness who has already given evidence in the committal proceedings .
Idiom: have been around (used idiomatically: yes)
ROGER SHELTON / Director Voice over Doc Martens BOOTS have been around for years . If you think you 've seen the CLOTHES before you 've been conned . Pirate clothing firms have been using the name to sell their own goods , now the footwear company is fighting back .
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: yes)
They are things that you do which actually improve your department both in the short and in the long - term . The long - term specifically . Things like okay , ordering possibly could be reactive and active , because yes , it 's something that has to be done every day , but if your order in spot on , that is an active task , it would improve and benefit to your , you would say that that , . Whereas reactive , I think one typical task that 's a reactive task which is yes , it 's unexpected or whatever , is cardboard collecting , because it 's the type of thing that happens regularly , but it does n't actually get your department , it does n't It does n't achieve anything .
Idiom: take it or leave it (used idiomatically: yes)
Well , I 'd like to go back and talk to you about the exclusion clauses though , and the purchasing power of the people buying these things . Right . Usually a contract is seen as an agreement that is freely entered into by both parties , debating or arguing out the terms at arm 's length , but in reality this is a take it or leave it operation , is n't it ? erm the policies are offered in general most dealers in fairness this question of charging for the policy , in the majority of dealers that we 've actually got they include it within the within the purchase price of the vehicle anyway . In the majority of cases it is something that is given free of charge .
Idiom: cost the earth (used idiomatically: yes)
All things being equal we could probably turn one of these things around , which is basically preparing all the literature , briefing the systems people and getting it all printed up and everything in about six weeks . But we 've er , other projects and er , things going on , we are dealing with like , anything up to sixteen weeks ahead of it . And of course , as I say , it costs us the earth . So , we constantly being plagued by tight deadlines erm which means that , when incurring a additional costs , from overtime work , the printers and many things like that . So what I 'd like to do is erm , balance out the influence in him , prior to going out and making these negotiations erm , so that he comes back with a a suitable timescale for us to deal with it , and has n't promised them the earth in the way of commission or er , print changes or whatever .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
See we had a fire right in the middle of the cabin and I used to chuck this here er flock mattress on the table and the blankets over the old flock pillow and go to sleep that way . What were you keeping watch for while you were on board ? Well we had to keep somebody on watch in case there was any damage , say the ship was up the river and a chain broke or they hit you , so you had to put your navigation lights up and to put navigation lights up we had hurricane lamps , we had a red and a white one , they should have been six foot apart , they never were they was about three foot . Why was that ? Well , that 's the quickest way to do it , we used to hang one below the other on the dredger , be put up at sunset and we used to take 'em down early in the morning , but you always had , you always had erm navigation lights up , must
Idiom: get the boot (used idiomatically: yes)
' Go away , Billy . ' She 's lying on her mattress with her face in the pillow . she s still got her boots on , and they 're a bit muddy . I dunno what to do , so I just sort of stand there . Satan 's miaowing for food but I do n't pay it no attention .
Idiom: for my money (used idiomatically: yes)
Are they ? Mm . She came round on Tuesday for my hamper money and she said , everything was cos , I said I 'd pay her monthly and she turned up and I said , I thought I was paying you monthly ? And she said , that 's right you did say , she said I 'm all at sixes and sevens she said , and everything 's upside down ! She said , she said I do n't know whether I 'm coming or going !
Idiom: game on (used idiomatically: yes)
This leaves a handsome £ 30 for the distributor and designer to share . Nintendo and Sega can control prices by insisting all software companies buy their cartridges from them . It aims to keep things that way by launching a High Court copyright action against British software designer Codemasters which is about to launch its games on the market . They can be used on Sega hardware but are half the price . Codemasters ' director David Darling said : ‘ The fact that Sega has chosen to wait to sue until just before our commercial launch shows this is a blatant attempt to keep us from the market they control.’
Idiom: put two and two together (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I doubt if it was at random . It 's common knowledge that you were at that dinner with me . I expect they just put two and two together and went on from there.’ ‘ But you had nothing to do with their choice ? You never asked for me?’
Idiom: and then some (used idiomatically: no)
Zack pulled it over his head . There was a chance they would try to rush him , but it would take a fraction of a second to release his grip on the open clothes - peg . They led him , left hand aloft , through into the house , down a short passage and then some cellar steps . He heard three loud knocks on a door of some kind , then a pause . He heard a door creak open and he was pushed into a room .
Idiom: spring to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
All that I am going to add is that the tools may reach outside the individual body wall . What might it mean in practice to speak of a gene as having an extended phenotypic effect on the world outside the body in which it sits ? Examples that spring to mind are artefacts like beaver dams , bird nests and caddis houses . Caddis flies are rather nondescript , drab brown insects , which most of us fail to notice as they fly rather clumsily over rivers . That is when they are adults .
Idiom: kiss of death (used idiomatically: yes)
To chuck away the big time for a day out at Wembley would be a shame . ‘ That 's why our League position is a sobering reminder to us . And one blessing is that we are n't likely to be saddled with the tag ‘ Team of the Nineties ’ — which is a real kiss of death — while we 're trying to find our feet in the Premier League . ’ TEAM OF THE 90s 1
Idiom: the ball is in someone's court (used idiomatically: no)
Yes , the first couple of months of my detention were very difficult , but since my ' conviction ' and placement in the central prison , with full contact diplomatically , my situation has improved 200 per cent thank you . I have been shown real ' good Samaritan ' help by people in prisons here , and without their help I have found things a whole lot tougher than they were . The ball is now firmly in the British Government 's ' court ' , and I hope that pressure from the public will push them into action . 30 under 30 Thirty people from the catering industry are pictured at London 's Four Seasons Inn on the Park where they recently gathered to receive their Acorn Awards .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
by Mike Walters IAN WRIGHT , facing the possibility of an FA ban and massive fine , last night brushed off the prospect of a trial by television and said : ‘ I do n't care what the BBC shows . ’ Wright was captured by Match of the Day cameras cuffing Tottenham 's David Howells off the ball in Saturday 's tempestuous North London derby . Arsenal 's £2.5 million England striker escaped censure from controversial referee Alf Buksh for his latest moment of madness — but the flashpoint is certain to earn him a Football Association misconduct charge this week . And there is a worrying precedent for Wright , 29 , as regards the Arsenal manager George Graham and England chief Graham Taylor .
Idiom: hold court (used idiomatically: yes)
Release of close company loans Loans from a close company to participators in that company were ' released ' within the meaning of s 287(1 ) , TA 1970 where , under an agreement between the company , the participators and a third party , the third party assumed and then settled the debt . So held the Court of Appeal in Collins v Addies and Greenfield v Baines [ 1992]STI 766 . The taxpayers , C and G , were directors and shareholders of an unlimited close company . On 11 November 1980 , C and G contracted to sell their shares in the company to a fellow shareholder and director of the company , B. Under the terms of the agreement , the taxpayers , B , and the company , executed a deed of novation whereby the company released the taxpayers from liability on their current accounts ( which stood in total at £ 79,000 ) up to a limit of £ 68,000 .