Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: now or never (used idiomatically: yes)
Perhaps an omen of things to come . Ralph Lauren 's Polo aftershave came galloping into the kitchen , followed shortly by a now fully clothed Lee . He just had time for a quick coffee ( it was now or never ) , and in the time I took to refill the kettle and put coffee into two clean mugs , I 'd told him . I was matter - of - fact , and filled the statement with medical data and statistics , adding an assurance that I intended to beat the bastard . He reacted exactly as I had expected :
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
Steady progress has been made with the implementation of non - advanced DATEC courses and in January and May 1981 461 students were registered for Certificate courses and 2,866 for Diploma courses . For various reasons , DATEC decided that , with one exception , no college proposals would be validated for Higher Certificate and Higher Diploma courses which would allow a start before September 1982 ; as a consequence , there are at present relatively small numbers of students on these courses . DATEC hopes that there will eventually be a total of about 20,000 students on all its levels of courses , in some 170 centres , including a much higher number of girls than at present . However , it may take some considerable time to reach this target ; as the majority of DATEC courses are run in separate art colleges and these have been particularly squeezed by the current financial crisis , they are finding it particularly difficult to make the desired provision . As is the case with TEC courses in general , the influence of DATEC on the art colleges has been considerable and they have been brought into curriculum development on a considerable scale .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
But that past tense , ‘ overlapped’ , is simply a necessary fiction . All life is contemporaneous , is now . At this very moment , Oedipus stands at the crossroads , killing the testy man , his father . I am at that crossroads . As with Oedipus , often we are compelled to relight the candle against our will .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: no)
‘ I mean he 's cutting great chunks . Big speeches — just because he does n't like them , just cutting them out.’ ‘ But , Malcolm , he 's not making the cuts . They were made yesterday for —’ But the author was already out of earshot .
Idiom: make someone's day (used idiomatically: yes)
But I 'm grateful to all those who offered.’ Demelza 's ad , which she wrote herself , read : ‘ Wanted , loving and caring grandparents for little Demelza to love and cherish this outgoing girl.’ Now Jean has made her day … PARA NUT CRASHES INTO A PLANE … AND HE LIVES !
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: no)
Blue eyes set rather too close for handsomeness , and a loose full mouth that was half smiling , one corner higher than the other . He wore no hat or wig and his thick untidy hay - coloured hair was tied away from his face . Her glance slid from this face to the other and she found herself observed by pale eyes set in bloated white flesh . The overall impression was of whiteness — skin , eyes , old - fashioned wig , square smooth hands — emphasized by the severe blackness of the clothes . Gold lace trimming on the tricorn hat was the only relief .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
Gloucester first came to prominence in 1469 . Only eight at the time of his brother 's accession in 1461 , he spent the early years of Edward IV 's reign in relative obscurity , overshadowed by his elder brother George duke of Clarence . There is no explicit reference to Gloucester 's attainment of his majority , but Clarence was deemed to have come of age when he was sixteen and Richard 's sixteenth birthday fell in October 1468 . It was probably around this time that he left the household of his cousin Richard Neville earl of Warwick , where he had been placed in 1465 . By February 1469 he was in the company of his brother the king and took an active role in the trial for treason of Henry Courtenay and Thomas Hungerford .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
DIE HARD tough-guy Bruce Willis will pick up £5 million to play a fairytale prince . In a modern day Sleeping Beauty , set in New York , he wakes a medieval princess with a kiss . The film will be produced by the 37-year-old 's own production company , Flying Heart . Zsa Zsa Gabor EIGHT-times-married Zsa Zsa Gabor believes the Prince and Princess of Wales 's split will not last .
Idiom: like clockwork (used idiomatically: yes)
Prost , 27secs behind Senna , changed tyres on lap 45 and the news was quickly relayed to Senna . Deciding that his lead was comfortable enough to make a precautionary stop , Senna came in at the end of lap 48 . Whereas Prost had been delayed as the Ferrari mechanics fiddled with the right - rear wheel , Senna 's stop went like clockwork . He was at a standstill for just 7.5secs and returned with his lead still intact . All that stood in the way of victory was a touch of bad luck .
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
Cassio answers ‘ I have well approved it , sir’(304ff . ) . Caught ! When Iago outlines his plan to regain Othello 's respect through the intervention of Desdemona , Cassio is grateful : The point that this sequence establishes is that Cassio , like Roderigo before him , and like Othello , and Desdemona after him , trusts Iago and believes that he has appeared in the nick of time , solely in order to help him . Iago seems to be acting wholly for the others ' good , since , as he challenges us to deny , ‘ this advice I give is free and honest . /Probal to thinking’(330f . ) .
Idiom: green light (used idiomatically: yes)
I asked Janet with studied casualness . She agreed but thought she 'd record it anyway , just in case . The last thing I remember before the green light for ‘ Go’ came on was that I had n't brought any Kleenex with me . I was fine for the first few pages . Then the voice started to wobble a bit .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
Natassa Markidou Newcastle 1991 . Projects UK , 1 Black Swan Court , Westgate Road , Newcastle ( Until March 7 ) AS the second of the four overseas photographers , who came to Tyneside last summer , thereby pre - empting the international flavour of the Cleveland 's River Tees project by more than a year , Natassa Markidou , who has a studio and dark - room in Athens , decided that she wanted to commemorate her stay in the North - East by going back to basics . Thus most of her work here , a series of a dozen double images in black and white , has been taken with a disposable 35 mm camera , where the negative , with a thick black border , is virtually half the normal size . These wide , panoramic views are usually extremely compatible , as Natassa combines views of two of the Tyne Bridges in one double shot ; looks down at the field pattern provided by the flagstones at the corner of the street ; looks back on - shore , from the water 's edge ; or concentres on old rotting timbers out to sea . Pete Ellis Funny Energy The Arts Centre , Vane Terrace , Darlington .
Idiom: on the make (used idiomatically: no)
Large areas of cabinet or wardrobe doors can look very plain . Stencilling is an easy way of producing a complex decoration that will add interest to any area of bare wood . Choose one of the many pre-cut stencil designs on the market , or make your own from card . The Ronseal varnishes used here can also be applied to a painted or previously varnished surface that has been rubbed down with a fine abrasive paper . WHAT YOU NEED
Idiom: cut your coat according to your cloth (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You must realize , Raine 3,’ he said , ‘ that you are different from the other boys . Your parents ca n't afford to pay for a new bed . The school wo n't charge you this time , but you must cut your coat according to your cloth.’ I broke no more beds and when Humphreys , whose father was a market gardener , asked me what my father did , I said he was a football manager . I told Manders he was a brain surgeon .
Idiom: better late than never (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ To have the pleasure of a lady 's company,’ he nodded , giving the impression of a man glad to pass on a message correctly . ‘ Well!’ said my sister , pleased . ‘ She could have sent that message earlier , but better late than never . And what did she give the boy?’ ‘ Nothing,’ said Joe firmly , stopping Mrs Joe from speaking by raising his hand .
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: yes)
When they sighted Sturgis ' command on 8th September , the Nez Perce suddenly turned south . Believing Clark 's Fork Canyon to be impassable , and convinced that Joseph was escaping , Sturgis set off in pursuit . Out of sight , the Nez Perces milled their ponies to confuse their trail , then doubled north once more , concealed by the timbered mountain slopes . Passing close to , and parallel with , Sturgis ' southbound command , the Nez Perce band silently traversed the now unguarded Clark 's Fork Canyon , ' where rocks on either side came so near together that two horses abreast could hardly pass ' . They emerged north of the Absaroke Mountains , having brilliantly outfoxed their pursuers once more .
Idiom: on the button (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Well , last night,’ said Rheinallt , ‘ I kept right on interpreting Billy through the invitation.’ ‘ Oh no you did n't , Rheinallt,’ said David . ‘ I had my finger on the button.’ Rehearse Rehearsal pays — and steers you around disasters .
Idiom: send someone packing (used idiomatically: yes)
NEWCASTLE manager Kevin Keegan yesterday sent home Swedish international Kennet Andersson . Andersson has spent only one week of a planned three-week period on trial at St James ' Park . Keegan sent the 6ft 3in striker packing with instructions to sort out a transfer tangle with his Belgian club Mechelen . He also wants Andersson to have treatment on an ankle injury he picked up in training . Keegan said : ‘ Kennet has done nothing to harm his chances of a move to Newcastle .
Idiom: close to home (used idiomatically: yes)
Such a modest objective perhaps seemed prudent given the way the issue of how to increase the proportion of women at the very top already seems to have run into so many brick walls . Almost as proof , Kinnaird and Marie Steele , lecturer in Strathclyde University 's department of human resources management and one of the four opening speakers acting as ' catalysts ' for the discussion , set the dismal scene : the unbelievably low number of female applicants for top jobs , the discontinuity between the high rate of female academic achievement in secondary , tertiary and professional education and career patterns , the patchiness of those career patterns in various sectors where they did break through . Anne Harper , until recently a senior executive with BP , heightened the feeling that there is a real and all - too - close - to - home problem when she compared her experience of working with the group 's local company boards in Scandinavia , where partly due to the existence of worker representatives the woman board member is not an unusual phenomenon , and in the machismo - oriented ' southern Mediterranean countries of Portugal , Spain and the Republic of Ireland ' where it is — and promptly included her experiences in Scotland with the latter . Alan Murdoch , personnel director of NCR , cited the problems which even this unusually enlightened engineering company had come up against in trying to tap this under - used management resource — an apparent lack of ambition that drives women into ' support ' roles , the fact that child - bearing age co - incides with that age - span when the potential top manager is just getting up to speed , the lack of female engineering - oriented managers from which to select . Not that that was the end of it — NCR had simply had to open up opportunities for people lower down the ladder to develop , backed up by formal systems of career planning , appraisal and psychometric testing to mine the required resource .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
On 6 June 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon in order to drive out Palestine Liberation Organisation ( PLO ) terrorists from the southern part of the country , who they claimed had also attempted to murder the Israeli ambassador in London three days earlier . In fact the ambassador had been attacked by members of the Abu Nidal faction , who had long severed connections with the PLO , but a small detail like that was not enough to deter the Israelis . While the world criticised Israel , America made only its usual token gestures of condemnation because it was supporting the CIA - backed Phalangist leader Bashir Gemayel to the tune of more than $ 4 million . Gemayel was also a good friend of Israel and the CIA was hoping to get him elected as president of Lebanon . Gemayel had been in the pay of the CIA like King Hussein of Jordan who had been on the CIA 's payroll for 20 years .
Idiom: bounce off the walls (used idiomatically: yes)
Hawthorn inquired . Woolley turned it off . Echoes from the last blast bounced off hangar walls and escaped into the vastness of the airfield . ' You blocked this squadron 's booze order , ' Woolley said . Hawthorn looked away .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
' You sure I 'm not too much for you , mister ? ' she asked . ' I mean , your limp and all . ' ' Exercise is good for it , ' he said , the familiarity of the Butts lost in the fog and making it necessary for him to still proceed carefully . He kept listening for sounds that would tell him Blackbeard and his henchman were in the vicinity . ' I 'll beat my stiff knee one day .
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: yes)
A deadline for the deal was set for today . Yesterday , the club 's board of directors issued a statement aimed at silencing widespread speculation . Hopes of an imminent sale were quashed by the statement 's first line , which said : ‘ There will be no change in the running of the club until further notice.’ It continued : ‘ All statements about the future running of the club are to be made by chairman , Ray Crofts , only . ‘ In an effort to prevent further speculation about any possible new future ownership of the club , no further comment will be made by the club until an agreement with the new owners is actually signed .
Idiom: in the driving seat (used idiomatically: yes)
M Lionel Jospin , former Minister of Education , said that it was an astonishing rewrite of history . The Public Prosecutor lodged an appeal , backed by the families of Nazi victims . International : Major in the driving seat amid Community strains A series of electoral shocks in recent weeks has shaken the European political landscape , and the Maastricht Treaty , the framework for EC union , may be about to crack . Boris Johnson reports from Brussels
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: yes)
It was shortly after his time at Oxford , on his first journey to the Continent , that Hobbes found that others were dissatisfied with scholasticism ; and we have already noted that an interest in method was characteristic of the seventeenth century . So these ideas in Hobbes are an expression of a prevailing wave of thought , a wave which moves on through Gassendi and Locke . Despite the aridities of scholastic philosophy , Hobbes did think that , over the centuries , the seeds of natural reason had borne some fruit . Three notable instances were the geometry of Euclid , the work done on the motion of falling bodies by Galileo , and the discovery of the circulation of the blood by William Harvey . Hobbes 's discovery of geometry and his growing sense of the importance of motion in understanding the world were milestones in his intellectual development .
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
( 2 ) Osprey Financial Trust ( Eyas Securities OTC ) A specialist in corporate finance , advising City institutions . They have taken a major stake in Crane Holdings . The shares trading at around 10p , should gain 50 % in value on the back of figures due in December 1987 . Come in big . Osprey Financial Trust was the parent company of Eyas Securities , an Eyas being a baby Osprey .
Idiom: think the world of (used idiomatically: no)
The term could also be used to describe the gap between the practice of solving problems , and the somewhat academic exercise of systems thinking , where ideas can be generated about desirable changes that , in light of subsequent investigation , can not be realised fully in the real-world . To develop this theme , two distinct phases of a study into the information support needs of an organisation are examined here , the first making extensive use of the SSM to obtain an overview of these needs and produce a high-level user requirement for computer support , and the second applying standard O&M techniques to progress the study to an acceptable conclusion . These exercises were essentially discrete studies in their own right , and , whilst certain conclusions can be drawn about the complementary nature of the different approaches , taken overall , the study also highlights the importance of merging systems thinking with real-world considerations . Background to the Study Until this study was carried out the individual elements of the FAOR methodology had been developed and tested in isolation , each being the responsibility of different organisations within the FAOR partnership .
Idiom: rock bottom (used idiomatically: yes)
She felt sick . He might not respect her , but she could live with it . It was the rock - bottom level of her own self - respect which troubled her . ' Pig ! ' she choked out bitterly . ' If you think I 'd dream of sharing so much as a blanket with you after that you 're crazy ! '
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: yes)
It is offering the division 's 70-odd employees six - months severance , provided they sign a statement that they will not sue the company because of verbal commitments made to them . Some could be absorbed into other Oki operations such as the research and development - oriented Oki Advanced Products , which contains a dozen ex - Stardent Computer Inc engineers reporting directly to Japan , who could maintain contacts . It is believed Oki will lie low for a while then pick another chip and start the process over again . Plans are far from fixed , but the replacement could be be Hewlett - Packard Co 's PA RISC , since the Japanese firm has already reportedly pledged to buy $ 80 m worth over the next three or four years . Oki was the last remaining corporate member of the Mass860 consortium formed to support the chip and garner a software following .
Idiom: close call (used idiomatically: yes)
NEWFOUNDLAND — PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS STORY It 's a far cry from Lille , World Cup excitement , the All Blacks and a crowd of well over 30,000 to an open field on the University of Victoria campus where BRITISH COLUMBIA opened its defence of the Canadian Senior Provincial Championship , on November 9 and 10 . Although only eight of the 23 British Columbia players who went to the World Cup were on hand for the two games it was enough to see the host province safely through to championship no.23 by virtue of wins over Alberta — and that was a close call indeed — and NEWFOUNDLAND . The story of the weekend was most certainly the success of the team that travelled the full vast width of the country to emerge as only the second - ever to represent Newfoundland in the final . In the first semi - final they took Ontario completely unawares with a dashing try in the opening minutes by centre Greg McKinney which his partner Dennis Clarke converted for a 6–0 advantage .
Idiom: in the red (used idiomatically: yes)
Frick was proud as he walked between them , his long black leather coat reaching to the ground . Their military insignia excited him . He imagined it as it would be , centred in red and gold on a black flag , high on a standard , waving in the wind over the stadiums where they would hold their rallies , a symbol of a proud and new Germany , the Fatherland in its true glory . The wooden cabin with its chalet - style sloping roof , some forty metres long and twenty wide , was in the middle of a clearing . It was sheltered from prying eyes by trees , in the very heart of that section of the Dresden Heide that Mitzer had purchased for the Party .
Idiom: think the world of (used idiomatically: no)
WHAT do three Welshmen , three South Africans , three men from Northern Ireland , one from the Irish Republic , one each from Australia , Canada , and New Zealand , and just two from England have in common ? Answer : they all play for Oxford University at rugby . When the 15 men from no fewer than eight countries run out in front of a packed house for the 111th Bowring Varsity match at Twickenham today ( tues ) you 'd be forgiven for thinking you were watching some sort of world invitation XV taking on Cambridge . ‘ They have n't called us the United Nations team yet , but after Tuesday I think they might , ’ admits captain Michael Patton . Just to add to the multi-national flavour , Patton was born in Northern Ireland , went to school in southern Ireland and university in Wales .
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: no)
At the pyramids , if you shop around , you should get a good half-hour camel trek into the desert for as little as £1 . Beer And with a decent meal including large bottles of local beer for around £5 , there 's no reason why you ca n't treat yourself to the colourful ‘ Egyptian night out ’ with cabaret , belly dancing and a multi-course meal held regularly at the plush Ramses Hilton for about £25 . Getting around the city on a sightseeing spree to the Tutankhamen Museum , the Sphinx monument or laden with bargains from the shops , is very cheap by taxi . Now take note .
Idiom: make a move (used idiomatically: yes)
However , he has the advantage of the white pieces in today 's fourth game . The other Western European semi - finalist , Jan Timman of Holland , also spoiled a winning position against his Russian opponent , Artur Yusupov . In the following game , the third of the match , Timman had a completely won position until he made his 31st move . After Yusopov 's reply — which he found despite being in terrible time pressure — the Russian was always likely to escape with a draw . Yusopov now leads the match 2–1 .
Idiom: rags to riches (used idiomatically: yes)
So writes his former coach , Charlie Francis . Some 10 years later , Ben Johnson was world 100 metres champion and record - holder , rich and famous . At one level , this is the classic rags - to - riches story of the poor kid from the ghetto , how he overcomes poverty and prejudice and how , helped by his faithful coach , he fights his way to the top , meets the Champ ( Carl Lewis ) , loses , comes back , and wins in the final reel . At a deeper level , it is a very good book about the nature of track and field today . I learned more about coaching sprinters by reading this book than I have in the past 30 years in the sport .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
Domestically , it is still the title to win . Two days before the 1986 meeting I took my starting blocks home to my flat and left them on the kitchen floor . I came out to get myself a drink and stepped on the edge of the bar of the block , taking a big chunk of skin out of my foot . I panicked . The Championships were very important this year , a selection meeting for the Commonwealth Games and the European Championships .