Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: pick someone's brains (used idiomatically: yes)
Sir Gregory took no pleasure in the arrangement , however : although he believed the schism between England and Rome had been a fatal mistake , he was still a Cornishman and loyal to his country , if not greatly enamoured of Elizabeth . Like many of the gentry all over the country , he was convinced that the wound now bleeding Christendom might yet be healed , and the Church , the Body of Christ , made whole ; so when he gave sanctuary to young men on their way to train as priests in France , or secret agents from Spain or Ireland , he did so believing that he was acting in the best interests of his country , claiming that if anyone was a traitor it was the ardent puritans like Walsingham and Drake , who by their political manoeuvrings and piratical attacks on Spanish merchantmen were pushing the Queen remorselessly into a confrontation with King Philip of Spain . Unsurprisingly , it was a subject that frequently cropped up at the dinner table , especially when visitors were present and Sir Gregory was able to pick their brains on the latest news from Rome , Paris or Madrid . " It would be a war nobody wants , nobody intends , and nobody would win , " he said that night . " Do you not agree , Father ? "
Idiom: get lost (used idiomatically: no)
She 's probably sitting down in one of the cloakrooms . Shall I go and see if I can find her ? " " Very well , And do n't you get lost , please . Come straight back if you have no luck , otherwise you will find that meaty bits of Louis XIV 's foreign policy have just passed you by . " Rebecca ran towards the music rooms .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
Sharpe instinctively reined in his horse as he stared at the small cluster of buildings that marked the crossroads called Quatre Bras . Nothing moved at the crossroads , or nothing that threatened a soldier 's life . There were no troops at the crossroads and the highway was empty , just a pale dusty strip between its vivid green verges . Sharpe tapped his heels to start his horse moving again . Wisps of smoke revealed that the cottagers were cooking their evening meals at the hearths of the small hamlet which lay to the north of the crossroads .
Idiom: pull strings (used idiomatically: yes)
Thomson again for Leicester City looking very influential early on here . This is Lewis only nineteen this lad and very pacey and wins the corner . Yes you 're spot there Alan erm Stevie Thomson is pulling all the strings for Leicester . I 'm a little bit surprised Stone has n't tried to get a bit closer to him although I think he 's been given the job of tracking Agnew who 's more of an attacking midfield player . Thomson takes the corner as well .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: no)
The afternoon , however , was designated on company orders as ' Games and Recreation ' . So it was a change of kit before jogging in step over to the gymnasium for physical jerks followed by boxing instruction . Charlie , now a light middleweight , could n't wait to get in the ring while Tommy somehow managed to keep himself out of the firing line , although both of them became aware of Captain Trentham 's menacing presence as his swagger stick continually struck the side of his leg . He always seemed to be hanging about , keeping a watchful eye on them . The only smile that crossed his lips all afternoon was when he saw someone knocked out .
Idiom: one and the same (used idiomatically: yes)
Again , it is surely relevant to ask what the cumulative effects on boys might be when responding to a literature which , unlike the world outside the novel , is populated entirely by the masculine . Bettleheim in The Uses of Enchantment provides an apt summary of what a story must do to hold a child 's interest and ‘ enrich his ( sic ) life’ . [ The story]must at one and the same time relate to all aspects of his ( sic ) personality — and this without ever belittling but , on the contrary , giving full credence to the seriousness of the child 's predicaments , whilst simultaneously promoting confidence in himself ( sic ) and his future . The following analysis of data rests on an acceptance of these criteria for a story and seeks to identify features of well used school stories which fail to meet them . Which Novels or Stories are well used , as Class Readers , in Schools ?
Idiom: play ball (used idiomatically: yes)
Well a very close fought encounter at the stadium ; we had to wait for quarter of an hour for the first actual goal chance when Dave Bristow hit the ball from twenty five yards , which just cleared the bar . Almondsbury were always a problem to Banbury , both teams playing very good football and the mid - field were very dominant on both sides , therefore the amount of chances were n't that great . Sixteenth minute , Kerry probably the best move of the game , played the ball to Dave Brooker who slotted the ball through to Wayne McDowell . His ball to brother Gary McDowell was touched on to Neil Sibble who 's first tie shot was cannoned off the bar , that was the nearest that Banbury really got to scoring . The goalkeeper was well beaten , but as the ball cannoned over for a goal kick and the chance went .
Idiom: get stuck in (used idiomatically: yes)
The two styles are so different in approach and thought , even though they 're very similar in some ways . The blues is a distinct feel , and the modern technique is another distinct feel , where you have these fluid runs and patterns and a more scalic and arpeggiated type of thinking ; the blues is basically certain boxes and chromatics . So it 's real easy to get stuck in that frame of thinking , because with modern rock you play a lot faster , a lot more fluidly , and the blues , depending on what type of run you 're playing , is more disjointed , more chromatic . But it 's getting easier for me to blend it all now ; I certainly do n't get as stuck as I did four or five months ago.’ It 's a widely - known fact that you had lessons from Joe Satriani …
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
The monkey was enveloped by the musty darkness of a coarse woollen bag . The bag was closed , shutting out all light . Some movement , the barely audible sound of a door opening and closing , then the monkey 's body clock got the better of it again and it fell asleep . Bolt head has not seen Miss N'Grabbit for several weeks . The businessman was staring in angry disbelief at the glittering computer graphic that hung on the screen before him .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
Peppercorn K1 2–6–0 No 2005 reflects the morning sun as it passes Bolden Colliery with the Northumbrian Mountain Pullman on 22 January 1983 . This was a North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group special ( No 2005's owners ) which included the SLOA Pullman rake . No 86427 The Industrial Society and 87005 City of London head south through the Lune Gorge with a Mossend–severn Tunnel Junction steel coil train on 23 February 1988 . Birmingham RC&W Co Class 104 unit No 104325 , in the bizarre ScotRail ‘ mexican bean ’ livery , works the 09.55 Oban to Crianlarich service near Tyndrum Lower on 29 September 1987 . Note the high–intensity headlamp fitted above the destination blind .
Idiom: in the pipeline (used idiomatically: yes)
What with Windows World upon us , Unix System Laboratories Inc , possibly a victim of show envy , is branching off into show business . It 's planning to sponsor the three - day Unix Perspectives : The Conference for Enterprise Solutions in the first week of November . It has been in the pipeline for a while , and Unix Labs now hopes to embrace the Common Open Software Environment 's planned developers ' conference . In a letter sent out the last few weeks over the signature of Unix Labs president Roel Pieper , who also sits on the UniForum board , Unix Labs is promising ‘ no other industry event will attract such a prominent collection of information system executives , developers , end users , industry analysts and key members of trade media.’ The show has an extensive national advertising campaign and 500,000-piece direct - mail shot .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
The washout periods were seven days . Acarbose ( BAY g 5421 ) and miglitol ( BAY m 1099)(Bayer AG , Leverkusen , Germany ) were supplied as 100 mg tablets . The tablets and placebo were identical in size , shape , and colour and were distributed in cellophane bags labelled with each subjects random number and test day . The amount of lactose contained in the tablets was negligible ( 120 mg ) . They were swallowed half an hour before the ingestion of the test meal .
Idiom: drop a hint (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I would release her but it 's important to keep her happy , although I 'm sorry it 's turned out like this.’ Claudia wanted to believe he was sincere , but something held her back . ‘ Are you certain Dana did n't drop a hint about my dress?’ she asked . Roman wrinkled his brows . ‘ She could have done .
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
Even in the early ' 50 's of this century , people of the Ambleside area would show with pride prints by William Green of Ambleside . Now , alas , it is some of the ‘ off - comers’ who collect and prize his work , mostly his paintings : perhaps this is fitting , since for all his 23 years of residence at Ambleside,(he was 40 when he moved there ) he was an ‘ off - comer’himself . The days of the popularity of black and white etchings waned at the turn of this century : the demand was filled by photographic views , first in black and white and then in colour . His work , to be discussed in a later chapter , was very uneven . Some of it , though , rises well above mediocrity ; and the part he played in popularising the Lake District was unquestionable .
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
But it would be a mistake to think of him merely as an errant traitor . He looked on the national position , and his own part therein , differently from others , his blood and background accounting for that . He did not look on the house of Bruce as the true monarchy for the realm . His line , directly descended from Bethoc , daughter of Malcolm the Second , in legitimate succession — whereas Malcolm the Third , Canmore , was illegitimate , by the miller of Forteviot 's daughter — was the true representer of the ancient Celtic royal house , and the succession belonged to him , he claimed . His grandfather had been one of the Competitors for the Throne ; but Edward the First had chosen John Balliol , as sufficiently weak to accept him as overlord .
Idiom: on tenterhooks (used idiomatically: no)
But listen ! I think we need to seriously consider the possibility of delivering the baby tonight.’ Belinda listened on tenterhooks to one side of the discussion as Tom somehow managed to present his case forcefully while driving at the same time . Professionally , her opinion carried little weight , but she had to side with Tom on the issue out of her concern for Faye , and her familiarity with the artist 's problems . Surely Faye had already been through enough !
Idiom: at cross purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
Very sexy . Yeah . Talking at cross purposes now . Poor Julienne came round the other day , and I Got a complaint about these sexy saucepans , reflected are n't they .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
USE ONLY CFC - FREE AEROSOLS : All Tesco aerosol products are CFC - free — look for the Tesco Cares " Ozone Friendly " symbol on the can . We have also been encouraging our suppliers of other brands to stop using CFCs and all aerosols on Tesco shelves will be CFC - free by end of July 1989 . Wherever possible , buy CFC - free packaging . At Tesco we have now started to use foam packaging , such as meat trays , which has been produced either without CFCs at all or with a CFC which is far less damaging to the Ozone layer .
Idiom: keep the peace (used idiomatically: yes)
How do you measure the effectiveness of police work ? Inevitably , superior officers fall back on the ‘ arrest rate’ . The more arrests on the street , independently of any concern with ‘ keeping the peace’ , the more efficient the police constable . The Police Union , as always , articulated a pragmatic cynicism about the pressures for arrests . Each policeman is supplied with a police court attendance card , on which is recorded the date of all attendances at police court in connection with charges or summonses , and each entry has to be initialled by the officer in charge of the station .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
It might help everybody concerned if you could have a word with . Yes . We 'll have a word with . Could you deal with cases fifty five and fifty six your worship ? Yes .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
But when England drew 1 - 1 with Eire at Wembley , Taylor felt it had gone too far . He was not happy with Lineker 's commitment and substituted him . Lineker became incensed when Taylor went public , not only questioning whether Lineker should remain as captain , but whether his form justified a place in the side — even though he was maintaining his phenomenal strike rate . Lineker says : ‘ It really started , if Graham 's honest , when he had a dig at me about the Republic of Ireland game at Wembley , when I did a piece with one of the newspapers saying I was a bit tired . ‘ Graham was not happy about that and had a dig at me in the press .
Idiom: time will tell (used idiomatically: no)
Hewlett - Packard has sacrificed some speed for flexibility and compatibility with relational databases . Computer - aided design companies , by contrast , have concentrated on tapping the speed offered by object - oriented techniques in assembling and modifying vast quantities of blueprints and design data . Time and competition will tell which ideas will prosper , and which will be forgotten . Ants Old colonials
Idiom: play into someone's hands (used idiomatically: yes)
The French commanders also were in an indecisive state of shock . Petain , a general considerate of his men , was promoted to command of the Army Group and two lesser generals assumed immediate responsibility — Nivelle , who was to bring the French Army to the point of mutiny in the following year , and Mangin , dubbed ' the heroic defender of Verdun ' by some , ' the butcher'by others . By making repeated attacks , Nivelle and Mangin played into Falkenhayn 's hands and incurred horrendous casualties . On 7 June , after a week 's resistance by Major Sylvain Raynal and 600 men , with a heroism hardly equalled in the war , Fort Vaux finally fell . Then , on 20 June , the Germans for the first time employed a new type of diphosgene gas shell .
Idiom: nine times out of ten (used idiomatically: yes)
Almost every transaction can now be completed by the use of a transfer deed , and this means that the use and the art of preparing a conveyance deed will slowly become obsolete over the next few years . ( See pp70 - 71 . ) The most simple and straightforward situation is where land is already registered , and in nine times out of ten , a simple pro forma transfer deed can be used to effect the transfer of the interest , whether it be freehold or leasehold . The standard form of transfer simply requires the conveyancer to insert the county and district , the title number , the address of the property , the date , the consideration , the parties to the transaction and any special provisions that might be appropriate should new restrictive covenants be proposed , or should the purchase be a joint purchase . It is no longer necessary for a deed to be sealed .
Idiom: dig deep (used idiomatically: no)
Water 's expensive . We have to get it piped in from town special . We have to pay one - third of our turnover to Judge Colpeper for the privilege , so you 'll have to dig deep into your purse.’ She pulled her jacket off her shoulders . Some skin came away with it , and her back stung .
Idiom: fall in line (used idiomatically: yes)
Presumably it meant that after a while you ceased to bring things to the Cabinet that you knew would produce a put - down ? HOWELL Of course there is a deterring - effect if one knows that one 's going to go not into a discussion where various points of view will be weighed and gradually a view may be achieved , but into a huge argument where tremendous battle lines will be drawn up and everyone who does n't fall in line will be hit on the head . Of course it deters you , and I think that element of deterrence did take place . I do n't want to exaggerate it , because on the complex issues , however determined or single - minded a Prime Minister is , they have to discuss things with an inner group of colleagues .
Idiom: step on it (used idiomatically: no)
Mm . So of course they could n't do anything . And erm my brother said well you 've got ta give me some they told Joe nobody had got to go on it from his property and nobody had got to step on it because . So Joe said well it 's no good you doing that . My kids have got a paddock , where they play .
Idiom: in cold blood (used idiomatically: yes)
For example , it was said printed that the Red ~ Guards had not only thoroughly looted the Winter ~ Palace , but that they had massacred the yunkers after disarming them , had killed some of the Ministers in cold blood ; and as for the woman soldiers , most of them had been violated , and many had committed suicide because of the tortures they had gone through ....
Idiom: make a killing (used idiomatically: yes)
That corruption spreads throughout the land . That our old are conned into sheltered housing , While developers move in and make a killing . What can it all mean ? What 's the expectation ?
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: no)
He pulled Gazzer 's head up by his hair . Gazzer 's eyes were closed . ' Open your eyes , ' said Simon , ' and look down there . ' He shook Gazzer 's head to and fro . ' Open them ! '
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
It was in one of these that Sophia and Penelope had seen the stranger . Afterwards he went by way of St Basil 's Terrace , looking as Sophia had done earlier at the newly done up houses with their prettily painted front doors and rather self - conscious window - boxes and bay trees in tubs , when a woman 's voice called out behind him , ‘ Good evening vicar — been getting fish for pussy?’ When he turned round , rather startled , the voice went on , ‘ Oh , I know what you 've got in the bag — you ca n't hide anything from me!’ ‘ No , Sister Dew , I do n't suppose I can,’ said Mark in a resigned tone . All the same he did not feel inclined to reveal that the fish was not only for Faustina — who was never called ‘ pussy’— but also for his and his wife 's supper .
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
ON A SLOW pitch with little bounce , South Africa once again were unable to set the home side a testing target , and saw West Indies complete a clean sweep of the one - day international series with seven wickets and seven overs to spare . Put in , south Africa — who rested Donald , Henry and the injured Rhodes — made a useful start , the openers putting on 54 before Hudson departed in the 18th over . The middle order , though , was unable to force the pace : Wessels top - scored with 45 ( 77 balls ) , but boundaries were few and far between , although Cronje once lofted Cummins for six . Haynes fell to the first ball of West Indies ' reply , but the local pair of Lara and Simmons added 78 before the former fell to Kuiper . This brought in Richardson , to a much warmer reception than he had received in Jamacia , and he again shared a hundred partnership with Simmons , who was on his way to another century , the second fifty of which cam up in only 32 balls ( including successive hits for 4 , 6 , and 4 off Bosch ) , the first half having occupied 103 .
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Nothing is definite as yet . We want to hear the residents’ views . I can accept their fears , but I think they should listen to the explanation from the professionals before they start jumping to conclusions.’ Doug Lawson , principal officer for children 's services at Cheshire County Council says Appleton House is considered too large and too institutional to continue as a children 's home . ‘ Appleton House only has 12–14 residents when it was built for 30 originally,’ he said .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
In , in that bag . Anyone want some hand cleaner ? I 'll sling that tonic water thing up on the next shelf . Ah be careful . Erm just check .
Idiom: on the button (used idiomatically: yes)
Future versions are planned for the MAC user . The opening screen presents you with search , print , help and exit buttons . Clicking on the large search button in the top left hand corner of the screen brings up a search dialogue box into which a word can be entered . Below this is a keyword list box , and clicking on the down arrow brings up a list of words that the program will recognise . If you know more details about the person you are searching for , Date and Archive contains a list of Hulton Deutsch Collections and Photographers .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: no)
Whichever way this popover jacket looks distinctive . Looks are only fabric - deep though and performance is what really counts . On this level the jacket does n't disappoint . The wind resistant Tactel and Ebyl Thermovelours fleece helped keep me snug and warm on the few chilly days we 've had this summer . An when the Tactel 's on the outside the jacket is also showerproof .
Idiom: fly the flag (used idiomatically: yes)
The applicants ' vessels failed to qualify for entry in the new register and they challenged the compatibility of the relevant provisions of the Act of 1988 with Community law by an application for judicial review . The Divisional Court referred to the Court of Justice of the European Communities the question whether Community law affected the conditions which a member state might prescribe for the entry of vessels in its national register and the right of vessels to fly its flag and carry its nationality . By further questions , as reformulated in part by the Court of Justice , the Divisional Court also asked , inter alia , whether requirements as to nationality , residence , domicile and control imposed by a member state as conditions of the registration of fishing vessels and the right to fly the flag of that state were compatible with Community law , including article 7 of the E.E.C. Treaty ( principle of non - discrimination on the ground of nationality ) and article 52 ( right of establishment ) , and whether the answer to that question was affected by the existence of a power to dispense with the nationality requirement in the case of individuals and by the existence of national fishing catch quotas allocated by the Community pursuant to the Common Fisheries Policy . On the reference:—
Idiom: bite off more than you can chew (used idiomatically: yes)
Alongside , the usual jam and sugar coated variety . For the first time in 5 generations of bakers , they 're dipping into the unsavoury world of politics and selling their wares in 3 constituencies . There 's always the danger of biting off more than you can chew . But for the 4 prospective parliamentary candidates … the proof of the pudding has to be in the eating . Not so much political hot potatoes , as political sweeteners .
Idiom: break even (used idiomatically: yes)
Fears of a hard landing are overblown . To be sure , the economic data have softened . Purchasing managers ' indices are now threatening the " 50 " threshold , which has long been associated with the break - even point between expansion and contraction . Similar downtrends are evident in a broad array of leading indicators , ranging from consumer expectations , money supply , and the stock ~ market , to steel production , industrial product sales , and newly started construction . But this is not 2008 .