Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: go up in smoke (used idiomatically: yes)
He stepped down from parliament this year ( having served for 18 years ) . We apologise for the error . FRINGE BENEFITS Colin Ward watches the allotment bonfire going up in smoke The problem with environmental legislation of every kind is that , while we all applaud the intentions , we know automatically that the large - scale offenders have their own scientists , barristers , public - relations campaigns and representation in the House of Lords , that government inspectorates are hopelessly understaffed , and that consequently , at a local level , the enforcers concentrate their attention on the small fry who lack the time and resources to answer back . I mentioned earlier this year ( 24 January ) the plight of a useful local scavenger , the scrapman , faced by a battery of anti - pollution legislation , intended for the big time operators .
Idiom: on the square (used idiomatically: no)
you know ? Yeah . But if you only went on the square foot it do n't matter how big it was well that 's like , surely that 'd be fairer ? That 's right it was n't Yeah but ah then again why I mean like a lot of people have do n't have actual they have n't got money but they they sort of choose to have money tied up in property , though it do n't mean to say you 're wealthy just because you 've got a big house does it ?
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: no)
Companies with a low quality trading policy need to keep down their overheads ( see page 147 ) . They usually employ many part - time staff since this reduces the amount of National Insurance contributions the company has to pay . They do not price items individually ( this is expensive in terms of staff time ) but instead show the price on the shelves . Sometimes goods are displayed in their original packaging . The retailer concentrates on a limited range of everyday items which he knows will sell quickly — you are unlikely to find goods which are not in regular use in the home .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
The hair , dress and hat followed a similar sequence . My method throughout was to begin faintly , after which I progressed to more definite drawing in a suitable colour or tone . Broad transparent colour was then placed over the top to complete the effect , with minor details added as necessary . The attraction of doing a sketch like this is the speed at which it can be achieved . The basic idea can be captured in minutes and the total concept fully realised in , at most , a couple of hours , which is a lot faster than it takes for the same degree of finish to be achieved in any other medium .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
Sponsorship can play a vital role in securing the future of high - quality television.’ Some admit it already does . Tim Brady , head of corporate sponsorship at Thames , the richest ITV company , pointed to The Concert , an overnight rock series , sponsored by McEwan 's lager to the tune of £ 50,000 . Mr Brady said : ‘ Audiences at 1.15am are tiny and programmes at that time attract very little advertising revenue . Without sponsorship , the series simply would not have been made.’
Idiom: all and sundry (used idiomatically: yes)
At least people knew where they stood with him , and the darkened corridors of local government , with their forbidding and ever - present whiff of graft and back - scratching , were now lit up in a blaze of publicity . That made a pleasant change . The aspect which was n't so popular was the business of giving grants to all and sundry , which was whipped up and wildly exaggerated by the Tory press . Until Livingstone , various Right - On pet publishing and campaigning projects had been largely confined to tedious discussion documents and papers wrangled over at interminable meetings . Now that there was a sympathetic hand at the helm , especially for the new sexual politics , they were shaped into formal applications for local government funding .
Idiom: make history (used idiomatically: yes)
The first admissions were two months ago , but Mrs Hymes will today make history by becoming the oldest woman to hold the title . Steve Sutcliffe , of Chester city council 's policy unit , said : ' She will become the oldest female Freeman and as she feels she can not attend a service later this month , we have staged this special ceremony for her . ' Making history at 91 oldest female Freeman Sophia Hymes Picture : CLIFF BRETT Three out of four directors say social workers lack the necessary powers to act when they suspect old people are being abused by carers , relatives or neighbours . The survey based on interviews with 79 social services departments concludes action on abuse is often unco - ordinated and unrecorded .
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
My report to the Planning Committee is a sound professional technical planning report and I believe that on the information that I 've been supplied with I can recommend to the Planning Committee to approve the application . You 've got three thousand people locally who 've their signatures to a petition who do n't want this thing on their doorstep because they 're worried that they 've tha that there 're going to be things wrong with it 's going to affect the quality of the lives of people in Selby . That 's what all boils down to does n't it at the end of the day and you have n't succeeded as far as I can see in convincing people , those three thousand signatories , that erm it 's not going to affect their lives and the quality of their lives and their their environment adversely . No but I think it is interesting that some of the Parish Councils for instance who initially were opposed to the application and very strongly , as they have been supplied with further and better information have modified their position and are now saying subject to rigorous planning controls they are no longer opposed outright to the application . Things have moved on application details have been supplied and will continue to be .
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: yes)
Maybe they do n't like that . Maybe that comes in with a hat that says , Authoritarian , disciplined type of interview . And if I did come and sit face to face across the desk , it would have a discipline . I think if you were gon na s use any other situation to this , with the quantity of information that you 'd have to , to record , as we 're going through , Mm .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
So my client and I are back where we started . O.K. so far ? ' I did n't mention that my facts were slightly out of their proper order . Bonanza took a heavy silver cigar - case from his pocket and removed a fat Havana . ' If I 'd known this a few days ago , it woulda saved a lotta trouble .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: yes)
Her manner , the way she stood , everything about her suggested breeding . I could n't help thinking she was like a racehorse , and when Ward started questioning her , she answered him with such haughty condescension , such arrogance , that his face went white and I swear he 'd have play - acted the Gorbals slum kid and thrown a lot of four - letter words at her if he 'd known how to do it in Spanish . She said the word Chepén several times , as though she was speaking to a particularly stupid servant , Tolambo , too , the Hacienda Tolambo , and at the same time she made a circling motion with her hand , ending up with her finger pointed at the road ahead and the jagged peaks of the cordillera disembodied in a ragged mist hole . She said something to the man who was with her , a thickset , dark - featured fellow , who stood with his hands in the pockets of his anorak frowning at the flood water . He nodded , and then they were both moving back to their vehicle , the Indian drifting light - footed into the back .
Idiom: have the last laugh (used idiomatically: yes)
She , who had always pulled the strings , to have found herself in this position . Just when you least expect it , she thought , poetic justice is waiting right around the corner . Holding a rolling pin and determined to have the last laugh . Piers was staring at her , and he finally caught her chin in his hand and turned her to face him . ‘ Are you going to stop sitting there like some goddammed statue and fill me in on what 's going on in your head?’
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
' What did she do ? ' The question came in a small voice . She had already heard the answer from Aunt Bertha , but here was the out - of - the - blue opportunity to hear it from Silas . At least it would give her the chance to judge his side of the story . He spoke grimly .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
We were , too — at least , the two nearside wheels were , but being the middle of the night there was a fortunate scarcity of pedestrians , and we quickly got back onto the road without disaster . Jimmy apologised profusely , explaining , quite logically we thought , that he had temporarily had his eyes closed and had put the car into automatic pilot . On another memorable night , coming home in a thick fog Jimmy got us completely lost . We were following a long , straight road in visibility of about twenty yards , all of us hanging out of the windows in a vain attempt to spot landmarks , when a ghostly figure loomed up , saluted , and announced in long - suffering tones , ' Excuse me sir , Mr Mills , you 're on the main runway ! ' Many were the midnight cocoa sessions Rosemary and I had , sitting on her bed in the corner of Hut 4 , trying to sort out her love life .
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
A fishy business It 's not all rosy in the retail business — especially when it comes to the more ‘ difficult’ customers . V. GENT enlightens us on a few of the problems he 's had to deal with over the counter . Being , as it were , ‘ in the trade’ , I am regularly bombarded with fishkeeping problems from my customers . It never fails to amaze me how little some people know about the fish they are buying , even down to the most basic of aspects .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
Mexico has a long culinary history and is therefore a must for any travelling cook . Sadly , it was to be the final port of call on my Latin American tour before returning to Liverpool 's Albert Dock studios — but what a country to end in ! Long before we Brits got to grips with spices , the Mexicans were grinding all kinds of seasonings into their sauces to serve with tortillas . In fact , Mexico has played an important role in international cooking culture : the tomato was first grown there and chillies , corn and chocolate were introduced into Europe from Mexico . Vanilla , avocados and peppers also number among its popular food exports .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: no)
A collaborative venture between a choir , a keyboard player and a consort each of viols and solo voices would do this neglected area a great service . ( Roll on the day when more performers join forces to make mixed recitals of Byrd 's music . ) A larger proportion of middle - period Byrd has seen the light of day the songs always excepted but never in recitals that attempt to plot stylistic progress . With Joseph Kerman 's The masses and motets of William Byrd ( London , 1981 ) in one hand and New College 's two records of cantiones sacrae in the other you can plan a strategy for listening in which the chronology gradually unfolds . You can do the same using Oliver Neighbour 's The consort and keyboard music of William Byrd ( London , 1978 ) and the various records many now sadly deleted that together achieve a more nearly comprehensive coverage of those two repertories .
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
Feeling more than a little self conscious now that the adrenalin had ebbed away , I addressed the single , lit eye : ‘ OK , love?’ I said . ‘ No need to tell you how sorry I am — goes without saying — but I would n't call that murder , would you ? Unless you 're accusing Pa. Is that what you meant by killers and victims ?
Idiom: second nature (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ So you had a listen , -did you ? Well , well . It must be second nature.’ He smiled back and shook his head . ‘ I 'm sorry .
Idiom: claim to fame (used idiomatically: yes)
The final dance item was a grand pas from Paquita , not the version we are accustomed to , but looking , if anything , even more authentic , and danced very much in the grand manner it deserves . Whenever the corps de ballet came on stage , they reminded us that tradition and dance accomplishment are very much alive and well in St Petersburg . Although the feet do not stretch and point in the way we still care about in the West , the dancers do not just move from position to position ; they dance in a long poem of fluently musical movement that is classical ballet 's chief claim to fame . St Petersburg is justly famous as one of the centres of this art form , and we were lucky to have the chance to welcome such a noble display in London . At Sadler 's Wells one of the Kirov 's defecting stars , Mikhail Baryshnikov , was displaying his middle - aged talents in contemporary dance with the new company he founded in America , the White Oak Dance Project .
Idiom: see a man about a dog (used idiomatically: yes)
Dod had agreed with that , but could n't quite remember where he 'd left the van . Martin said it was in the National Car Park across the road , about twenty yards from the front door of the pub and Dod said ‘ Oh , yeah’ and reluctantly gave up his place in the darts game , slipping at least three five - pound notes and some coins into his pocket and not bothering to thank the guys he 'd played . Trippy had already gone — to see a man about a dog , down Tottenham Court Road , he said — and Bunny had found the other two Mother Christmasses . They 'd got changed in the Ladies and given their outfits to Kim , who was still wearing hers , as she 'd borrowed them from Simon 's wardrobe . I asked her where she lived and she said Tower Hamlets , so I offered her a lift in the van .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
This is the position of Christopher Norris , who modestly but firmly maintains that all anglophone readers except himself have misunderstood Derrida . I am all too ready to admit that I may have misunderstood what I have read in modern French theory ; the problem is in getting any minimal intellectual purchase on it at all . David Lodge , who was prepared to go public as one who ' worked with ' structuralism , nevertheless wrote in a newspaper article in 1980 : As an academic critic and university teacher specializing in modern literature and literary theory , I spend much or my time these days reading books and articles that I can barely understand and that cause my wife ( a graduate with a good honours degree in English language and literature ) to utter loud cries of pain and nausea if her eye happens to fall on them . Young academics and critics do not seem to have had the same difficulty , or if they do , are not letting on .
Idiom: in the pink (used idiomatically: yes)
Gloria rolled over , pulling the covers up to her head . ‘ I tell you , you ai n't leaving me here!’ Dot shouted at the hump in the pink satin eiderdown . ‘ And I ai n't leaving you neither!’ ‘ Nobody 's leaving nobody,’ said Gloria from under the covers .
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
She 'll miss the pub too , but she 's not planning to move too far away . Voice over Old fashioned haunts like the Bulls Head are few and far between these days . The customers are all agreed this is the way a pub should be … and the way it should stay : The Bulls Head is on the market for around 100,000 pounds .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: no)
The Latins had felt jealous and hostile to their eastern Christian neighbour for centuries and in 1204 the armies of the Fourth Crusade had sacked the Byzantine capital of Constantinople with horrible and immoral savagery ; they may also have fatally weakened the Greek empire . The Greeks could not forgive this outrage and when , during the fifteenth century , they repeatedly asked the West for help against the Ottoman Turks , the Latins were decidedly lukewarm in their response . The Roman Church had become very powerful and dismissed the Greeks as impious heretics who were not on the same level as the holy church of the West . But , unlike most of his contemporaries , the author of The Cloud felt that the Greek experience of God had something to offer the Christians of Western Europe . His is an example that we should , perhaps , consider carefully in our own day , when occasionally an inherited prejudice or imagined superiority makes us dismiss the religions of people who have followed other venerable and inspiring forms of faith that could revitalise our own tradition .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
Secondly members of the jury , please do n't do what the press are always doing which is act on the basis of hyper . If the police had a crystal ball and a gypsy woman they could bring in and ask her to look and see what was in the flat , we would n't be here today would we ? But they do n't have a crystal ball , all they have is their judgement and they do what 's best in the circumstances . The questions maybe that if they did what was reasonable , did they carry it out in a reasonable way . Members of the jury that 's all I wish to say to you by way of opening the case .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
The alleged incident came after Kapil , who was about to bowl , ran out Peter Kirsten when he backed up too far . Kirsten argued with the umpires and Indian players before reluctantly leaving the field . Three balls later Wessels ' bat appeared to collide with Kapil at the bowler 's end as the South African turned for a second run . Now match referee Clive Lloyd is to investigate the incident after a complaint by Indian manager Amrit Mathur , who claimed : ‘ Kirsten showed dissent against the umpires and provoked the crowd by staying in the middle . ‘ Wessels was at fault in striking Kapil on the shin .
Idiom: hold your tongue (used idiomatically: yes)
I was vexed that the boor should have waked me , and I started up and cried , " Hold your tongue !
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
Shouldn't?’ she screeched . ‘ You think I do n't have the right to know what 's being said behind my back?’ ‘ Nothing was said behind your back!’ Then , gripping her lips firmly together , because whatever else she said was bound to be wrong , Ellie continued to stare at Phena in horror and worry . With a little sneer , Phena retorted softly , ‘ Niece.’
Idiom: get a move on (used idiomatically: yes)
Here 's the chap on the white horse again , he never loses his feathers . Something seems to have upset him . ‘ That man in the Third Gauls , get a move on ! Just because you eat blasted snails does n't mean you 've got to behave like one!’ Here 's the cavalry behind him , he 's having a go at them now .
Idiom: under the microscope (used idiomatically: yes)
A second , perhaps more plaintive voice says : " Is this not too much of a laboratory experiment ? What hope is there of saying anything about a whole work , if each small sentence deserves to be scrutinized in this way ? " The rejoinder must be : although we may generally have neither the time nor the inclination to look at literary language under the microscope in this way , the fact that it can be done is important , and the doing of it can not fail to sharpen observation , by making us aware of how larger effects are built up from smaller ones . In Chapter 3 we looked at the general interrelation of stylistic effects over a passage of some extent ; in Chapter 2 we considered the " macro - effects " of style as manifested in whole texts . And now , in this chapter , we have examined the " micro - effects " which are ultimately presupposed by these more extended approaches to style .
Idiom: touch and go (used idiomatically: no)
Totally unprepared for an unexpected 5 g demonstration loop , I realised I had been caught napping , and glanced at the g - meter in time for it to disappear as my sight blacked out . A belated attempt at abdomen - straining brought it swimming back into fuzzy focus , but that dial was all I saw during the remainder of an interminable fast - jet loop . After a touch - and - go I was handed control at 200 knots in a typically military 75-degree banked turn onto downwind . I commanded right hand and feet onto stick and pedals but got no reaction . A second , more concerted attempt resulted in jerky , laborious movement of my fist from its parking - place on my thigh , but still no foot movement .
Idiom: crocodile tears (used idiomatically: yes)
He had devoted Sunday evening to making a plan of action and knew exactly what he and everyone else he could press into service was going to be doing this morning . His schedule for the day was organized , thanks to some brisk telephoning the night before , and he would have Catherine Crane at his side all day , and all the days until this case finished . He arrived at his desk , squinted at the offering tucked into his blotter and sat down to read it properly : a short , sanctimonious newspaper piece on the temptation and pressures on the successful young , Tristram Wilson being mentioned , with many a crocodile tear , as one of the recent casualties . It was presumably Bruce Davidson , who admired and was annoyed by Francesca in about equal measure , and therefore took an unremitting interest in all her activities , who had favoured him with this . McLeish threw it away and methodically sorted his notes ; he was not going near a top firm of solicitors without a very careful list of questions , and his first port of call that morning was to be Huttons , who had been Angela Morgan 's solicitors .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: yes)
FATAL attraction killer Susan Christie got her wish for justice yesterday — when her five - year jail term was increased to nine . The woman soldier , who slit the throat of her officer lover 's beautiful wife , had insisted her sentence was too soft . Now she will have to spend another three years behind bars instead of walking free in 11 months ' time . The historic decision came after Attorney - General Sir Nicholas Lyell referred the case back to Court of Appeal on the grounds that the sentence was ‘ unduly lenient’ . The court in Belfast ruled that Christie was more responsible for her actions when she killed Penny McAllister with a sharpened butcher 's knife than was originally thought .
Idiom: all wet (used idiomatically: yes)
You want to come and have a look at my potty . What 's , so how come they 're very wet . Her hands are all wet man ! Smell it ? Smell it what it is .
Idiom: keep the peace (used idiomatically: yes)
They can not stop huge armies like those of NATO and the Warsaw pact from clobbering each other if they want to . At the other extreme , they can not long do the job of a local police force . The UN certainly has a part to play in keeping peace . With the winding - down of two decades ' worth of cold - war conflicts in Africa and Asia , that part is getting bigger , and the UN is politically better able to play it . But it must know what it aims to achieve and what will be demanded of it when it sends in its peacekeepers .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: yes)
He begged her not to miss the party they were invited to on his account , so she made him a hot drink , turned on the TV and , making no bones about it , said she would be back in the morning . Tina got drunk and remembered very little of what happened after midnight . She woke up in bed with a man with a red beard , but from the snide remarks and sideways looks of those fellow guests who were still there in the morning gathered that he had not been her only partner of the night . Bienvida had red hair when she was born but later on it turned dark , so that told her very little . Brian never seemed to notice that the children were very odd looking to be the son and daughter of a pair of fair - haired blue - eyed ectomorphs .