Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the house (used idiomatically: yes)
He walks along the top of ancient city walls , passing secretly among the rooftops , through a world of slates and television aerials and caged birds at dormer windows ; emerges upon high places where the whole city — roofs , towers , domes , and lives — is gathered at his feet , and the immense acreage of its noise comes up to him like the murmur of the sea . And he stops at cafés , for a sit - down with a beer or an apéritif or a coffee , without so much as noticing the prices , or whether it is too near lunchtime . After lunch ( in a little restaurant with a vine shading the tables , where the proprietor comes out for a chat , and orders him a brandy on the house ; 37,20 , wine and service included ; astonishing value ) he lies down on his bed , and with delicious gradualness , watching the bars of sunlight stirring gently on the half - drawn curtains , falls asleep . Even his dreams in this place are extraordinary . He dreams he is sitting at the wheel of his car at the traffic lights , unable to drive off because he ca n't decide whether to kiss Rose when he arrives , or whether to ask her for a cheese and chutney sandwich instead , or where to go for his holidays .
Idiom: take the mickey (used idiomatically: yes)
I scampered off and wrote an obscurely pretentious verse . David 's family were Welsh but he was brought up in London . He and his friend Keith took the mickey out of the rich . They were working - class grammar school boys and they were going to university . They said outright what I could not find words for .
Idiom: rough and ready (used idiomatically: yes)
Thereby , in the eyes not only of the United Kingdom but of the world , each of these territories became a sovereign independent state , alias a nation . As such it was duly added to the membership roll of the contraption known as the United Nations , which asserts that all nations are equal ( albeit some more so than others ) , with one vote each , just as if they were individual human beings in a right-little tight-little democratic State . We disposed of the big fish first , not even so without difficulty ; for while some , like Ceylon and Jamaica , were islands , which was a good enough demarcation for rough and ready purposes , others , like the Indians or Nigerians , were not so unmistakable and quarrelled violently over who they were . At times this caused quite a scuffle , especially when we tried to insist on lumping several together and pretending that the result was a nation , albeit a federal one — rather in the same way as the parliamentary managers of the eighteenth century used to bribe Scottish peers by the batch , half a dozen or a dozen at a time . It was partly because these artificial agglomerations soon broke up that we were left at the finish with a lot of little scraps , which nobody , when not talking through the back of his head , could mistake for potential nations .
Idiom: rank and file (used idiomatically: yes)
This equestrian portrait ( by Franz Casanova ) conveys Peter 's commitment to Russian military might and also the costume and manners of the west . The Petrine military system remained unchanged in essentials until after the Crimean War . The rank and file were drawn from forced levies laid upon the tax - paying population . Service was for life : this was reduced to twenty - five years at the end of the eighteenth century , but all too often the difference was purely nominal . The officers were drawn from the nobility .
Idiom: rise to the occasion (used idiomatically: yes)
In 1969 , at the early age of 32 , he became president of Bowdoin . It was a turbulent time for college principals , and many were unable to cope with the urgent demands for change which constantly assailed them — not least from their own undergraduates . Howell rose to the occasion and during the following nine years Bowdoin was transformed : among other changes , women were admitted for the first time , and hitherto neglected subjects like Afro - American studies added to the curriculum . He also did what any American college president is expected to do — he raised money , leaving the college on a sounder footing , both financially and academically , than it had been when he took office . Attempts to lure Howell away from Bowdoin to larger and better - known institutions all foundered on his love for the college and for the state which had adopted him .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
Things were a bit easier at Binbrook in that direction as we could sleep between midnight and 6 am , but I must admit that most nights I had considerably less sleep than that . J. did n't work nights and we had so much to talk about that it seemed a shame to waste precious time in sleep . We were still in the Air Force , postings could come out of the blue at any time , so every hour we could spend together was important . One day I happened to mention that I did n't know one end of a bomb from the other , and wondered out loud what the bomb dump looked like . That was sufficient .
Idiom: way to go (used idiomatically: yes)
We er we concur with the General Secretary 's er when he said two years ago there will be four super unions by the year two thousand obviously that 's gon na be a reality . Er , it 's something that will be welcomed by the trade union movement , a new forward , a new beginning to join once again the fruits of our labour with partnership with other unions and the Labour Party which was what we all need , but it must be done with careful planning and the brains at the top of the union must be telling the of the union , the members on the shop floor , the right direction in which to walk . Clearly at the state of the talks with the T & G , we still have a long long way to go to reach this new goal and there 's a strong rumour that there has been discussions between Sir John Edmunds and Lord Bill Morris the name of the new union already and I think an apt title for the union at the moment would be Yugoslavia because we 're in ethnic groups , we are sections , we 've got the boiler makers who are still claiming things they lost ten years ago when they merged . We 've got Apex who 've been brought in to bring in the new the white collar worker unions to form another concept of trade unionism . Lovely , now me , I 'm an ex - M A T S A member , I 'm in the security industry , at the moment I have n't got a section , so what am I a Bosnian , a Serbian or a Croatian I do n't know .
Idiom: take the plunge (used idiomatically: yes)
He was unopposed at Bewdley , and in the country as a whole , while losing a hundred seats ( the minimum which could be expected after 1931 ) , he still secured the second biggest majority of the century . He had a few weeks to bask in the glow of this last electoral achievement , weeks that were only a little marred by the unpleasantness of Cabinet changes and the difficulties of moving towards a decision on the application of the oil sanction against Italy . Then , in the middle weeks of December , Baldwin 's reputation took the sharpest plunge , to its lowest point , of his whole active career . The Foreign Secretary he had appointed only six months previously , had for some weeks been as exhausted in health as he had become weak on Italian sanctions . Baldwin noticed the former , but not , so he claimed , the latter development .
Idiom: get the picture (used idiomatically: yes)
Used to get er no . I do n't know what you two are moaning about ? You 've both got pictures of half - naked women draped around the living room , and their boobs everywhere . So , you can hardly moan about pornography . No , it 's not pornography
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
A dam burst again : All he 's done for you . ( Prunella left the room . ) Picking up the pieces of your life for you . A foreigner accepted as if you were his own father . No real son could have done more .
Idiom: head south (used idiomatically: yes)
These Ghosts wear the insignia of Liadriel and are dressed as Initiates . These ghosts want to stop the adventurers heading through the doors to the south ; they believe Evil and Chaos lurk behind them . Unlike most Ghosts , these have spellcasting abilities and will use them to stop the adventurers heading south . The adventurers could fight , but it would be safer to try and talk their way past . The Ghosts do n't know exactly what is beyond the doors .
Idiom: come to grief (used idiomatically: yes)
This is the Gower 's west coast , the inverted ‘ toe of the boot’— a glorious three mile crescent of golden sand backed by the gentle , green contours of the downs . Open to the full force of Atlantic weather , layer upon layer of white - edged surf rolls up to the beach . Many a ship has come to grief along this shore , including one in the 19th century carrying the dowry of Catherine of Braganza , Queen of Charles II . The silver dollars washed ashore provoked a local ‘ silver rush’ . We witnessed a ‘ rush’ of another kind .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
Nearly one third of Britain 's 800,000 sows will be out in the fields by the end of next year , reckons marketing director Bernard Hoggarth . That means less need for Cranswick 's special footballs , used to stop inside-reared pigs from getting bored . The group has also sold the balls to racehorse trainers to entertain sick horses confined to their boxes , but says there are no plans to send one to famous equine convalescent , Desert Orchid . Discussions with another major supermarket chain should yield an own-label deal soon . Next step is the development of Cranswick 's own sausages and pies business .
Idiom: follow in someone's footsteps (used idiomatically: yes)
It was the sort of wit , understated and warm , which characterised his years at the International Secretariat , first as head of the Asia Region and then throughout his term as secretary general . And it was this ability to get straight to the point and to turn conventional wisdom on its head that earned him the respect of so many staff and others with whom he regularly had to confront thorny questions of Amnesty strategy and its relations with governments . More than 1,200 people from more than 30 countries applied to follow in his footsteps . Few among them could have known what the job entailed . Responsibility for the conduct of the affairs of Amnesty International , in the words of the Statute , involves a punishing schedule .
Idiom: apples and oranges (used idiomatically: yes)
Rejoining the train , I was confronted by a South Australian fruit - fly inspector wanting to confiscate any Western Australian fruit . The border was back in Cook , I told him . " Do n't expect me to live out there , " he said , shaking a bag of apples and oranges . The journey down the Spencer Gulf to Adelaide took four hours . Arriving in tltis self - proclaimed cultural centre of Australia , we had 30 minutes ' stopover while the big Australian National Railway diesels were uncoupled and a new pair attached for the journey to New South Wales .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: no)
However , new academic journals are regularly launched , devoted to one or other of the many specialisms into which English is fragmenting , and in their earlier issues , at least , are likely to be looking for contributions . It is , however , in the vastly expanded world of academic book publishing that the greatest opportunities lie . I do not claim to understand the economics of this system , which depends on small print - runs and numbingly high prices , and the assumption that institutional libraries will ‘ want’ , or need , to buy these books . But it is evident that publishers , to stay in business , need to bring out a large number of titles every year . This is true in other academic areas , of course , but English is one of the largest earners , since books in this area can be hopefully addressed to ‘ general readers’ , in a ritual recognition that there is a world elsewhere , as well as to students ( though I suspect they are mostly read by teachers ) .
Idiom: song and dance (used idiomatically: yes)
Might I have seen you on the Great White Way ? ' ' No , on both counts . I 'm a song - and - dance girl , and we did n't play on Broadway . ' ' What takes you back to Britain in the middle of a war ? ' ' Just that , the war . '
Idiom: by the book (used idiomatically: yes)
Ben Bacon TOTTENHAM last night hit out at claims of a rift between chief executive Terry Venables and chairman Alan Sugar . The pair have reportedly clashed over who runs the commercial side of the club , and their relationship is not helped by a new book by former chairman Irving Scholar . Venables , who freely admits he took on a huge financial burden for his 22 per cent stake , is alleged to want more say on the financial side , but Sugar prefers him to concentrate on coaching . In Scholar 's book he alleges that Sugar once told him : ' Terry Venables thinks he 's an entrepreneur — I do n't . '
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
By surrounding himself by a group of young technocrats , he injected a badly needed sense of modernity into the campaign . The new members of his team were quick to distance themselves from some of the most controversial and confrontational elements of the Socialist 's program , including proposed legislation that would greatly increase the power of labor unions , hurting Chile 's ability to compete internationally and reducing its economic growth potential . What is surprising about the electoral result is not that Mr. Lagos won ( after all he was the favorite all along ) , but that Mr. Lavin was able to mount such an effective challenge . For the first time since the 1930s , Chile 's right emerged as a serious political option with voter appeal . Mr. Lavin obtained a remarkable 48.7 % of the vote by campaigning as an efficient , issue - oriented politician that was not influenced by ideology or the petty political quarrels of the past .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
Edward took advantage of the failure of another earldom , that of Hereford , to endow his youngest son , Thomas of Woodstock . Humphrey Bohun Earl of Hereford died at the age of thirty in 1373 leaving , like Lancaster , two coheiresses , though both were under age when their father died . The elder sister , Eleanor , was married to Thomas in 1374 , and Thomas received her share of the inheritance when she came of age in 1380 . The other sister , Mary , was four years younger than Eleanor , and Froissart tells the story that Thomas took responsibility for educating Mary in the hope of persuading her to go into a nunnery , so that he would receive the entire Bohun inheritance . Froissart goes on to relate that while Thomas was abroad in 1380 , ladies of Mary 's family removed her from Pleshey , and soon afterwards she was married to Gaunt 's son , Henry Bolingbroke , later Henry IV .
Idiom: win the day (used idiomatically: yes)
About the same size as our familiar British redshank , in breeding plumage it is almost black all over with some paler spotting on the back . It is equally all - seeing and noisy in defence of its nest . But the ‘ mozzies’ finally won the day and we retreated back to the safety of the ‘ bus’to lick our wounds and to hunt out our supplies of insect repellent ! Shetland has no biting insects apart from a few midges in late summer , and I had n't realised just how much of a problem these Arctic mosquitoes could be . The Swedish marshes provide ideal breeding - grounds and the lack of wind in summer ideal flying conditions for mosquitoes ; at times they were so bad that we were reluctant to get out to explore these excellent marshy habitats fully .
Idiom: over the moon (used idiomatically: yes)
Lou nodded . ‘ How did he react?’ ‘ He was very surprised , but over the moon about the ring.’ ‘ Did he agree to accept Angy 's invitation?’ ‘ Yes , but he said he 'd go on his own .
Idiom: once and for all (used idiomatically: yes)
For whom would I be working ? She had a good idea but did it matter ? The main point was , did she or did she not think that the whole ghastly superstructure should be brought down and got rid of , root and branch , once and for all ? A clean sweep , that was what was needed . And Alice saw a landscape that had been flattened , was bare and bleak , with perhaps a little wan ash blowing over it .
Idiom: rule of thumb (used idiomatically: yes)
Does this mean that regulatory bodies will tend to be too conservative and will over - regulate the activities under their scrutiny ? 7 Why is it inefficient for different government departments to have different rules of thumb about the marginal value of human life ? 8 Common Fallacies Show why the following statements are incorrect .
Idiom: put paid to (used idiomatically: yes)
That 's doubtless because originators Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick are writing about themselves and their friends : like Michael Steadman , who is at the centre of this universe , they are Jews in their mid - thirties married to non - Jews and with young children . But however they originate , it matters to me that Michael never seems to share the childcare , that Melissa always winds up alone , that Gary is losing his teaching post . Perhaps they have been a touch too comfortable — but the collapse of Elliot and Michael 's business has put paid to that . They could certainly do with more political fibre in there somewhere — and hopefully a new character , the abrasive community activist Susannah , will supply that . And maybe you need to be thirtysomething yourself to feel as I do about these people .
Idiom: for Africa (used idiomatically: yes)
The golden objectives were , in fact , unlimited . The Enterprise , that shadowy sump of money , weapons and operatives that lay behind both policies , was intended to operate in other places too , in fact to be ‘ pulled off the shelf , as North said Casey said , any time it was needed , with Congress kept well in the dark . Hakim said he never knew what it was going to be used for next ; on an organisation chart he left a column for Africa , since North had hinted that he might one day do something there too . ‘ The Enterprise’ was a fine label for the monster as far as Hakim was concerned , because it was a business generating a particularly arcane and subtle set of accounts ; but for North this was ‘ Project Democracy’ , available anywhere and at any time for freedom - fighters of any description . He so detested the word ‘ Enterprise’ , with its ring of commerce , that at Poindexter 's trial he scolded the prosecutor every time he used it .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
Well now how long is this going to take me ? Well erm my Lord I do n't know whether you 'd like to take certainly the rest of the afternoon and sit again tomorrow at ten thirty to get a clean start , having read all the documentation or whether you feel that you could read it before then . I think that there 's a lot for your Lordship to read but I think it might be beneficial in the long run , it was certainly , our experience has been that it certainly would take time in the long run but to deal with it this way . Well my Lord as a time saver it would quite er how my er learned friend went through the documents , i it in the contents she would otherwise make and one suspects that it would take a great deal longer . Er , and I do n't intend to take up any more of the court 's time simply opening myself documentation and making points upon it .
Idiom: old hat (used idiomatically: yes)
A beige carpet and soft green walls made the room light and spacious as well as providing a sufficiently neutral background . Some pieces of carved driftwood , a few shells and stones are carefully arranged on the hearth and windowsills , adding an individual touch . Helen 's magpie instincts for collecting extend to her bedroom , home for her £ 8 bed , where a simple decorating scheme is enhanced by a nostalgic collection of old hats and hatboxes , a pair of kid gloves , some theatre posters , a china doll and a host of other pretty objects , many gleaned from local markets . ‘ The pleasure is getting things that cost very little,’ she says . The room is light and sunny with windows on two walls .
Idiom: far and away (used idiomatically: yes)
Normally there 's no problem filling all the orders I get from the Heymouth hotels and others in the area , with dozens of braces over and above that to send to Edinburgh , Glasgow and London . But not this year . The bag has been far and away the smallest in my lifetime . And in fact , I overheard Sir Ewen say it 's been the smallest for the past hundred years.’ ‘ Then I 'll settle for the eight brace and be thankful,’ Maggie said , accepting defeat .
Idiom: get the picture (used idiomatically: yes)
yes , and a he had the same unyielding attitude to life that Germans would have and a very bad temper . So we got there and he said right okay you 're the press chappy he 's right I 've put your press people over there so while respect Lieutenant Commander that really wo n't do because everything including the Band of the Royal Marines is between them and the Princess Royal so we argued about this and the compromise eventually was that that everybody would have to stay there until the ceremony started and then we could bring the stills photographers round to the end and up to one side where it was all happening mainly to get a picture of his wife cutting the cake . This is a tradition in the Royal Navy when a ship 's being re - commissioned the youngest rate and the Captain 's wife cut a ceremonial cake cake using the Captain 's sword right
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr Murray had agreed to broadcast a message to CHAB listeners at 8.30 and the party was due to go on , by train , to Regina at 9.15 pm . Carson Buchanan , Alf Jacobson and I had been in charge of the arrangements and a liberal supply of liquid refreshment was on hand to demonstrate our hospitality as ‘ The Friendly City’ . We found we had done the right thing : Mr Murray was partial to a wee whiskey . The Board of Trade meeting went off very well , with both Mr Murray and Mr Bushnell answering questions with exactly the right tact and diplomacy . Then we all retired to the adjoining suite for another round of refreshment .
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
Hewlett - Packard and IBM have combined forces to lift a brand new consortium off the ground . FC / Open is expected to come into existence sometime next year in support of efforts to standardise high - speed fiber channel interconnects . Its predecessor organisation , the Fiber Channel Systems Initiative ( FCSI ) , is already up and running , scheduled to reveal itself publicly in six to eight weeks . FCSI has reportedly attracted the major workstation manufacturers . Apparently more adherents are being sought .
Idiom: give up the ghost (used idiomatically: yes)
Congress , the erm , nineteen eighty three , the gang of four , ten years on , nineteen ninety three . Perhaps what we 're seeing is the emergence of a gang of five . We saved the party in nineteen eighty three , the G M B saved the party in that er , a crisis time th with the formation of the S D P and today the Tory government on its knees , staggering along and we have some people in the leadership of the Party and including , we can name them now , somebody 's written , writte written to all the constituencies , Neil Kinnock , who have given up the ghost of Labour ever winning again , and that 's what 's the base and the root of what 's going on , that 's why they want these proposals going through , they want to separate the trade unions from the Party so they can do a deal with the Liberals because they 've given up . Tha that 's the reality of the situation , as I see it and people in my constituency Dun Duncan you are on three nine six by the way are ya ?