Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: work like a charm (used idiomatically: yes)
In the truncated finale , for instance(given a puckish rather than a trenchant slant by Kun ) , I was all too conscious of moments when the speed of articulation and lively nature of the acoustic conspired to widen the distance between soloist and woodwind , making for an uncomfortable out - of - phase sensation in their exchanges . There are similar problems with percussion in the latter stages of the Bernstein . But let me first applaud the coupling : it works like a charm . These have to be the finest among American concertos : the Barber is standard repertoire now , but Serenade ( after Plato , ‘ in praise of love’ ) is only just beginning to emerge as one of Bernstein 's highly select group of masterpieces — about time too . Quite apart from its technical ingenuity , its wily thematic evolutions and transformations , I love its eccentricity : only Bernstein could have ‘ tuned in’ to Plato 's timeless dinner party and still had the last laugh .
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: no)
A few days later he begged for the offices held by his father and complained that it would be a great disgrace to him if they were granted to anyone else . The multiplication of life tenures , the scramble for reversions , and the attempt to make posts hereditary are all indications that offices were coming to be regarded as forms of property rather than as jobs to be done . Like other property - owners , officials began to use subordinates in the running of their affairs . Just as a rector would put in a vicar or curate to care for the souls in his parish , or a landlord would employ a bailiff or steward to manage his estates , so an officer would appoint a deputy to conduct the business of the office , usually for a small pittance , while he himself enjoyed the bulk of the proceeds . The great officers of state were not allowed to create deputies .
Idiom: run out of steam (used idiomatically: yes)
AXED Terry Wogan is on the hunt for guests with ‘ wacky , tacky’ stories to tell in a bid to shed his bland image , it was revealed yesterday . A researcher on Terry 's late - night comeback show has been ordered to find people with ‘ quirky’ yarns to tell . The new image will be a big gamble for the star whose Wogan Show was axed last month because it had run out of steam . It was replaced by the soap Eldorado , which is struggling to get audiences equalling those of Tel 's show at its lowest ebb . COMEBACK : Terry
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
For most people their ‘ short and curlies’ remain that way . However , sexual history records remarkable cases of feminine pubic hair that has grown to be longer than the hair on the owners ' heads . In one case it stretched to below a woman 's knees and in another the pubic hair was gathered into a tasteful plait that reached behind her back . PUBIC HAIRCUTS Twenty years ago trend - setting Mary Quant hit on pubic hair as the fashion motif for a new age and had her own trimmed into a tasteful heart shape .
Idiom: under the sun (used idiomatically: yes)
She was emotionally raw and bleeding after all . Dinner last night had been torture . Gaston had chatted lightly on every topic under the sun , except the one that was consuming her . She was almost sure this was quite deliberate . He had volunteered no more details about Rohan 's departure , and she could n't allow herself to ask .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
In short , a sufficient explanation of the differences in bargaining relations between states and enterprises must include consideration of changes in the security structure as well as to changes in the financial and production structures . It is not enough to say , as successive reports from the IMF or the World Bank have tended to do , that it all depends on governments and that it is up to them how the economy prospers . That is to beg the question of why any particular government was able to act or was constrained from acting in an economically optimal way . The political economist has to look behind policy choices to the structural context of international relations and to the context of the security structure influencing the definition of the role of the state in relation to markets , domestic and global . Managers would be well advised to do the same , for otherwise they will be blind to many of the causal forces at work .
Idiom: break new ground (used idiomatically: yes)
I suspect he was , or come to that a Northern Ireland jersey . It 's fourteen minutes to six . A quick reminder , many people will know , but a quick reminder and er , if you 've perhaps just come back from holiday yourself , or you 're one of our new listeners , you may not know so I 'll tell you , Douglas Cameron 's Breakfast Call , this very programme , will be breaking new ground at the end of next month . We 'll be travelling down under to Australia , and coming live to you for a whole week from Sydney . And , this is the exciting bit as far as you 're concerned .
Idiom: have it both ways (used idiomatically: yes)
Because we are fifty per cent , if not more so , of the population . At the same time , if we accept , accept the principle of the equality of the sexes , the proportions no longer matter . You ca n't have it both ways . If you 're thinking of something like , administering justice , I 'm thinking general .
Idiom: spend a penny (used idiomatically: no)
Sal , who was working shifts in a cafe on the Commercial Road , went back to work on Boxing Day , and Grace remained on duty at the London hospital throughout the so - called holiday , while Kitty mooched around checking on everyone else 's presents before going back to bed . Kitty never seemed to be able to hold down a job for more than a week at a time , but somehow she was still better dressed than any of us . I suppose it must have been because a string of boyfriends seemed quite willing to spend their last penny on her before going off to the front . I could n't imagine what she expected to tell them if they all came back on the same day . Now and then , Kitty would volunteer to do a couple of hours ' work on the barrow , but once she had eaten her way through the day 's profits she would soon disappear .
Idiom: out of the question (used idiomatically: yes)
Thenceforth , a serious political struggle was altogether out of the question .
Idiom: left and right (used idiomatically: yes)
These scissors are suitable for left and right - handed people .
Idiom: in the soup (used idiomatically: yes)
He is blind to him and can not therefore offer the favour of increased rations to a friend , reduced rations to an enemy . Except that Adimov and his fellow barons will speak their names , and the cook will respond , which is the way of survival . Their bowls will be brimming , they will head the queue for the sprat of meat or fish that floats in the soup gruel . There is a rule , there will be a path around it . That is the way of Camp 3 , it is the way of all camps in the Dubrovlag .
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
WPC . Oh no . All across the board , we get kids from every walk of life . However , later on in the conversation she said they very rarely encountered juvenile offenders from grammar school , most would be educationally subnormal or at least well below average . Citing the case of one of the juveniles whom I had encountered the previous week :
Idiom: rub shoulders (used idiomatically: yes)
She goes to the window , treating the rugs spread on the sanded and waxed pine floorboards as stepping - stones , pulls back the curtain , and peers out . She looks up at the grey clouds scudding across the sky , down at a vista of narrow back gardens , some neat and trim with goldfish ponds and brightly painted play equipment , others tatty and neglected , cluttered with broken appliances and discarded furniture . It is an upwardly mobile street of nineteenth - century terraced cottages , where houseproud middle - class owners rub shoulders with less tidy and less affluent working - class occupiers . A gust of wind rattles the sash window and the draught makes Robyn shiver . She has not double - glazed the house in order to preserve its architectural integrity .
Idiom: game on (used idiomatically: no)
Graham Hamilton looks ahead to the new hockey season TWO out of every three senior hockey matches in Ulster will be played on synthetic pitches this season as the ‘ plastic age’ gathers momentum . Banbridge are the only one of the ten Senior One teams who wo n't be playing home games on such surfaces , and now that Ballynahinch and Portadown have elected to slot in at Valley Leisure Centre and Newry respectively , half of the Senior Two games will be played on synthetic too . Last season 59 % of senior games were on synthetic but that will rise to 68 % at least … and more if Civil Service can get their proposed pitch up and running before the end of the campaign . A further four teams — an increase of two ( Wanderers and RUC)— will play on synthetic pitches at intermediate level which brings ever closer the day when all games above junior level will be staged on such surfaces .
Idiom: have the last laugh (used idiomatically: yes)
The liverpool supporters , although a tadge irritated by all these cheering Yorkshiremen took it very well and gave as good as they got when they equalised . Particularly the two eight year old scousers sat directly behind us , they loved it they did the cheeky little so and so 's . Thankfully we had the last laugh when that french fellow ( I ca n't remember his name ) scored the winner . What a long journey home it would have been if we 'd lost . A truly memorable day .
Idiom: go to the wall (used idiomatically: yes)
He said his remarks on a rise in tax ‘ neither rules it in or rules it out’ . Mr Lamont declared the Tories stuck to their election pledges but he faces immense pressure to balance the books . The amount of tax coming in every year has dropped by £ 30 billion , with companies going to the wall and millions of people losing their jobs and claiming dole . As a result Government borrowing is soaring — to £ 37 billion this year , and £ 44 billion next year . Analyst Michael Saunders of Salomon Brothers expects the next year 's figure to reach £ 50 billion .
Idiom: not miss a trick (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh ! just on the side of the big blanket , he was whining and barking and ! Anyway they two little old girls , little old boys in there so she come and this woman who looks after little old baby , she was about there and she gets this baby out , well I tell you what he did n't miss a bloody trick he did n't ! No ! His eyes were
Idiom: break ranks (used idiomatically: yes)
Instead of exhorting virtue , the government might try to do something that is in its power , about inflation . Over the years Korea 's fast economic growth , unlike Taiwan 's , for example , has done little to boost inflation . However , inflation broke rank in the mid-1980s , when monetary policy was allowed to become too loose . Since 1985 growth in the M2 measure of money has averaged 19 % a year . The government has not done much to restrain it .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
They hope to reach Westminster tomorrow evening . The two men are trying to raise as much money as possible towards buying a baby alarm for the Royal surrey , the machines , which cost £435 each , are lent to parents who have lost a child through cot death syndrome , on the birth of their new baby . The machine monitors the baby 's heart beat , and if the heart should stop sets off an alarm to alert the parents . Anyone wishing to make a contribution to help buy a baby alarm can send donations to the Royal Surrey Hospital . Cheques should be made payable to the Nebulizer and Apneoa Loan Fund , and the trust number , 89240 , must be quoted .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
A potentially more serious problem in attracting staff was the level of salaries in the nationalised industries . Many of the leaders of the industry were already earning salaries of £ 4000 — £ 6000 per annum and in the larger companies they could earn more . Yet Ministers only received £ 5000 and Permanent Secretaries in the civil service £ 3500 , and the Treasury were naturally concerned that public sector industries should not get too far out of line . In competition with lucrative private sector offers , however , the Treasury 's approach had to give way to pragmatic concessions to attract able men . The resulting salaries were still rather below market rates for top managers and engineers .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
The results of the research revealed an acute lack of professional TV training including both theory and practice . CIESPAL also identified the need for the production of high quality programmes that would promote social development throughout the region . In the long - term , the centre aims to establish a network for the exchange and distribution of news programmes and documentaries . CIESPAL 's new studios and training centre were installed with support from the government of Ecuador and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation of Germany . CIESPAL ( Centro Internacional de Comunicación para América Latina ) Apartado 17–01–584 , Quito , Ecuador .
Idiom: free rein (used idiomatically: yes)
Jackman has played Martin twice in the last eight months and lost both times , but Jackman was buoyed by the fact that she had taken a game off her on each occasion . Martin was nervous and inhibited . Only in the third game did she give free rein to her flair and Jackman was thrown off her stride by the abrupt increase in pace . But Jackman had the strokes and strength to respond to the challenge and her counter - offensive in the fourth game swung the balance back . There were times during the other quarter - final when a repeat win for Wright over Devoy seemed possible .
Idiom: down and out (used idiomatically: yes)
Report by Cathy Gordon Get Drinkwise ! Down and out … don't let your life become ruled by the booze know your limit on National Drinkwise Day MOST people enjoy a tipple or two and a little of what you fancy does n't do you any harm . But when it comes to alcohol , the emphasis is on the word ' little . '
Idiom: sit on the fence (used idiomatically: yes)
But , while defections have occurred among the officer corps as well , the regime has maintained its basic cohesiveness . The army , the security apparatus , and the Alawite community are still solidly supportive . A large part of the Syrian population – the middle class in Damascus and Aleppo , the Christians , and other minorities – are passive or sitting on the fence , worried that the alternative to the status quo is chaos , civil war , and possibly a radical Islamist takeover . And Russia and China continue to provide diplomatic cover , with Iran sending material support . Life in Damascus , despite increasing shortages , seems almost normal .
Idiom: make the cut (used idiomatically: no)
Saburo Kato , who is head of the Environment Agency 's global warming department , said : " We believe that such targets can be met without significant economic impact " . But the new measures are not legally binding . They do not go as far as some countries , who plan to make actual cuts in emissions rates . Germany has a target of a 30 per cent reduction by 2005 , France recommends cuts of up to 50 per cent by 2030 , Italy has made a parliamentary resolution for 20 per cent cuts by 2005 and Australia also is aiming for 20 per cent cuts by 2005 . Canada , Belgium , Finland , Sweden , Norway , Switzerland and Ireland have all committed themselves to stabilise emissions at 1990 or pre-1990 levels
Idiom: off the hook (used idiomatically: yes)
Clive felt delicate feelers worming through his mind , draining his pain , his fear . It was a great relief . He felt arms around him , lifting his body up , easing him off the hook . He pulled the syringe out , and weakly flung it away . The bottom half of Mr Skinner 's face was suddenly reddened .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
. The Mical Data 486SX has a 25Mhz chip spiced up to run at 40MHz . To stop the motherboard from melting , the company put a small fan over the top of the chip . 2 . .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: no)
Hooked On The Fish — Roger Everett uses old fashioned cunning on the Dolomites 26 On The Rock — Jim Perrin pays tribute to botanist and climber Evan Roberts 30 Kenya 's Other Mountains — There 's much more than just Mount Kenya , as David Else discovers
Idiom: stand someone in good stead (used idiomatically: yes)
A child 's right to grieve He was also crying as a child cries when hurt , with the whole of itself . If , as children , we were given healing opportunities to grieve for a range of losses , whether it was falling and losing our precariously - achieved sense of balance , the death of a cat , the breaking of a doll or having to move house , we will have learned skills which will stand us in good stead later . Many children are not helped . ‘ Do n't be silly’ , ‘ do n't make such a fuss’ , are the messages from parents who do n't appreciate the intensity of children 's grief .
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: yes)
From : Date : We d , 1 Sep 1993 11:16:17 + 0100 Subject : incidental stuff on Oldham game Other points of possible interest from the Oldham game … Before the match started , a little white blow - up airship was being tossed around the kop for a while , inscribed with the words ' Bring Back Cantona ' .
Idiom: as a rule (used idiomatically: yes)
Sexual maturity is reached in the female at the time of first menstruation — the discharge via the vagina of the unfertilised egg and of a lining which has grown in the uterus during the egg 's development . It has usually occurred by the fourteenth year but the age may vary very considerably from woman to woman and with bodily circumstance . In the male , maturity is achieved a little later as a rule — around the fifteenth to sixteenth year , but It consists of a nucleus ( I ) containing the chromosomes , a body of surrounding cytoplasm ( 2 ) and a containing membrane ( 3 ) . Around it is a second , thicker membrane ( 4 ) , known as the zona pellucida .
Idiom: on the same wavelength (used idiomatically: yes)
Often the boss will have a different expectation of the job from that of the person undertaking it . The easiest way to resolve this is to write down what you think the job should be — as described above . Once you have completed this , you can discuss it with your boss and ensure you are both on the same wavelength . Do n't get caught out ! Organizing your time at work
Idiom: ahead of the game (used idiomatically: yes)
At least one other COSE firm is worried that with Hewlett having the ear of the larger COSE companies , its own technology wo n't get a look in . It believes that unless the final COSE specification is very tight , and goes right down to things such as icons and bars , then there is certain to be a wide variety of very different COSE interfaces on the market . Trying to stay ahead of the game now that Unix System Laboratories Inc is soon to have the weight of Novell Inc behind it , Santa Cruz Operation Inc — in conjunction with its IXI division — says it will begin to offer a fully integrated Common Open Software Environment system as soon as possible , something it believes few outfits have the resources to do . It will obviously buy in many ready - made COSE components — including networking and the Software Foundation 's Distributed Computing Environment — and use the interfaces that will be made available through the COSE specification . As with its intended role in the failed ACE initiative , Santa Cruz says it will do all the required integration work to become a one - stop COSE shop .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
After three weeks of uncertainty the Nestor arrived in port and hopes were raised that she would sail the following day . Many passengers transferred from the Sophocles , I amongst them , and after much anxiety the Nestor actually sailed and it was with happy hearts that we saw Table Mountain gradually disappearing behind the horizon . On board amongst the passengers was the new Governor General for Australia , Lord Stonehaven . It was most fortunate that we sailed from Cape Town at the appointed time as he had many engagements in Australia — most important the Opening of Parliament in Melbourne a day or two after his arrival . Journal account of an encounter with the Theosophists at The Manor , Sydney , Australia in October 1925
Idiom: ten a penny (used idiomatically: no)
The move to Midshire even made economic sense ; she had several modest school recitals in Birmingham and the Black Country during the next month , and it would be cheaper to move up there and find a furnished room somewhere , rather than spend the intervening time here in town . She left by train for Comerbourne the next morning . She paid her ten pence at the glass cage of the entrance booth , to a young man who could not possibly be the custodian , Great - Uncle Alan 's contemporary , but was clearly something rather more scholarly than a mere gate - keeper . He had a long , agreeable , supercilious face , dark eyes which dwelt upon his latest customer appreciatively but not offensively , and a general style that hovered oddly between the fastidious and the casual . His long hair stopped neatly at the level where it curved most attractively , but his shave was indifferent .
Idiom: odds and ends (used idiomatically: yes)
BABY CHANGING BAGS It 's handy to have a baby changing bag packed and ready to go with the nappies , wipes and anything else you 'll need . Look for one with a detachable changing mat ( all ours had them ) , and lots of pockets to prevent odds and ends getting jumbled up . Of the three we tested , the Caboodle Bag , £ 16 , stood out , with all the features you need , although Patricia felt it was a bit too fussy . It 's widely available from babycare shops and department stores , or by mail order ( see stockists , page 88 ) .
Idiom: to the tune of (used idiomatically: yes)
Flowering ' Quins EVEN though the country is in recession leading rugby clubs seem to encounter few difficulties in attracting sponsors . One of the latest to succeed in that direction are Harlequins with the announcement of help to the tune of £ 350,000 over the next four seasons from Flowering Original , an offshoot of the Whitbread beer company , which already sponsors the Welsh Heineken Leagues . An added bonus for ‘ Quins is a kit agreement with Canterbury from New Zealand covering three seasons . The sponsorship money will be used to upgrade facilities at the Stoop Memorial Ground because , according to chairman Roger Looker , ‘ We recognise we have a long way to go towards what we consider to be adequate facilities , particularly if we sustain our growth’ .
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
He might have been watching over all of them for a century . There was no infecting him with their urgency . The newspaper sticking out of his jacket pocket carried last Sunday 's date . ' If you hear anything … ' If he heard anything he would not dream of doing anything about it but would go on gazing indifferently over the heads of his sheep .
Idiom: out on a limb (used idiomatically: yes)
The arithmetic shows that Scotland is a part of Britain in which there is an above - average Labour vote and a below - average Tory vote . But these excellent characteristics are less emphatic than in , say , Wales or the north of England . They are not sufficient to justify the portrayal of Scotland as being out on a limb from the rest of Britain , either in its voting behaviour or the thinking that produces it . True , the Nationalist vote is an additional factor . But anyone who knows anything about it understands that it is very far removed from being an ‘ interchangeable with Labour’ vote .
Idiom: grin and bear it (used idiomatically: yes)
what d'ya take if you 've a bad head ? , huh it gets a bit of a chore with different I grin and bear it oh prices all over shop
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: yes)
it went in me ear , I went deaf before it went away Oh God I could n't hear a thing in me right ear Oh it 's had to go back to the doctor