Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: play for time (used idiomatically: yes)
The authorities took care that the change in the status of the peasantry should upset neither their discipline nor their deference . Understandably , the nobility dragged their feet . The Secret Committee which Alexander set up to consider the matter also played for time . The Tsar showed signs of lapsing into inertia . But the sense of urgency was becoming more and more widespread , enveloping the key Ministry involved , that of the Interior .
Idiom: spend a penny (used idiomatically: yes)
The old gentleman was a continual critic of the City Council and started in the late ‘ twenties , in conjunction with Mr. Allan B. Lemon , the well - known Salisbury Solicitor , a Salisbury Ratepayers’ Association . The Ratepayers ' Magazine could be described as a local ‘ Private Eye’ . Another of Mr. Talbot 's activities was the loaning of money at a fair old rate of interest but he did not believe in spending a penny to smarten his premises from which the paint was peeling so badly that bare wood was revealed . Next to Talbot 's was The George Herbert Elementary School which from 1919 , became a girls - only institution , the boys being taught at St. Martin 's . The school seemed cold and it was certainly dark for the main windows faced north and tall buildings surrounded it on the other three sides .
Idiom: turn the tables (used idiomatically: yes)
Warwickshire are the current holders of the Championship , while Oxfordshire have won it once in 1979 and were runners up in 1984 . Leading Oxfordshire as ever we 're with the England amateur captain Phil Garner ; Phil , tomorrow 's match — with the weather unsettled , can we expect to see the spin attack of Rupert Evans and Ian Curtis turn the tables again ? Well I should think you 'd see that spin attack turn the tables whatever the weather was really , and we 've also got Peter Bradbury who 's taken more wickets in the Cherwell lead than anybody this year , so we 've got three first line County standard off spinners er or rather two off spinners and a left arm spinner . And I 'm sure you 'll see them in operation tomorrow , we 've got six bowlers in all so we 're fairly confident that we 'll er bowl whatever the conditions . So it 's looking good .
Idiom: knock it off (used idiomatically: yes)
' Put on the Rimmel mascara next , ' said Angel sarcastically . ' Oh , fuck off . ' Knock it off . ' said Luke , picking up his stick . ' Now come on , you guys .
Idiom: with a will (used idiomatically: yes)
But many democrats , in France and elsewhere , were concerned that the traditionally dominant minority of the rich and propertied should no longer be able to stand in the way of the will and the interests of the great majority . In his famous pamphlet of 1789 , What is the Third Estate ? , the Abbe Sieyes proclaimed that the third estate , the commons , was not one order alongside the two others , the nobility and clergy , but was the nation itself . The old orders had no place , since the nation was a single entity with a single will ( p.154 et seq . ) . But as to who comprised the nation , or the people , the Abbe was clear that it did not include everyone : Thus , rightly or wrongly , women are everywhere excluded from mandates of this kind .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
Three hundred people at R - A - F Brize Norton and the major Oxford hospitals were due to participate in the excercise which would have simulated a runway collision between a V - C Ten and a Tristar . The exercise has been cancelled by the health and safety executive because the two planes are considered two old to take part . Four people have been injured in an accident in thick fog . KEMBLE / Gloucestershire It happened on the A(429)Four two nine at Kemble in Gloucestershire .
Idiom: come to terms with (used idiomatically: yes)
You come and go with your offerings of help and affection , knowing that what they really need is a constant presence , and sometimes this knowledge can be as painful for you as it is for them . If you know they have always enjoyed close companionship until they finally had to live alone , it is not difficult to imagine what it must be like for them to have no one to share their life with any longer , and no hand to hold as their step becomes less sure . Yet many of them come to terms with it magnificently , trying so hard not to add their pain to that of their children , in a situation that sometimes neither of them can alter . Nutrition It is not the intention here to go into great detail on the subject of nutrition , but rather to give a simple guide that may be useful to those who want to make sure that the elderly parent in their care is being properly nourished .
Idiom: rock the boat (used idiomatically: yes)
The story , however , aroused similar interests from more than one company . Whether these are already USL shareholders or newcomers is still unclear . USL , we know , is being careful not to rock the boat as far as Novell is concerned .
Idiom: man and boy (used idiomatically: yes)
All males disembark . El Misti is Fujiyama , its blown - off table - top covered in snow . Men and boys send it arching , watery tributes . Up on the plain the driver appears to move arbitrarily between barely visible tracks . This is rockscape , moonscape .
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
But it is the British people who are having to pay the price of their mismanagement of our nation 's affairs . ' Mr Smith said that he had sought an undertaking yesterday from Mr Major that he would not carry out the ' disgraceful ' policy of making children and pensioners pay for prescriptions . ' Instead of answering the question directly , he did his usual trick of accusing Labour of scaremongering . Just as he did during the general election when we said that the Tories planned to put up VAT . ' He said that was scaremongering .
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: yes)
That 's what I was about to say , is that Nay books . I mean I tried , tried to er er done it in my book about my again and I read about two pages and I fell asleep . I got up at quarter to twelve I was starving so I had a er er Soup .
Idiom: pure and simple (used idiomatically: yes)
The need behind the attacks is not a need that can be satisfied . It 's not as if there was a stash of notes that he could extort from Stone and take away with him . The man wants revenge , pure and simple , and he 's working logically through the family , saving Stone until last . It 'll be the boy next , and it 'll happen tonight . There 's no reasoning with Weaver .
Idiom: hold the line (used idiomatically: yes)
In Douglas 's defence , Jean Simmons once told me , ' When Stanley came on he said he would like me to do it , and Kirk seemed to be happy about that . ' Tony Curtis , who was among the star - studded cast , also spoke in Douglas 's defence . ' They held a line on Stanley a lot— Kirk , Eddie Lewis [ the producer]and Universal . But Stanley in his own inimitable manner was able to say , ' No , I do n't like that . I 'd like to try this . '
Idiom: weather the storm (used idiomatically: yes)
This consensus has been maintained through a long period in which exchange rates between the major Western currencies have been allowed to find their own level . But it did not extend to Asia . The Asian financial crisis of 1997 - 1998 convinced governments and central banks that countries that maintained exchange controls were able to weather the storm better than countries that embraced liberalization . It was accepted that maintaining exchange controls required a high level of foreign reserves . So , in much of Asia , we have seen fixed exchange rates for the last decade or more , the maintenance of some exchange controls on capital flows , and a massive increase in foreign - exchange reserves .
Idiom: give someone the runaround (used idiomatically: yes)
You started to scare her . Now you 've started to scare me.’ ‘ So instead of letting me finish it , you let her carry on giving me the runaround.’ ‘ She says she 's doing fine . I 'm starting to believe her.’
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: yes)
A , i , has he , does he still have his ball ? Has he what ? Still have his ball . Yeah , it 's at home yeah . In the summer .
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: no)
The defence was really impressive especially vs the scum and we were unlucky not to pinch the game with the Fairclough header . I 've become throughly demoralized with the Beeb who appear to only show the Scum games now . But to business , the game against Crewe on Saturady was a run of the mill 3rd round cup tie agaainst a team from the lower divisions , namely they came to shut the Leeds midfield down and run around alot while Leeds sat back and attempted to play footy . In the first half we attacked the Kop end and hopes were high that Crewe would conceed a bagful of goals in the first half when Deane actually managed to score in the 17th minute . This occured after a sustained period of Leeds pressure which resulted in a whole string of corners , the goal came from Crewe 's inability to clear the ball and after several rebounds and with players flailing around the ball broke to Deane who scored from about six yards out .
Idiom: by leaps and bounds (used idiomatically: yes)
German submarines proved ( indirectly ) to be a bigger stimulus to trade unionism than all the diligent recruitment of the early pioneers . The effects of the wartime blockade led the government under Lloyd George to take steps to stimulate home food production by offering price guarantees to farmers ; and as a quid pro quo to the unions the government also promised to establish a statutory minimum wage , to be negotiated by central and district wages boards . With wartime labour shortages and guaranteed farm prices prevailing , the union representatives on the boards found little difficulty in raising wages substantially and union membership increased by leaps and bounds as a result . Between 1916 and 1920 membership of the NALRWU grew from 4000 to 93000 , while at the end of the same period the Workers ' Union ( the precursor of the TGWU ) contained an estimated 120000 farm workers . Trade unionism in the countryside seemed to be on the crest of a wave and the sense of exhilaration was increased when in 1920 the system of price guarantees and wages boards was extended into peacetime .
Idiom: not give a fig (used idiomatically: yes)
Owner Andrew Martin , of Thornton Heath , Surrey , faces ' danger dog ' charges . Marry me … for a while WOMEN love white weddings — but they do n't give a fig about their marriage vows . And when they say ' I do ' they certainly do n't mean forever , a survey reveals today . New Woman magazine found that most girls still want to get spliced .
Idiom: feel the pinch (used idiomatically: yes)
IAN MILLER EVEN CATALOGUE shopping — one the cheapest ways of buying household goods — is not recession - proof . Now Argos , our biggest cut - price catalogues group , is feeling the pinch . Profits plunged by a tenth to £ 9.5 million in the last six months . And this is despite Argos bombarding shoppers with a record 12.5 million catalogues .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
She frowned . Was it true that Adam was having problems ? Deveraugh was way out of line , but might there be some substance in what he was saying ? Even so , his remarks about herself were uncalled for . A woman like her …
Idiom: go places (used idiomatically: yes)
The Nottingham Forest midfielder is stalling over a £ 4 m move . Although he has agreed personal terms with Rovers manager Kenny Dalglish and been offered a lucrative four - year contract , Arsenal and Manchester United are also chasing the young star . Moran said : ‘ Director Jack Walker 's money has enabled the manager to put down a good foundation and if we can get Roy coming in alongside the likes of Alan Shearer , the club will really be going places.’ Deborah Wintle : It 's far better to be a lone parent than be in an unhappy relationship in which the child suffers too.’ Nina Rowlands : ‘ No judge is going to award access away from the mother while the child is still dependent on her.’
Idiom: at a loose end (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Nonsense . We drink because we 've got no morals.’ ‘ Yes , and the reason we 've got no morals is that for a long time ( 150 years ) we 've been at a loose end . ' And that 's all . put most simply , being at a loose end leads men to the vice of drunkenness and the crime of murder ; and the jobless Marmeladov and the ex - student Raskolnikov are both very pointedly at a loose end .
Idiom: in the raw (used idiomatically: no)
The Land Rover bumped along the track to where the young detective constable , looking chilled and ti red , was waiting for them . As they decanted themselves McLeish managed to agree quickly with Teversham that , assuming the identification was confirmed , he would take Francis Morgan and Miss Williams back , leaving Catherine and himself at the site . He waited tactfully with Catherine and the young constable on the embankment , liking the sweep of the country as it spread out in the raw , cold day . ‘ Must be the only hill between here and Russia,’ he observed to Catherine who pointed out it was n't much of a hill , more a fifty - foot ridge , it just looked high in this dead flat plain . ‘ You must know Cambridge , though , John .
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: yes)
By 1900 , after the Industrial ~ Revolution in Europe and America , Asia 's share of global output had shrunk to one - fifth . By 2050 , Asia will be well on its way back to where it was 300 years earlier . But , rather than keeping an eye on that ball , the United ~ States wasted the first decade of this century mired in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan . Now , as US Secretary of ~ State Hillary ~ Clinton put it in a recent speech , American foreign ~ policy will " pivot " toward East Asia . President Barack ~ Obama 's decision to rotate 2,500 US Marines through a base in northern Australia is an early sign of that pivot .
Idiom: in the clear (used idiomatically: no)
Ancient Egyptians being carried home from a drinks party . Long before the Pyramids were built the arts and mysteries of brewing had spread across Europe ; far , far from the Valley of the Kings to the westernmost island in the known world — to the green and fertile land of Ireland . Our Neolithic ancestors , while they are best remembered for their massive megalithic monuments such as those at Newgrange and Knowth , began their farming revolution in the clear glades of the Irish forests . And as they planted crops such as barley and wheat , they sowed the seeds of a great Irish brewing tradition . Their successors , the Bronze Age miners , regularly rounded off a busy day 's metalworking ( which included making hoops for the new fangled wooden casks and vats ) with stimulating liquors brewed in splendid bronze cauldrons and quaffed from decorated pottery beakers …
Idiom: play ball (used idiomatically: yes)
But so far this had never happened — always , it was straight into her arms , no matter who was present , and all the hugs and kisses in the world most fervently given . She wrote back to him careful little letters to which no one could object , fearing to display too much emotion in case it called attention to the boy 's over - regard for her but she managed all the same to make her affection felt , telling him:— Pilade looks for you everywhere and will not believe I have not hidden you in a box . He has no one to play ball with and tosses his ball against the wall in a most despondent fashion . He thanks you for the toy soldiers you left behind for him but wishes The General was here to organise them in fighting order . You are very kind to have thought of him and when I gave him your kiss he gave me a hundred in return to pass on to you believing I could and indeed I wish he was correct in his supposition .
Idiom: high and low (used idiomatically: no)
Many analyses within the British approach to intonation include among tones both ‘ high’ and ‘ low’varieties . For example , O'Connor and Arnold ( 1973 ) distinguished between ‘ high fall’ and ‘ low fall’(the former starting from a high pitch , the latter from mid ) , and also between ‘ low rise’and ‘ high rise’(the latter rising to a higher point than the former ) . Some writers have high and low versions of all tones . Compared with the proposed establishing of a separate feature of ‘ extra pitch height’(which is explained more fully in 18.1 ) , this is unnecessary duplication . Of course , if one adds extra pitch height to a tone , one has not given all possible detail about it .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
Hear ! Hear ! My Lords , it 's a question of cost in the long run , but er the reason that the our British Library will have fewer than the French Library is originally it was planned to have three thousand places , but er further er examination which has really been taken undertaken very , very thoroughly has proved that this is really not necessary . My Lords , may I declare an interest in this question as a user of the British Library . Is the Noble Baroness aware that a National Library must grow .
Idiom: put words in someone's mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
words and er , they did n't lose it they , they they they went along with it and they , they actually , some came Yeah . up with some quite good descriptive language with some aesthetic terminology which we guided them with , but we did n't put the words in their mouths Mm . each one came out as a very personalised and individualistic comment which reflected that child .
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: no)
The squadrons were in a state of perpetual motion with ops first being on and then off , orders being issued and then countermanded , and the pressure and suspense built up until it was almost unbearable . The air crews were out nearly every night pounding the French ports and railway marshalling yards and the squadron ground staff were rushed off their feet , particularly those involved in preparing the aircraft for flying as instructions were changed so many times . The targets were frequently altered , bomb loads changed , keeping the armourers constantly on the run with bombs lying about all over the field . And the weather did n't help . A gigantic undertaking like the invasion of Europe needed at least a few days of good weather to give it a chance , and we appeared to be settled into a period of wind , rain and low cloud .
Idiom: look the other way (used idiomatically: yes)
It got personal . Nasty work , but the karma was right for it . City cops looked the other way , and the Cal State Angels loaned us hardware . Bob was a great buddy , and a great guy … He had a lot of friends , no matter what you read in the trades.’
Idiom: do the right thing (used idiomatically: no)
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum had a busy day . While they were entering their ‘ surplus’ Hunter and Meteor at Billinghurst , they were taking delivery of Hawker P.1067 WB188 and Meteor IV ( Special ) EE549 from Cosford , having received them on loan from the RAF Museum . Curator Andy Saunders commented that the Museum had been ‘ agonising after they had gone into the sale’ if they were doing the right thing with WA984 and E-412 . The bids confirmed that they were best to hang on to them and they will now be refurbished and pole - mounted at the entrance to the Museum . Estimate on the JHL Jet Provost was £ 75–£90,000 and this underlined a problem with the airframes — wildly optimistic estimates / reserves .
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
American desserts must be among the most sinful in the world , their development a reaction against that pilgrim puritan ethic . Milk shakes , fudge sundaes , brownies , banana splits , mocha mud pie , devil 's food cake — the names are enough to provoke a cardiac arrest . You may find yourself falling when you enter this den of iniquity , and one once in a while wo n't kill you . But if you want to stay pure , desist entirely or at the most succumb to apple pie , unenhanced by cream or ice cream . SPANISH AND MEXICAN CASAS
Idiom: see stars (used idiomatically: yes)
Piquantly , all these are far more luminous than Sirius ; Delta , over 900 light - years away , could match over 100000 Suns . Rich though it is , there are not many binocular objects in Canis Major unless one counts the lovely star - fields near the Milky Way . There is however one splendid open cluster , M41 , which is easily visible with the naked eye and is resolvable with × 20 binoculars ; various individual stars can be seen with lower magnifications . It lies in the same field as the rather reddish Nu&sup2;(3.9 ) , forming a triangle with Nu&sup2 ; and Sirius . The brightest star in it is of the seventh magnitude , and is orange , with a K - type spectrum .
Idiom: not miss a trick (used idiomatically: yes)
' Si arrangia , ' says the Neapolitan , living precariously and unofficially as car - park attendant , porter , vendor , labourer , pimp , pick - pocket on his city 's chaotic streets . ' Si arrangia ' says the lawyer whose double - doored apartment , three marble bathrooms , designer - dressed wife and powerful car bear no relation to his apparent income as an employee of the Comune . ' Si arrangia ' —'one makes out ' — has a peculiarly Italian meaning : you think on your feet ; do n't miss a trick ; make ' contacts ' . It is an art , developed from historical necessity , perfectly adapted to the growing shift to de - regulation , self - employment and the unofficial economy . It is a mentality much admired by the Right everywhere .
Idiom: doom and gloom (used idiomatically: yes)
What about Home and Away But that er what do you call it ? Eastenders now is all doom and gloom . Aye . Now you need er
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: yes)
The fact that this particular story is hypothetical , and that the details may be wrong , is irrelevant . The beaver dam evolved by natural selection , and therefore what happened can not be very different , except in practical details , from the story I have told . The general implications of this view of life are explained and elaborated in my book The Extended Phenotype , and I sha n't repeat the arguments here . You will notice that in this hypothetical story there were no fewer than 11 links in the causal chain linking altered gene to improved survival . In real life there might be even more .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's a shame that because of time and money it 's coming to an end . Voice over During the Gulf War the crews servicing Buccaneers at RAF ABingdon carried out the impossible ; servicing a plane in just 10 days instead of the usual 84 days by working round the clock . Male speaker It brings the best out of technicians — hard work , long hours — the old technology — modern day aircraft are n't the same .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
The ' heron ' and ' geese'can be used as border designs as follows : HERON Knit some plain rows in black . In Fair Isle , with white in feeder 1 and black in feeder 2 , knit rows 1–80 inclusive of the design . Continue in plain knitting with black .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: yes)
FIRE PREVENTION The home can be a dangerous place . Some 60,000 catch fire every year , killing several hundred people and injuring over 10,000 . So anything you can do to keep your home out of the official statistics really could be a matter of life or death . There are five main precautions you can take to make your home safe and protect your family from danger : eliminate fire hazards ; fit smoke detectors ; keep basic firefighting equipment in danger areas ; learn what to do if fire breaks out , and make sure that every member of the family knows how to get out of the house .