Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: rule of thumb (used idiomatically: yes)
When an echo from a distant object finally arrives back at the bat , it will be an " older " echo than an echo that is simultaneously arriving back from a near object . It will therefore be of higher pitch . When the bat is faced with clashing echoes from several objects , it can apply the rule of thumb : higher pitch means farther away . The second clever idea that might occur to the engineer , especially one interested in measuring the speed of a moving target , is to exploit what physicists call the Doppler Shift . This may be called the " ambulance effect " because its most familiar manifestation is the sudden drop in pitch of an ambulance 's siren as it speeds past the listener .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
I do n't think needy people from other countries should be deprived of treatment , but surely our citizens should come first — especially as they help fund the NHS . Heart drug lottery shames our doctors OLD people who need treatment for heart conditions may just be computer statistics to hospital bosses — but think how important they are to their families and of the contribution they have made to this country . I know we are in the middle of a recession , but surely there is still room for compassion . Lovely Lumley
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
LONDON – Twenty - five years ago , on March 16 , 1988 , Saddam ~ Hussein 's troops spread poison gas through the Kurdish town of Halabja . The attack , which killed an estimated 5,000 people and injured up to 10,000 more , remains the largest chemical - weapons attack ever to target a civilian population . In the light of the Halabja atrocity , and the regime 's broader genocidal Anfal campaign against the Kurds , and massive repression throughout the country , the question " Is Iraq better off now than it was under Saddam ~ Hussein ? " requires no great deliberation . Iraqis are rid of a dictator responsible for the deaths of at ~ least one ~ million Iraqis , a man who plunged the country into three wars in 24 years , and whose policies ( with the international community 's complicity ) kept ordinary Iraqis under the strictest sanctions ever imposed by the United ~ Nations . Yes , Iraq is better off without this absolute despot .
Idiom: in the saddle (used idiomatically: no)
Or human - like.’ Scathach turned in his saddle , scanned the skies through the tangle of branches which arched across the river . Wynne - Jones , slumped in the saddle , raised his head . Spears of light made his pale features glow . He sensed the movement all around , then saw Tallis 's mask covered features , recognized Skogen .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
So we have about forty people in the morning and about sixty people in the evening . erm do you know how many homeless people there are in Oxford ? I 've heard a figure of about five hundred and I just wondered if that rings a bell as being reasonable with you ? I would have thought that it was at least five hundred , because there are so many hidden homeless who are sleeping on people 's floors . I think quite a lot of the students are sleeping on friend 's floors and they 're not ever counted amongst the statistics .
Idiom: behind the scenes (used idiomatically: yes)
There . some people feel . I think a lot of mis misogyny is behind the scenes in the all Yeah . male world of the the guilds , the working men 's clubs , the freemasons , the rotarians , and even the pubs which have a predominately male culture and we do n't know what they 're saying about us behind our back and I think that is why there 's so much naivety about .
Idiom: pull the wool over someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
You do n't know whether y you just do n't know what the future holds . Banks now urge customers to seek independent legal advice before signing guarantees . Banks have n't been pulling the wool over people 's eyes by not telling them . In fact for many years , the banks have been telling people to seek legal independent advice er since March nineteen ninety two , this has been a requirement of all loans . Today 's Law Lords judgement should keep Bridget O'Brien in her house , it will also mean that in future , a wife or partner only agrees to mortgage their home as security for a loan after being fully informed of the possible consequences .
Idiom: to all intents and purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
3 . The bypassing of local government . This was particularly blatant in the case of the UDCs which to all intents and purposes supplanted local authorities as planning authorities . Local authorities were totally excluded from the activities of the UDCs and some of the government finance which might otherwise have gone to the local authorities was diverted to UDCs . The replacement of directly elected councils by appointed bodies is a quite extraordinary repudiation of democracy .
Idiom: throw down the gauntlet (used idiomatically: yes)
The widespread practice of making local , individual and personal bonds had , as we have seen , been taken over into the world of factional politics in the 1540s . Now , it was invoked for a religious purpose . In Edinburgh , on 3 December 1557 , the earls of Argyll , Glencairn and Morton , Argyll 's son lord Lorne and John Erskine of Dun made a bond whose text dramatically threw down the gauntlet . These five people promised ‘ before the Majesty of God and his congregation to … maintain , set forward and establish the most blessed word of God and his Congregation … and forsake and renounce the congregation of Satan , with all the superstitions , abominations and idolatry thereof … ’ . This ‘ First Band of the Lords of the Congregation of Christ’ was followed up by four other such bonds between then and 1562 , charting not only the growth of the Protestant movement but also the increasing resistance to the regent and the French , which by late 1559 would reach heights undreamed of at the end of 1557 .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
Realism , though humanly exacting , is technically what comes naturally . The analysis of a remembered life , after all , or of the life around one , is continuous with living itself : with gossip heard and overheard , with unspoken thoughts , with watching and listening to friends or strangers . If realism can break your heart , as Salman Rushdie remarked , it comes easily in every other sense . It can arise from talk overheard on the top of a bus , or anywhere . No one who reads such books can doubt that they are composed by those who find novel - writing , in the most flattering sense of the word , easy : the sheer fertility of the school forbids any other interpretation .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
I do n't think that 's slow , I think that 's moving with very considerable speed . Here , here . Er indeed the directive was promulgated as the minister said but I do n't think it was a bolt out of the blue , it was of course something that we around for some considerable time before that and of course that excuse hardly applies to the delay in establishing the European parliamentary constituency committees , er as the minister er will know very well , it was merely a matter of seven weeks , er the excuse being that had they had another seven weeks they could have had the public inquiry stage , the reality of course was that there was plenty of time to do this in good time and in good order and without the confusion that exists now er around the candidatures and the boundaries of the existing European boundaries . On the question of registration of electors , clearly it is very important that if we now have less than nine weeks from this evening for those possibly four hundred thousand people to seek registration then the it is essential that the minister and the department er engage in a serious advertising campaign to ensure that people can exercise the rights that are due to them and I would like the minister perhaps in his later remarks , to expand on what , if any , measure the government intends to take to publicise the fact of E C voting rights to those four hundred thousand or so er European citizens of voting age resident in this country . Needless to say er Mr Deputy Speaker , other European countries are taking the job more seriously .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: no)
It was so popular Dixon became a TV series . Lord Ted used PC Dixon 's catchphrase ‘ Evening All ’ as the title of his autobiography . BLUES musician Albert King , a major influence on rock guitar playing , has died in Memphis aged 69 . Missouri-born King made songs like Laundromat Blues and Born Under A Bad Sign into blues standards . Young guitarist Eric Clapton paid tribute to King by purposely copying one of his hit solos .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
African Fish Eagles are not an endangered species at the moment but are very difficult to breed in captivity , so it 's quite an achievement for the birds of prey centre . She says that she 's delighted with their achievement — it 's been a long wait . The chicks need round the clock attention , and have developed very healthy appetites . She says they 're being fed chicken and trout , and have put on lots of weight . The baby Eagles are sharing the incubation room with some other new arrivals .
Idiom: pay through the nose (used idiomatically: yes)
and all this sort of like the ventilator shaft right there 's all this blue smoke starting to pour and then it homes in on one of the men right and it goes sort of whee one hour later whee whee bom bom bom and the other one goes one hour later right and the computer just explodes and it just goes boom Oh look wicked , wicked , wicked I 've got a wicked campaign , do a dope campaign yeah , and like the logo is dope may d dope may be dear but you pay through the nose for coke . Where did you nick that from ? Ah that 's
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
I am just a very satisfied user and have no connection whatever with the makers of Carbonflo . The results of using Carbonflo are quite impressive in the short term . It will be interesting to see if in the long term the claims that this product prevents damage to valve seats etc . from using leadfree fuel are true . Chassis A complete swap
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
The bloody law won't!’ There was a brief pause , Alice silent in despair , Fernie for want of breath . Through the silence rang a bell as if signalling the end of a round in a boxing match . ‘ Who the hell 's this?’ snarled Fernie . Alice did n't answer .
Idiom: get to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
AUTOBUS Post - New Wave whizz - kid Eric Rochant follows A World Without Pity with a trip to the French provinces , where a passionate youth quietly dying of smalltown boredom hijacks a school bus to take him to his girl , Charlotte Gainsbourg . Part road movie , part love story and part social commentary , Autobus pulls off the difficult trick of making a simple tale resonate with complex themes and emotions The Waltons ' Award for Promoting the Completely Unbelievable Charms of Rural America this month goes to Paradise , starring Don Johnson a - fishing and a - philosophising on the river and Melanie Griffith getting to grips with root vegetables in the kitchen . Worst Career Move of the month : ex - world 's greatest sleazeball James Woods trying to come on like a middle - aged woman 's dreamboat opposite Dolly Parton in Straight Talk , which also has the biggest supporting cast of the month : Griffin Dunne , John Sayles , Spalding Gray . But then Dolly needs all the support she can get ( boom boom )
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ If you will allow me to say so , Prime Minister,’ he continued , ‘ Britain has consistently lost out because … .’ He had been speaking for some five minutes or more with force and conviction , carried away by the things which concerned him greatly . Now , suddenly , he had an uneasy feeling that he had allowed himself to go a little‘over the top’ . At these meetings viewpoints were expressed in a suitably detached manner . ‘ I 'm afraid I 've gone on a bit , My Lord Chairman,’ he said apologetically .
Idiom: rise through the ranks (used idiomatically: yes)
So says accountant Robson Rhodes in its Guide to Pre - election Planning . ‘ Absence from the UK for the period 5 to 10 April could be a first step to establish non - residence in 1992–93,’ it adds . City Profile : Action Man at the action bank Derek Wanless , with a ‘ classic C2’ background , has made a meteoric rise through the ranks to become the NatWest 's chief executive at 44 By JIM LEVI Can you visualise a Governor of the Bank of England who is a fanatical Newcastle United supporter , speaks with a Geordie twang and whose background is , in his own words , ‘ classic C2’ ?
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: yes)
There was no point in trying to understand the weather : one had to submit to it . After all , there was something to be admired , something good and beautiful in every kind of weather . Thus he persuaded himself when writing to Theo , but not when he was face to face with a spitting hell - cat who abused him vilely , telling him to stop messing about with his stupid painting , scraping and altering it until her nerves were in shreds . He should get out and earn some decent money . Her mother was right , he was just using her , and one day he would be off .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
This has been the second most successful method of recruitment ; x new members were recruited by Head Office in 1992 . 2 . 1992 : SUCCESS OR FAILURE ? While we have more or less maintained our overall membership figure , and that in a deep recession , we have fallen far short of the targets set in March 1992 , which were felt at that time to be reasonable and achievable . Some of the methods we have tried such as e ) and f ) have been very disappointing . Perhaps we were wrong to expect so much of them .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Take it easy , Belle,’ Ace said , and smiled . ‘ Daak did n't kill Johannsen . The creeps in the black nighties did . Spinward did . Take it out on them.’
Idiom: walk free (used idiomatically: yes)
Since the times of Victorian patronage , explorations have opened up half a mile of underground passages leading from the floor of the cave , but these later discoveries are for experts only : amateurs should venture no further than the bottom of the steps . A line of farmhouse shelters below the steep eastern slopes of Whernside , distant from the main road and rarely disturbed by tourists and sightseers . Linked by lanes and quiet roads , there is a pleasant circular walk free of traffic ( cars are not welcome ) and without danger from bulls , dogs and irate farmers . Starting and finishing at the Hill Inn , the walk passes through a district liberally pockmarked with caves and potholes of which Bruntscar and Gatekirk Cave are especially worth a halt to inspect the outsides . Near Gatekirk Cave is the resurfance of the underground streams draining from Whernside ; here they emerge into daylight .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: yes)
MOST unfortunate angler of the week is Italian teenager Stephano Martinaro , a nephew of Baltimore charter skipper Nick Dent . Fishing in deep water Stephano had a powerful run on his mackerel bait and fought a shark for over three quarters of an hour without moving it off the bottom . With his arms like jelly he reluctantly handed his rod over to another angler and after a further tense 15 minutes the big shark was landed with the help of all eight anglers on board . It was identified as a six gilled shark weighing 315lbs — more than double the current Irish record of 154lbs landed by Essex angler Andrew Bull in 1968 . Unfortunately Stephano can not claim a new record for what was the second biggest fish ever landed in Irish waters on rod and line because he received assistance .
Idiom: in no uncertain terms (used idiomatically: yes)
I was the awkward one who kept asking difficult questions , such as , Why is n't Leo in the Forces ? and What war work do Helen and Dora do ? Besides , none of them had any sense of humour and I ruined many a high - flown discussion by making jokes . Then when , a few months later , I met the man who was to become my husband , I was told in no uncertain terms that Helen — would n't you know it?— did not approve . He was not ‘ the one’ and I was expected to drop him forthwith . Naturally this was like a red rag to a bull and I refused to even consider such a course of action .
Idiom: come to grips with (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ What form has Eileen?’ ‘ The name would n't mean anything to you.’ ‘ I 'd like to know it , all the same,’ he said , as if the knowledge could somehow enable him to come to grips with it and defeat it . ‘ Acute miliary tuberculosis.’ It had been a simple matter after that to slip down to Mike Quinn , who was an acknowledged authority on all aspects of the disease by virtue of his ownership of one book , and borrow his Encyclopaedia of Human Ailments .
Idiom: hit the mark (used idiomatically: no)
They are nitrogen dioxide , mainly produced by car exhausts ; ozone , from car exhaust fumes reacting with sunlight ; and sulphur dioxide , produced by power stations and diesel engines . If levels of any of these reach the ' poor ' category , normally healthy people may suffer from headaches and irritation of the nose and eyes . Asthmatics are more prone to suffer attacks when any one of these pollutants hits the ' poor ' mark , and some sensitive people may even be affected when the air quality is describes as ' good ' . The government has n't yet decided what advice to issue when air quality drops off . But it makes sense to limit your activity — if you exercise outdoors when air quality is poor , you 're more likely to suffer adverse effects .
Idiom: fast and furious (used idiomatically: yes)
A magnificent crowd of 83 witnessed the ceremony , 32 of them staying for the match . The event started with a slight hiccup when it was discovered that the batteries were in the wrong way round . Play around the centre spot was fast and furious , though the ground was in total darkness everywhere else . The game was abandoned after fifteen minutes when the ball disappeared in a black hole at the sewage works end . After another year languishing , knee high , in Division Two , Reg was once again ousted and , for season 82/83 , fanatical big mouth and stalwart supporter , Vic Noodle , took over .
Idiom: in a rut (used idiomatically: yes)
It was a desperate way of grabbing her attention . In therapy , she realised that making almost any change was better than standing still . We learn about ourselves by making mistakes , as well as through success ; we learn nothing by staying in a rut . She eventually decided to embark on a degree in business studies , and in the meantime , to move in with Jim ‘ to see whether to make it permanent or split up’ . On making these decisions , her panic attacks stopped and were replaced by a mixture of emotions as she faced up to her fear of intimacy and commitment , and her excitement and uncertainty over becoming a mature student .
Idiom: give someone pause (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm not going to tolerate you working on this team with me.’ ‘ I think you 're going to have to , Ace!’ There was a purposeful look now in her eyes that gave him pause . ‘ I do n't think it would be very wise of you to try and get me sent back to London.’ ‘ Oh , why?’
Idiom: odd one out (used idiomatically: yes)
Four add four is erm eight . Eight . So the odd one out there ? The odd one out there is erm That came to eight that came four add four is eight
Idiom: walk free (used idiomatically: yes)
Sentence ‘ too harsh’ TOM MERRIN MERCY killing doctor Nigel Cox walked free yesterday when a judge gave him a suspended 12-month prison sentence . But he said : ‘ I 'm devastated by both the verdict and sentence . ‘ It seems somewhat harsh to criminalise me for doing my best in what were quite exceptional circumstances.’
Idiom: drop a hint (used idiomatically: yes)
And I 'm finding now that my grandchildren are just the same . Their attitude to me , they 'll tell me things , because they , they know that you , you , well wo n't repeat it , you wo n't tell on them . Unless you think it 's really necessary and then you may drop a hint . But er yes I , I 've certainly find , find that . I , I think grandparents have a very important part in a , in a growing child 's life .
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: yes)
I overheard him say that he lost his desire , lost his drive and everything . When he was playing well and winning , he still hit diabolical shots that you could n't believe . But I do n't know about all this working on his game , whether he actually likes it . He is a guy who likes to quick-fix it — ‘ just turn your grip that way and that 's that . ’ …
Idiom: hook, line, and sinker (used idiomatically: yes)
Whatever path you follow to reach your goal of competence , you should make time for reading . No book or course of lectures can substitute for experience , but as you learn the vernacular and gain confidence in your practical ability , you can derive both inspiration and a sense of direction through reading the works of wise men . Most writers have their own pet hobby - horses , and it can be dangerous to swallow the ideas of a single author hook , line , and sinker in the early stages . A guide to suggested reading ( see p. 203 ) can be very helpful in providing a balanced diet . A small collection of reference books is a most valuable asset on any farm .
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
The boy blurted his words in a rush , his pale face flushing suddenly . " They say we 've sold our souls to France in return for rice fields over which the crane might fly all morning without encountering barriers . They call us " licensed pirates " behind our backs ! " In the tense silence that followed , Tam and Lan , who had their faces to the wall , heard their father draw a long shuddering breath ; then the first crack of the bamboo cane rang through the quiet room like a pistol shot . As the sound was repeated again and again the tears that had been brimming in Lan 's eyes spurted down her cheeks , and beside her Tam listened rigid with horror , waiting for the sound of his brother 's wailing to begin .
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: yes)
Now , I says , er I 'll read it out to you . He says , That 's what I want . So you know , and there was quite a big column , there were one column in the Edinburgh Evening News , and it 's in my my wee red book there . at Portobello branch you see , urging the national executive to take immediate action in support of their claim for so and so . And they were wanting to Some of them anyway wanted to join the Portobello branch .
Idiom: round the bend (used idiomatically: yes)
A.R. Kaye The daily Monkton - Northwich coke train rounds the bend from Shore Hall crossing towards Bullhouse on its way up to Woodhead hauled by No . 76035 in May 1981 . A.R. Kaye
Idiom: play hard to get (used idiomatically: yes)
This included four kinds of tit , three varieties of finch , goldcrest , wren and , of course , the ubiquitous robin , all contributing to a total of approximately 20 species . I am looking forward to the usual summer visitors . Playing hard to get WELL , not everyone is turned on by talking dirty . The attempt to entice six male sperm whales out of Scapa Flow by playing them some fruity dialogue recorded at a whales ' hen night off the Azores has so far failed .
Idiom: bark up the wrong tree (used idiomatically: yes)
In the following , the ( a ) sentences are dead metaphors , and the ( b ) sentences are literal translations : 39a . You 're barking up the wrong tree . He has changed his one - eyed horse for a blind one . He was ready to go and unhook the moon for her .