Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
The match proceeded at a pace not much sharper than a cast of world veterans had produced earlier — including United 's own Bobby Charlton , who popped home a goal to show his heirs how to do it . Benfica 's Sergei Yuran , one of 20 internationals on the pitch for this prestige friendly — 10 each side , representing nine countries — missed a glorious chance early on and a couple of shots from Alexander Mostovoi had Peter Schmeichel scrambling to save . But with half an hour gone the poor quality of United 's final ball had left Cantona stranded and still looking for a chance to put some flesh on Ferguson 's bold predictions . Some of his work outside the box , though , was a delight . Another splendidly flighted pass found McClair in the danger zone , but not for the first time the Scot 's control was wayward .
Idiom: short shrift (used idiomatically: yes)
In Van Dieman 's Land , to which the men from Combsburgh were sent , some of their fellow rioters died of despair and others were permanently ‘ stupefied with care and grief.’ Things did not improve in the county for a long time to come . The wandering poor got short shrift — a burial is recorded in the Combsburgh register of an unknown man the neighbouring overseers had refused to receive when dying of cold . The number of paupers continued to increase from 18,600 in the county in 1840 to 22,700 in 1845 . Over the many years preceding the period now being described the ownership of properties and land in Combsburgh had changed hands many times .
Idiom: see the light (used idiomatically: no)
From 1860 on , however , a dramatic increase in the number of such works occurred ; a veritable explosion of major publications took place which owed a great deal to the excitement aroused by The Origin of Species . It is in the light of these publications and the furore caused by Darwinian evolutionary theories in general that Marx 's and Engels 's historical work on pre-capitalist societies must be seen . Indeed , Marx saw his work very much in this light and at one time proposed to dedicate Capital to Darwin , who refused , horrified as he already was by the religious and political repercussions of what he had written . For Marx , however , these political and religious implications were what was central . Evolutionary theory gave a natural origin to human institutions instead of the supernatural origin which was the received and legally sanctioned view in much of nineteenth-century Europe , and if institutions and ideas had a natural historical origin they could be changed in changing conditions .
Idiom: come to a head (used idiomatically: yes)
Fimbra itself is now beginning to admit some of its rules and regulations may have been ‘ too onerous’ . The problem is seen to have been exacerbated by appointing both a chairman , Lord Elton and a chief executive , Ray O'Brien , from outside the broking world . Mounting discontent came to a head over a professional insurance scheme which Fimbra attempted to force on all its members . But this was an excuse for confrontation rather than a cause . Fimbra members are by their nature small businesses .
Idiom: wide of the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
What other relationships might exist between demographic and economic trends ? There were some suggestions that a lower rate of population increase , from the decline in the UK birth rate after 1964 , was a cause of economic decline , as it reduced demand for the purchase of consumer durables . An analysis by Reddaway ( 1977 ) of the period 1961–71 showed that this view was wide of the mark ; only 3 per cent of the purchase of motor cars and television sets in this period was attributable to population increase . The rest chiefly reflected greatly increased levels of per capita demand , in the consumer revolution of Galbraith 's Affluent Society ( 1958 ) . Four - fifths of households already had a television set by 1962 and the figure had grown to 98 per cent in 1988 ( with 53 per cent having added a video recorder ) .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: no)
They prove time and time again the risks they are prepared to take . There is , however , one thing more to be said . The Abraham narrative has made it abundantly clear that Isaac comes out of God 's bright blue . He is sheer gift . The story of his binding makes clear that he remains so , and that he must be accepted as such .
Idiom: on a shoestring (used idiomatically: yes)
But what the rest of the candidates did not know was that Pilger had already earmarked someone for the job — the man who had gatecrashed the capitalization - day party — Keith Sutton of the Wapping Post . Pilger had met Sutton whilst making a film for Australian television about the Wapping dispute . They had a common cause against Murdoch , publisher of the filthy Sun , and Pilger was impressed that Sutton was bringing the Wapping strike paper out on a shoestring . The two men found they agreed on many points about today 's press . Sutton , a former sub - editor on the Sunday Times colour magazine , explained how he had started the Post with only his faithful assistant Carmel Bedford , a former Sunday Times copytaker .
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: no)
I stood in the gloaming for the longest 30 seconds of my life while someone looked for a light switch . Neither my microphone nor my sound monitors were turned on . I left the stage in the middle of my song as I could n't hear a thing . Recently , I tried to cancel my appearance at a benefit as my pianist was ill . The organiser had hysterics , telling me I could n't cancel as I was the biggest name on the bill .
Idiom: bums on seats (used idiomatically: yes)
The Scottish giants splashed out £ 1.5million for the 23-year - old Suffolk boy . Celtic boss Liam Brady was once Slater 's agent and targeted his young hopeful from the moment he moved into management . Said Brady : ‘ He is the type of player who will put bums on seats . I bid around £ 2 million for him shortly after I arrived but it was turned down . ‘ I managed to talk him round by telling him what he can achieve here .
Idiom: watch this space (used idiomatically: yes)
A pair of ' kneelers ' for the church project Stage two — the side panels and doors — are as yet in the ' thinking mode ' . Watch this space ! Fellowship Travel Offer Join our ' 92 tour of Sweden
Idiom: rise from the ashes (used idiomatically: yes)
As they told MPs , they had found that 34 per cent of mothers interviewed in their survey had failed to receive any increase in their housekeeping allowance in the previous year , while prices had risen 7 per cent over the same period ( HOC , 1973 , Vol . II , p. 318 ) . The campaign to get the new ' child tax credit ' payable to mothers was eventually a successful one : while the tax credit - scheme as a whole was abandoned , the child benefit , combining family allowance and child tax allowance and payable to the mother for all her children including the first , rose like a Phoenix from the ashes , in the form of the Child Benefit Act , 1975 . Nevertheless , at one point the Phoenix was very nearly shot down ; the new Labour Prime Minister ( Jim Callaghan ) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer ( Denis Healey ) decided that a transfer ' from wallet to purse ' was a certain vote loser , and they managed to play on old trade union antagon - isms and Cabinet confusion such that the benefit was seriously delayed and nearly abandoned ( Land , 1977a ; Field , 1982 ) . But a ' mole ' leaked Cabinet minutes to CPAG ( New Society , 17 June 1976 ) and the resulting furore meant that Child Benefit was re - scued .
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
He refused work in London . Geoffrey Fisher went from Repton to be Bishop of Chester and invited him to be an examining chaplain ; which he accepted — it would mean two or three visits a year — and was surprised to find how friendly Fisher was when they were not in the relation of boy and headmaster . At this time of his life he always called Fisher behind his back Halieus , which is Greek for fisher . Observers still thought them to be in the relation of boy and headmaster . Here were two future leaders of the Church of England , the one a man of supreme common sense , the other a mystic ; the one a conservative and establishment - man , the other a liberal and a reformer — they were fated never to understand each other .
Idiom: win the day (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ But it was very surprising that the miners actually put things forward . I think it reflects all the hard work put in on convincing people of our case.’ In fact , the Chapelcross contingent had gone to Perth prepared to fight hard to win the day . ‘ We did a lot of leafleting,’ explained Alex . ‘ I was outside the hall leafleting when the debate was called .
Idiom: wide of the mark (used idiomatically: yes)
But it needs some encouragement to port to Unix and substitute it for the server , rather than OS/2 . Gossips down in Houston insist that Compaq Computer Corp will announce its withdrawal from the Advanced Computing Environment initiative within a couple of weeks because its business is making very high volume personal computers , and it ca n't see the MIPS Computer Systems Inc RISC - based machines ever reaching those kinds of volumes ; no - one was available to comment at Compaq but its strategy has been shifting over the past year — the investment in Silicon Graphics Inc has been sold , and founder and president Rod Canion was ousted from the company after differences over strategy . Is it a good idea for DEC to boast that its VAX 6310s were the ‘ workhorses’ of the British Broadcasting Corporation 's electoral analysis machine when the BBC 's predictions of the UK election result last week — along with just about the entire market research industry — turned out to be so wide of the mark ?
Idiom: on the trot (used idiomatically: yes)
But peter pulled away a bit in the second round ( Thomson 71 ; Thomas 74 ) and he won by four strokes . I just remember then being thankful my over - clubbing had n't proved costly and how exhausted I was . Two days on the trot carrying a big bag over thirty - six holes took its toll on me at only eighteen . I felt crucified . Peter took it all in his stride .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: no)
There 's a poster beside one of the machines —‘DON'T DISREGARD — REPLACE THE GUARD’ , it says … you have to laugh — there are no guards , they were taken off the machines to up the production , they only put them on when the big bosses are coming over from the States to inspect the place — the place really gets cleaned up then . Two men nearly lost their fingers with the grinding machine . You ca n't wear gloves — there is no grip … there is so much dust around the grinding machines — one of them caught fire five times during the past three months … then there is a fellow going around with a bottle of water . That is supposed to be the sprinkler system for wetting down the dust . The dust is diabolical — at one stage you could be fired for using a sweeping brush and not a vacuum .
Idiom: fly the flag (used idiomatically: no)
The years of his longest sentence , from 1979 to 1983 ( incurred for setting up , in admiring imitation of the Polish KOR , a Czech Committee to Defend the Unjustly Prosecuted ) were punctuated by other , sometimes painfully absurd episodes : for example the day the Interior Ministry 's men relented sufficiently to allow him to attend his father 's funeral , and then inadvertently let him be surrounded by a tight scrum of friends who brought him up to date with all the latest political news . The other half of his proposition about culture and politics was onlydeepened by the experiences of the last two decades . When the philosopher and historian Thomas Garrigue Masaryk became the first President of the new republic of Czechoslovakia between the wars , there flew above his residence in Prague Castle a flag bearing the words Truth Prevails , and it 's hardly a coincidence that the central theme of Havel 's political writings has been ' To live in truth ' . The worst thing the old politburocracy did to the Czechs and Slovaks was to require them to ' live lies ' because the truth did n't fit the pseudo - history which was supposed to legitimize Brezhnev 's satraps . It was this more than anything that impelled Havel into active opposition , and there 's little doubt that it 's his reputation as a truth - teller , a man whose word is to be trusted , that most commends him to a nation recovering from constitutional mendacity .
Idiom: hit home (used idiomatically: yes)
TIFF files must be transferred separately and Macintosh PICT ( object ) or large bitmap files may fail also . It is also worth checking the text itself as the change of display may have forced some unexpected re - composition . This is not generally a problem but , as with all uncertainties , hits home on the occasions that you forget to check ! The best advice is to transfer page formats between the system and re - lay the text and graphics when they get there . That way you 'll have no surprises .
Idiom: to say the least (used idiomatically: yes)
The deadline set for this was 1990 , a simple majority vote of the borough council being sufficient to ensure separation ; neither parents nor governors were to be involved in the decision . The reason for their exclusion , despite the government 's professed desire for parent power , was that parents and governing bodies were known to be likely to reject opting out of the ILEA . The results of allowing boroughs to withdraw would , to say the least , be chaotic . The ILEA was to be killed off by attrition , and the Education Officer of the ILEA , Mr William Stubbs , claimed that the proposals would ‘ result in a breakdown of the administration of the service in the capital’ . The chaos would be compounded by some schools claiming grant - maintained status .
Idiom: clear the decks (used idiomatically: no)
Later , I gaze from the stern of the landing craft at the coast of Normandy , as it slowly slips from view , leaving me with the memory of those of the Brigade lying in shallow graves in the orchards and ditches of this part of France . As the tank-landing craft heads out into the English Channel I play a slow Highland air , Loch Monar , a tune I have played many times at Achnacarry , and possibly recognised by many of those Commandos who had passed through the Training Centre . After a good meal , served by the Royal Navy , then a few hours ' sleep , I joined the others on deck as the South Coast of England came into view through the clearing mist . What a sight ! The whole Brigade seemed to be on deck admiring the coastline in front of us .
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr. Rifkind Yes , my hon . Friend is correct . I am afraid that the hon . Member for Kingston upon Hull , East ( Mr. Prescott ) has a regrettable tendency not to bother with the facts , but to jump to conclusions in the immediate aftermath of any accident , before any of the facts are known to him or to anyone else . Mr. Donald Anderson ( Swansea , East ) Without going into matters which might be the subject of the inquiry , can the Secretary of State confirm , first , that there have been recurrent problems with the signalling at either end of the line , as a result of the damp ; and , secondly , the system in case of an emergency and a red light was for the relevant engine drivers physically to get out of the cab and use a telephone near the tunnel ?
Idiom: tie the knot (used idiomatically: yes)
Newlyweds take Mickey A ROMANTIC couple have become the first Britons to we d in Disney World , Florida . Bride Laura Browne , 34 , arrived to tie the knot with 38-year - old Robbie Carter in Cinderella 's glass coach , drawn by six white ponies . Her dress and veil featured sequinned pictures of Mickey Mouse . The couple , from Luton , Beds , and many of the 44 guests even wore Mickey Mouse ears for the official photos .
Idiom: marriage of convenience (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Joan , time is fleeting and I would tell you what is in my mind,’ he said gravely . ‘ I am shortly to we d the daughter of the dauphin of France — thus to promote amity between our two countries . Should this be announced during my absence , as is not unlikely , I would you should know it as a marriage of convenience , no more . I have a deep affection for you , a yearning that will be with me till the day I die.’ Joan shivered .
Idiom: take it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
There were taxis . It took a fall at thirty - five miles an hour , a night in Addenbrooke 's Hospital in Cambridge , and a broken collarbone to remind Kelly of the life she was missing as a professional jockey . The doctors had told her to take it easy . According to their records , she had not lost consciousness , but she had been badly shaken up . She would n't be fit enough to ride for at least a week , but she was able to organize the move to a new flat which Annie had found for her , situated just behind the saddler 's shop .
Idiom: every which way (used idiomatically: yes)
There will be no black , no white , no yellow ; no Asiatic , no Caucasian ; we will all , individually , be multiracial , multicultural ; and then indeed there will be a wonderful diversity , and God 's will done upon earth . So do n't come to me , Mr Hugo Vansitart , with your ‘ rich diversity of language and culture’ . The richness and diversity will be when your grandchildren , your great grandchildren , are of mixed race , mixed ancestry : look at each other with fondness and love out of eyes which slant every which way and who compare the shade of their skins with interest , not envy : because the paler the skin no longer means the longer - lived , the more prosperous , the more educated , the more capable of reaching the fullness of human potential . And when that has happened , why , we might be able to invent a God as good , as moral , as human beings . That is quite enough for today .
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: yes)
Mm . Well go onto railway safety , you could ro road safety Well well it 's us , I mean it 's espec I mean er , over the holidays I heard er a thing on Radio Newcastle about how the metro Mm . has got a special thing where they will come and
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
There had been speculation that Mr Patten would miss a self - imposed deadline and postpone publication of the legislation to allow negotiations with Beijing . But he told reporters that the arrangements for local elections in 1994 and legislative elections a year later , at the centre of the dispute with Beijing , had to be agreed this year . ‘ The fact that we have all along tried to ensure that we could resolve these sensitive issues as soon as possible is n't a political tactic,’ he said on a visit to the New Territories . Referring to Mr Sze 's statement , he said : ‘ That 's not an ultimatum . What it is is a statement of what is an administrative imperative.’
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
No BBC stooge , he has a sharp way with erring broadcasters . But then , he also handled the Broadcasting Bill . It was Mellor , as junior Home Office Minister , who was left by Mrs Thatcher to pick up the pieces when the last government went badly over the top in its determination to reshape television by deregulation , irrespective of quality . Mellor , again , who realises that it was irascibility over broadcasters in general that got the then government into the fine mess from which he had to extract it . Mellor , too , who denied yesterday evening that the Government was going to be in any way disagreeable to the BBC .
Idiom: larger than life (used idiomatically: yes)
A spokeswoman for Greenpeace said later that the group were considering suing Sealink over the incident . Les all be pals , Ted YOU may consider Les Dawson to be larger than life … but try his teddy bear George for size ! Les is loaning his huge teddy , complete with natty BNFL vest , to the Famous People 's Teddy Bear exhibition to be held in Preston between Saturday , August 29 and September 2 to help raise money for the children 's charity Barnardos . Also pictured with funnyman Les is Barnardos ' best - known bear and official mascot , Barnaby .
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I was going to make some supper,’ said Betty . ‘ I 'll see to the fire,’ said Beuno . ‘ I did n't eat my pheasant,’ said Lydia , ‘ being so absorbed in my book.’ She did n't want to explain that she had been too nervous to go in the kitchen and cook it , too lily - livered to turn her back to the window as she lit the gas , too timorous to cause even the tiny sounds of roasting game . ‘ I shall have it tomorrow .
Idiom: hit the headlines (used idiomatically: yes)
Carla 's squeaky clean BATHING beauty Carla Bruni shows why she can command up to Pounds 40,000 a week with this sensational new picture . The Italian model hit the headlines earlier this year when it was rumoured she went to Thailand with Mick Jagger . The Rolling Stone 's wife Jerry Hall rang and warned her to keep her hands off her husband . But Carla just shrugged it off .
Idiom: go from strength to strength (used idiomatically: yes)
Voice over The spare parts trade is booming . The Cowley based company Unipart appears to be going from strength to strength despite the gloom in the rest of the industry of the last three years . Last year they increased turnover by nearly a hundred million and increased profits by nearly twenty nine per cent . Male speaker
Idiom: face to face (used idiomatically: yes)
In the standard paradigm the interlocutors are separated by a screen to ensure that communication is restricted to the verbal channel . Another common procedure is for the subjects to sit back to back . The artificial nature of such methods has often been criticized ( e.g. , Frederickson , 1981 ) , and the benefits of face - to - face communication , where gestures can play their full part , demonstrated ( Evans and Rubin , 1979 ) . Given that we do want to study children 's capacities in a purely verbal medium we therefore need a medium which is essentially verbal but without artificial restrictions . There is in fact a ubiquitous medium available for this purpose — the telephone .
Idiom: sweep the board (used idiomatically: yes)
There is a particularly cold - blooded tycoon lurking in Coopers & Lybrand 's head office — Ian Brummer , a ‘ ruthless’ computer manager , cleaned up at the first City Monopoly Challenge , virtually bankrupting everyone else in sight . The event , which raised over £ 30,000 for Children with Leukaemia , saw stars from Drop the Dead Donkey and The Bill fighting with City all - comers for hotels on Old Kent Road and often going directly to jail . Ian led Coopers to second place in the team event , losing by £ 30 to Abbey National , before sweeping the board in the individual event . ‘ I normally go for the Vine Street set,’ he divulges , ‘ but I did n't manage to get that in the final . It all came down to the last throw the lady who came second had three houses on Park Lane and Mayfair but I threw an 11 and sailed right past!’
Idiom: sweet nothings (used idiomatically: no)
Why ca n't you keep your hands to yourself ? . You 're standing here , you 've done sweet nothing again today . . Yeah , I know , you 're standing there cuddling that finger .
Idiom: all things being equal (used idiomatically: yes)
However it was too late then . I had made my decision and I 'd taken the first step . Well to cut a long story short , and bear in mind the fact that seniority and everything took precedence over e everything else , all things being equal . I was quite interested in that actually because you you did imply at an earlier stage that er although seniority was the the important principle in ge in gaining promotion , er there was no harm done if in your favour you know . Aye .