Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: no)
MIND GAMES A mile down the road from the cafe , my lower left shin began to hurt . I was learning to shut out the daily discomforts , however , either by looking around , or by playing mental games . Though the Sahara is often monochrome and denuded , it has the same topographical shape , river beds , mountains and plains as when it was fertile . It is like a line - drawing in a children 's painting - book , waiting to be animated with colour and detail .
Idiom: famous last words (used idiomatically: yes)
He did n't want to die . ‘ Oh Max,’ his executioner called to him . ‘ Any famous last words you 'd like recorded for posterity?’ ‘ How about lay down your guns and back off asshole?’ The voice did n't belong to Rex Mundi .
Idiom: food for thought (used idiomatically: yes)
How do you know . Well that 's a picture you build up by doing things like appraisals , assessments , things like that using the other skills . Just something to give you some food for thought is there are two types of ability know what they are ? I know . What ?
Idiom: dead and buried (used idiomatically: yes)
She said she would like to hear from members of the central community council who were wondering how their opinions could be put forward ‘ now that the local Labour Party has denied them a voice’ . ‘ If they contact me on Middlesbrough 827594 or at 14 Aspen Drive , off Sycamore Road , I will arrange for their views to be heard,’ she said . Pledge on Poll tax SUZANNE Fletcher , Liberal Democrat candidate for Stockton North says her Party in power ‘ could have the Poll tax dead and buried by April 1993’ . She took the message out on to the streets of Stockton yesterday . She reported : ‘ People were also pleased to hear that it will be far more difficult to avoid paying and so they will be less likely to have to pay so much for other people 's arrears.’
Idiom: on the nose (used idiomatically: yes)
No ! No . Apparently erm , they often do this and of course , they sort of went into their home and got this girl with her friend and they sort of put the pegs on their noses and have these sort of rubber hats with those Yeah . , you know , like they do and they sort of pretend they 're
Idiom: all the rage (used idiomatically: yes)
London - based Hoskyns Group Plc has re - named its former AS/400-based Hoskyns Insight division Hoskyns Application Products ; the new division has taken on staff from Hoskyns ' former Open systems division and is to market Unix and open systems products as well as its predecessor 's original portfolio , including the Hoskyns ' Financial Management System and the AS/400 Advanced Management Information Systems range ; the move underlines Hoskyns ' growing interest in supplying packaged software ; it also reflects the company 's decision to align its business operations into five major lines — Consulting , Project Services , Information Systems Management , Education and Training and Software Products . IBM KEEPING UP WITH FASHION Clear seems to be all the rage in the US these days , what with Miller Brewing coming out with a beer that not only tastes watered , but actually looks like water , a Clear Tab from the Coca Cola Co and Pepsico pushing something called Pepsi Crystal , so it 's nice to see that IBM Corp being right up there with the trend — enter one of those hallowed and long - standing computer rooms these days and like as not you 'll be able to see right across it with no Big Iron to impede the view — the transparent mainframe .
Idiom: make light of (used idiomatically: yes)
It is n't a closed shop , you know.’ ‘ Oh sorry . I did n't mean to make light of your problems . It 's just from the way it came out , I thought you meant you decided to jack it all in and hit the road . I suppose it was n't quite like that.’
Idiom: through thick and thin (used idiomatically: yes)
Queens and kings may not always be objects of moral rectitude , but their right to rule is sacramental before it is practical . ‘ Dieu et mon droit’ indeed . By her own faultless example Queen Elizabeth II has strengthened that mystical bond which has directed our nation , through thick and thin , for so many centuries . ‘ Sovereign : A Celebration of Forty Years’ Service ' , Victoria and Albert Museum , until September 13 ( sponsored by The Daily Telegraph , Pearson and Reed International ) The Arts : A Night To Remember
Idiom: walk of life (used idiomatically: yes)
A moment 's reflection would have helped him to see the folly , cruelty , and hypocrisy of trying to force someone to acknowledge this . Many people suffer from the same disease of thinking they must be right all the time , and they must push their rightness onto other people . This is what does the damage — not religion — for it can be seen in all walks of life wherever people are emotionally involved . Because religion appeals so strongly to the emotions and to life commitment , it is a special temptation for religious people . ( See Chapter 8 for further discussion of this . )
Idiom: at the end of the day (used idiomatically: yes)
You have the problem of how much to tax because on the one hand you 're trying to promote this rich peasant economy and not erm tax them too heavily because you do n't want to , them to not invest with Yes . and then you also need to have a surplus so that you can erm pay for industrialization , and you ca n't tax , tax the poor too much to fit into your ideology so at the end of the day , you know , well it 's a matter of just balancing all these factors Exactly . Exactly .
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
This has forced other manufacturers to follow suit as the latest market research confirms that customers now put safety at the top of their list of desirable features in a car . Some , like Ford and Vauxhall , have been able to respond quickly but Rover , which has a US airbag only on the top of the range 800 series , is having to undertake a major engineering programme to make them available throughout the range during the next year . A Rover spokesman said,’ It is the German manufacturers which are forcing everyone else to follow suit just as the Germans forced catalytic convertors on the market as the answer to emission problems when most other manufacturers were developing lean burn engine technology to achieve the same result more effectively.’ Though Vauxhall acknowledges that the timing of the announcement was designed to take attention away from the Mondeo , production schedules and sluggish sales might mean that the Ford is , after all , the first medium sized car to become available with an airbag as standard . A spokesman agreed yesterday that it could take a couple of months for dealers to clear stocks of Cavaliers .
Idiom: sleight of hand (used idiomatically: yes)
The way to look at Bye Bye Baby , they insist , is as a ' light , surreal comedy ' . ' Certainly if you bring a literal interpretation to the story , it 's a minefield , ' Allan Ahlberg says . Bye Bye Baby gets away with its particular minefield thanks to the sleight of illustrator Janet Ahlberg 's hand . The visual inspiration for the book was the famous advert for Start - rite shoes , showing a small boy and girl walking off down a tree - lined avenue — an innocent image if ever there was one . The Ahlberg version features a solitary figure .
Idiom: song and dance (used idiomatically: yes)
Gaul might be divided into three parts , but this film , imperfectly cobbled together from two separate stories , displays no such narrative neatness . Many of the gags expire when extended beyond a comic - strip frame , and few of the clever puns which have secured Asterix an adult following , survive translation . ‘ The biggest mass art project in the history of the world’ was how the impresario Andre Heller modestly described his plan to stage Body and Soul , an extravaganza of black song and dance . Nick Broomfield was hired to record the event . It was a nightmare : early on , his budget dropped from dollars l6 m to £ 300,000 , and his crew was reduced to two .
Idiom: full of beans (used idiomatically: yes)
Dr Trees thinks you 're ready.’ ‘ Well you want to know something ? I were just pretending to him , because I ai n't really full of beans . Truth is , I 'm still ever so peaky . And them other doctors said I were n't to go back up London for no operation not till I was Al , else I 'd be dead as a herring.’
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
Unfortunately , aggressive acts are easily observed ; and humans are often impressed by aggression as a determinant of social order . This leads to a great deal of emphasis being placed on ‘ pecking order’ . There is no evidence that horses take much notice of pecking order , except in competitive situations . In the wild , what matters most is not bullying , which is disruptive and dispersive , but the peaceful bonds of friendship and kinship . These bonds , subtler and more difficult to observe and interpret , have been most extensively studied in the experimental herd of Camargue horses at Tour du Valat .
Idiom: act of God (used idiomatically: yes)
Almost one o'clock in the morning . The steward deposited the steaming hot cup of coffee on to the table in front of him , slopping some into the saucer in the process . ‘ Are acts of God designed to show us just how mortal we really are?’ Graham glanced round , startled by the voice behind him . Hendrique , having rejoined the train at the previous station , Vetroz , was staring out of the window behind Graham .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: yes)
The scent of shampoo , clean and tangy , still clung to him , but there was another more masculine note to the aroma , a note that made her heady with its faint hint of warm male skin . His kiss was like no other she 'd ever experienced — not a caress , but a declaration of possession , as though he was staking a claim to something that was rightfully his . Shannon tried to resist his plundering lips , tried to pull her face away , but she could n't think straight , could n't clear the confusion fogging her mind . All she knew was the assault he was launching on her mouth , his lips commanding , his tongue playful yet deadly serious . At last he released her , setting her back on her feet as he gazed down into her strangely unfocused eyes .
Idiom: serve someone right (used idiomatically: yes)
So I 'm sitting and getting worse if I opened my eyes it went like that , the whole fucking sky was going round . So I 'm sitting all I can hear , I 'll never forget it ah God help him fucking somebody from ah Go God help him next thing will we get an ambulance ? Say no I 'm alright and I must 've lifted my head , all I could hear was this old scraggy voice like a witch , ah serve the fucking bastard right , the fucking honest to fuck , so I must 've sat for another half an hour and I knew I had to go that way to get home . I ended up on the front fucking wheels of a pushbike I swear to God , in Willington Place I 'll , pitch black , never forget it .
Idiom: spot on (used idiomatically: no)
‘ In fact , if you 'll permit me , Shih Berdichev , I 'll take you to our tracking room.’ Berdichev nodded tersely and walked on , not waiting for Clarac , who had to hurry to catch up with him . ‘ And that gap in your defences — the blind spot on darkside — how do you account for that?’ Clarac did not hesitate this time . ‘ Our defence experts have assured me that nothing of any real size could get through undetected .
Idiom: on the button (used idiomatically: yes)
While the South Sussex team , by invitation of Kevin , were all lunching on lobster , gulls ' eggs , out of season strawberries and champagne in the Doggie Dins ' Tent , half a mile away in one of Lord Cowdray 's cottages , the Rutshire were having a team meeting . The curtains were drawn so they could see the video that Drew was playing of their semi - final against the Quorn . Drew leant against the wall , his thumb on the control button . ' Today we have one problem — you have to mark the other guys or we 'll lose . You should never be more than two horse - lengths away from your man at any time .
Idiom: come to a head (used idiomatically: yes)
Without a set of intelligible principles to guide them , or a rational institutional structure to supervise them , tribunals can not develop a system of administrative law . Nevertheless , in the period after the Second World War , as the Labour government made significant advances in laying down its programme for a welfare state , there was a growing unease about the scale of administrative activity . These issues came to a head with the Crichel Down affair in the 1950s , which led to a general ‘ moral panic’ about administrative power . One of the reverberations was the establishment in 1955 of the Franks Committee , charged with the task of examining the working of the system of administrative tribunals and inquiries . At this stage , we should record , the ideological dimension of conservative normativism altered its tack .
Idiom: cut corners (used idiomatically: yes)
She did not blame herself for going on the cruise , although she sensed that Adam , always an opportunist , had taken advantage of her absence . Buzz had read newspaper accounts of old people who had been forcibly removed from their homes and admitted to nursing homes ; such people had been robbed by the very guardians who were legally supposed to care for them . She had also read about old people 's homes that ruthlessly exploited their pensioners : unscrupulous proprietors grabbed all they could squeeze from the social services but gave little back to the residents ; they cut corners on staff , food , laundry , and amenities and added to their profits by pocketing the difference between their sparse expenditures and the sums they actually received . If such money - grubbing goings - on could happen in cheap nursing homes that were checked by the authorities , Buzz wondered what might occur in expensive ones , where there was a greater possibility for profit ? The Lord Willington looked the sort of place into which dishonest rascals might put their inconvenient relations in order to get them out of the way : uncles with the DTs , incontinent aunts , senile grandads , and cousins who 'd been odd since they were born .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984 , his earnings were £ 6,597,947 from eighty - three starts , of which he won thirty - nine . None of his victories was more characteristic of his indomitable will to win than his first success in the Arlington Million . Foaled in 1975 and humbly bred , John Henry changed hands three times before reaching Dot and Sam Rubin 's Dotsam Stables ( Sam Rubin bought the horse unseen over the phone , and did not at the time know that his new purchase was a gelding ) . John Henry won his first race for his new owner and ten days later took a £ 35,000 claiming race on grass at Belmont Park by fourteen lengths . Gelding or not , John Henry was quite a horse , and by the end of his first season with Rubin he had won six races , including five on grass ( of which two were Stakes races ) .
Idiom: under the table (used idiomatically: yes)
The man with one arm loses something . Can you see it ? Anna sees something under the table by the tree . She reads it . ‘ Is this from the man with one arm?’ she thinks .
Idiom: in the short run (used idiomatically: yes)
Thus SMC corresponds to plant with a maximum capacity Q ' and SMC 2 to plant with a maximum capacity Q 2 . Suppose SMC is relevant and demand is D 1 D 1 . In the short run the efficient output is Q 1 and price should be set at c. If demand is D 2 D 2 , pricing at short - run marginal cost leads to a price P 2 on the vertical part of SMC . LMC also includes the capital charge c k .
Idiom: odds and ends (used idiomatically: yes)
Full marks for the article by Michael Burley on the Trend ellipse jig — this is the type of article most woodworkers are interested in — new innovative ideas and system , something to stimulate interest and get the mind moving . Thanks again for a better magazine . Odds and ends I have been taking Woodworker now for some 10 years and have at last been inspired to write a letter replying to that of David Thomas in the December issue . Unlike him I have always found the little odds and ends Sellotaped to the front cover both interesting and useful .
Idiom: keep mum (used idiomatically: yes)
Evenings too found us bumper to bumper racing home to burnt suppers ; late , but with a bouquet of excuses , keeping mum about pit stops at the Coach and Horses . Twice , while working alternate shifts we passed
Idiom: all hell broke loose (used idiomatically: yes)
Her personal life did not change much . Charles continued to live with her in Cambridge , commuting by car to Ipswich to teach his classes , and staying there for a night or two each week . Then , in 1981 , all hell broke loose in the Cambridge English Faculty . An extremely public row about the denial of tenure to a young lecturer associated with the progressive party opened old wounds and inflicted new ones on this always thin - skinned community . Long - standing friendships were broken , new enmities established .
Idiom: off the record (used idiomatically: yes)
That notion needed rejecting from the very start . The letter to the Guardian by Labour 's former chief press officer , Colin Byrne , complaining of a grubby , old - style leadership fix in support of John Smith , has drawn praise and astonishment in equal measure . Astonishment , because Smith has suffered his share of the off - the - record rubbishing by party cliques that Byrne refers so selfrighteously to . One thinks immediately of the article in the Guardian in the run - up to the Budget claiming that ' a small whispering campaign has started that Mr Smith is not only less clever than he thinks , but less busy that he should be . ' As was only to be expected , the Tory press eagerly took up the cry .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: no)
But such cases were not , as the council claimed , the result of slack administration by the chief steward . Gloucester was , on the contrary , exercising his good lordship . ‘ Waste’ usually meant profit in someone 's pocket . What really lay behind the council 's complaint was Gloucester 's willingness to put the maintenance of an affinity before financial considerations . Gloucester was thus strengthening his grip on the duchy connection , but it was also in the interest of the crown for him to preserve the connection : an ambiguity emphasized by the fact that Ashton and Pilkington were royal as well as ducal servants .
Idiom: touch and go (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ The climbing was much more difficult than we expected,’ Venables said . ‘ The last bit was very hard , crusty ice . It was touch and go all the way.’ They reached the summit at 3 pm and then started the long abseil descent . By 2.30am next day , working by torchlight , they had descended 300 m without incident .
Idiom: get off the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
I wonder if I 'm really the best person for the task . " The General assured her they had thought long on the matter , and had decided not only that it would be a suitable appointment for her , but that she had much to contribute to social services . Eva left the room in a state of shock , saddened by the prospect of leaving the ICO just as the new initiatives were getting off the ground . A six - week furlough in Australia did little to lessen her unease . She had taken the opportunity to read so much about the social work of the Army she felt she knew the history , background , areas of special need inside out in theory .
Idiom: to the letter (used idiomatically: yes)
He abused his privilege . ' Unrepentant Mr Rees , 43 — vicar at nearby Mottram — said : ' I do n't give two hoots . ' I get quicker answers to prayers from God than I get answers to my letters . Meanwhile , I still want my money . ' A council spokesman said : ' We 're resolving the problem . '
Idiom: set eyes on (used idiomatically: yes)
The factor which clinched their decision was the discovery of a house which they could only afford to buy if all three pooled their resources . After long years of living in unsatisfactory rented accommodation , it now looked as if Jack and Minto could afford a place of their own . They first set eyes on the house which was to be ‘ home’ for the rest of Jack 's life on 7 July 1930 . Minto was ‘ more excited’ than Warnie had ever seen her when he returned from Aldershot far week - end leave , happy to leave behind him his fellow - officers , whom he nicknamed the Aldershits . When Jack took him to see the house , Warnie was just as enthusiastic .
Idiom: take liberties (used idiomatically: yes)
You know not the innocence you abuse so freely Would to God that instead of a woman and my sister , any man breathing had dared to give himself half the airs you have done . LADY DAVERS : We all know that since your Italian duel you have commenced a bravo and all your airs breathe as strongly of the man - slayer as of the libertine . BELVILLE : I have no reason to be ashamed of that duel you refer to since it was to save a friend , but suffer not your tongue to take too great a liberty with my Pamela . [ He kisses PAMELA . ] LADY DAVERS : If I bear this I can bear anything .
Idiom: take someone's word for it (used idiomatically: yes)
Whilst I did track down what I thought was the best , several of them , in fact quite a number of them , said " no " . For one reason or another the loyalty of the squadron of some other loyalty said " no I wo n't join the Pathfinders , I want to stay where I am " . I know that many of you might doubt that , but I hope you will take my word for it . There were cases where chaps said " I do n't like leaving the WAAF " . Now they did not say " the wife " , they said " the WAAF " , and I said quite clearly " she can come too " .
Idiom: in the clear (used idiomatically: yes)
Nevertheless , it clearly would n't do for Karen and I to be seen together immediately afterwards . If I 'd been seen popping in and out of Ramillies Drive , tongues would inevitably have begun to wag . Legally , though , we were in the clear . Even the insurance adjusters , who proved infinitely more assiduous than the police , finally agreed that Dennis 's death fell into one of the approved categories listed in the small print . It never occurred to me that Karen might be grieving for her late husband .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: yes)
It will not help him to plead that he had not read the clause or was unaware of its existence . In L'Estrange v. Graucob ( 1934 C.A. ) a café proprietress bought a vending machine on the terms of a Sales Agreement which she signed without having read . Although she had been unaware that the small print contained a wide exclusion clause , the Court of Appeal held that the clause protected the seller from liability in respect of defects in the machine . A clause will not be incorporated by a document which is not a contractual document . A document will be ‘ contractual’ if a reasonable person in the position of the prospective buyer would expect it to contain terms affecting his rights and liabilities .