Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: short shrift (used idiomatically: yes)
That system of wholesale electronic eavesdropping Winterbotham proudly dubs ‘ the greatest war - winning achievement by British brains and money’ . Yet his claims for Ultra , which he originally set out in his book The Ultra Secret , sometimes sound overwrought . Commanders who undervalued or ignored Ultra get short shrift . One such sceptic , a certain Montgomery , is likened to a prickly housemaid . US General Mark Clark passed up Ultra and duly paid the price , according to Winterbotham , by failing to take two objectives at a nasty stage of the Italian campaign .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
CUTTING TIME Geraniums are an excellent investment . Once you have a few plants , they are easy to propagate from cuttings . Plants from cuttings taken now will produce better , more shapely plants than old plants overwintered , and of course you will have more of them . Choose healthy and vigorous non - flowering shoots ( if this is difficult just trim off any flowers ) , and make the cuttings about 10 cm ( 4 in ) long .
Idiom: too clever by half (used idiomatically: yes)
Carried off . Call it what you bloody like . Taken by some devils Maurice has managed to call up with his too - clever - by - half pat little schemes . It 's his fault , all of it . Unless it 's mine , for letting him —’ She swung round and stared at Charlotte , who could see her jaw muscles straining with the effort of ensuring she did not cry .
Idiom: like the clappers (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh he 's started this other job Oh he 's started it ? Well , he he he works like the clappers he does ! He was there when I got there and erm the er the gravel , the chap delivered the gravel
Idiom: wear the trousers (used idiomatically: yes)
A big brown beard covered the lower half of his thin , pale , serious face . Thick glasses covered his short - sighted eyes . He wore short brown trousers and a rather ugly green shirt . ' This is Julian Giffen , ' said Leithen to me . ' Julian , this is Harry Peck .
Idiom: behind bars (used idiomatically: yes)
Although Short ( 28 ) will play black in the first game , colours will alternate from then on . The draw took place at Simpson 's - in - the - Strand , London , yesterday . ‘ I AM talking about a man that has done 26 years behind bars and if he had done the same crime today he would have got 10 years and would have got out five years ago’— actor Mike Reid on Reggie Kray . ‘ I WILL be back at work for my shift tonight at 10.30’— miner Bernard Amos after being trapped by a roof fall for more than eight hours . ‘ KASPAROV has weaknesses .
Idiom: prodigal son (used idiomatically: yes)
' How blest are those who know their need of God , ' Jesus exclaims in the Sermon on the Mount , and as he opened the door to the kingdom of heaven his listeners must have gasped . The lintel is so low that the only man who can enter is the man who is down on his knees . The Prodigal Son becomes the pattern for us all ; he became so hungry that he was prepared to swallow his own pride . That was the point at which he took his first step towards home . Without this first step there is no beginning , and every subsequent step in the search takes one further but always in the same direction .
Idiom: in my book (used idiomatically: no)
Aquiline . Aquiline , I 've never heard of it . It is n't in my book , it is n't in my dictionary , that has . and you know , small green flowers , would you believe . Oh , .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
Figure 8.8 Coen - Hickman model The total volume of the available labour force is L F . Since there will always be some unemployment which can be attributed to microeconomic factors , the maximum feasible level of employment will fall short of L F . The natural level of employment , that is that level of employment consistent with overall labour market clearance at a real wage rate w * ; , is L * ; . The discrepancy between L F and L * ; is thus a measure of the natural unemployment rate U * ; .
Idiom: on the face of it (used idiomatically: yes)
There is the important question of the reversal of the burden of proof . The defendant has to prove that he was not in , or in the immediate vicinity of , a car rather than the prosecution having to prove that he was . On the face of it , that seems to be in breach of article 6(2 ) of the European convention on human rights , which states that a person is innocent until proven guilty . Have the Government taken legal advice ? The reversal of the burden of proof is wrong in principle and will lead to injustice .
Idiom: lift a finger (used idiomatically: yes)
Take my advice,’ he drawled . ‘ Be satisfied with what you have and invest it well . With care , you can realise all your ambitions without lifting a finger . Of course , I 'd expect you to sign an affidavit promising not to extort any more money from Corosini.’ ‘ I ca n't do that,’ she frowned .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
It is appropriate that I here take the opportunity of welcoming the thrust of recent authoritative reports detailing guidelines for good corporate governance . The main recommendations are already in operation in the Group and we intend to adopt procedures that may be necessary to ensure compliance with the key aspects of recommended best practice . On behalf of the Board and the shareholders I would like to thank all employees in both Group businesses for their continuing valuable contribution in another extremely difficult year . Despite the likely continuance of a difficult climate for the current year , the Board is confident that the Group will maintain progress through implementation of measures , as in 1992 , which increase the competitiveness of our business and in this way translate into higher operating margins . The creation and enhancement of shareholder value is at the core of Group strategy for the long term — 1992 has seen a watershed in the Group 's achievement of this aim .
Idiom: neither here nor there (used idiomatically: yes)
" Egad , you 've got spirit , I 'll say that for you . What 's your name ? " " Topaz Chilcott , but that 's neither here nor there . " " Topaz , eh ? Sounds pagan ; better still .
Idiom: for good measure (used idiomatically: yes)
For its CD reissue ( CDM7 63405–2 ) , the sound has been carefully refurbished , and it has been sensibly coupled with Bantock 's roughly contemporaneous Fifine at the Fair . These pieces represent English Romanticism at its peak and nobody did them better than Beecham . For good measure Lord Berners 's quirky ballet suite The Triumph of Neptune is included . Another early purchase of mine was Beecham 's 78 rpm version of Sibelius 's Sixth Symphony recorded in 1947 . It is a tribute to EMI engineers of the time and their faithful successors today that this and the even earlier ( 1937 ) version of Sibelius 's Fourth Symphony come up sounding so truthful ( CDM7 64027 2 ) .
Idiom: yes and no (used idiomatically: yes)
Discussion : It was found that when a number of digits , or memory set , was presented on the computer screen and the subject was asked to respond as to whether or not a ‘ probe’ digit was in this memory set reaction time increased , although not linearly , as the size of the memory set increased . There was no significant difference to the manner in which yes and no responses increased over memory set size . However , there were some differences in the degree to which rate in reaction time for these responses increased for different sizes of the memory set . Subjects seemed to provide No responses slower than giving Yes responses initially , but No response reaction time increased at a greater rate tending to converge with reaction time for Yes responses in larger memory sets of about four digits onwards .
Idiom: on the nose (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ At least he did n't ask us if we 'd slept together.’ Travis grinned . ‘ Perhaps that was because I 'd already warned him I 'd bop him on the nose if he tried it . It 's a very handsome nose , you probably noticed . Must have cost him a few thousand to have it done.’
Idiom: lay an egg (used idiomatically: yes)
Manville accepted the sealed orders , grinning wryly . ' Very apt , ' he agreed . ' We get a foreign bird to fly into our nest and lay the biggest egg of all time . Let 's just hope we do n't get any of that egg on our faces . ' ' We do … and heads will roll , ' Hayman warned .
Idiom: live wire (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I distinctly remember fish paste last Thursday.’ ‘ Ugh , filthy old fish paste.’ ‘ Look at this fruit cake,’ said Pickerage , the live wire of the boarding annexe . ‘ It must be months old . All dry and crumbly.’
Idiom: see stars (used idiomatically: yes)
On and on into space went Scott Seven . Then a part of the rocket fell away . When Scott looked out , he could see the stars and many flashing lights . Part of the time Scott talked on the rocket 's radio . Part of the time he just looked out into space .
Idiom: call it a day (used idiomatically: yes)
His playing days looked over , but then came a comeback and last year Lumsden was ready , fighting fit to play for Oxford at Twickenham . 2 weeks before the big game , he broke his ankle and then suffered the same fate in a Sevens tournament last April . Many a player would have called it a day then ; not Audley . He battled on and at Twickenham next week wins his reward ; his Oxford blue . if you want to watch a match tomorrow … then take yourself off to Kingsholm … its Gloucester against Leicester … we're off now to the action round - up
Idiom: grist to the mill (used idiomatically: yes)
The sharp end of routine policing always falls on the economically marginal , those who live out their lives in public places which routine police patrols regulate , and those who are not integrated into the mainstream institutions of economic and political life . Incorporation of the working class reduced the adult part of this residuum to a politically insignificant , atomistic , albeit cyclically fluctuating stratum . The main grist to the mill of policing was working - class youth , but the perennial conflict between youth and the police is one with ever - changing persona and is not the basis of political conflict . This changed with the re - emergence of long - term structural unemployment , leading to the de - incorporation of increasing sections of the working class , ‘ who are being defined out of the edifice of citizenship’(Dahrendorf , 1985 , p. 98 ) . The underclass in Dahrendorf 's account is not simply the product of unemployment .
Idiom: in the works (used idiomatically: yes)
Whether or not the readers of these books are or will be experiencing a training course , or whether their training consists only of the reading of one or more of the books in this series , it may be useful to conclude by highlighting a number of challenges facing teachers and teacher trainers in the coming decades . 1 . We are all out of date in relation to the challenges that we face in our work . 2 . Training in isolation achieves very little .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: no)
this is a very good example of er putting interesting detail in the foreground in the way that tall bit of wood there is really making quite a a , an interesting subject in itself in the foreground . Also , the fence which runs out into the the lake er just breaks up the the distance between the the piece of wood and the bank . Because the water in itself er , I 'm sure that when you 're there it 's erm it 's a beautiful place to be , but the water in itself in this photograph has not got the best of light on it . You do n't get the good , really good light until you get across the water and out onto these hills and that 's where the the good light is in that erm top i third of the picture I think is where the real quality is . Erm , the bottom of the picture , perhaps not quite such good quality , but certainly it 's got er , interesting detail .
Idiom: have words (used idiomatically: no)
He gave me an odd look as if I was telling strange stories . During my second evening at the hotel there was a knock at the door . When I answered it , the hotel manager was there and he asked if he could have a discreet word with me . He suggested that we adjourn to the bar . I thought this is a little strange , but I met him there .
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
The les fortunate guests had to come daily from the new hotel on Persepolis or even form Shiraz , forty miles away . That town had been given a face - lift . The prison , where some of the dissidents who opposed the Shahs rule were held by SAVAK , was painted up , the street were cleaned , pots of flowers were placed all along the main roads , birds in cages were hung from lamp posts , shopkeepers were given blue coats to wear . As soon as the party , was taken away . Only the painted prison remained .
Idiom: hit the ceiling (used idiomatically: yes)
I know it 's a cave , even though it 's so dark I ca n't see a thing , 'cos there are voices calling all round me and they echo . The echo goes on and on and round and round — the cave must be hundreds of feet high . I know that if my feet leave the floor of the cave then I 'll float upwards and my head'll hit the ceiling and my skull'll get bashed in and I 'll die . So I try and cling to the floor of the cave with my bare toes , but I ca n't because it 's all smooth and there 's nothing to cling to , and sooner or later I 'll start floating upwards and then I 'll bash my head in and get killed . And all the time the voices are calling and echoing … ’
Idiom: in the fast lane (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I 've laid the foundations . Success is 99 per cent perspiration and one per cent inspiration.’ Adrian shuns life in the fast lane for the green grass of home HEART - THROB Adrian Dunbar claims to lead his life by a simple motto : ‘ Never run when you can crawl’ ! The quip typifies the Co Fermanagh actor 's refreshingly down - to - earth attitude about his career .
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: yes)
She said : ' I went round to her house a couple of days later to see her but no - one knew where she was . ' I reported it twice to Kilburn police station in London and the Salvation Army but I never saw her again . ' Nobody had heard a thing and the landlady could n't help . We looked for years but could n't find her . Nobody knew her .
Idiom: think twice (used idiomatically: yes)
Not that he was so popular with crowds outside Norwich or other players . ‘ I got slaughtered,’ he reckons . ‘ I 'd rear up on players if they said anything and footballers are n't the bravest people in the world , so they used to think twice before they said anything to me and that helped me.’ He did not regard such experiences as without worth : They 're good for you .
Idiom: have an eye for (used idiomatically: yes)
There was no fire on the summer hearth . A fire screen of embroidered blue roses stood there . Mrs Mantini would have had an eye for that . Rachaela tossed her bag on to the bed . Her radio stood where she had left it , on the table .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
They sometimes seem more concerned to punish those whose products end up on rubbish heaps than to encourage sensible behaviour . This survey argues that governments have frequently failed , or not even tried , to resist such pressures . Instead , they have sometimes adopted policies whose costs are wildly out of line with their benefits . In no other area of environmental policy does legislation impose such burdens for so little gain . This happens because the costs of such legislation are usually carried , in the first instance , by companies .
Idiom: step on it (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Must be getting back to Brigade H.Q , Sarge , ’ I remarked as I picked up my rifle and prepared to leave . ‘ By the way , Piper , the patrol that relieved us this morning , one of their number had his leg blown off and has other serious injuries . ’ It appears that he stepped on one of those box mines placed in a gap in a hedgerow . As I made my way through the trees in the direction of the village and Brigade H.Q there were several loud explosions a short distance away to my right , followed by a loud burst of automatic fire . By the time I reached the road the medics were bringing the casualties to the First Aid post .
Idiom: look on the bright side (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Dinner already ? Blimey , at this rate we 'll be having our dinner before we 've finished lunch . ‘ Well , look on the bright side — it might actually be hot if they did that.’ ‘ Yeah , and they 'll get a chef in from the Savoy an’ all , I suppose.’ They joined the queue behind Billy Martin , the man with the tattooed neck .
Idiom: live it up (used idiomatically: yes)
I have n't been to a ball since I came to Canada.’ Hank looked at her aghast . ‘ Honey,’ he said , without thinking , ‘ it 's time you started to live it up a bit.’ Boyd Stych , looking strangely civilized in a dark business suit and neatly clipped beard , was informed by his wife , when he came home , that the Advent was sending a photographer and a reporter to see him this evening and he was not to litter up the lounge — she 'd just tidied it . He grunted guardedly , as he heaved off his overshoes .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ What 's wrong with that?’ ‘ Jinny ! ’ Keith pulled a face at her and tugged his hair despairingly . ‘ Why do n't you oil your brains ? Think what sort of group Free People are .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
Les 's love testament A touching testament of comic Les Dawson 's love for his second wife Tracey is being broadcast on Sunday . The Blankety Blank star , who married the ex-barmaid 17 years his junior after his first wife Meg died from cancer , recorded the interview for Radio 4 's In The Psychiatrist 's Chair just a week before he died of a heart attack in June . New attacks as Jackson moves on POP superstar Michael Jackson flew out of Singapore today bound for Taipei , airport officials said , as new attacks against him over alleged child abuse were made in the United States .
Idiom: hold the line (used idiomatically: yes)
Bases in Britain alone might suffice to service the Strategic Air Command at its current strength . But the potential of the Cairo - Suez - Khartoum area for air strikes against the USSR was still acknowledged . Thus , given that there might come a time when forces were available for deployment in the Middle East , it made sense for American diplomats to encourage what friends and allies they could to hold the line in the interval . American strategic interest in the Middle East declined sharply with the formation of Nato in 1948–49 . It was now possible — and also politically essential — to give serious thought to the defence of continental Europe , and to ways in which a Soviet offensive might be halted no further west than the Rhine .
Idiom: out on a limb (used idiomatically: yes)
they 're further further up north are n't they now ? Mm . Well they 've got the depot at Rochdale which services up to Blackpool and this was out on a limb . Yeah . Cos , i it Kendal 's done from Newcastle .
Idiom: shut the door on (used idiomatically: yes)
He nodded and went to the front door . As he opened it Patrick Kelly walked inside . He shut the front door on all the onlookers . ' Mr Travers ? I am really very sorry about this , but the eviction notice has been granted .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
Domestic refuse can be burned to produce heat and electricity — we produce 25 million tonnes per year . Currently 95 per cent of it is buried in landfill sites at an annual average of half a tonne of rubbish per household . There are up to 360 incinerators working abroad and Britain also has a few systems . For example , an incinerator in Edmonton , North London , burns around 400,000 tons of rubbish every year and provides electricity too . At the Blue Circle Cement Works in Wiltshire , 20 per cent of energy is provided by burning shredded rubbish and rubbish pellets ( a more processed version which contains 60 per cent of the calorific value of coal ) .
Idiom: tongue in cheek (used idiomatically: yes)
He thinks the Pisans are lucky to have a tower at all . ‘ If it had been built in one go,’ he claimed , demonstrating with a model and bucket of clay , ‘ it would have fallen over.’ The spectacular aerial shots , Prof Burland 's lightly worn erudition , the delicious dollops of Verdi and Rossini and the ever - so - slightly tongue - in - cheek commentary added up to a ‘ Carry on Leaning’ that I felt obliged to watch all over again . Not out of obsession with the abnormal ; just for the pleasure . I 'm beginning to worry about Inspector Morse ( ITV ) .
Idiom: make short work of (used idiomatically: yes)
The first time I saw them , I wished I could be a Gnat . Carmen would have loved to know that . Carmen would have made short work of Michael too . Michael was my secret . He was my shining knight .
Idiom: cut and run (used idiomatically: yes)
Back in June ( UX No 387 ) , Hewlett - Packard Co was dropping large hints that it would be announcing and delivering new Snake workstations and upgrades based upon its next - generation PA RISC 7110 chip , Thunderbird , sometime before its fiscal year ends in October . At that time it had n't made up its mind whether it was going to deliver an immediate response to Sun Microsystems Inc 's Sparcstation 10 announcement — and ship systems later on in the year — or make a big splash in the Autumn with deliveries pretty much straight after . Last week , sources within HP confirmed that September 15th is the day the firm has chosen to cut and run to the end of its year with two new workstation models thought to be based upon the 7100 , possibly a 740 Coral II ( Coral is the 750 ) and 725 King Cobra II ( King Cobra is the 730 ) . The superscalar 7100 will operate at up to 100MHz and do better than 120 ( old ) SPECmarks , the company claimed at its announcement ( UX No 373 ) . ICL , SUN , MICROSOFT IN AT BIRTH OF SUPPORT STANDARDS BODY
Idiom: bring up the rear (used idiomatically: yes)
He and his wife Janet Leigh , who was pregnant with Jamie Lee Curtis , were Rat Packing with the others at Peter Lawford 's house in Santa Monica . After the party Curtis , Janet , Dean Martin and songwriter Sammy Cahn piled into a car and drove off . They were followed by another couple , David and Patricia North , with Frank Sinatra bringing up the rear . Suddenly the Norths ' car was purposely rammed by a man who believed that his footloose wife was hiding in it . The attacking vehicle bounced off its target and hit Curtis 's car .
Idiom: go hand in hand (used idiomatically: yes)
The paper will focus now on the use of electronic communication in the scientific community — an academic environment where e - mail could well constitute an important source of scholarly correspondence . As in nearly every discipline the work of science is carried out in two arena : the laboratory where the scientist is working towards the goals of the institute or company and the academic backdrop where novel work , properly presented , can lead to individual and institution / company credit and personal career development . The two go hand in hand . Scientists follow the same route as any other discipline , the novel work is done and interesting results gained . Past a certain point where ownership of the method or idea is registered and institution / company interests safe - guarded , the ideas are tested in the wider scientific world , using seminars , contacts etc .
Idiom: easier said than done (used idiomatically: yes)
It would seem that the simplest way of approaching this question is to remove part of the brain and assess the changes in behaviour that are produced . As might be expected , there are a number of problems with this approach . ‘ Removing’ part of the brain is easier said than done . Brains are not designed like electronic circuits , with easily identified separate components that can be taken out independently . In fact , one never really removes a component cleanly in that sort of way ; one has to damage the brain in order to eliminate a component .