Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
It was she who took up the trays Anna would n't touch when she kept to her room and had sent for her trunks . The prince was shaking and the women in the house , the old principessa and his sisters were blaming him , you see they all thought that Anna was going to take Constanza away with her to America . Well , in the nick of time they realized that all that Anna was wailing about was some French floozy the prince was n't even particularly attached to ( a crony of Anna 's , a censorious old toad who lived in hotels and got everything half wrong , had spilt the beans to her ) . So the women got Anna to open her door and the prince was pushed forward and asked her pardon and promised never to see the French girl again and they had a great drama and Anna consented to be reconciled . ‘ Even so they had to send her half round the world .
Idiom: put paid to (used idiomatically: yes)
Unfortunately I dived in one day without realising that the pool had been emptied ( I am short - sighted ) , and although my head turned out to be harder than the pool bottom , it seemed to dampen my enthusiasm for the sport . At twelve , I acquired a snooker table , and became cross - eyed as I perfected my strokes . The shock of finding out , when I finally persuaded a partner to play with me , that I was colour - blind , put paid to my dreams of a misspent youth . I have now discovered how to be really good at sports without any exertion at all . I sit in front of the television and impress my girl - friend by pointing out all the faults of the players ; it is much more comfortable and less dangerous than participation , and my girl - friend thinks I am wonderful .
Idiom: call the shots (used idiomatically: yes)
I mean I was just doing my job . You do n't think about anything else apart from getting it right in front of the cameras.’ When they first met , Charlie called the shots by improvising in front of the cameras and using his experience from films like Bright Lights , Big City , with Michael J Fox , and 18 Again , with George Burns He said : ‘ Kylie was a little nervous when I improvised and it threw her off . But she got used to me and started to do it herself and in the end we were both very comfortable and relaxed.’ He was aware of the controversial scene which had to be cut from the trailer and laughed at the problems it caused in the UK .
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
The Suisse Romande Orchestra may still not occupy a position among the top rank of world orchestras , but at least they sound as thought they care deeply about what they are doing , as do the combined Lausanne and Chambre Romand Choirs . ( ) When is a musical world really going to wake up to Schumann ? Most people would readily concede ( at least on paper ) that he was unquestionably one of the most important composers of the last century , yet the number of influential figures who take up his cause are really very few and far between , and even then the results are not often particularly gratifying . I father that he does not sell very well in this country ( nor does Brahms for that matter ! ) , yet apparently we can not get enough of the ‘ Four Seasons ’ , and second - rate opera arias ! Thank goodness , therefore , for a release which couples together two almost totally neglected choral works , the Requiem für Mignon , and the C minor Mass , in loving performances from the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra and Choir under Michel Corboz ( ) .
Idiom: make a splash (used idiomatically: yes)
Big splash for charity FAST in the wake of the Battle of the Atlantic warships it 's … the wacky racers ! Hundreds of fun lovers made a splash today in the annual Merseyside Police Speke to New Brighton raft race and raised money for charity . Picture : Richard Williams . GRANT FOX kicked a last minute penalty to give the All Blacks a sensational 20–18 victory over the unlucky British Lions in Christchurch today .
Idiom: draw a blank (used idiomatically: yes)
I imagine they 're speaking plenty of it , though . Likewise the seven men who had rooms beyond Norman Pinder . ' ' Well , I 've just heard from Channing , and his men have drawn a total blank in the village . No suspicious persons , no cars ' nothing . The Press are linking this incident firmly with Burrows , and I 'm inclined to let them .
Idiom: at a snail's pace (used idiomatically: yes)
Not good , that . Made them look old before their time . A lone horse and cart approached , coming at a snail 's pace from the direction of the Elephant and Castle . It was invisible in the fog except for the faint blur of its lamp . But he heard its turning wheels and the slow clop of the horse .
Idiom: good riddance (used idiomatically: yes)
In other words , if you look after your ex - employees and leave them feeling positive towards your organisation , it can make attracting new staff easier . It is a simple enough message but one which has a nasty habit of being forgotten when companies decide to shed staff . Far too many still favour the shock tactics of getting those who are no longer deemed useful out of the door as fast as possible — and good riddance . Yet , embittered pigeons have a great tendency to come home to roost at a later date , wreaking merry havoc as they zoom in on perceived injustices and ensure that all and sundry realise the iniquities of their previous employer . Despite churning out reams of PR gobbledygook to a receptive media , a business can find that a few choice words uttered by vitriolic ex - employees can change public perceptions radically .
Idiom: collect dust (used idiomatically: no)
I bought a Bouncer . It is an excellent way to exercise at home for general fitness and as a preparation for skiing . But I found it collected dust in a corner . I was n't motivated enough . So I got a manual to help me .
Idiom: on ice (used idiomatically: yes)
They would be with me for four days in July . I had known Margo since she was fifteen . She was a talented ice - skater who was then playing her first principal role in the Wembley pantomime Dick Whittington On Ice . I dubbed her voice . For those who do not know , the voices of skaters in these huge arenas are always dubbed .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: no)
Well , I did n't know that Ebert had arranged for us to stay in a singsong house . It began there , I guess . He had me drugged and I … well , I woke up in bed with one of the girls . That was the start of it . It does n't seem much , looking back , but it 's … well , it 's like I was clean before then ; another person , unsullied , untouched by all those darker things that came to dominate me.’
Idiom: jump to conclusions (used idiomatically: yes)
She was aware of her mother 's raised eyebrows and knew she had to give a reason . ‘ I 'm going out with some friends — from work,’ she added , then had the uncomfortable feeling that her mother knew exactly whom she was going out with . Rachel knew , however , there was no point trying to explain that she was merely going with David to see her new friends from Conway House , because it looked as if her mother , together with Nina , Greg and all the others , had jumped to conclusions and were ready to believe that what was a perfectly innocent friendship had developed into something more . CHAPTER SEVEN On Sunday morning Rachel awoke to bright autumn sunshine and clear blue skies .
Idiom: know no bounds (used idiomatically: yes)
( ‘ Do you seriously expect me to believe , Mr Beamish , that someone came into your office and , without your knowledge , used your typewriter to address a letter?’ ‘ Well , I —’‘I put it to you that you had always loved Elinor Farr . Your lust for her knew no bounds and when this loyal woman spurned you for her husband of twenty years you wreaked a terrible revenge!’ ‘ No no no ! You 've got it wrong!’ )
Idiom: take root (used idiomatically: yes)
One such was General Ahmad Hassan al - Bakr , president of the republic from 1968 until 1979 , when he was succeeded by his kinsman Saddam Hussein ; others were Defence Minister Adnan Khairallah and Saddam 's half - brother Barazan , head of the Mukhabarat , or Internal Intelligence . The Baath was no overnight creation , but went back to the 1940s when it was conceived by the Syrian duo , Salahuddin Bitar and Michel Aflaq , who later fostered branches in a number of Arab states . The two countries in which the movement has taken root are Iraq and Syria , each of which now claims leadership of the movement on the pan - Arab level and dismisses all similar pretensions on the part of the other . The consequence has been fierce rivalry between the two in all areas . This , in turn , is reflected in conflict in different contexts between groups linked with Iraq and Syria respectively , as in the civil war in Lebanon and within the Palestine Liberation Organization ( PLO ) .
Idiom: all the rage (used idiomatically: yes)
For a brief time in the sixteenth century , mercury was supplanted by an extract of the bark of a West Indian tree , Guaiacum . In 1519 Von Hutten , a poet , published De Morbi Gallici Curatione per Administrationem Ligni Guaiaci in which he described the tortures of mercury treatment and the blessed relief of this new extract . Fracastorius , in whose poem Syphilis , the shepherd , was cured by guaiacum , endorsed the product and it was all the rage until Von Hutten died at the age of 35 of late syphilis in spite of his alleged cure . Although it was relatively ineffective , the fact that it was considerably safer than mercury meant that it remained in the pharmacopoeia of many countries until the twentieth century . Two other drugs were introduced in the sixteenth century , ‘ China root’ , an extract of Smilax sinensis , which was brought over from Goa by the Portuguese , and sarsaparilla from Sassafras officinale , an American plant .
Idiom: by and large (used idiomatically: yes)
Financial procedures By convention dating from the revolutionary struggle of the seventeenth century , control over national financial affairs is the prerogative of the House of Commons . It is , by and large a convention honoured in observance although the notorious breach of it , in 1909 , provoked one of the most serious constitutional crises in modern times . This convention finds statutory confirmation in the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 which deprive the House of Lords of any legal power over financial or ‘ Money’ Bills beyond that of delaying their passage for one month and no longer . The regulation of financial affairs involves in part legislative action , in part executive action .
Idiom: foam at the mouth (used idiomatically: no)
So you were a sort of Assistant Manageress ? Yes but you see at this time the girl took up her tea tray and , and when she took , she knocked on the door and when she opened the door the Manageress was lying on the floor foaming at the mouth , she 'd had a heart attack . Well of course she came running to me , you see , and we immediately phoned for the doctor , you see but , however , and I said , look , phone for the doctor , I said , and then I said go across to the railway police just across the yard and I asked one of them to come to me and I said I will go up with her and be with her until the doctor arrived , er he was with her the police sergeant when she died . There was me as well , you see , and there was nothing we could do and er she 'd had this erm , it was awful , they took her to the mortuary because some of the girls , you see , erm , you know they went hysterical and er I 'm not gon na pass her door , that sort of thing .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: yes)
They trailed 20–7 at half - time as Harlequins ran through their repertoire of slick back - line moves in preparation for their Cup final showdown with Bath . The only stumble in the Quins surge , which brought tries for Carling , Thompson and Pears , who also landed two penalties , came when Saunders , Rugby 's ace poacher , intercepted Halliday 's would - be scoring pass and held off Quins ' all - comers in a 90-metre sprint for the line . Then , as Alex Saward , Harlequins ' press officer , put it , ‘ one of those things that happen in rugby’ happened . Lurking on the wrong side of a maul following a drop - out , Quins ' prop , Mullins , had his nose broken by an elbow in the face . The perpetrator , the young Rugby lock , Smith , got away with a stern lecture from referee Steve Lander , who had been alerted to the incident by his touch judge .
Idiom: by the book (used idiomatically: no)
At Retiro , facing on to the Plaza Britannica , there were no fewer than three great head - type stations . In ascending order of grandeur these were the termini of the Buenos Aires and Pacific , the Córdoba Central Railway , and the Central Argentine Railway . The station of the latter , completed in 1915 , was described by the Times Book of Argentina as ' the finest of its kind south of the Equator and in point of convenience and completeness challenges comparison with any in the world ' . Its dimensions and the details of its decoration indicate that this was no empty boast . booking - hall , 200 ft . long and 60 ft . wide , led into an even vaster grand hall , 480 ft . long and 82 ft . wide , challenging comparison with the great halls of New York or Toronto .
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
In March this year , Bishop Peter Ball resigned after being cautioned for gross indecency and is now retired on a church pension . Neil Todd , who wanted to devote his life to God is unemployed . Trying to pick up the pieces of his life , he says his experiences have made it difficult for him to trust anybody . Male speaker I do n't have the same faith now that I use to have … in anything … including myself .
Idiom: do the trick (used idiomatically: yes)
So . Try and think of what you do when you find D Y by D X. It becomes oh well you you do some little tricks on numbers and you shuffle them about and that 's the answer they want . Mhm . If you can get it back that 's why I say do the graph if you can get it back to erm but it 's not just something to the fifth , it 's really It 's something to the tenth .
Idiom: out and about (used idiomatically: yes)
The community - centre members are conscious of the need for good relationships with their neighbours , and have bent over backwards to accommodate Muriel . Yet the two local authority community workers know the sharper side of Muriel 's tongue . If the music should go on past 10 o'clock for even a minute or two , Muriel is out and about . If only she could see the good work they are doing there among young people . But Muriel writes off these youngsters with their strange clothes and weird hairstyles as if they were a lower kind of creature altogether .
Idiom: see red (used idiomatically: yes)
It follows , on the causalist or functionalist view in question , that I do feel the prick of the needle . The conclusion , it seems , is intolerable . ( ii ) Suppose that my private visual experience is strikingly atypical in that systematically I see green where others see red . That is , I am caused , perhaps by a deformation of my visual cortex , to have the visual experience which others describe as seeing something green in colour when the thing in question is what gives rise to their seeing it as red . This experience of mine , further , thanks to my training , stands in satisfactory relations to other things .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
In fact , the forward - thinking firm employs 13 administrative staff together with several drivers and warehouse staff and many dedicated sub - contractors . Alan added : ' While our senior managers have combined experience of over 100 years they are aged 40 and under , thus enabling us to offer the most up - to - date knowledge of shipping and air freight requirements . ' Being fully appreciative of the importance of moving cargo urgently , we provide a ' round - the - clock ' service to prove to customers that we are conscientious and keen to look after their business needs . ' It 's another bonus that , being involved with the Direct Trader Input ( DTI ) , Campbell Freight Agencies have computerised links with H.M. Customs to guarantee the quickest possible clearance of cargo .
Idiom: go it alone (used idiomatically: yes)
I had a mum as a single parent and two grandparents and they did an excellent job of bringing me up ! I could n't have asked for a better family ! The majority of absent parents er presently are fathers , so I 'm going to ask you given the current er , emphasis on er in , well in in in the media perhaps , rather tha , more than in real life on women going it alone , whether by necessity or indeed by choice . Erm , why do you think er , fathers are actually necessary ? Let 's put it as simply as that .
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
Again and again we hear the cry go up,’ We must get down to marketing.’ Good Lord ! How many more years shall we have to wait before we have as up and running and as efficient a marketing system for British products as they have in France , Holland and Denmark ? A few co - operatives have been set up during the last 25 years . Some companies are doing very well .
Idiom: go downhill (used idiomatically: yes)
What makes a truly great team is having two of these in midfield plus a ball winner and a roving midfield man . Leeds possed this at the beginning of the season when Batts , Speed , Macca and Strach were on the field . Although Strach 's performances have been going downhill ( by his standards ) since he injured his back . Thus to compensate for Strach , Rocky was the ideal replacement . However the board went and sold Batts :- I do n't know much about Tinkler is he more in the Batts or Strach mould ?
Idiom: take it easy (used idiomatically: yes)
Infant Care ( 1958 edition ) shows many examples . On the baby 's sleeping place : ‘ Do whatever way disturbs your sleep least’ ; on his clothing : ‘ Some mothers prefer … others think … ’ ; on genital play : ‘ This is a common thing , and can go unnoticed . But sometimes it is disturbing to mothers , so if you feel uncomfortable about it you can try giving him a toy to hold while he 's on the toilet seat’ ; and in general : ‘ If you take it easy in caring for your baby , you will be doing him a great service.’ Flexibility serves one major aim : to allow parents to enjoy their role . ‘ When you both feel light - hearted enough to enjoy your baby , you are making a good start’ says Infant Care on its second page , and Spock uses the same injunction , ‘ Enjoy Your Baby’ , as a subheading in his chapter ‘ The Right Start’ .
Idiom: all over the place (used idiomatically: yes)
I said well that cunt stood on my foot , she said so , move out I said what about good manners then . . Would of been right , you know would have been a nightmare , expected to all over the place . But if somebody said to me shop , alright you do n't flare up face you flare up with them for not fucking apologising . Yeah , I suppose .
Idiom: first off (used idiomatically: yes)
DERL McCRUDDEN / Scotland Today ; 51 secs JIM DELAHUNT Aberdeen first off tonight at seven thirty , Celtic half an hour later in Lisbon . The cup winners cup tie at Pittodrie a sell - out as you would expect as Aberdeen try to capitalise on those two away goals in Turin . They 're still a goal behind , but with
Idiom: win the day (used idiomatically: yes)
Anyway , you could write the script . You do n't need to see the film to know what 'll happen . Mom gets involved in murder cases , car chases and mean - street shoot - outs , wins the day and her son 's heart into the bargain . Welcome to Grambo . The Arts : Waking up to the terrors of the night TELEVISION
Idiom: crystal clear (used idiomatically: yes)
If they lose , they will be five points adrift with six games to go and the nightmare of 1992 let loose again . It does not bear thinking about at Old Trafford , but memories of how Leeds snitched the prize from under their noses last season have been reawakened by stonewalling Arsenal 's 0–0 draw last night which left United four games without a win . But Ferguson insisted : ‘ Let me make one thing crystal clear — Manchester United wo n't bottle it on the last lap of the championship . ‘ I most certainly take exception to one or two hints around at the moment that our biggest problem is keeping our cool . ‘ It seems as if it has become fashionable to suggest that Manchester United might suddenly become nervous .
Idiom: in the raw (used idiomatically: yes)
In fact , a large part of the syntactic complexity of the sentence comes from the use of prepositional phrases . The role of of in particular , is to relate two noun - expressions together , and the former of these expressions is always an abstract noun — if we include as " abstract " geometrical and topographical nouns like " the straight line of the flat shore " , " the devious curves of the stream " — and collective nouns such as " a group of barren islets " , " two small clumps of trees " . What this suggests is that perception and cognition go hand in hand ( as indeed they do in modern psychological theories ) : the eye does not passively record objects in the raw , but structures and schematizes them in cognitively coded groupings . For Conrad , this is as it should be : that see means both to perceive and to comprehend is more than an accident of metaphor . In his struggle with the alien and threatening"beyondness a man must faithfully use his full sensibility , in which his senses and his understanding are indissolubly joined .
Idiom: small print (used idiomatically: yes)
As we saw earlier , the technology of the time certainly could not have coped with a live street recording , so one wonders how the company got away with that . It turns out that the recording was made nearly a month before the procession , and a contemporary advertisement shows that the record was heard during the Royal Progress through London on 23 June . The small print makes it clear that the waiting crowds were in fact entertained by an ‘ Auxetophone’ amplified gramophone . The technology of sound recording has also attracted hype . The classic story is that of the blues singer Ma Rainey , contracted to a company which did not have electrical recording when it became publicized in 1926 .
Idiom: out of pocket (used idiomatically: no)
I also took the opportunity to visit the regional offices of my firm in those towns where dinners were held , and this was very much appreciated by the people concerned . The opportunity to discuss problems with members of other district societies was a great assistance to me in leading the various debates of the Southern Society during my presidential year and would certainly not have arisen without the opportunity to travel . The presidential year does cost the individual money ; if it is decided that one 's partner goes to dinners then this comes out of the individual 's pocket and is not subsidised , at least in my case , by anyone else , and it is entirely a matter of personal choice as to how this part of the arrangements is made . I made during my year a number of lasting friendships , some of which have actually turned into professional assistance in different parts of the country , and the fact that people genuinely enjoy meeting each other is shown by the annual reunions which take place , entirely at the personal expense of the individuals , which demonstrate the bond of friendship which our Institute can bring about . Perhaps there are more advantages to membership than people imagine !
Idiom: take liberties (used idiomatically: no)
However , I take the liberty of adding one thought which for understandable reasons was far from his mind at the time : A spiritually great United ~ Kingdom is essential as well .