Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: in black and white (used idiomatically: yes)
TOY BOX develops audio / oral skills through activities which are enjoyable and familiar to young children . In many of the exercises pupils are required to follow simple instructions which involve colouring , cutting out , and sticking . Most of the pages in the book have been specially designed in black and white so that children can fill in and complete the illustrations themselves . The eight centre pages are in full colour and feature attractive cut - outs for use in the activities and games . Toy Box aims to teach a limited amount of basic vocabulary , such as greetings , colours , numbers , food , clothes , and toys .
Idiom: life and limb (used idiomatically: yes)
The eyes were red - rimmed . There was a bogey up the left nostril . ‘ You want I should creep over to that great armoured tank of a thing risking life and limb , and casually blow off its frigging tracks . Is that what you 're saying , sir?’ ‘ That 's right.’
Idiom: rare bird (used idiomatically: yes)
The one I came up with eventually was ‘ indescribable’ . I gave it up and sat still , content to watch . No rare birds ; just the incredible numbers , and the variety . Every niche of the craggy cliff held a nest , every hollow of the turfy ledge just below me had eggs or young gulls nestling there . Further down I saw kittiwakes , with their gentle dark eyes and neat nests ; below them , in deeper crevices , the ugly shags with their uglier young , showing the brilliant apricot gape of their beaks as they craned for food .
Idiom: in the short run (used idiomatically: yes)
Stories of alleged ' loony left ' politics became a standard feature of their political coverage : the apocryphal ' baa baa white sheep ' , ' black rubbish bins'and the true or false antics of Labour Party candidates or spokespersons entered the public consciousness . Stung by these allegations , the Labour Party reappraised its strategy . In the short run it attempted to detach itself from its ' extremist ' wing — more properly , those sections of the Labour Party which the right - wing popular press considered extreme — on the grounds that the ' loony left'cost it electoral votes . In the long run it was to create a new ' image ' of itself which was purposely devoid of politics , as well as left - wing politics . The Labour Party 's obsession with distancing itself from anything which the right - wing media could pick up and exploit as ' extremist ' is well described by Wainwright in her account of a Labour Party election rally .
Idiom: on the carpet (used idiomatically: yes)
Its accessories enable the basic unit to use the cleaning and sterilising power of steam for cleaning , too . And as you do n't need chemicals , it 's environmentally friendly , and saves you money . We tried it on carpets , upholstery , wall tiles , windows , wood and vinyl floors , inside an oven , on a lawnmower , a motorbike , and for defrosting a freezer . Other uses include removing Artex , lifting vinyl floor tiles , killing weeds and sterilising soil , etc . The Steama Plus includes the boiler unit , a large and small plate for wallpaper stripping , a carpet / floor cleaner head , and a jet nozzle with scraper and brush attachments .
Idiom: dead to the world (used idiomatically: yes)
He rubbed his eyes , rose slowly and went into the bedroom . He undressed , but could not bother to do so in the proper order , to remove his socks before stepping out of trousers and boxer shorts . Anyway Amanda was dead to the world . He slipped in beside her and crunched on the dusty taste of a Rennie . He lay on his back for a few moments as he always did , then turned onto his right side , arranging himself as if for sleep .
Idiom: on ice (used idiomatically: yes)
An outer gate was open , an inner gate was closed . They stood in three rows of five , to be counted and then marched forward . On the ice one man fell and was scooped back to his feet by those who were behind him . Not really a march , not even a brisk tramp , but a shuffling movement forward towards the opened gate : Holly saw the high wooden fence of vertical overlapping boards and above it the rise of steep angled roofs and in the corners were watch - towers built up on stilts with the platform reached by open ladder . They kept the dogs close to the prisoners .
Idiom: under the table (used idiomatically: yes)
I said , ‘ Ssshh’ , cravenly , for I was scared of her , although not as scared as I was of my own parent . Lili had already smoked three cigarettes and stubbed them out in her saucer , devil - may - care , and Mrs Monro had said nothing . Now she jabbed the toe of her smart Italian shoe in the dog , who was snuffling about under the table . We were sitting in the window embrasure looking out over the laurustines , cupressus and other seemingly indestructible plants . ‘ Bugger off,’ said Lili to the dog , incurring the insincere wrath of his mistress , who chose that moment to reappear .
Idiom: mean business (used idiomatically: yes)
According to the Environment Secretary , Michael Heseltine , British industry risks losing out on the business opportunities opened up by the need for new equipment to assess and control environmental problems . Speaking at the annual conference of the Confederation of British Industry ( CBI ) , he quoted a recent study which indicated that the ratio of exports to imports of environmental technology had fallen from 8:1 to 1:1 in the 1980s . He said that the message that " environment means business " had only been understood by few companies , and that small and medium - sized ones in particular had been slow to recognize the opportunities . , A survey has shown that the number of major companies which have adopted corporate environmental policies rose from 41 per cent to 66 per cent in 1991 . Conducted by Environmental Policy Consultants , the survey also found that 74 per cent of companies wanted the government to enforce regulations more effectively .
Idiom: rags to riches (used idiomatically: yes)
Passage to India is Taylor-made Giles Smith FOR a man who must have thought his career was over six years ago when rejected by Derbyshire , Paul Taylor 's passage to India is indeed a rags - to - riches miracle . The story of how the 28-year-old left-arm paceman returned to county cricket after two years languishing in the minor counties with Staffordshire is remarkable enough . For , after less than 20 wickets in four lean years with Derbyshire , Taylor was part of the Staffordshire team that came to Northampton in the first round of the 1990 NatWest Cup to be plundered by Allan Lamb and company for the record total of 360-2 .
Idiom: larger than life (used idiomatically: yes)
THE FIRST thing you notice about The Wishplants is how they make performing on stage look so good and so damn easy . Most bands at this early stage would have trouble performing in front of their bedroom mirror . Above the usual Fraggle style , the leaping around and smiling a lot stage presence , the Northampton four - piece have a frontman with a larger than life aura akin to Perry Farrell and Miles Hunt . They 're precisely the kinda group to resurrect your faith in new and exciting music , and this is only their tenth gig after just six months together . By blending all the right components ( PWEI , MEF , Jane 's Addiction , Megas ) and looking fashionably dreadlocked and cute , it 's apparent why every A&R type in London is in the building tonight .
Idiom: up the spout (used idiomatically: yes)
So we was er called out at nine o'clock on the Sunday morning transport was laid on and we was taken over to , to fire in woods at Fradley , the other side of Lichfield . We was there till six o'clock in the afternoon and it took us from the er ten o'clock in the morning , say about ten when we got there , it took us from ten till six to fire five rounds of ammunition because there was that many there and you had to wait your turn . While they went into the firing blackboards to fire your rounds and you , all you was allowed to fire was five five and then you had to wait , take your turn course everybody had got to go in , they 'd got to check them as everybody got had fired their five there were n't one left up the spout like there was before , course it took time see , and it took us a day , I would say a day , to fire five rounds of ammunition . And that was the only time that I 've fired a rifle cos , well actually I went got , rose to a corporal I was a corporal when they finished and erm I was in er made cor lance corporal and then I was er with a heavy Vickers machine gun , that 's the one with the has water cooled casing on it the big heavy one you see , and I was with that , that team . Then when I took er you 'd you could take a proficiency test which was held at , at your Company Headquarters by a visiting officer and erm I then , we 'd , by then we 'd had some American weapons come , one was the Browning automatic which is a very very good good er weapon , you could r fire single shots or rapid shots .
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: no)
This is the power to make a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Communities seeking an authoritative interpretation of a point of European Community law relevant to the determination of the dispute before the court ( RSC 0.114 ) . Any court or tribunal may make such a reference , and final appeal courts must make a reference where the point of European Community law is relevant to its decision ( EEC Treaty , Article 177 ) . The effect of a reference is to suspend the proceedings before the referring court until the Court of Justice has handed down its opinion which is then applied by the referring court to the dispute before it . Managing the Business of the Court of Appeal Significant changes were made by the Supreme Court Act 1981 in the arrangements for the management of the business of the civil division of the Court of Appeal .
Idiom: hands down (used idiomatically: yes)
It was unbelievable that he could suggest such a thing — and she wondered if it was a test of some sort . But it did n't matter . Although he did n't yet know it , he had won hands down . She would leave at the first opportunity , and never again would she listen to the reckless promptings of her heart . She opened her eyes and darted a glance at Marc , sure by now that he was already planning some further strategy by which to entangle her .
Idiom: fall on stony ground (used idiomatically: yes)
I have asked some of the great white chiefs where they get their authority to say to the Indian that he shall stay in one place , while he sees white men going where they please . They can not tell me . Joseph 's words fell on stony ground . In June 1979 , Hayt compromised by transferring Joseph 's 370 Nez Perce about 180 miles west to Oakland on the Ponca Reservation . The Lapwai Nez Perce opened a school there , but the children continued to die .
Idiom: neck and neck (used idiomatically: yes)
So what are the important points in that ? That they set off neck and neck . Okay set off neck and neck . Right . Alright .
Idiom: know the score (used idiomatically: yes)
sake Sunday , all over this City Strange bedfellows wake Come together again , or turn the other cheek Nobody knows the score There 's a queue of girls in the dairy buying breakfast For far more Than they bargained
Idiom: behind the eight ball (used idiomatically: yes)
The Microsoft - Insignia alliance spells trouble for Sun which has refused to license Windows from Microsoft . Sun 's technical approach with WABI means they must literally re - invent Windows from scratch . The process is technically demanding and time - consuming , to say the least , and puts WABI behind the eight ball as far as staying current with Windows development , a situation Microsoft is likely to exploit . As it is , SunSelect has reportedly validated only a dozen Windows applications on WABI and the thing still does n't print . Meanwhile , WABI is making its debut to suggestions from Microsoft that it might sue for violating its intellectual property rights ( UX No 431 ) .
Idiom: take stock (used idiomatically: yes)
One example of how major curriculum reform can be introduced into an established and traditional medical course is the recent experience at Harvard . Harvard 's new pathway Harvard has a reputation as the premier medical school in North America , and the fact that it has chosen to introduce sweeping changes in its course is likely to make other schools take stock of what it is doing . I asked the dean , Daniel Tosteson , why such a successful school had decided to revolutionise its course . Like many recent reforms in medical education the changes had started with the dean 's concern at the effects of the traditional course on the students in his faculty .
Idiom: kill the goose that lays the golden eggs (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr Richard Aiken , counsel for BBC Enterprises , had told the court that a decision on whether to continue the BBC Europe service should have been made at the end of November but had been deferred until a meeting of the directors on December 29 . ‘ They are anxious that they should not go on running a system which may in the long term be at a loss,’ he said . Hi - Tech , which has told the court it is willing to collect the £ 100-per - decoder viewing fee because it does not wish to ‘ kill the goose that lays the golden egg’ is now restricted to fulfilling its existing orders for decoders pending the further hearing in the New Year . A lawyer said Hi - Tech will seek to appeal to the Lords . Troops kill US teenager in the silent suburbs * .
Idiom: have the last laugh (used idiomatically: yes)
Anyway the local rag , the Sentinel , had a headline ‘ The Magnificent seven’ which he proceeded to photocopy and stick up everywhere . Thankfully one of the other people in the flat was from keighley and a fellow whites fan ( had trials with them he kept telling me , and scored against Lukic — a fact he celebrated by naming his cat after the illustrious man ) so they press cuttings did n't last too long . We thought we 'd had the last laugh when we got to the play - off finals against Charlton but he was an even bigger pain in the arse after that . Stu From :
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
Golden king cups were in flower . A red grouse skimmed low over the heather . We heard , like Tom , ‘ the skylark saying his matins high up in the air’ . A flock of eight curlew rose and we were treated to a spectacular display flight of steep flapping rises , slow glides and bubbling trills . We could n't leave Malham country without seeing the Cove and we made a detour in the mini - bus .
Idiom: get a move on (used idiomatically: yes)
Why could n't you ask about tulips I could 've told you about . Come on Bamber Come on Bamber get a move on . Oh here 's one for mum , she 'll get this one . Lyde is a seaside resort , where ?
Idiom: chicken feed (used idiomatically: no)
That 's the next thing to do . ' And Lucy lifted her pinafore to her face and collapsed into a heaving , sobbing little bundle . Not so when she went into the shop , carrying the family chicken - feed tin , to whisper , ' Pet - a - torn , please . ' My kind aunty knew at once what she meant , but first she would invite Lucy to choose a sweet from the box on the counter . Then , hand in hand they would cross the yard to the shed where there were two great bins , one of mixed corn and one of maize .
Idiom: come to grief (used idiomatically: yes)
Sterling lost all gains made over the past few days after the Germans cut a quarter per cent off their interest rate . Merchant bank SG Warburg said : ' We are no better off than we were on Friday . ' Mr Major could come to more grief this weekend . The City fears a Bank Rate rise to prop up the pound if the French vote no to the Maastricht treaty on Sunday . Labour 's Tony Blair said Britain needed a change of policy rather than a Premier hiding in his bunker .
Idiom: all hell broke loose (used idiomatically: no)
Onstage are a set of eccentric instruments , a bank of valve - powered electric equipment and a clumsily daubed monolith that blocks out the familiar Marquee logo on the stage back - drop . After a long interlude that features some unrecognisable classical piece , Faust troop onstage and proceed to twiddle knobs , hit their strange percussion devices and strum on an acoustic guitar . A feeling of warm - up is definitely in the air ; a flexing of muscles that have not been stretched in public for some time makes up the first few minutes of Faust 's extraordinary set … and then all hell breaks loose ! Lead / bass guitarist Jean - Herve Peron unstraps his double - necked guitar monster ( an apparatus that allows him to play both styles with minimum effort ) and holds up his hands in joy . ‘ I 'm so happy to be here,’ he enthuses .
Idiom: power behind the throne (used idiomatically: yes)
He was undoubtedly an influential counsellor . As early as 1166 John de Belmeis , Bishop of Poitiers , writing to Becket , said of Eleanor that " all her trust is in Ralph de Faye " . He was involved in the most important questions of policy — negotiations for the marriage of royal children : Eleanor in 1170 and John in 1173 But in view of Eleanor of Aquitaine 's masterful political activity in later years it seems superfluous to look for a power behind the throne . If the initiative did not come from their mother it is hard to see either Richard , at fifteen , or Geoffrey , at fourteen , being persuaded to rebel by a man behind the scenes . It was her own decision , no one else 's .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh . No . Ca n't it do does n't ring a bell at all . Not at all . It will do .
Idiom: under the influence (used idiomatically: yes)
On the local level , where a much greater chance of agreement could be assumed and where Hughes could not veto their action , political work was easier . J. Scott Lidgett , head of the Wesleyans ' Bermondsey Settlement , warned delegates in 1901 about their political work : The free Church Council , special emergencies apart , will therefore best serve the administration of its city or town , neither by meddlesome interference with it , nor by attempting to be represented as such in its political caucuses , or even on its administrative boards ; but by training men who , representing its views and coming under its influence , have at once the strength of character and the breadth of conception , which will cause them to secure its great ends … in the ordinary arena of public life . The advice was not followed . Local councils did avoid using national party labels but there was no real need to use them anyway .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
Pre - tax profits soared from £ 21.4 million to almost £ 32 million and the company joined Iceland Frozen Foods yesterday in announcing turnover that topped £ 1 billion for the first time , jumping from £ 920 million to £ 1.05 billion . A final dividend of 3.75p lifts the 1992 total from 5p to 5.65p , and the shares jumped 7.5p to 243.5p . Much of the boost to profits came from pharmaceutical retailing , which has been built up almost from scratch since the E Moss chain of chemists was bought in 1991 . Helped by a couple of purchases north of the Border , the chain has grown from 130 at the beginning of 1992 to 209 now , with operating profits leaping from just £ 700,000 in 1991 to £ 4.9 million last year . The three Portuguese pharmaceutical wholesalers acquired in the first half of 1992 made their first contribution , but disposing of the nappy - making business cost UniChem £ 2.4 million below the line .
Idiom: live a lie (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You see ! You wo n't lie , so you still believe it ! If I accepted this relationship you seem to want , you 'd come to hate me for making you live a lie . Nothing we feel could ever overcome that . You want me ; you do n't love me or trust me.’
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
The bodies of these cars were carried on channel steel underframes and there were steel platform bearers . In conformity with later L.C.C. E/1 cars these Croydon cars had folding platform steps , on the backs of which were side lifeguards , which came into position when the steps were folded up . There were the usual Tidswell type three slat lifeguards and Philipson type guards on the offside . The bodies weighed eight tons .
Idiom: pick up the pieces (used idiomatically: yes)
There 's no evidence the IRA has suddently just become interested in purely attacking property Voice over Milton Keynes is picking up the pieces and pleased that at least no one lost a life . But it may be some time before shoppers confidence is restored . The Olympic weightlifter Andrew Saxton who was sent home from Barcelona after a positive drugs test may be allowed to compete after all . The British Olympic Association says it is a possibility .
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: no)
Nothing makes sense without you , said another . These , too , he left as he had found them . Light from the desk - lamp fell on his hands spread out on the blue blotting - paper , thin hands with thin fingers , only half the size they would become . His face in the gloom outside the glow of light was pale beneath his smooth black hair , his eyes intent yet empty of expression . He rose from the desk and turned on another light in the room .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
He even promises receipts . Selvam is a leading figure in the thriving Indian trade in illegal kidneys . In Bombay alone , it is estimated that up to $ 10 million a year may change hands as agents like Selvam match up impoverished donors , willing to exchange a kidney for cash , with wealthy patients who can not obtain one by any other means . About 37,500 people a year suffer from kidney failure in India . The vast majority have little chance of getting proper treatment .
Idiom: see eye to eye (used idiomatically: yes)
Although the P25 was by then quite good , Rudd realised that the front suspension could be tweaked still further . He formed the idea early in 1958 that a new front end with very unequal length wishbones would stop the roll centre moving about . He waited until Berthon — with whom Rudd had never seen eye to eye — took a holiday and grafted a new front end on to Jean Behra 's car . Berthon was livid at one of his cars being butchered but had to acknowledge that it handled better . ‘ I bet Behra that he would put the car on pole at Monaco in 1958,’ says Rudd , ‘ and he did .
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: no)
As Rider Haggard 's novels about Ayesha presented her in part as a symbol of the ideal woman , so Masefield showed Olivia Stukeley in this light , as Charles Margaret saw her : He felt that human beings were all manifestations of a divine purpose . Perhaps that lovely woman was an idea , an idea of refinement , of delicate , exquisite , right grace , clothed in fitting flesh , walking the world with heavenly intention . The captain 's love remains on this exalted plane throughout scenes of action in which idealism is not always satisfactorily integrated . Set in the late seventeenth century , this story of a three - cornered relationship depends on active events vigorously described but ill supported by very generalised characters .
Idiom: no two ways about it (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'll show you what we 've got down here . " " One or two of us are just going to silflay , " said Hazel . " Oh , it 's still raining much too hard for that , " said Cowslip , as though there could be no two ways about it . " We 'll feed you here . " " I should be sorry to quarrel over it , " said Hazel firmly,"but some of us need to silflay .
Idiom: take root (used idiomatically: yes)
He did not flinch from declaring ‘ I say to you’ and then made astounding claims about himself . As soon as the Church spread from Jewish into Gentile cultures further adaptation was required . Michael Green writes , ‘ Once Christianity took root in Hellenistic soil , it became necessary to do a tremendous work of translation . Not only words , but ideas had to be put into other dress . Without such a task of translation , the message would have been heard , perhaps , but not assimilated’(Green 1970:115 ) .