Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: pull a fast one (used idiomatically: yes)
Does it indicate that the meaning of an idiom can not be inferred from ( or , more precisely , can not be accounted for as a compositional function of ) the meanings the parts carry IN THAT EXPRESSION ? Clearly not — so it must be a matter of their meanings in other expressions . But equally clearly , these ‘ other expressions’ must be chosen with care : in considering to pull someone 's leg , for instance , there is little point in referring to pull in to pull a fast one , or leg in He has n't a leg to stand on . The definition must be understood as stating that an idiom is an expression whose meaning can not be accounted for as a compositional function of the meanings its parts have when they are not parts of idioms . The circularity is now plain : to apply the definition , we must already be in a position to distinguish idiomatic from non - idiomatic expressions .
Idiom: take a back seat (used idiomatically: yes)
Community care proposals were perceived by many NHS staff as essentially to do with social care , something which could best be left to the local authorities . In between the publication of the White Paper and the passing of the new Act , the government decided that in view of the work required on the hospital services , it could not expect its community care proposals to be ready by the proposed launch date of April 1991 , so in early 1990 it announced a two - year delay in implementation until 1993 . Once again , community care was to take a back seat while the hospital services received the main attention . Enthusiasm largely fizzled out when the delay in implementation was announced , and the ad hoc , laissez - faire government approach of letting authorities decide for themselves how fast and how enthusiastically to move on the proposals is exacerbated by a lack of ministerial drive and an absence of central government leadership in the mental health field . Care management
Idiom: under fire (used idiomatically: yes)
This was seen as a very significant move , given India 's longstanding insistence that Kashmir was an exclusively bilateral issue , but subsequent statements by the Ministry of External Affairs emphasised that purpose of the meeting was purely to give information and that India was not asking for international mediation . The Pakistani authorities banned the proposed protest on Feb. 6 , and on Feb. 7 deployed 40,000 security personnel along the border and blockaded roads in and out of the Azad Kashmir capital of Muzaffarabad ; nevertheless , 7,000 JKLF supporters set off from the city on Feb. 11 . Police blockades forced them to proceed on foot , and as the march approached the border the following day it came under fire from the security forces . Official figures put the casualties at seven dead and 22 wounded , but independent sources estimated that 16 demonstrators and two policemen had been killed and 350 demonstrators injured , 66 of whom were in critical condition . In spite of the firing 300 demonstrators succeeded in reaching the border at Chakoti , where Khan eventually agreed to call off the march .
Idiom: in the final analysis (used idiomatically: yes)
In addition , the results of two different studies have been published in abstract form , one of these claiming a therapeutic benefit for heater probe . This study , including estimation of sample size and the methods used , was aimed at avoiding problems with statistical evaluation of the results . The inaccessible lesions were included in the final analysis as the aim was to evaluate this procedure according to the intention to treat . Only the results from the first treatment with the heater probe were included in the statistical analysis although a definitive control of the bleeding was achieved sometimes after additional sessions . Finally , rebleeding from a previously missed and non - treated ulcer was considered a failure .
Idiom: under the table (used idiomatically: yes)
Jack was silent . He knew there was nothing he could say . ' Have you seen what 's under this table ? ' he asked eventually . ' The engravings ? I found them when I was a kid . '
Idiom: sour grapes (used idiomatically: yes)
By Harry Pincott IN HIS role as assistant coach to our own Ian McGeechan on the British Lions tour to New Zealand this summer , Dick Best is hoping that tomorrow 's game between Scotland and Wales is a classic . ‘ It 's time we had an outstanding international,’ said the English coach who , without any sour grapes after Wales 's win at Cardiff , desperately wants to see some back play , sadly missing in most of the Five Nations games so far . Best reckons there wo n't be much between the sides at Murrayfield , having been impressed by the Welsh commitment against his own team —‘We knew they would come at us , and they certainly did , though we should still have won’— while he has taken a liking to the revamped Scottish pack . Without committing himself , Best reckons that Wales will have one important advantage , namely having played under the French referee , Joel Dume .
Idiom: call it a day (used idiomatically: yes)
Moving on automatic pilot , she forced herself to tidy up the make - up room , washing sponges and organising the cosmetics she 'd need the following evening when the play had its first - night performance . She was still there some time later when Dane entered the room , a faint weariness evident in his vivid blue eyes . ‘ The director 's finally decided to call it a day,’ he said . ‘ Was the rehearsal a success?’ she asked stiltedly , still plagued by the doubts that had been besetting her ever since leaving Gavin . ‘ Heaven forbid,’ he smiled .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
They Out of the blue ? Well hardly out of the blue , they asked for it a week ago . I see . though that again is questionable .
Idiom: come to think of it (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Most people try to kill themselves when they 're nineteen,’ she 'd informed Preston . ‘ I did n't feel very loved.’ It was surprising , now he came to think of it , that this had n't scared him off , but he 'd been lulled by her flippancy . It was all part of the mad social whirl that young women of her age had to endure . Suicide attempts ( ‘ Not that it was serious,’ she told him , ‘ just attention - seeking’ ) , anorexia , the odd abortion ( only one in her case , but she gave the impression this was well below average ) and messy affairs with married men .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
This state - of - the - art technology makes the entire granulation process possible in a single unit .
Idiom: take someone's word for it (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm normally quite an equable sort of guy , you know.’ She eyed him with scepticism . ‘ I 'll take your word for it.’ ‘ And when it comes to females I 'd have a problem trying to escape them anyway,’ he said , determinedly light . ‘ I 've got far too many in my own family for starters .
Idiom: fall on deaf ears (used idiomatically: yes)
You 've just said you have n't been around for several weeks . So it 's pretty obvious to me that someone else used this apartment in your absence!’ For a few seconds she thought her outburst had fallen on deaf ears , then Rune said softly , ‘ Yes , of course , you 're right . It had temporarily slipped my mind , but someone did have a spare key some while ago . I assumed it had been replaced , but in the circumstances … ’
Idiom: follow suit (used idiomatically: yes)
Euro turn - off FOOTBALL lovers in the south are set to miss out when Rangers play Marseille in the European Cup . TVS will not screen the November 25 tie and Thames are expected to follow suit . Thomas ban FORMER British champion Pat Thomas has been banned from all involvement in amateur boxing after it was discovered he was a professional trainer with the Billy Aird stable .
Idiom: out on a limb (used idiomatically: yes)
' The information wo n't help you . Still , ' said Garvin relenting , ' I could tell you something , I suppose . ' He liked to remind Owen that , out on a privileged limb though the Mamur Zapt might be , he , Garvin , had access to levels that Owen could only aspire to . ' It 's to do with the succession . ' Garvin said .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
Even where local products could be bought , so superior were English goods presumed to be that place of origin marks on goods of colonial manufacture were often falsified . Direct trade with Africa was comparatively small , although the export of trade goods and guns to secure slaves for the New World plantations expanded rapidly after 1780 . The notorious Atlantic trade in black Africans has received the extensive and controversial attention of historians , and that is as it should be , for it was a shameful traffic for which apologetics are quite out of order . Human beings were wrenched from their homeland and crammed into the airless stinking holds of vessels to provide , if they survived , the slave labour of the plantation economies of the West Indies and the southern states of North America . Just how many made the passage is a matter of considerable argument , but a figure of around 2 million will do .
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
I was turned around and frog - marched to the last flight of stairs leading to the foyer , then thrown down the last six steps . I landed near the feet of a huge policeman . I then vomited , lay still for some seconds to recover from my disorientation and looked up at the officer , standing nonchalantly with hands clasped behind his back . He was amused with a certain satisfaction on his beefy face . I made an attempt to speak .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
‘ Even if I am wrong and think of a dozen times , it is still dreadful that somebody so involved in the game is not out there watching the guys . ‘ He is very much of the old school . He thinks you arrive , hit a dozen balls , go out and play , shoot a 72 , then go to the bar and have a chat . ‘ Then next morning you feel a bit better , have a swing and shoot 71 . You do that now and you are on the road .
Idiom: under the weather (used idiomatically: yes)
DID YOU KNOW ONLY two English clubs have averaged gates of more than 50,000 during a season since 1945 — Manchester United and Everton . UNDER THE WEATHER Philippines volcano gets blame for blowing away summer GILL SWAIN
Idiom: too many cooks spoil the broth (used idiomatically: yes)
No , thank you . Be in the way . Too many cooks spoil the broth . Pardon ? Too many cooks
Idiom: see eye to eye (used idiomatically: no)
Phoebe tried to build up a little guilt about his wife but failed to do so . Because she never had to be his lover in front of Maggie or Rachel she had no need to worry about that either . Occasionally she could see a gleam in Rachel 's eye , as though she might suddenly ask him if his intentions were honourable , but for the first time in her life she learned to be grateful for her mother 's good manners . He was fun . He would turn up at her garden with a picnic in the late afternoons , laying out a white cloth , champagne and strawberries under the shadow of the tower block and the bemused scrutiny of the local youth .
Idiom: out of line (used idiomatically: yes)
No , sorry you 're way out of line Chris ! Yes . Way out of line , I do n't know where you work that one out ! Oh I dunno . Yeah , I 'm bringing it in
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
In British terms that means reflecting the multifarious ways in which speech and gesture reveal or seek to conceal social status and social pretension : and in a fast - shifting , highly unrigid world like the British , status is far more often a matter of pretension than of birth . Like Shaw 's Eliza in Pygmalion , you are what you decide to be , more or less ; and no people on earth , one may suspect , is so adept at jumping hierarchies by efficiently switching accent or style . Self - promotion of that sort may be a matter for amused comment , but it is widely accepted that one may choose one 's Place in the pecking order , or try to , and that in Britain parentage does not irreversibly define class . ‘ Look , I know it 's a dodgy topic,’ some one remarks in Amis 's Stanley and the Women ( 1984 ) , ‘ but you are lower class , are n't you , darling?’ ; to which the admirably candid reply is : I was before I came up in the world , true , but lower - middle - class , not working - class .
Idiom: the ayes have it (used idiomatically: yes)
Question is the motions on the order papers , say Aye . Aye no , I think the ayes have it , the ayes have it . We then move to motion number eight Mr secretary Redwood to move it . Mr Deputy Speaker I beg to move that the local government finance report Wales nineteen ninety four to ninety five House of Commons paper number one six eight , which was laid before this house on the thirty first of January , be approved .
Idiom: spring to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
of local authorities gave evidence of evictions . It is a particular problem in the south - east , where there are escalating costs . There have been examples in local councils in the south - east — Hertfordshire springs to mind — of evictions taking place . We must study the gap closely and we must realise that , in many of the homes that have come on to the market , on which there has been significant capital outlay by people moving into the private sector , the costs have escalated because of the massive increase in interest rates . Those costs have been passed on to the residents , so the gap has widened .
Idiom: first up (used idiomatically: yes)
They mocked each other mercilessly , made a comedy of the simplest incident and drew the world into their pantomime . ' And so they do n't know which button to push in the lift , ' laughed the Youngest Son . ' First up , then down . Then up and up and down and down . Hussa got out the della and began to pour coffee .
Idiom: use a sledgehammer to crack a nut (used idiomatically: yes)
Once again , the Divisional Court refused to apply the criteria used by the European Court of Human Rights . Whatever the outcome of those particular appeals ( in which I should declare my professional interest as representative of both Dr Colman and the journalists ) it seems inevitable that English courts , indirectly influenced by Europe , will eventually develop coherent constitutional and legal principles to review the substance of administrative decisions . The principle of proportionality — do not use a sledgehammer to crack a nut — is straightforward logic . And in the absence of a modern British Bill of Rights , the European Convention provides a convenient source of Lord Diplock 's ‘ accepted moral standards’ where fundamental rights and freedoms are at stake . In this way we will move towards a fully developed system of public law which will better serve the interests of the state as well as of the citizen .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
Gridiron players are taught to tackle head first , driving their facemask into the opponent 's chest . The key to survival is to keep the head up . But Houston Oilers quarterback Warren Moon explains : ‘ Creating turnovers has become so important that players are being coached to strike with the helmet first in the hope it will jar the ball loose . Sometimes the helmet strikes the body , not the ball . ’ Dr Joseph Torg , professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania , adds : ‘ If you take the head out of the game , that removes the cervical spine from the game .
Idiom: go public (used idiomatically: yes)
Avid Technology Inc , designing and marketing high - performance digital video , film and audio editing systems in Tewkesbury , Massachusetts , got an offer of 2.8 m shares , 2.44 m of them new , away at $ 20.00 per share . Underwriters were Morgan Stanley & Co ; Robertson , Stephens & Co ; and Volpe , Welty & Co. Dialogic Corp , the Parsippany , New Jersey company with the Signal Computing Signal Architecture specification for building and programming call processing systems from signal computing components ( CI No 2,120 ) , has filed to go public with an initial offer of 2.5 m shares , 1.675 m of them new , at a target price of between $ 10.00 and $ 12.00 per share . The $ 16 m or so net proceeds will be used for working capital and to repay bank debt . Hambrecht & Quist Inc and Robertson , Stephens & Co LP will manage the underwriting group , Dialogic said .
Idiom: wipe someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You feeling all right , Brian?’ he inquired . ‘ Quite all right , thanks , Vic , quite all right .’ Everthorpe coughed and wheezed and wiped his eyes with a silk handkerchief which he wore , affectedly , in his breast pocket . ‘ You 're a lucky man , Vic.’ ‘ What are you talking about?’
Idiom: by the same token (used idiomatically: no)
Physical activity and natural light Light exercise and brisk walks taken at your accustomed time by the new local time will help to adjust you to the new time zone and to make you feel ready for sleep at bedtime . A particularly good time to be out - of - doors in natural lighting in the first two to three days after the flight is that corresponding to the evening and first part of the night on ' old time ' , 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock ; this should help to delay your body clock . By the same token try to avoid bright natural light for the first two to three days after the flight at times corresponding to 5 to 11 o'clock in the morning on old time as this will tend to advance your body clock . Table 11.2 gives examples of this advice in practice . Social activities Provided that they do not stop you going to bed at the proper time , social activities are a very good way of adjusting to the new time zone , particularly if they enable you to spend time out - of - doors in natural daylight at the times recommended in Table 11.2 .
Idiom: by the back door (used idiomatically: yes)
the accommodation was let to a couple in which the man was just under 65 . The council argued that it had adopted a sex equality policy to enable both men and women over 60 to rent elderly persons ' dwellings , but that they would now have to review these ‘ progressive’ policies . Selling by the back door by Roger Jarman . Housing , August 1991 . ( See Periodical Articles section ) .
Idiom: body blow (used idiomatically: yes)
Voice over It 's taken 114 years to build up Blackwells from a one - room shop to today 's multi - million pound business . But tomorrow , with just a few words , the Chancellor could deal the company a body blow . VAT on books could cut sales by a 5Th and up to 200 jobs in Oxford may be at risk . He says they 've worked hard to build the company up .
Idiom: beg the question (used idiomatically: yes)
It is for this reason that James 's style here is more expository than narrative . An important part of the technique is delay of clarification , for immediate clarification , in the nature of things , can not be supplied without oversimplification . When James begins with the simple statement " The poor young man hesitated and procrastinated " , he begs such questions as : Who was the young man ? Why was he hesitating and procrastinating ? Where was he ?
Idiom: tell tales (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Talking about the size of your overdraft , are we , dear?’ ‘ Gosh - darn,’ Rory said , snapping his fingers , looking at Kenneth . ‘ Caught telling tales again.’ ‘ Runs in the family,’ Kenneth said , taking up his glass . ‘ Cheers , Janice.’
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
The elevator 's out of order , so we 'll have to take the stairs . At ~ least it 's only two floors !
Idiom: stake a claim (used idiomatically: yes)
He was inexperienced and little known before he was propelled into the highest office by his friends ' ambition for him and by the deadlock between Long and Chamberlain in 1911 . He had entered parliament in 1900 , twenty - six years after Balfour , he had held no Cabinet post , he had taken no active role in party institutions , and he had not involved himself much in the social world of Westminster . However , his candidature in 1911 had been aided by three factors : he was a Conservative rather than a Liberal Unionist , but he was the sort of Conservative who would be acceptable to Liberal Unionists as well ; he was a diehard in opinion , but he had remained loyal to Balfour 's policy throughout the recent twists and turns ; and he had staked a claim by his abandonment of his safe London seat to fight North - West Manchester in December 1910 ( at no real risk , for an alternative safe seat was always available to him if and when he lost ) . Law 's claims were therefore substantial , but they were known to few outside parliament , Glasgow and Manchester . In welcoming him , the party thus welcomed him as a stereotype .
Idiom: on the same wavelength (used idiomatically: no)
It 's a long - term plan . We have n't really discussed it , to be honest ; but I 've seen her with kids once or twice and she seems to get on with them instinctively . To be on the same wavelength . What I mean is , she does n't seem surprised by the way they behave and how they react to things ; it seems normal to her and she accepts it . I 've always found children to be OK , but I 've never completely worked them out .
Idiom: for the time being (used idiomatically: yes)
They moved to a flat in Kensington that Ken financed for them — to the point that he made Carry On Regardless solely to recoup some of his losses . Lou was n't at all happy there , but she was in good health and that was the only thing that Ken bothered about . He seemed to have resolved his sexual hang - ups for the time being and was content with his lonely existence . When the Daily Telegraph thundered on to his front doormat , he could get up and do the crossword over the pot of tea that served as his breakfast . With all these things going well , Ken seemed as happy as possible although Michael Codron could find no reason to amend his belief that Ken could never be happy .
Idiom: watering hole (used idiomatically: yes)
I left the crew to fend for themselves ; they were a married couple , after all , and I remembered a small trattoria in a back street where I had enjoyed a candlelit meal . Sadly , the building was now a bank . I enjoyed the gnocchi in a friendly watering hole along the road , however , and the Elban wine was just as good as it had been 30 years ago . It was not until I wandered back to the harbour that I realised the wind had freshened . It was now blowing a near gale into the harbour , churning the once = calm water into a mass of whitecaps .
Idiom: run out of steam (used idiomatically: yes)
To exist and survive , a living system must have access to other levels of function and other mechanisms beyond those embraced by present physics , electro - magnetics and biochemistry , otherwise the natural steady progress towards entropy or disintegration would soon reduce all living systems to a state in which they could no longer reproduce the clear patterns of their own kind . Living systems are ‘ open systems’ , exchanging energy with their environment , as opposed to‘closed mechanical systems’ upon which the so - called ‘ immutable’Second Law of Thermodynamics is based . The Second Law states that the amount of energy obtained from a system is always less than the amount absorbed , so it eventually ‘ runs out of steam’ . The long - standing belief that this was applicable to all systems in Nature first had holes shot into it in recent years by Ilya Prigogine , the Belgian bio - chemist who received a Nobel Prize in 1977 for his expert marksmanship . Living matter as well as so - called ‘ inert’ matter is seen to be an expression of a formative universal field which in turn is regulated by even more subtle primary forces , Hoyle , Jeans and Raynor Johnson , as well as a host of visionaries have stated their belief that creation and the maintenance of the Universe rests upon a Universal Consciousness — a Creative Intelligence .