Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: stick out like a sore thumb (used idiomatically: yes)
A forewarning to the reader that something important and mysterious is about to happen is extremely useful . May Roberts Rinehart used it to excellent effect in The Circular Staircase . But that was in 1909 and she has had so many successors that the device now sticks out like a sore thumb and must be used only with the greatest care and deftness of touch . There is one other almost essential ingredient of the romantic suspense story that can hardly be avoided and yet which perhaps presents difficulties to anyone whose interest is more in the human relationships that are the core of this kind of book than in physical action and violence , things which seem to belong more properly to the thriller . Yet you will hardly be able to produce a romantic suspense story without at least one such action passage , probably your final confrontation and equally probably taking the form of a chase .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: yes)
The deputy chairman of the SPD faction in the Bundestag , Verheugen , said that constantly giving in to the Chinese had led them to the assumption that the government was only interested in business .
Idiom: take someone for a ride (used idiomatically: yes)
Julien Temple was a precociously clever young film - maker , a graduate of King 's College , Cambridge , and a student at the National Film School . Temple had enthusiasm , he had theories about pop culture and the importance of the teenager ; above all , he had some equipment which he had borrowed from the National Film School . McLaren felt they could work together , and he started raising money on another project , to be entitled The Great Rock ' n ' Roll Swindle — a documentary history of how McLaren and the Sex Pistols had taken the record industry for a ride . McLaren himself would star as The Swindler . McLaren 's abiding fears that Virgin were working to undermine his influence on the group had some substance .
Idiom: go to town (used idiomatically: yes)
It was still new , exciting , a treat . X - certificate films were within our grasp . We went to town with our rank , spotty friends , looking for sleaze . We took our boyfriends and our girlfriends . A whole mass of events and emotions accompanied each trip to the cinema .
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
The Freshman Consultancy opened in January 1991 in offices near London 's Euston station and has since moved to Chamber Street in E1 near Tower Hill . It specialises in the area Mr Chambers worked in at Greenfield , recruiting for companies supplying information technology and software to international financial companies . Mr Chambers bought an off - the - shelf company via his solicitors Gold , Mann and Co , opting for limited liability status because of the personal protection it gave him . He uses serviced offices because of the flexibility they offer . To keep initial setting - up costs to a minimum , all the office equipment — fax , personal computer and printer — is being purchased on three - year leases .
Idiom: keep a lid on (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Go to hell!’ she shouted , and did n't at all like the smile that crossed his features . ‘ I very probably will , but not before I 've taken you!’ he gritted . Oh , heavens , Leith thought , trying her hardest to keep a lid on her panic . ‘ Y - you — you — intend to rape me?’ she cried jerkily . ‘ Rape , darling , ’ he sneered , ‘ never entered my head.’
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
The back door was barred to her by the people she would have to pass in the kitchen . There was only one way out . She tiptoed across the wide polished boards , past the stuffed bear with his arms full of walking sticks , the brass - faced longcase clock , the dignified portrait of old Mr Jarman with his watching eyes , and quietly opened the door , drawing in great breaths of sharp fresh air , revelling in this stolen freedom . She 'd go in through the back . Invent some reason to quieten old Nosy Salt .
Idiom: on the rocks (used idiomatically: yes)
Fossegrim The name given to a plaintive GHOST of a young man who haunts European rivers , playing his flute and desultorily throwing pebbles into still water . He likes to admire pretty girls and will seldom harm them , sitting on a rock in the centre of the river to see them as they punt past . However , if one maiden is foolish or churlish enough to become upset by the sight of Fossegrim , he could well overturn the boat from spite . An old French tradition , that each boat should carry an unsheathed knife in its prow to combat the Fossegrim , is still adhered to .
Idiom: leave someone in the lurch (used idiomatically: yes)
Not to perpetrate cowardice against one 's own acts ! Not to leave them in the lurch afterward ! The bite of conscience is indecent .
Idiom: steer clear of (used idiomatically: yes)
International : Euro - Disney chaos fear By Our Paris Correspondent Britons were urged to steer clear of Euro - Disneyland near Paris on its opening day on Sunday , as French officials gave warning of vast crowds and nightmare traffic jams . A strike by drivers on the rail line serving the area will make matters much worse . ‘ Why not go in September?’ said M Georges Sarre , Transport Minister .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
he , he was sort of on loan to another company Mm . and they say film industry department , Wakefield somewhere got John 's name out of the blue , so that , do n't know anything else about it because he 's , he 's always been seen by you know , this , this other company , and he got three tax eighty seven , eighty eight , eighty eight , eighty nine , ninety , and one what , were the estimate was twenty five thousand pounds , and five thousand pounds Yes , and he had n't even earned that had he ? not a chance , he , he never even earned that much money in all his , no but I mean having , having had the income tax done that to you however ridiculous that it is you 've got to do something about it
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: no)
I saw a picture of the wreckage Oh dear , oh dear Did it catch fire ? Yes , it burst into a ball of flame on impact . It ran into the back of this motorway maintenance vehicle that was parked on the hard shoulder and er just burst into flames but how they can say they died instantly I do n't know .
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
The English had every reason to be content with what they had done , and great quantities of loot were shipped back to England . Edward now moved north - east , but heard that Philip was at Rouen with a large force . He advanced to the Seine , slipped across it at Poissy and , with Philip 's army hard on his heels , he crossed the Somme at Blanche - Taque by a ford which was revealed to the king in the nick of time , possibly by a prisoner to whom Edward offered enough money to buy the vital information . At Crécy , in the English - held County of Ponthieu , Edward decided to stand and fight . The English established themselves in a strong defensive position and on the evening of 26 August the French approached .
Idiom: down at heel (used idiomatically: yes)
In short , Broadway is now the symbolic epicentre of Manhattan 's new - found reputation as the Calcutta of the New World . Of course , the street of which I speak is merely the ten or so blocks that comprise the theatre district , and which , in the public imagination , has always been known as ' The Great White Way ' . But as any New York schoolboy will tell you , Broadway is not merely half - a - mile of down - at - heel glitz . It is , in fact , one of the longest avenues in the US : a meandering boulevard that winds from Battery Park at the tip of Manhattan straight up to the state capital of Albany , some 150 miles away . For the first four miles of its existence on Manhattan Island , it serves as a sort of grand metaphor for the exuberant social chaos that characterises New York in its present state of near - disintegration .
Idiom: with a view to (used idiomatically: yes)
East and South restores the balance of exhibitions in terms of gender , the type of work it displays , the cities it takes place in and the opportunities it offers to artists . Heather Allen ‘ Plait’ , 1992 sisal / cord School 's Out With the summer degree shows just coming down , Fiona Hackney talks to London students with a view to their futures Fighting my way through the milling crowds of private view enthusiasts which announce the opening of this years round of degree shows , my curiosity was aroused by the number of women consistently achieving standards of excellence . This , of course , should come as no surprise ; the high standards achieved by women in the arts are now well documented by feminist historians , as are the reasons for their having been ‘ hidden from history’ .
Idiom: up to here (used idiomatically: yes)
Rainbow drinks it in , wants more and more . I 'm not quite so enthralled . Indeed , I 've had it up to here . Forced to listen to all those hoary chestnuts that cast me and my kind as the bad guys , and the butt of all the jokes . What arrogance , what cheek , what chutzpah !
Idiom: on the stump (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah , but he does n't have , he does n't have to be noted in the score book , that he was no balled for a , for a beamer , but out of interest perhaps he was letting him er , so Giles there , there , left - hander , played some lovely strokes in the first innings , was n't in for long , then Shaw goes down on his knees there up and outside the old stump , he 's playing backwards , the ball goes through to Russell . By the way the lot of seemed to be played in Hertfordshire these days , and one of the great days is at Harpenden and that 's on September the first on Sunday , when they have their annual single - wicket competition , and that 's a great local event and it 's bound to encourage all the young cricketers in the neighbourhood , they 're trying to make up for the lack of cricket in schools , so well done Harpenden and that is on Sunday next , er , er , first of September and I 'll give you the time in a minute if I can find it , when it is , it does n't say , but it 's probably all day at the Harpenden club , well done Harpenden encouraging young people to play cricket , Sunday first September . Here is Lawrence , bowls this one on the leg stump , push there , the short play , fielded by Morris and that 's a wicket er that was eighteen , DaSilva a hundred and sixteen minutes and he only had one four and if we remember his first innings when he scored forty - two , with seven fours and he was in only for that , thirty - something minutes , was it ? Thirty - seven minutes , er a contrast and erm well . You may be right .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
The bridges were mended , the ruts in the roads filled in , the spring corn sown , and fat - tailed sheep browsed in the fields . Oh , there were signs of the furies to come . At crossroads the gibbets provided plump carrion for the hungry crows and ravens ; landless men turned out of their fields as the great lords changed to tending sheep rather than raising crops . Some were sturdy beggars , thieves and rogues but now and again you passed the honest yeomen , the skeletal , white - faced , puny children and worried , dark - eyed wives who tramped the roads looking for work . Shallot did what he could .
Idiom: foot the bill (used idiomatically: yes)
Tying the hands of the regulator But prices will also be driven by other cost increases that are less easily quantified and controlled . Many customers will have to foot the bill for water meters , which most companies will eventually install . Above all , the water companies may pass on to their customers any new costs caused by changes in environmental regulations . These are likely to be hefty in the next few years as the European Community ( EC ) tightens the rules on drinking water and imposes new ones on sewage disposal .
Idiom: in business (used idiomatically: no)
It is a big supplier of recipe dishes and desserts to the supermarkets . Just four of the top names M & S , Sainsbury 's , Safeway and Tesco take half of its output and sales to them are rising by 10pc a year . It is also big in the fresh pizza business . Northern has got the formula right , and as a result sales of its pizzas are shooting up 20pc a year . Northern is taking steps to protect its supplies when the Milk Marketing Board 's monopoly on milk ends .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
Remember that textbooks serve as reference books for many years after you have " mastered " the subject . Do n't sell yours in any second - hand dealing in the Union . We frequently consult both old and new textbooks on our shelves to check some small point . Marking Textbooks One of the reasons for owning rather than borrowing textbooks is that they need to be marked to get the best out of them .
Idiom: word of mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
Advantages : Likely to have wide knowledge of both the fish and their requirements . Unlikely to sell you indifferent fish , as his reputation will be spread by word of mouth . Will have full range of pond hardware , foods and medications . Will possibly offer an aftercare service .
Idiom: hold the fort (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Go to the hospital,’ she said , resting a hand lightly on his arm . ‘ Stop worrying about things back here . I 'm sure Becky can hold the fort — besides , I 'll be around if I 'm needed . You 'll have to learn to delegate if you 're going to be a father . Otherwise you 'll suffer a burn - out before you 're forty.’
Idiom: all along (used idiomatically: yes)
For the actual conquest of the elusive Mort Homme , none other than the elder brother of the Commander - in - Chief had been selected ; General of the Cavalry , Eugene von Falkenhayn , commander of the XXII Reserve Corps , and childhood tutor to the Crown Prince . He seems to have had his full share of the family cautiousness ; complaining of his methodical slowness , von Gallwitz remarked sarcastically : ‘ We shall be in Verdun at the earliest by 1920.’ Under the relentless pressure all along the front , French commanders of every sector were desperately appealing for reserves ; which often were simply not there . Yet , for all the massive support on either side of him , all the elder Falkenhayn could achieve was to push the line up on to the north crest of the Mort Homme . Great was the rejoicing , briefly , in the German camp ; for their maps marked this crest as the Mort Homme itself .
Idiom: get it up (used idiomatically: no)
So that that just stopped did it in the end . It was I had to go and get it up across the road . Yeah . I 've had some hard times mhm .
Idiom: unknown quantity (used idiomatically: yes)
There were highly satisfactory British performances in the men 's and women 's Lechner sailboards , the men 's and women 's singlehanded dinghies , the men 's 470 , and the Soling keelboat . The Flying Dutchman results were erratic , but certainly much improved , and there is now a real battle for the Olympic place between Will Henderson , Adrian Stead and Roger Tushingham . The British Olympic yachting team , which a week ago was an unknown quantity , has now come into sharper focus with three representatives chosen , and others emerging . Lawrie Smith won the Soling position without needing to compete in a match - race play - off . Shirley Robertson has taken the slot in the Europe dinghy while Penny Way was pre - selected for the woman 's Lechner sailboard .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: yes)
and that helps the bottom to dry out quicker . Yeah . Now someone else told me , and it worked , and if you just lay a piece of kitchen paper over the top , that absorbs some of the moisture The moisture . as well and ta and the top is n't so soggy .
Idiom: make ends meet (used idiomatically: yes)
June 1988 gave them an opportunity to express their grievances , seriously unnerving the struggling pro - reform Party leadership . The disparities between rich and poor were becoming greater and they were not successfully justified in the official media . Using terms like the ‘ primary stage of socialism’ , and the ‘ socialist commodity economy’ , did little to placate students and other low - income groups who were struggling to make ends meet . There was genuine fear that demonstrations could erupt . In an effort to contain the June ‘ xuechao’ on campus , the authorities issued warnings to major Beijing work units .
Idiom: roll up your sleeves (used idiomatically: yes)
Suddenly it is all about hard work , grafting for each other and scratching for the odd result that might suddenly spark your confidence . My team talk would short and to the point . ‘ Get out there , roll up your sleeves and graft your butts off!’ Any players not getting the message , would be out on their ear . At times like this , character and togetherness is all - important .
Idiom: in the pink (used idiomatically: no)
That was when Kelly began arranging her funeral . ‘ She loved art and colours and wanted everything colour co-ordinated , ’ says Sandra . ‘ She said she wanted to be buried in her pink carnival queen dress and wearing her gold butterfly stud earrings . ‘ She spent ages deciding on the colour of the lining of her coffin and chose the exact shade . Our dog Susy and she talked about meeting in Heaven .
Idiom: go through the motions (used idiomatically: yes)
The equivalent during reading is having our eyes arrive at the bottom of the page without the slightest understanding of what the author had intended . This is not a failure to understand resulting from the difficulty of the material , but from attention being on matters other than the content of the text . If we daydream while going through the motions of reading we can still recognise words , and perhaps even convince ourselves that we are reading . The letters and words will be recognised — they are handled by automatised component subskills — but the meanings of the words are not assembled into the ideas which the author has attempted to express . This is an activity which can not become automatised , and unless the reader 's attention is directed towards the underlying meanings of sentences the author 's ideas can not be calculated .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
In 1947 he had formed the English Opera Group , which performed his works . Securing an audition for The Turn of the Screw , Michael Ingram recited a poem and sang ‘ Early One Morning’ . In competition with 800 other boys , he made it to the last five , but nerves got the better of him during a final audition at the Criterion Theatre , in London 's West End . The role went to David Hemmings , who was to become a film star and , later , a director . When , six months later , the English Opera Group was looking for a boy soprano to play the Little Sweep in a new production of Let 's Make an Opera — in which the young Michael Ingram had previously treated a Brixton audience to on - stage nudity — Benjamin Britten remembered Michael , not so much for his singing , but for the havoc he caused at the earlier auditions .
Idiom: throw the book at (used idiomatically: no)
Worst of all , Labour wants to transfer from the House of Commons its most basic power , the power over the nation 's finances . Under Labour , we shall have a single European currency . Mr Kinnock not only likes the Social Chapter , he wants to throw the whole Book of Brussels at our constitution . I really , strongly do not want to be ruled by such people — people with America 's political correctness , but without the American love of liberty ; people with the Continent 's dirigisme , but without a Continental breadth of culture ; people with a modern metropolitan 's contempt for his own country 's traditions , but a bumpkin 's ignorance of economics . And , without feeling wildly excited at the prospect , I do want to be governed by Mr Major .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
Even in Spain , none of whose rulers had any pretension to military ability , royal interest of this kind can be seen in the frequency with which military uniforms were remodelled under Charles III and Charles IV . It is true that over much of Europe military administration at its highest level was still largely in the hands of civilians . This was so in Britain , where the post of Secretary at War was held by politicians and changed hands with the ebb and flow of party politics . It was also the case in the very unmilitary Dutch Republic ; and in the Habsburg territories the Kriegskommissariat set up in 1657 and reformed by Haugwitz in the 1740s was made up largely of civilians . Even in this respect , however , some signs of change can be seen .
Idiom: come of age (used idiomatically: yes)
He says : ‘ She seemed a happy person on the surface but underneath she had been deeply affected by her parents’ divorce.’ Her sister Sarah , then working for Savills , a leading estate agent , found what was to become , for a time , the most famous address in Britain . A three - bedroomed apartment in a mansion block at 60 , Coleherne Court was Diana 's coming - of - age present from her parents . In July 1979 she moved into the 50,000 apartment and immediately set to work furnishing the rooms in a warm but simple Habitat style . The white walls were repainted in pastel shades , the sitting room became pale primrose yellow while the bathroom was bright with red cherries .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: no)
Steve drove her to hospital . But when he tried to get into the maternity wing he found the doors were locked . He rang the bell but no one came . And by the time Steve dashed back to Ann in the car , the baby was well on the way . Nervous Ann told him : ' It 's coming , it 's coming — do something quick . '
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
A number of my hon . Friends and I introduced a Bill earlier this year to oblige all schools to publish their public examination results in common form . Unfortunately , the Bill was vetoed by a Labour Whip although , since then , I note that , in The Guardian , the hon . Member for Blackburn ( Mr. Straw ) , who speaks for the Labour party on education , said : ' Let a thousand league - tables bloom . ' In the light of that , I am not clear where the Labour party will stand on this aspect of the Bill when we debate its Second Reading next Tuesday . This is an important change and I am glad that we have got away from the odious and patronising attitude of so many local education authorities — particularly Labour local education authorities — that say that one can not trust parents with objective information about how their children 's schools are doing . The charter is a great step forward and the publication of objective results will be immensely valuable in increasing choice and improving standards .
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
However , at the numbers of the family increased he was more than often ignored . John started getting into trouble at the age of nine stealing from shops . Visits to school were few and far between and it was not long before his parents washed their hands of him . Soon he landed in the juvenile court and was placed into care
Idiom: with a vengeance (used idiomatically: yes)
Their liability will not be based on what they have actually paid for their house but what it is deemed to be worth without discount . They may have bought it for £ 9,000 with full discount , if it is actually worth £ 30,000 it will be the latter figure that will be used to work out their roof tax ... Labour will punish them with a vengeance.’ That was a fundamental objection to our plans . How has the Secretary of State met that point in the council tax ?