Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
The decision to centralise Pirelli 's European account into one agency follows the setting up last year of a marketing department to handle European strategy . Pirelli : Pan - European Burberrys £ 1.5 m work up for grabs Luxury clothing retailer Burberrys has invited a number of agencies to pitch for its estimated £ 1.5 m international business . Advertising manager Peter Matthews confirmed the review , which he says has been under way for some time .
Idiom: round the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
Mhm , mhm . Mhm . You 've to work and you 've to work overtime and you be round the clock . Mhm . Mhm .
Idiom: from the word go (used idiomatically: yes)
Dave McCullouch ‘ I remember once , though , when Sounds were searching for an interview and I happened to know that the whole thing was a set - up . I knew it was a deliberate attempt from the word go to bring the band down . I rang the band 's manager and told him so . The interview was cancelled.’
Idiom: no laughing matter (used idiomatically: yes)
So why do n't you both get off prime time telly immediately and make way for the new generation ? COMICS ( Channel 4 ) THIS was n't funny either . Lynda La Plante is in grave danger of burning herself out and it 's no laughing matter . There were few chuckles in this heavy duty drama , which followed in the footsteps of Widows , Prime Suspect Civvies . Too many stereotypes an American who only eats hamburgers , a fat feminist comic , a Scotsman called Haggis , a smooth , fast - talking agent and a series of unlikely events was its downfall .
Idiom: sit tight (used idiomatically: yes)
It had a handful of houses and that as Þingeyri . Unimpressed , I went down to the edge of the fjord to find somewhere to camp . Nearby the sea terns and eider ducks were nesting , the ducks beautifully camouflaged , sitting tight as long as they could , then moving quickly to reveal eggs of a gorgeous sage green looking so warm in their nest of breast feathers that it made me long for the comforts of my sleeping bag . The eggs were not pure poetry though , and many of them had lines and streaks of yellow duck shit across their smooth surfaces . Footprints on Hattersdallfjall , north - west Iceland
Idiom: streets ahead (used idiomatically: yes)
You have to invest more than money to make profit Life is full of investment opportunities . If you do n't seize one this minute , the Profitboss will , and he 'll be streets ahead of you tomorrow . Investing for profit is not just a matter of the hardware you buy and how productively you use it . The Profitboss sees his time and energy as a primary investment source .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: yes)
And of course , the better the wall the greater its use ( Newcastle 's draws visitors from over 150 miles away and often sees 90 visitors in one evening ) . Although it is good to see the number of such facilities increasing in Scotland , it is sad to see some of these falling far short of the standards required . The new state of the art Berghaus wall in Newcastle ( photo Dave Pegg ) . MOUNTAINEERING COUNCIL OF SCOTLAND NEWS The McofS has only been involved with two developments so far ( The Kelvin Hall in Glasgow and the Leisure Centre in Dundee — currently being built ) .
Idiom: on paper (used idiomatically: no)
New borders , stricter border controls , the discriminatory markings on Jewish identity papers , and limitations on mobility increased the risk of arrest .
Idiom: have a heart (used idiomatically: no)
Hearts have tonight asked two of their longest serving players to help raise the money required to redevelop Tynecastle . The players will form part of a six man committee set up to oversee the Subscription Scheme which chairman Wallace Mercer hopes will entice fans to help pay for the renovations . Hearts skipper Craig Levein and midfielder Gary Mackay are the players who 've agreed to join two members of the supporters federation , one from the shareholders association and chairman Alex Kitson on the committee . Gary Mackay said tonight : A refurbished Tynecastle is the players ' preferred option . Craig and I will do everything we can to ensure the Subscriptions Scheme 's success .
Idiom: to the hilt (used idiomatically: yes)
Andrew Gamble on Michael Heseltine The Prince I 'm backing the prime minister to the hilt Since he walked out of the cabinet in 1986 , Michael Heseltine has come to occupy a role in British politics that has few precedents . Although a backbencher he is currently the politician the voters most want to see as prime minister .
Idiom: present company excepted (used idiomatically: yes)
Just brains . But brains need energy , do n't they ? Present company excepted . And oxygen . Even when they 've been pureed , I suppose .
Idiom: on the ropes (used idiomatically: yes)
Hinterstoisser , startled in the act of untying his climbing rope , missed his footing and plunged . The movement of the rope pulling the injured climber from his stance , he fell , a rope coil whipped around his neck and he strangled . He hung some fifteen feet below Kurz , on the same rope ; and their joint weight thrust their remaining comrade against a piton . Charsky watched him freeze to death before his eyes . The Russian wanted to say , ' I 'm sorry , it was all my fault , ' but just then his left foot felt a ledge and he was able to take the weight off his fingers .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: yes)
Jane had driven over to Zoe 's in happy anticipation of stirring up trouble : the other woman 's clothes and beads were tangible evidence of Lowell 's love affair . She had prepared sentences of outrage and sympathy and felt cheated of an interesting half hour or so . After ringing the bell several times she reluctantly pushed her husband 's letter through the letter - box — he had very meanly sealed it before she could read it — and took the holdall around to the boiler room at the back of the house . It would be dry there should it rain . If she had n't been due at her craft class at eleven that morning she would have called back later , but as that was n't possible she 'd phone .
Idiom: once and for all (used idiomatically: yes)
It has to do something else as well . A headquarters team must add more value to its businesses than any competing parent . One way is by bringing about a once - and - for - all transformation in the structure and strategy of a business unit . The HQ team at Britain 's Hanson , for example , buys underperforming businesses , sells unprofitable or unrelated activities , then concentrates on generating cash from what remains . Another approach is typified by BTR , an acquisitive British conglomerate which this month made a $ 1.6 billion bid for Norton , an American abrasives group .
Idiom: all the rage (used idiomatically: yes)
Now , the cheats amongst us ( like me ) will discover that you can import graphics into the Cel editor , and will quickly come to the conclusion that very lifelike images can be formed by using a scanner to scan individual frames from a film , and then pick out the bits they want and place them on cels to form a small animated sequence . The process is made all the easier by the Cel Editor allowing you to animate the cels you have produced , within the editor itself , so you can see how it looks , and make any alterations you think necessary . It 's much like the ‘ proper’ animators flicking the acetates like one of those flick books that were all the rage a few years ago ( or the ‘ What the Butler Saw’machines at the end of the pier ) to see how the work has progressed . Backgrounds Similarly with backgrounds , the Background Editor is very much a draw type package , with all of the usual facilities you would expect of one .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: no)
Even now , five years later , I 've got to be ever so careful — because he feels it 's my money we live on . The other day he was ratty and saying " all I hear is you are the breadwinner and we 've got to be careful , we ca n't have this or that because we ca n't afford it " . I saved up for us to have a holiday , I booked a caravan and paid the coach fares and then on the morning we were due to go he said , " I 'm not going without a penny in my pocket , I ca n't , I ca n't . " Up to the eleventh hour he would n't go . Men 's economic dependency seems to face many women with a contradiction over housework — they need the men to change , and yet they feel the need to protect men in crisis .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: no)
This involves putting on weight , but mostly talking . I realise that all this is a jumble , and does n't explain why my anorexia started , or how it is easing , but this is the stage I 'm at right now . Only a few weeks ago I was in such a fog , I would n't have been able to write any of this . I have n't had a period for over a year , and although sometimes I think to myself ' I 'm all right really ' , then I remember I have n't got my periods back and I realise that it 's not as simple as it seems . I think I am just starting out on the steep , rocky — and lots of other corny metaphors — road to recovery .
Idiom: no laughing matter (used idiomatically: yes)
If you 're affected , cover watch backs with hypoallergenic sticking plaster and use rubber guards on earrings . SEXUAL HEADACHES ‘ Not tonight , I have a headache’ may be an old joke , but it 's no laughing matter for those who suffer from what neurologists call ‘ benign sex headaches’ . Caused by an excessive contraction of the head and neck muscles experienced as orgasm approaches , or by the accompanying rise in blood pressure , they 're more common in men than women , and may also occur during other sorts of physical exertion . The problem can be controlled by betablocking drugs , so if you or your partner suffer , see your GP .
Idiom: nothing to it (used idiomatically: yes)
How come you talk so much bollocks ? And how can we learn to do it , too ? And I say , There 's nothing to it . The noo . Just follow these three simple steps .
Idiom: grist to the mill (used idiomatically: yes)
In recent years , most notably on the album New York , Reed has swapped the hypodermic needle for the wagging finger . Now he has stopped taking drugs and started sitting around watching a lot of television . His songs today bemoan the rotten state of the world — Aids , police violence , the homeless , his ex - manager — these are now grist to his mill . He no longer celebrates putting lethal narcotics into his body but instead complains about Americans dumping battery acid in rivers . It 's a little rich coming from the former sultan of sleaze .
Idiom: bits and bobs (used idiomatically: yes)
In parallel with all of this , Intel developed Maths Co - Processors ( x87 chips ) which took on the task of computing floating point mathematics , and took away some of the load from the main x86 processor . This only occurs when programs are written to take advantage of the co - processor . Thus , when Intel designed the 80486 processor , it was really an amalgam of the 386 processor and 387 maths co - processor into one package , together with some go - faster bits and bobs . The next stage is the 586 , which is widely believed to be the P5 processor which Intel has pre - announced . BUS BITS
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: no)
It was a mouth he wanted to get to know . One day , while we were roaming around junk shops and the Paperback Exchange , Changez took my arm and forced me to face him , which was never a pleasant sight . He made himself say to me at last , after weeks of dithering like a frightened diver on a rock , ‘ D'you think my Jammie will ever go in bed with me ? She is my wife , after all . I am suggesting no illegality .
Idiom: tongue in cheek (used idiomatically: yes)
Bashourun 's All at Sixes & Sevens is an intriguing mix of all of these , with kora , flute and Robinson 's marimba softly driving the simple and attractive tune to its conclusion . Bach to First Bass ( 9:06 ) has Robinson on vibes in a halting and catchy jazz mode , with Jegede 's simple cello part emerging now and again , as if with comic intent ; after four minutes or so , the piano part steams away in a trio with drums and acoustic bass , only for Robinson 's vibes to re - appear and lead the tune to its intense conclusion . Also worth listening to : the tongue - in - cheek Jigsaw , with its ' variations on a Scottish theme ' , sounding like a bagpipe chanter played by flute and marimba , with accompanying drone from Phillips 's double bass . Overall , a fascinating project , which does n't deserve the title ' crossover ' — it 's more than that . It is indeed jazzy , but adorned with and enlarged by outside influences , which is a very healthy and happy state of affairs .
Idiom: go the distance (used idiomatically: no)
THE AGE OF THE TRAIN THREE-quarters of the track including half the through lines , the semaphore signals , the last vestiges of freight facilities and the last of the men who used proudly to work for the old railway company have gone , yet the long-distance service is faster , more frequent and above all better used than at any time in railway history , and the number of passengers passing through probably at an all time high . The comment happens to be about the writer 's home station , but much of it might equally apply to numerous others . One thing is for certain .
Idiom: heart of gold (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You see , Danny?’ Ruth turned to her small son . ‘ He may be an old moaner , but he 's got a heart of gold.’ ‘ Not at all.’ Connor allowed himself a crooked smile .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
I ' m pretty sure that I ' ve left the keys to my office in my raincoat pocket .
Idiom: in a fog (used idiomatically: yes)
October 22 : Jodel DR.1051 G – BPLH suffered engine failure during flight from strip near Dunkeswell to farm strip in Nottingham and force - landed through cloud in field at Haven Pastures Farm , between Binton and Temple Grafton , Warwickshire . Undercarriage damaged , wings broke away and pilot sustained minor injuries . October 29 : Antonov An–2 of the Yeviakh air transportation organisation / Azerbaijani civil aviation administration hit a rock and crashed in thick fog near Khanabad village , Nagorno - Karabakh , killing three on board . 56 , 57 and now 58 ! ONE OF THE original Westland WG.13 Lynx prototypes has been rescued from the Proof and Experimental Establishment dump at Shoeburyness , Essex .
Idiom: step on it (used idiomatically: no)
Lennox , meanwhile , has walked right through anything . Yes , Bruno has fought for two world titles . But on both occasions it was the next logical step — he had nowhere else to go . Otherwise , he 's been happy knocking over inferior opposition and now people wonder how serious he is about the whole thing . That 's the difference between Lewis and Bruno .
Idiom: high and dry (used idiomatically: yes)
Manager : I do n't know . I 'm firmly convinced that if we had been operating under the old style of management , making a consensus decision , the clinicians would have got to their clinical representative and said there 's no way we want that — we want everything twice as big and gold - plated taps because patients will die , etc . , and their rep would say,"I'm sorry but it 's completely unacceptable to my colleagues ' . At that point the nurses would have said well , yes we can see the reasons because we 're nearly doctors as well , and the administrator would have been left high and dry . There would have been no action and there 'd have been a nice plan on the table and I sincerely believe that but for general management we would have lost the opportunity to ( a ) have got the money , and ( b ) got the clinic built before people could actually realise what was happening and there 's been other instances of that . However , other studies suggest that relationships with clinicians continued to be difficult and not all general managers exerted their authority as successfully as this one .
Idiom: stake a claim (used idiomatically: yes)
It is best to arrive an hour or two before the light grows dim . We are never the first . Others will have already staked a claim with tripods and telescopes . There we all stand in companionable silence , stamping our feet , swinging our arms , pulling woolly caps down over ears , getting colder and colder as the skies darken . More folk tramp along the sandy track with their paraphernalia .
Idiom: fly a kite (used idiomatically: yes)
If the user wants to keep the appliance switched on , he touches it to trigger the sensor and reset the timer . If the alarm gets no response , the timer goes ahead and switches off in the interest of safety and economy . BP flies an alternative kite OIL GIANT BP is looking hard at alternative sources of energy . The company is building an experimental 30-kilowatt solar power station near Southampton , and has filed a string of patents on an idea for wind - assisted oil tankers .
Idiom: thick and fast (used idiomatically: yes)
Nigel Cassidy : Well , the ducking and diving award this week must surely go the Chancellor , Norman Lamont ; before the Treasury Committee he fielded a battery of awkward questions about the recovery , or should that be alleged recovery . Rentokil were voted Company of the Year The Jibes about tackling dry rot in the Cabinet came thick and fast . North East Professionals And now for something completely different we go over to our roving reporter in the North East of England who is interviewing a member of The Marauders .
Idiom: get a grip (used idiomatically: no)
The girl was bloody buggering Victoria Cross material , and he wanted to be there to see her run the Union Jack up the flagpole at Port Stanley . Puerto bloody buggering Galtieri in - bloody - buggering - deed ! The girl got a good grip on the hatch , and pulled it away , tossing it across the square like a dustbin lid . 0027 . The girl - thing was in the command centre .
Idiom: left and right (used idiomatically: yes)
The so - called chiral drugs ( from chiros — the Greek word for hands ) made with these molecules are said to be safer and more effective . Among the companies developing their business on the technology are Celgene Corporation of Warren , New Jersey , and Sepracor of Marlborough , Massachusetts . Celgene has developed a patented method of isolating left- and right - handed versions of compounds known as amines , used as building blocks in a variety of drugs for cardiovascular diseases and central nervous system disorders . Sol Berer , the company 's senior vice - president , said that more than 75 per cent of pharmaceutical companies with chiral drugs were now taking only one of the two isomers to the market . The market for intermediates — the building blocks for pure isomer products — was worth about £ 300 million and due to increase to £ 1.7 billion by the year 2000 .
Idiom: in hot water (used idiomatically: yes)
She was afraid of this savage pain , which was unlike anything she had ever known . Mrs Peterson came , and gave her a concoction . ‘ Ground ginger in hot water,’ she told Ruth . ‘ Nothing to beat it for shifting the wind!’ But nothing eased the pain .
Idiom: in tandem (used idiomatically: no)
The first set of strategies seeks to meet health needs and make ends meet within household income . The second set of strategies looks to outside sources of support . In practice , these strategies are often pursued in tandem . Separating them out , however , signals the priority given by most parents to managing the economic dependency of living on state benefits as independently as possible . Meeting health needs and financial responsibilities without recourse tot others
Idiom: under the sun (used idiomatically: yes)
The perfect spot for a family holiday . TENERIFE The largest of Spain 's beautiful , sub - tropical Canary Islands , Tenerife basks under a hot sun just two hundred miles off the coast of Africa , sharing the same latitude as Florida and California . The scenery is dramatic — a breathtaking mixture of strange volcanic deserts and lush vegetation — a landscape dominated by the snow - capped peak of a dormant volcano , Mount Teide . These islands have been Spanish for centuries .
Idiom: out of order (used idiomatically: yes)
And er I like to think that if you 'd bought a nice full - nose Morris in nineteen forty five , and you wanted a replacement in nineteen ninety , you 'd have still got a reasonable Metro would n't you ? You 'd have still got your wheels . So in that sense , the build the , the equities have kept pace , but if you think in the short term , you 'll always be out of , out of order with shares , if you 're thinking of going in for three or four years , you you 're likely to get your fingers burnt . You 've got to look at it at five years plus . And er management through er investment trusts , P E Ps , er and er share portfolios , the best way of achieving er security .
Idiom: bottom drawer (used idiomatically: yes)
Certain phrases had been doubly underlined . The drawers on the other side contained stationery , pens and pencils , rubber bands and paper clips . It was again the bottom drawer in which he found most of interest . Riddle , a systematic person , had used it for all the oddments he had wished to keep which did not fit into his filing system , and the bottom of the drawer was covered to a depth of two or three inches with papers . Wycliffe lifted them out and started to sort through them .
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: no)
How could I ? The very idea of working from home should have been anathema to me . Have n't I seen over the years what it has done to my husband , a man who lifted me off the shelf just before my sell - by date expired ? A man who sported a sports car and sideboards , a season ticket and a sculpture teacher , a man who produced his own series and had a bachelor pad , a Peter Sarstedt LP and a past ? Twenty years of working at home later , was n't that same celebrated swinger someone whose body language suggested he was surrounded by concern for his surroundings ?
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It could develop that way , and if it does it 's because we 're not treating the parents properly.’ The counselling and advocacy projects are user - led and the SSD does not expect them to develop overnight . Joseph says the black advocacy project is unlikely to be up and running before next year . The procedures are in place for the independent counselling service to run the self - help group and supply advocates to meet demand . The project 's direction will depend on the women 's needs .
Idiom: take liberties (used idiomatically: yes)
So far , we have mostly considered the use of fourth chords in situations where only one vertical chord is built of perfect fourths superimposed , each note remaining in the same register . We have seen how difficult it is to gain a horizontal flow with such limited material , and that the resulting music is inevitably fairly static . To get the music moving horizontally and yet retain the essential character of quartal harmony , we have to take liberties and extend the system in some way . One method is to use ‘ inversions’ of quartal chords , so that notes of the same chord are used in different registers . For instance , using only components of the quartal chord D , G , C , F , we can move as follows , by abandoning the strict use of fourths without transposition , and using the notes in different groupings and in different registers : In spite of the abandoning of strict usages of harmony in fourths , it will be felt that in the above example the same harmonic mood persists throughout .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
In any 10-year period managers should only be granted options on shares worth up to four times their annual earnings . Most managers have already used up that leeway since share option schemes took off in 1985 . By moving to pastures new , successful managers can negotiate themselves a new package of options from scratch . This partly explains London Weekend Television 's battle with the institutions over its scheme for locking in key managers . Meanwhile , salary surveys throw up evidence of the spread of cash bonuses .