Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
Our $ 70-trillion - per - year global economy is putting unprecedented pressures on the natural environment . We will need new technologies , behaviors , and ethics , supported by solid evidence , to reconcile further economic development with environmental sustainability . United ~ Nations Secretary - General Ban ~ Ki - moon is taking on this unprecedented challenge from his unique position at the crossroads of global politics and society . At the political level , the UN is the meeting place for 193 member states to negotiate and create international law , as in the important treaty on climate ~ change adopted at the Rio Earth ~ Summit in 1992 . At the level of global society , the UN represents the world ’s citizenry , “ we the peoples , ” as it says in the UN Charter .
Idiom: up the river (used idiomatically: yes)
Understanding blossomed in Tallis 's mind . She began to shake in anticipation of Wynne - Jones 's words . ‘ Years ago,’ he said , ‘ a man from outside the realm passed up the river towards Lavondyss . The wood sucked out his dreams to make mythagos . He made everything you see , the Tuthanach , the lodge … the totems .
Idiom: give someone pause (used idiomatically: yes)
Just a quiet acceptance and payment of tribute . " I had a great sense of the worth of a simple person 's life and service to God . " If it gave Eva pause for thought it certainly did n't show in any relaxation of the pace she set herself . Many had found to their cost that Sri Lanka could be very demanding physically . The intense tropical heat was debilitating and Eva was n't as wise as she should have been about her health .
Idiom: in the hole (used idiomatically: no)
A 2 - 1 win over Brighton and a 3 - 3 draw at Rotherham , however , have lifted spirits considerably . Said Barrow : ' What we must do is take confidence from those results . We were in a hole and are n't out of it by any means . ' But three points against Swansea would give us seven for the week and make the draw at Rotherham a better result . ' People are commenting on the spirit we have shown but I think we have also played some good football . '
Idiom: hear things (used idiomatically: yes)
' Yes . I think I have . ' Then hear one last thing . If you should decide to tell Dysart about me and Virginia , bear in mind The Courier could make your life here in England very unpleasant for you . Heather Mallender 's murderer walks free — that sort of thing .
Idiom: in the nick of time (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'll ask Chris . We could have a barbecue.’ ‘ Indoors?’ asked Camille , who had again nearly lost her temper completely but retrieved it in the nick of time . ‘ What 're you talking about?’ asked Sam . ‘ I thought it was meant to be a secret,’ said Camille .
Idiom: to all intents and purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
He had been educated in England and after graduating from Oxford with a BA ( Hons ) he returned to his native Kenya where , after a short spell in the national army , he joined the Intelligence Corps . In his ten years with Intelligence he rose to the rank of colonel , but his superiors ' prejudice against his British ancestry and education became unbearable and he resigned to take up the post offered to him with UNACO . To all intents and purposes he was an attache with the Kenyan delegation at the United Nations and the only person outside UNACO who knew the truth was his wife , and even she had only been briefed in the vaguest possible terms . He never discussed the nature of his work with her . ' I thought the chef might like a beer . '
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: no)
Pitfalls Villa go to Manchester City today , face Coventry on Boxing Day and Arsenal on December 28 . ‘ I expect to come out of these games with good results , ’ said Atkinson , before warning about hidden pitfalls in the long run in to the finishing line . ‘ At Manchester United I have been top of the table in April and still lost it . I 've also been in the situation at Old Trafford where we took just two points out of last 12 and still only lost the title by four points . ’
Idiom: stake a claim (used idiomatically: yes)
The wonder antibiotic , the great cure - all . Well , our moulds and fungi ( I mean flupper 's ) turned out to be super penicillin , penicillin X 10,000 . And Dad and Mum staked the claim so they have Galactic rights . So we were and are everlastingly rich . " Just think !
Idiom: in no uncertain terms (used idiomatically: yes)
She took a deep , steadying breath and tried not to picture the way he had looked , hear the scathing tone of his voice . She climbed the spiral staircase . She would write , when she was away from here , tell him in no uncertain terms exactly what she thought of him . It was a coward 's way out , of course , but the best she would ever be able to do . At least he would know then about Mark , realise that at least one person in this world knew him for what he really was .
Idiom: on the face of it (used idiomatically: yes)
Alan Milburn , 34 , has been Labour 's prospective parliamentary candidate for more than two years . During that time he has been pushing hard to make up any lost ground . On the face of it Labour has a real chance of overturning the Tory majority of 2,661 . But political pundits agree Michael Fallon has done a good job as a constituency MP . Independent political analyst Andrew MacMullen says Mr Fallon said : ' Michael Fallon has worked his patch .
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: yes)
So what are advising Graeme Hick and others with similar problems to do ? Graveney insists that Hick should go back to basics , and remain in that classic position he is in at the start of the bowler 's run - up — to stand sideways - on , bat on the ground , knees slightly bent , feet about shoulder width apart , and head up and still with both eyes level . This is the classic position , and with only the bat to be raised the batsman is in position to move back or forward while at the same time able to focus on the ball . From this position he has two options on how to play the short ball . In my prime I shifted my weight onto the front foot as the bowler approached the crease , being careful though not to commit myself to the front foot .
Idiom: walk free (used idiomatically: no)
She could n't tell why her whole being responded to Fand so urgently ; it was as if threads joined their souls , tugging . Fand whispered , ‘ Long ago I drank from this pool . What I would give to walk free in the mortal world again!’ Blackness was beginning to cloud Ruth 's eyes , as if she were fainting . She wondered if Fand had enchanted her , but knew at once the Woman had no such powers .
Idiom: smell a rat (used idiomatically: yes)
Mr. Frank Haynes ( Ashfield ) It happens to be worse than that — Oh , it is . I smell a rat here — I really do . The Secretary of State for Education and Science sits on the Treasury Bench , treating us over this Bill just as he did when he was Secretary of State for Health . I remember the time when you and I , Mr. Speaker , had a few words because of what was happening because of the Secretary of State for Health
Idiom: open the floodgates (used idiomatically: yes)
In abolishing the marital rape exemption , Parliament could presumably seek an undertaking that this be done from the Attorney General who has general superintendence over the discharge of the Director 's functions . Whether or not the D.P.P. is used as a handmaid to reforming legislation , it is most unlikely that the floodgates will be opened if the exemption is lifted . Certainly this has not been the experience in other jurisdictions . In California , Diana Russell found that ' it was almost exclusively wives who were extremely upset and who claimed great long term effects ' from marital rape who reported other acts of marital violence to the police , since the rape itself was not a crime .
Idiom: move heaven and earth (used idiomatically: yes)
There are still 45,000 subscriptions outstanding and since the cut off is now 31 March , there could be even more casualties this year ( see p 119 ) . Most of the non - payees can not claim unemployment as an excuse , says members ' registrar Bob Russell . ‘ But if members tell us they are in dire straits , without a job , gone bankrupt , and the wife 's run off with the milkman , then we will move heaven and earth to help them . If they tell us nothing , what can we do , look into a crystal ball?’ Members are also reminded that from 1 January they have to have a practising certificate .
Idiom: larger than life (used idiomatically: yes)
As with folk , it 's a natural process , simply reflective . But pop sets itself against nature and abandons wisdom for folly , moments of dissipation . Pop is un - natural , larger than life and insistent enough to make of itself an inevitable pad of the landscape , like a motorway , or pollution . ( Fantasy has its own reality - effect on behaviour and appetite . ) Pop can be sufficient intoxication to induce a different state of being , other than the one in which you exist .
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: yes)
We spent a short time discussing how Sylvia now felt about that long - ago event and whether it caused her any distress to think about it . There was absolutely no problem here . Because it had taken place so long ago and was one of those things which could happen to anyone , she was quite unconcerned about the accident itself . In addition , having had several days in which to think about it , she could see quite clearly how it had been responsible for the problems which had been harassing her all her life . So , having no more to discuss on that topic , I went on to ask Sylvia if she could think of a place in her own home where she felt uneasy if the door was shut .
Idiom: catch someone's eye (used idiomatically: yes)
He enjoyed his new role of producer . Producers , successful ones at least , were the lords of Los Angeles . Jo caught her mother 's eye and saw that she , too , was amused by her father 's instant expertise in their business . A few years ago Jo would have been unable to resist a put - down , but the Hollywood brat had grown up and knew how and when to be gracious . ' People will want see this picture because it 's damn good , ' she said , checking her make - up in the vanity mirror .
Idiom: no man's land (used idiomatically: yes)
Night photography was a speciality of the 1930s and resulted in remarkable books like Brassai 's PARIS DE NUIT ( 1933 ) and Bill Brandt 's A NIGHT IN LONDON ( 1938 ) . Gossage 's images of Berlin at night , and as a block city , are reminiscent of photographs taken 50 years ago and resonate with a sense of Berlin 's history . The photographs are also persuasive evocations of the divided Berlin of the present , where East and West meet beside a floodlit No Man 's Land . Gossage made the photographs on visits to Berlin between 1982 and 1986 . Each plate in the book is over 381 x 305 mm in size and the printing is a technical tour de force .
Idiom: spring to mind (used idiomatically: yes)
. from the Conservatives saying that they believed in nursery education . It 's rather late for the press releases on some months later , the press release coming from my group and coming from the Labour group it was a late conversion but not much of a conversion let 's face it , the word tokenism springs to mind that 's what I 've written next to the Conservative line there , totally , and I do n't believe in nursery education but they know there are votes in it . We actually put it down in our own manifesto because we thought it was a good idea . Oh there increasing primary schools delegated budget a hundred and forty thousand pounds .
Idiom: cold comfort (used idiomatically: yes)
Toothache would offer no escape.’ She nodded glumly . It was cold comfort , all right . To change the mood he returned to the seat opposite her and daringly , reached a hand across and squeezed her knee . And daringly he grinned , a wicked grin as he said : ‘ Find a discreet lover .
Idiom: on the carpet (used idiomatically: yes)
mind that might be hot ooh do n't put it on the carpet if it 's hot there it is look no that
Idiom: at sea (used idiomatically: yes)
Another time , when our path took us by a tranquil stream , I saw a man sitting and watching his line , seemingly at peace with the world , while next to him , fish he had already caught were flapping helplessly and gasping in the air . My father told me that he could not understand how anyone could enjoy an afternoon spent taking fish out of the water and letting them die slowly . These childhood memories flooded back when I read Worse things happen at sea : the welfare of wild - caught fish , a breakthrough report released last month on fishcount.org.uk . In most of the world , it is accepted that if animals are to be killed for food , they should be killed without suffering . Regulations for slaughter generally require that animals be rendered instantly unconscious before they are killed , or death should be brought about instantaneously , or , in the case of ritual slaughter , as close to instantaneously as the religious doctrine allows .
Idiom: and then some (used idiomatically: yes)
But what if we want to investigate families ? Or households ? These will need to be defined , and then some means of assembling a list of them will have to be found . However , let us assume that we are interested in individuals . There are various lists available for this purpose .
Idiom: keep tabs on (used idiomatically: yes)
On April 19th a Soviet sentry shot and wounded a German major who was driving away after peeking through his binoculars at a Soviet ammunition depot . A similar incident had occurred at the same spot ten days earlier , though nobody was hurt then . The Germans reckon it wise to keep tabs on the 350,000 or so Russian troops still in the east — guests , as it were— until the end of 1994 , when the last one is due to have gone home . They also believe that they have the right to snoop and that the shootings violate the German - Soviet treaty signed last year . Yet the German foreign ministry has merely tut - tutted and the defence minister , Gerhard Stoltenberg , has called off the peeking , at least for the moment .
Idiom: on the dot (used idiomatically: yes)
and then if I , I go out for another one , that means two evening evenings back Yes . leaving the office at five thirty on the dot and of course Yes . I , I ca n't do that more than twice a week .
Idiom: take someone's word for it (used idiomatically: yes)
Mrs. Gorman I thank my hon . Friend for that reply . Will he take my word for it that my constituents are horrified by Labour party proposals to review the trunk road programme ? That would be devastating to my part of the country — Mr. Speaker
Idiom: sweetness and light (used idiomatically: yes)
At least he behaved as Khrushchev expected a capitalist to behave , as a ‘ chained cur of imperialism’ . You knew where you were with curs . But Khrushchev 's next visit to the West was one of sweetness and light , to Britain at the invitation of Eden . He and his straight man , Bulganin , came by battle cruiser , which was the target of much curiosity in Portsmouth harbour , especially since the body of a naval frogman , Commander ‘ Buster’ Crabbe , had been found floating there during another Russian naval visit the previous autumn . No special secrecy was attached to the cruiser — indeed , Khrushchev told the disconcerted Admiralty that he would be glad to sell it to them because cruisers had been out - dated by missiles .
Idiom: ring a bell (used idiomatically: no)
CHAMPIONS Leeds take on Premier League leaders Norwich today with a warning from captain Gary McAllister ringing in their ears : ‘ I hope nobody is thinking we are too good to go down . ’ After Leeds slipped towards the relegation zone with a 3-1 defeat at Blackburn on Saturday , McAllister forecast : ‘ It is going to be a long hard winter . ‘ Alarm bells are not ringing but I hope nobody thinks we 're too good to go down . ‘ But we have it in us to work a way out . There is nobody here who ca n't wake up in the morning and look at himself in the mirror . ’
Idiom: big girl's blouse (used idiomatically: yes)
We 'll get that French geezer — wossisnmame , Canteena or something . Blinding ! And we 'll get that soppy big girl 's blouse with the dodgy knee who cries all the time . You know , the one Spurs flogged to Italy for five million smackeroonies . Zsa Zsa or something .
Idiom: for a song (used idiomatically: yes)
) In April 1190 Mozart was hoping for another court appointment under the new emperor , Leopold II , and he implored Puchberg to keep his financial disarray a secret , believing that if it were publicly known it would damage his chances of success . He petitioned Leopold Il for the post of vice - kapellmeister , emphasizing his own track - record as a composer of sacred music ( a field in which Salieri , who had been appointed kapellmeister in 1788 , was not particularly proficient ) , but received no response . In June , he told Puchberg bitterly that he had been forced to give away his ‘ Prussian’ quartets for a song , just in order to have enough cash to meet his present obligations . For some unknown reason their original dedicatee never took them up , and the set was eventually published , without a dedication , after Mozart 's death . OPPOSITE Joseph Haydn ; painting by Christian Ludwig Seehas .
Idiom: out of the blue (used idiomatically: yes)
hardboard on . No . So I did just ask him er just come to me right out of the blue when he was here one night . And I thought well it 's going to be awkward to get a piece of wood for that I mean knowing your dad with wood I know Anyhow I said er it 's just the right height for me Yeah .
Idiom: presence of mind (used idiomatically: yes)
I 'm sorry that this happened for you . You did great though . I admired your er … presence of mind . If you have any problems you can always call me on this number.’ With that he leaves .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: no)
BAIE member Bernadette Mayhew , of Surrey - based Stuart Hyslop Editorial Services , who has been responsible for producing Frontline since its launch four years ago , said : ‘ We are delighted with the results of the survey . It 's so important to get the contents right . ‘ The findings clearly demonstrate the real value to a company of an informative and well designed staff newspaper , and now that we have added to that by taking some of the readers’ suggestions on board , we can be absolutely certain that Frontline has a style and format most staff find appealing.’ Frontline , produced quarterly , has 14,000 readers , mainly Dixons staff in Britain , through copies are also sent to Silo , the company 's American subsidiary , and to City analysts and stockbrokers . Freeman is free after 31 years in the gas industry
Idiom: at your fingertips (used idiomatically: yes)
If you would like to purchase a copy , or would like any more information , please contact Liz MacDonald on extension 3514 . DATABASES ON CD - ROM References at your fingertips SSL is building up a collection of databases on CD - ROM ( compact disc read - only memory ) in business , scientific and technical subjects . CD - ROM , based on audio compact disc technology , permits large quantities of information to be stored on standard size compact discs ( 550 MB per disc ) .
Idiom: kiss and make up (used idiomatically: yes)
You and I —’ ‘ I must accept some of the blame , I am afraid,’ he said with a smile that was clearly meant to signify one man would understand the foibles of another . ‘ I made matters worse by — how do you say it?— by not kissing and making up before bedtime.’ Calder 's face was turning an incredible shade of pink — but it could not be any pinker than her own face ! Caroline shook her head and gave Calder a beseeching look .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: yes)
accepted nationwide not just force wide . Now having having done that if we were doing three a year I would suggest we can cope with that . My big concern is that nine in one go all at the mini divisions and they 're all very much on their own out there , and there 's nobody to hold their hand through any for through the probationary period . How do we know at the end of six months whether they are performing well or not . What I 've said is that I 'd like to see the existing C P O 's become divisional staff at the division that they are working now so that the divisional commander can allow them to stay there holding hands with the new civilian C P O for up to six months if necessary because it then becomes a local decision as to when the when the two have that umbilical cut .
Idiom: by the same token (used idiomatically: yes)
The regulations represent the Government 's second attempt to amend the regulation that previously applied in such cases — regulation 72 , introduced in April 1987 . The Government first attempted to exclude altogether supplementary benefit and national assistance from the scope of regulation 72 . By the same token , back payments of income support were to be limited only to a three - year period starting in April 1988 . In other words , the effect would have been that , even where official DSS error was proven and admitted in the case of those receiving supplementary benefit prior to 1988 , no back payment to rectify the error would have been made . So , whatever else followed in the wretched little saga that I am about to describe , it is crystal clear that , right from the outset , the real object behind the Government 's manoeuvrings was the cutting back — indeed , the large - scale elimination — of people 's entitlement to back payments of benefits where there had been official error .
Idiom: on board (used idiomatically: no)
Container transport documents are issued frequently by freight forwarders or ‘ consolidators.’ These freight forwarders frequently act either as carriers in their own right when they consolidate multiple shippers ' cargo and hire space on the vessel or vessels involved in the maritime leg of the journey . Container shipping has , in customary letter of credit practice , caused the replacement of the presumptive requirement of ‘ on board’ bills of lading with ‘ received for shipment’bills . This replacement was brought about not only by the consolidation practices just mentioned , but also because containerized shipping entails a multi - modal method of transportation . A multi - modal carrier issues ‘ transport documents’ that cover the non - maritime portion of the journey .
Idiom: around the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
He urged everyone to report suspicious behaviour . The police operation is believed to have begun more than five weeks ago The terror suspects were tailed around the clock by surveillance teams of about a dozen officers each . One Irishman was arrested in Cheshunt , Herts , and two Irishmen held at a house in Hanwell , West London , early on Wednesday . Two Irish sisters were arrested at a rented house in Southall , West London .