Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the run (used idiomatically: no)
Like most of my generation , I had never known a war , had never had fear rammed down my throat time and time again like the older generation . I was thinking particularly of my great - uncle George , the stories he had told , men pulled out of the sea half burned alive , the sudden explosions as another slow cargo vessel slid to the bottom , nobody stopping for survivors and the feeling of terror as the U - boats gradually picked the ships off until the one he was on was alone in the pattern . He had been a gunner on three different merchantmen , first on Atlantic convoys , then on the Murmansk run . Twice he had been torpedoed , and each time he had finally been picked up ; then on PQ 17 , when the destroyers left and they had been ordered to scatter … He is dead now , but I 've never forgotten his description of how he had felt as the German bombers came in from Norway , picking the scattered merchant ships off , the sound of the bombs , and the cold , always the cold .
Idiom: dead and buried (used idiomatically: no)
She shook her head . ‘ How could he be there ? He 's dead and buried.’ ‘ Perhaps someone dug him up.’ ‘ Oh , funny .
Idiom: come to grief (used idiomatically: yes)
Their aircraft was also in a class of its own , being small and very nippy . They were the cream and they knew it . Mosquitos rarely came to grief . They could fly above the flak and outstrip most German fighters . It was seldom that there was an aircraft missing after a raid , so gone were the days of losing seven familiar faces two or three times a week .
Idiom: out of the picture (used idiomatically: no)
One of the Counsellors had her in his sights . The pin - point brilliance of the targeting beam danced across her forehead . For a moment , she was looking directly out of the picture . Her blue eyes widened , and Britta was sure that her mouth formed the word No ! Britta tensed : the woman was about to die .
Idiom: have someone's number (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It 's okay,’ McIntosh said , looking through her binoculars . ‘ They 're just having a good time.’ Police patrol cars have their numbers painted on their roofs , so the helicopters will recognize them . So do all the roofs in the government housing projects and many private houses . Below on the street , near numbers 1408 and 1411 , black teenagers played outside .
Idiom: drop a hint (used idiomatically: yes)
… SUPERSCALAR SNAKES ' SET FOR SEPTEMBER ' Back in June ( UX No 387 ) , Hewlett - Packard Co was dropping large hints that it would be announcing and delivering new Snake workstations and upgrades based upon its next - generation PA RISC 7110 chip , Thunderbird , sometime before its fiscal year ends in October . At that time it had n't made up its mind whether it was going to deliver an immediate response to Sun Microsystems Inc 's Sparcstation 10 announcement — and ship systems later on in the year — or make a big splash in the Autumn with deliveries pretty much straight after . Last week , sources within HP confirmed that September 15th is the day the firm has chosen to cut and run to the end of its year with two new workstation models thought to be based upon the 7100 , possibly a 740 Coral II ( Coral is the 750 ) and 725 King Cobra II ( King Cobra is the 730 ) .
Idiom: pull someone's leg (used idiomatically: yes)
No I 'm going to the football match with dad . You 're gon na watch Cardiff City ? And so of course they started pulling his leg then see ? And he said he said No , are you gon na watch Cardiff City lose again .
Idiom: in the pipeline (used idiomatically: yes)
The Hatfield Polytechnic was moving towards computer instruction for all students because , said Norman Lindop in 1971 , ‘ the computer is a part of modern culture’ , and in 1970 Computer Weekly was drawing attention to the CNAA 's contribution to computer availability in Scotland . By the mid-1970s the CNAA and its institutions were making a major contribution to legal education : a survey in 1976/77 showed that there were then thirty - two university law schools and twenty - two polytechnics and other colleges offering undergraduate law degree courses , the most recent being at the Polytechnics of North East London and Preston in 1975 , and the Polytechnic of Wales in 1977 . The transfer of courses from London external to CNAA was by then complete , but there had also been a growth of CNAA part - time law degree courses — at Ealing , Leicester , Liverpool , Manchester , Newcastle and Wolverhampton — with others in the pipeline . By the end of the 1970s the CNAA had established a Diploma in Professional Studies in Nursing , joining the twenty courses now in existence for the Diploma in Professional Studies in Education . Science and technology still accounted for the largest group of students , though recruitment for technology was encountering difficulties in Britain generally .
Idiom: open someone's eyes (used idiomatically: yes)
Something was tickling her nose . She twitched and blew at it , but it remained and she tried again . Still it obstinately returned , and this time she opened her eyes , only to receive a jolt of shock as she focused . The irritating fly , as she had thought it , was Travis 's hair . In the night they had moved , so that now she lay with her arm about his waist , her body pressed so tightly against his back that it would have taken a can - opener to prise them apart .
Idiom: over the hill (used idiomatically: yes)
THOUGH , INITIALLY at least , The Complete Picture will be welcomed automatically and without irony by multitudes of intellectually challenged Smiths - buffs , even their seemingly endless capacity for sub - standard product should be sorely tested by its content . All but one of the 12 videos ( ' Stop Me ' ) are so dull one requires tentative electric shocks to the eyelids to keep awake , while five ( ' What Difference ' , ' Heaven Knows ' , ' Shoplifters ' , ' Boy ' and ' Sheila ' ) are n't even proper videos at all , just Top Of The Pops appearances dusted down from the BBC archives . Cute enough , but when you 've seen one clip of Morrissey wriggling like an over - the - hill belly dancer as Marr glares sourly at the baffled provincial audience , you 've seen them all . Derek Jarman 's rather lame kitsch efforts ( roses , angels , Union Jacks , bare breasts , walls of fire etc ) prove beyond a doubt that not only can art fart , the result is anything but silent and very deadly . The collection 's freshest , best piece ( the aforementioned ' Stop Me ' ) is a surreal challenge directed by Tim Broad to spot the real Moz amongst the clones ( a game you can amuse yourself with at most Moz gigs , incidentally ) .
Idiom: once in a while (used idiomatically: yes)
I really do n't want to start a whole new surveillance routine.’ ‘ A favour,’ said Bodie . ‘ Ca n't a fellah ask a favour once in a while?’ She stood defiantly in front of him , shaking her head , trying desperately to find the words to make him realise that she was tired , due for leave , and really felt he should ask someone else . All she came up with was , ‘ Pose as a schoolteacher !
Idiom: by the same token (used idiomatically: yes)
They see around them evidence of supernatural happenings . They say that God intervenes directly in a supernatural sense in what goes on in the world . By the same token , they say that the devil is actively at work as a supernatural force . They believe people can be possessed by demons , and that their role is to rid the world of such demons . There is a great healing tradition within the evangelical Charismatic Movement , and those who adhere to it believe this healing is about seeking out the devil and ridding the possessed of this influence .
Idiom: out of this world (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah but how did QQ Two or three carcasses of animals in , in a plastic bag and it said they was just literally matted together . And the stench was out of this world . Well I should think it was full of maggots . That 's what the bloke said .
Idiom: in the running (used idiomatically: no)
Yeah . Working in the huts . or running in the running to the Yeah . Yeah .
Idiom: talk dirty (used idiomatically: yes)
That was one of the aspects of America he did n't like ; and Maria Filippa had agreed , it seemed to him , after he had made it clear . The women knew too much ; they were n't protected from ugliness and squalor . From the earliest youth , those city girls were like old women , they talked dirty , and they thought dirty and they probably … Davide sighed ; with Tommaso Talvi he had been hungry for experience , but now , he wondered what had impelled him then to want so much , everything , travel , influence , money , work , before he had ever touched a woman ; when now he sang arias of extreme emotion , when he grieved and sobbed his passion in La Forza and Boccanegra and La Traviata , he thought of young men in the future bursting their hearts for his daughters . He wondered , what would it be like to fall in love with Immacolata ?
Idiom: in the driving seat (used idiomatically: yes)
Whitby , in third place , need maximum points to keep their slim title hopes alive , and will pick from a full squad . Guisborough , in fourth place , slipped up in midweek , and can not afford another lapse if they want to maintain their outside title chances . Assistant manager Bob Dewhurst said : ‘ Gretna are still in the driving seat for the title . Both sides need the points if they want to finish in the top two.’ Midfielder Jason Lake will have a fitness test .
Idiom: slippery slope (used idiomatically: yes)
Publish or Perish OXFORD – A few years ago , two Norwegian researchers presented their version of a scientific - research slippery slope , with honest errors ( mistaken observations and analyses ) at the top and intentional fraud ( plagiarism , falsification , and fabrication ) at the bottom . They placed “ publication bias ” about halfway down the scale – but it should have been much lower . Indeed , failure to publish research results is by far the most common and worrying form of scientific and ethical misconduct in health research – and it has had lethal consequences .
Idiom: up and running (used idiomatically: yes)
Hewlett - Packard will also supply 19 Series 800 servers to the Statistics Office regional branches , each with 2Gb to 4Gb of disk storage , along with another 270 personal computers and workstations . The systems will run Oracle and use the SAS System , Ami Pro word processor , and SPSS application tools with X25 links to the regional servers . Hewlett - Packard is contracted to have the system up and running in six months . Some 18 companies originally bid for contract , with Compagnie des Machines Bull SA , IBM , ICL Plc , IQSoft and VTSoft losing out in the later stages . HP Hungary general manager Stojanov Rumen confirmed that the site would be the company 's largest installation in the country .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
Numbers everywhere greatly increase in very severe weather . Although occasional birds , usually pricked , may summer , winter visitors have been recorded as early as late August , but first arrivals are more usual in September and October . Peak numbers are usually found in January , but may occur locally in any month between December and early March , often depending on the water levels . By the end of March the bulk of our winter visitors have departed . Regular sea - watches have recorded small passage movements in autumn , mainly in November and again in spring , usually in March .
Idiom: tell it like it is (used idiomatically: yes)
In terms of affecting executives ’ incentives , this is the only thing that matters . Even the terminology used to frame the discussion is wrong . Kelleher , an attorney with extensive experience in private practice and the public sector , tells it like it is : “ ‘ robo - signing ’ is massive , systematic , fraudulent , criminal conduct . ” Alternatively , as he points out , we could just call it “ lying , cheating , and stealing . ” Second , the civil penalties in this settlement – a form of fine – are minuscule relative to the size of the companies involved .
Idiom: under fire (used idiomatically: yes)
If that is done , according to the report , the centre could attract at least DF110 million a year from national and EC grants , industrial contracts and the sale of animals . But the government is unlikely to want to foot the bill . TNO vice - president Arthur Rörsch says that the government is pleased that the centre is valued so highly but that , ‘ against a background of budget cuts , with health budgets particularly under fire , it is not really easy to be optimistic’ . Minister of education and science Jo Ritzen has promised an answer this month . If the government decides against underwriting the venture , then the centre must decide the fate of hundreds of primates .
Idiom: have a ball (used idiomatically: no)
OK you can criticise Strach for that , but his main talents which are those that have benefited leeds most since his arrival are his passing and ability to take on men resulting in him or a team mate scoring . The ball winning was done by the likes of Batts . What makes a truly great team is having two of these in midfield plus a ball winner and a roving midfield man . Leeds possed this at the beginning of the season when Batts , Speed , Macca and Strach were on the field . Although Strach 's performances have been going downhill ( by his standards ) since he injured his back .
Idiom: talk shop (used idiomatically: no)
A group of sisters whose objectives and aims and struggles I support quite fully and been in fact fighting for those aims . But they did n't realise how racist they were being to me . I really support the idea of trying to come up with a plan of action because quite frankly I find that London and England is just so full of talk shops . Just millions of conferences that just tire you out and exhaust you , and nothing change as you come out of the conference — it 's the same thing . So I 'm a little tired of that and I was very happy to hear that we were going to be exchanging ideas about how we can go forward .
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: no)
Well a thing called power handshakes , which I thought were the biggest load of gobbledegook until I watched them , a specific chat show host . There is a story do n't give the answer away but who would you say is very positive , one of the most aggressive chat show hosts in , say , today could be I T V or B B C ? Now what tends to happen is , as you know , there is lots and lots of different guests on his chat show and if he feels threatened by them in any way shape or form , what he does he relaxes her , comes in over the top , turns them over , takes them by the shoulder and pushes them into the chair and what he is saying , he is saying , this is my chat show , do n't you submit . He said no i 'm not and John says , well no actually i 'm in charge here and cosy not at all .
Idiom: anything goes (used idiomatically: no)
Innocent certainly knew the position of Monaco and it was through him probably that the pope made known his conditions for the acceptance of Otto . Monaco also had several demands to make of Otto and was present at his coronation on 12 July 1198 , possibly to seek that the Lombard cities should be free from imperial encroachments . Such officials were used so that if anything went wrong the papal see would be entirely free from reproach . The first legate to enter the scene was Cardinal Peter of Capua whose task was to transform the peace between Philip Augustus and Richard I in late 1198 . Shortage of information was apparent in May 1199 .
Idiom: go round in circles (used idiomatically: yes)
We were both agreed that we prefer adventures in the hills rather than on strife - ridden streets . But where to go ? We debated hopelessly , going round in ever decreasing circles : the Alps too crowded , the Himalaya too frightening . Then suddenly the book fell open at a photo of La Paz and Illimania , and our Plan B stood before us with a strength that only fate can provide . Like all contingency plans it was backed by a wealth of research and solid information .
Idiom: in the long run (used idiomatically: yes)
2.30 More often than not the loss of the wife 's services is assessed by reference to the costs of employing a housekeeper to provide those services , and there have been comparatively recent developments in this area . We have already pointed out that there can be no claim by dependants for grief or for loss of society of the deceased nor can there be any claim on behalf of the children for loss of a mother 's love , guidance and influence . Mr Harvey McGregor has said in McGregor on Damages,(15th ed Sweet & Maxwell 1988 , para 1588 ) : It may be argued that the benefit of a mother 's personal attention to a child 's upbringing , morals , education and psychology , which the services of a housekeeper , nurse or governess could never provide has , in the long run , a financial value for the child difficult as it is to assess . This statement was quoted with apparent approval by Lord Edmund - Davies in Hay v Hughes [ 1975]QB 790 and Watkins J took it into account in Regan v Williamson [ 1976]1 WLR 305 . In the latter case the judge thought that the term " services " had been too narrowly construed in the past and that allowance should be made for the fact that a wife and mother does not work set hours and that she is in constant attendance on the home .
Idiom: state of the art (used idiomatically: no)
The fundamental model is the physical sciences , but in the current transactions and debates in and around English , social studies offers a closer and more approachable example . Michael Edwards refers to the assumption that only enquiry into literature that is founded on the state of the art in sociology or other adjacent disciplines is valid , the rest being impressionist and subjective . I once asked a colleague in linguistics if this meant that the criticism of , oh , Addison , Keats , Hopkins , Forster , was valueless . I thought of the question as rhetorical , but his reply was ‘ Yes’ .
Idiom: get the better of (used idiomatically: yes)
Such sentiments reflect the slow growth and fiscal problems that followed the 2008 financial crisis , but they are not historically unprecedented . Americans have a long history of incorrectly estimating their power . In the 1950 ’s and 1960s , after Sputnik , many thought that the Soviets might get the better of America ; in the 1980 ’s , it was the Japanese . Now it is the Chinese . But , with America ’s debt on a path to equaling its national income in a decade , and a fumbling political system that can not seem to address the country ’s fundamental challenges , are the “ declinists ” finally right ?
Idiom: in a nutshell (used idiomatically: yes)
I hoped she could hear . They 'd chosen the journalists very carefully , of course . Rather , they 'd selected newspapers which , while endowed with authoritative reputations , were sympathetic to the malai government — in a nutshell , quality right - wing newspapers which were n't soft on Communism . Mrs Goreng depended on the editors to send the right people . For her to have vetted the reporters on an individual basis ( which would have been the first instinct of the malai military left to their own devices ) would have caused offence to the point where the exercise would have been counter - productive .
Idiom: catch fire (used idiomatically: yes)
A post morteum examination found that the two men , both from South Gloucestershire , died from burns and smoke inhalation . The police have been searching the site for clues , and talking to eye witnesses . They want to find out why the men drove there and how the truck caught fire . Male speaker We believe it drove onto the site just before the call to the fire brigade — and that 's what we 're trying to ascertain from the travellers .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
Not a marriage , and yet more like marriage than many marriages : domesticated , familiar , faithful . There was a time , early in their days at Cambridge , when a brilliant and handsome research student from Yale made a determined pitch for Robyn , and she had been rather dazzled and excited by the experience ( he wooed her with a heady mixture of the latest post Freudian theoretical jargon and devastatingly frank sexual propositions , so she was never quite sure whether it was Lacan 's symbolic phallus he was referring to or his own real one ) . But in the end she pulled back from the brink , conscious of Charles 's silent but reproachful figure hovering on the edge of her vision . She was too honest to deceive him and too prudent to exchange him for a lover whose interest would probably not last very long . When Charles obtained his post at Suffolk , there had been a certain amount of pressure from both sets of parents for them to get married .
Idiom: play games (used idiomatically: no)
That is what happened.’ ‘ And that is all you can tell me?’ ‘ Do you think I have time to play games ? If there were more , I 'd have told the Medjays.’ ‘ Do you remember me from the City of the Horizon?’
Idiom: call someone's bluff (used idiomatically: no)
Even Mitford was not the second . ' And he had me . It was absurd , but I would not let my bluff be called . I reached for the shaker . ' Wait . '
Idiom: out of sight (used idiomatically: no)
Nyerere 's lament could be repeated by nearly every Third World country for nearly every commodity . Something has got to give and that something has been the vast majority of Third World people . Their living standards are dropping out of sight as governments ‘ adjust’ their economies in order to cope with the debts . ‘ Adjustment’ is the polite , IMF word for grinding down whole nations and entire populations . It goes like this : when the IMF devises an adjustment package — as it has done in over 50 countries — social service budgets are cut to the bone .
Idiom: err on the side of (used idiomatically: yes)
It began to slope downwards . Lorton paused to consult his Ordnance Survey map . As a soldier he had been taught to err on the side of caution . It was always wise to work out a line of retreat as well as a line of approach . On Wednesday afternoon , Dougal dialled the number of Newley 's private office line .
Idiom: on the shelf (used idiomatically: yes)
Carrie followed him , through a door at the back of the kitchen , down a stone passage into a dairy . The goose lay , neatly trussed , on a cold , marble slab . There were speckly eggs in trays on the shelf , slabs of pale , oozy butter , and a big bowl of milk with a skin of cream on the top . Carrie felt hollow with hunger . She said , ‘ I thought Mr Gotobed was dead .
Idiom: pull someone's leg (used idiomatically: yes)
It was a fatal move , of course , because when he turned back the leprechaun had gone.’ Glancing at his mother , who gave her a gentle smile , then back to Feargal , she burst out laughing . ‘ You 're pulling my leg!’ ‘ Indeed he is not,’ Feargal 's mother protested in her gentle way . ‘ You 'll see , when you go .
Idiom: break the bank (used idiomatically: yes)
A follow - up study showed that very few of them ever had any higher ambition for using the money than buying a house or two for the family and perhaps a shop or pub . They declared almost unanimously that it would not change their way of life , which makes one wonder what was so attractive about that way of life ( in fact , nearly all pools winners were forced to move , through the envy of neighbours ) . But the dream , ‘ When I come up on the Pools’ became the Fifties equivalent of breaking the bank at Monte Carlo for the Edwardians . In the United States it was not the £ 75,000 cheque but the $ 64,000 Question , the top prize in a double - your - money television quiz , that dominated people 's fantasies . When the first contestant to go for the top prize , Marine Captain Richard MacCutchin who , oddly , specialized in haute cuisine , pulled it off by describing the ingredients of a royal banquet given by George VI to the president of France , three - quarters of American television sets were tuned in to watch him wrestle for the answers .