Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: across the board (used idiomatically: yes)
After the inflation and eventual recession of the 1970s and the greedy pursuit of money in the 1980s , people ( especially the young ) rediscovered some of the faith in the future and the enthusiasm for change which had characterized the 1960s . But this renewed social concern benefitted from the lessons of the preceding decades by being more realistic — and so arguably achieving more . The across - the - board respect for green thinking had a lot to do with this change in atmosphere — so too did the disappearance of the ‘ Soviet threat’ . The UN bounces back The worldwide acceptance of the need for supranational controls on the environment — given that the holes in the ozone layer , the greenhouse effect and tropical deforestation affect the whole planet rather than individual countries — has lent new respect and strength to the United Nations .
Idiom: walk the plank (used idiomatically: yes)
Taylor has n't even tried to do that . If Taylor goes , what idiot would take the job ? Kevin Keegan , Glenn Hoddle or Ron Atkinson , all loved by the media , would merely be walking the plank towards a couple of defeats . It 's time you English grew up and accepted defeat a little more graciously . Even his enemies would have to applaud his courage in facing the music after one of the greatest embarrassments in England 's history .
Idiom: run riot (used idiomatically: yes)
After all , who would you rather hang out with : Byron or Take That ? Shakespeare or Shakespears Sister ? When Coleridge got on one and let his imagination run riot , he came up with Kubla Khan . Nowadays , most people 's idea of a tribute to the transgressive joys of altered states is ‘ A Trip To Trumpton’ . Sad .
Idiom: on the ropes (used idiomatically: yes)
I was whipped on against every natural instinct . It was all the harder because I could have given up at any moment . I was not a man fighting to live but I was a boxer on the ropes , praying for a miracle that would save him from almost certain defeat . To throw in the towel would mean the end of misery , a shower , clean sheets , good food and reunion with my family after the months I had spent in training camp . But I doggedly believed that things would change , that they could only get better , yet when I reached the outcrop I wailed with despair .
Idiom: the icing on the cake (used idiomatically: yes)
Trees from all over the country being turned into student accomodation , an english pub and craft workshop . The three million pound contract helping two Midlands companies : ’ It 's like the icing on the cake . It 's just given us that much more sales coming out of recession to really help us.’ ’ In the short term it means that we 're through the recession which has been really difficult to get through
Idiom: to the bone (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ What am I supposed to have been looking for?’ ‘ That 's rather what I 'm hoping to find out.’ The headmaster was getting a little too close to the bone for my liking , so I decided to go on the defensive . ‘ Is there something about my work that 's been bothering you , Headmaster?’ ‘ No , you 've got the wrong end of the stick entirely.’
Idiom: to the hilt (used idiomatically: yes)
There are two separable claims here . The psychologist Jeffrey Gray , who is also quoted by Askwith , more clearly distinguishes these , although perhaps unaware that he is doing so : ‘ How can you know , in advance , whether an experiment will be relevant ? I would defend to the hilt the right of scientists to experiment on animals in the pursuit of pure knowledge’(21 ) . The weaker claim is that although one can not be certain that beneficial results will accrue , there are grounds for the probability that they will . The stronger , less compromising , position is that it is enough to have a problem , possibly due to lack of data or thrown up by another 's findings , and plausible ways of solving it .
Idiom: make a move (used idiomatically: yes)
Newsflash First moves A Babycham survey revealed that 83 % of men favour women making the first move in relationships . But only 78 % of women want to do the asking . Whiff of success
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
There were pears and apples , clustered high in blooming pyramids ; there were bunches of grapes , made , in the shopkeepers ' benevolence to dangle from conspicuous hooks , that people 's mouths might water gratis as they passed ; there were piles of filberts , mossy and brown , recalling , in their fragrance , ancient walks among the woods , and pleasant shufflings ankle deep through withered leaves ; there were Norfolk Biffins , squab and swarthy , setting off the yellow of the oranges and lemons , and , in the great compactness of their juicy persons , urgently entreating and beseeching to be carried home in paper bags and eaten after dinner .
Idiom: ten a penny (used idiomatically: no)
So you 'd save fifty pence . And then you 'd have fifty hundredths and it 's still look like a half . So if you kept these same ratios same fractions even if you got ten pound or a hundred pounds or ten pence it would still look like that . The only thing that would change would be the total at the top . Do n't forget to put the total on it .
Idiom: pull someone's leg (used idiomatically: yes)
At least that 's the way Abu Salim and his cronies saw it . That evening , Abu Salim came to chain Brian and me up after we 'd been to the bathroom . He did me first and , as usual , stepped over my mattress to Brian , who suddenly snarled , ‘ Do n't you pull my leg , I 'm not an animal.’ The chain snapped on and there was a thump as Brian was hit , then some more noise and Abu Salim stormed out . He returned a minute later breathing heavily .
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: no)
Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Ooh . I 'll go all the way down here now . Simon you know no go , ah ! That 's where the hand is , up there .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
Ruth Grigg of the Family Planning Association , said : ‘ The temptation for women who have their Pills changed will be just not to bother with contraception at all or to use something that 's less effective.’ Buying some of the more popular brands privately was likely to cost women from £ 81 to £ 135 a year , it found . And switching brands need not save NHS money in the long term , the magazine argued . Extra costs for abortions or maternity care would more than outweigh the savings . Aid team goes on mercy mission
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
It would seem from all these experiences that coroners , procurators fiscal and examining magistrates very seldom consider that they have a duty to act in a manner which will assist the aircraft accident investigator . Indeed , it is all too often the case that the investigator is required to put his interests second to those of the legal investigator of the cause of death . It goes without saying that there should be an independent official investigation , inquiry , inquest — call it what you will — into the cause of an unnatural death ; but is it not time that ancient laws and practices were brought up to date to deal with modern circumstances ? It is a matter for serious consideration whether the legal authority should be required to do anything more than establish identity and ascertain that the person was in fact killed as the result of an aircraft accident rather than deliberate sabotage . It should then be for the official aircraft accident investigating authority to establish the cause of the accident and to make recommendations for avoiding similar accidents in the future , and it should be for the civil courts to decide who is liable to pay damages and to whom .
Idiom: all things being equal (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ That 's a pity,’ said trainer Tim Forster when told the news . ‘ I 'd hoped Katabtic would be kept in . Still , Pegwell Bay is very well and , all things being equal , he will run.’ Forster also has Major Match in the race although his participation is uncertain . ‘ He needs top of the ground and I 'll wait until later in the week before deciding whether to run,’ added the trainer .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
Having done everything in your tank preparations to avoid new tank syndrome , you can still set in motion some of the attendant problems if you start your new stock off on the wrong fin . Choose your fish with care ( perhaps after reading June 's article on choice of fish ) from a reputable local dealer who has clean tanks with no dead , dying or injured fish on show . Check them out carefully while they 're still in their bags in the shop , then convey them quickly home keeping them warm , and in the dark . Once home , float their bag(s ) in the tank , and after twenty minutes or so add a little tank water , repeating the process over the next hour or so until the fish have adjusted ( if necessary ) to your tank water . ( It is possible to set up a system to gradually add your tank water while discarding the shop water but this should not be necessary ) .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: no)
From 1935 - 39 I lived in a flat on the top floor of number 45 in the ' high street ' in Knightsbridge . My job gave me awkward hours and frequent short - notice travel both at home and abroad . Security and my creature comforts were cared for by a dry - cleaners on the street level ; a cafe on the first floor that would send me up something on a tray when I came home late and tired ; a retired beautician on the second floor who would revive me with an evening ' facial ' ; while the grocer round the corner saw to it that my larder was replenished for my homecomings . The unfurnished rent for a bedroom looking through the tree tops to Wilton Place , a long - windowed living room overlooking Hyde Park , and access to my own flat roof , was £ 2 per week in those halcyon days . Letter : The real Pharisees
Idiom: and then some (used idiomatically: yes)
Very . Very ! They make a big thing about some things , and then some we 're gon na drill all that point nine five anyway ! Yeah . They made a big thing about us sort of not using one millimetre holes using
Idiom: err on the side of (used idiomatically: yes)
' Like VAT , it seems complicated , but as time goes by , we will accommodate its requirements without regarding them as intrusive . ' Meanwhile , many hoteliers are still puzzling over the more confusing clauses , vowing not to be the first to test them through the courts . ' There 's a lot of ambiguity , so we have erred on the side of caution , ' says Caroline Burrows of Swallow Hotels , a leading grass - roots authority on the Directive , having studied its implications from every angle following a seminar run by the Department of Trade & Industry ( DTI ) , Trading Standards and ABTA . ' We could n't find anyone to bond us in time , ' says Mrs Burrows . ' Applying to ABTA would involve hefty costs , as cover would offer us a lot we did n't need , and the British Hospitality Association 's bonding arrangements were not in place before the April 1 deadline .
Idiom: get the boot (used idiomatically: yes)
' I 'll be very disappointed if I 'm not competing for a place in the first one - day international on January 16 . That would mean it would take more than three weeks to heal . ' I may have to miss the first game but I 'm hoping to get myself a boot made for my left foot with a steel plate in it to protect the toe so that I can practice as soon as I get to India . ' Smith does n't want to be out of the selectors ' minds at the start of the tour because he is desperate to improve on his overseas record for England . Despite a Test average of 50 and seven centuries in 66 innings , he has yet to score a Test ton abroad .
Idiom: out of the woods (used idiomatically: no)
Butterflies abounded : we saw small copper , green hair streak , grizzled skipper , orange tip , painted lady , common blue , speckled wood , small heath , wall brown and red admiral . Now we were in forest . Three bright redstarts darted in and out of piles of brush wood in a clearing . A wood lark rose , spiralling from a fir . It hung , fluttering its wings , hovering — and then wavered gently downwards , back into the trees .
Idiom: from scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
But when Geoff Hamilton handed me a chunk of Barnsdale to turn into a well - planted garden , I had to put my money where my mouth was . Outlining the plot Of course , I 've built my own garden up from scratch and am somewhere near getting parts of it right . But I 've been at it for 15 years . The plot Geoff gave me , roughly 40 ft by 20 ft , was to be transformed into a garden within a single run of the Gardeners ' World programmes !
Idiom: one of those things (used idiomatically: no)
Er it was I the only thing that that brought it to mind was Ann herself stumbled over it as she said it you know playwright Well I wonder if it 's I wonder if it 's one of those things that I mean she 's reading the story aloud , I wonder if you were reading that story as as well Yeah as well You read it very quickly and and it would almost he had it would be he 'd or whatever it is that the word was you know that y you
Idiom: donkey work (used idiomatically: yes)
The software lists at $ 1,150 . SunLink Point - to - Point Protocol is designed to let small companies do away with dedicated routers when linking their local area networks . Instead users can let the Sparcstation do the donkey work . It should , says SunConnect , prove particularly attractive to companies that want to link small workgroups to a remote , central system . Sunlink Point - to - Point Protocol costs the same as the Frame Relay software and also shares the ability to be controlled and configured by a central SNMP - based management station such as SunNet Manager .
Idiom: the plot thickens (used idiomatically: yes)
always an opponent of the town clerk also now erm trying to cause problems . Mm . I mean , that really does make the plot thicken does n't it ? Yeah . He 's not an officer of the constitut he is n't a treasurer , he is n't secretary , he 's , he 's nothing as far the constituency 's concerned .
Idiom: put two and two together (used idiomatically: yes)
She snorted indignantly . ‘ The connection ? The connection is obvious to anyone who can put two and two together . Do you really believe that the first contact after weeks of silence just happened by sheer coincidence to fall on the same day as your arrival here ? I 'm sorry , but that would be just a little too convenient .
Idiom: pecking order (used idiomatically: yes)
Sisters or brothers are often close , and youngsters of the same age often strike up friendships ; but other horses may become friends for no apparent reason . Friendship between domestic horses is well known , and the need for attachment is so strong that lone horses will become firm friends with cows , goats , pigs and even people . It seems strange that this phenomenon , so necessary both for social cohesion and for the development of real harmony between ourselves and our horses , has been given less attention than pecking order : a reflection , perhaps , on the observer more than on the observed . Concomitant with bonding is leadership , for where the bolder of two friends , or the elder of a related pair , goes , the second follows . This may lead to the whole group moving , tugged along by a complex web of bonds .
Idiom: turn heads (used idiomatically: yes)
Her shoes came all the way from America , where such things were only worn by famous film - stars . Her ear - rings , too , were a gift from some exotic place . They jangled when she moved and brushed her creamy shoulders each time she turned her head . The boy rose to his feet , still gripping the banisters and staring down at the figure in the doorway . He watched her drape a folded sheet and towel over one arm , then pick up a covered tea - tray and step from the bright kitchen to the gloomy corridor .
Idiom: home and dry (used idiomatically: yes)
Well well once they get in here Yes yes well you mean not an actual alarm . They 're home and dry . They 'd just smash the whole place up . Yeah .
Idiom: cut and dried (used idiomatically: yes)
The crowd gathered round us and the atmosphere was marvellous . They were true sportsmen with each other , complimenting one another on each good shot . There was only one stroke in it after the first round ( Thomson 68 ; Thomas 69 ) , so it was n't cut - and - dried . But peter pulled away a bit in the second round ( Thomson 71 ; Thomas 74 ) and he won by four strokes . I just remember then being thankful my over - clubbing had n't proved costly and how exhausted I was .
Idiom: turn heads (used idiomatically: yes)
' I do n't actually see any , do you ? ' Involuntarily Lindsey glanced over his shoulder and felt his jacket brush softly against her cheek . It smelled of expensive cologne , and her skin tingled as he turned his head , his sensuous mouth drifting warmly , dangerously close to her cheek . She drew a long , shaky breath . He was certainly right about one thing , she thought .
Idiom: seen better days (used idiomatically: yes)
Then , with the railroads as chief boosters , the plains saw the arrival of thousands upon thousands of settlers . They wiped out the buffalo , more or less wiped out the Indians and , eventually , were driven away themselves by loneliness , extreme weather , drought , and the loss of topsoil brought on by over - farming . The region today is a sparsely populated land of ruined homesteads , small towns that have seen better days , farmers who are too reliant on unreplenishable groundwater , and missile silos . Mr Frazier found more . Down an almost impassable dirt track near McLaughlin , South Dakota , he found , with the help of an Indian hitchhiker called Jim Yellow Earring , the site of the cabin belonging to the famous Sioux chief , Sitting Bull .
Idiom: pull a face (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ I would have driven myself except we 've had a party of Australians land on us looking for accommodation on the off - chance . We 're able to put up most of them , while the remainder I 've sent round to The Beach Hotel.’ Here Lawler pulled a face . He loathed turning business away . He went on .
Idiom: in light of (used idiomatically: yes)
Maybe I can never convince you that I am other than a spirit , for what I have to tell you is this : that I have come from two hundred years in the future to speak to you — to sit here by this window and talk as we talk now ! ' I could not resist letting flattery creep into my tone . Seen in the soft green light of the window , speaking with her serious calm air , Mary Shelley was beautiful to behold . There might be a melancholy here , but there was none of Shelley 's madness , none of Byron 's moodiness . She seemed like a being apart , a very sane but extraordinary young woman , and a slumbering thing in my breast woke and opened to her .
Idiom: on edge (used idiomatically: yes)
She did n't want to think any more about choices . She had made her own , to love him again , and it was all she could live with at the moment . ' Oh , Fernando , ' she breathed huskily as she stood on the edge of the pool . ' It 's beautiful . A mini Hollywood . '
Idiom: seen better days (used idiomatically: yes)
Gardens extend on three sides of the city in a straight line for twelve thousand paces.’ The domes of one of Jahanpanah 's finest buildings , its great cathedral mosque , lay just a little to the south of the pavilion where I was now sitting . The building had certainly seen better days . From my rooftop I could see that one side of the prayer hall roof had collapsed . The once gleaming whitewash was dark and smoke - blackened ; in places the plaster had fallen away to reveal the messy rubble - walling beneath .
Idiom: in the black (used idiomatically: yes)
Blacks ( 48.9 per cent ) had a greater prevalence than whites ( 37.5 per cent ( P<0.05 ) and Asians ( 35.4 per cent(P<0.05) . Females ( 49.1 per cent ) had a greater prevalence than males ( 33.0 per cent ) ( P<0.001 ) , a trend noted for all ethnic groups . Those not receiving insulin therapy had a greater prevalence ( 45.6 per cent ) than those on insulin ( 30.7 per cent ) ( P<0.001 ) , although this relationship was not found in blacks in whom the prevalence of hypertension was similar regardless of the type of diabetic therapy . As in several previous studies , isolated systolic hypertension was the commonest finding ( Epstein et al , 1965 ; Garcia et al , 1974 , Hawthorne et al , 1974 ; Kannel & McGee , 1979 ) and isolated diastolic hypertension the least common in all ethnic groups . Multiple regression analysis showed a positive relationship between age and systolic ( P<0.00001 ) and diastolic ( P<0.00001 ) blood pressure and a negative relationship between duration of diabetes and diastolic blood pressure .
Idiom: get away with murder (used idiomatically: yes)
Mellor , too , who denied yesterday evening that the Government was going to be in any way disagreeable to the BBC . One important correction . I 've suddenly remembered that the programme that really infuriated me , when I was tired and wet and Paddy Ashdown was getting away with sheer murder before my eyes , and the polls looked terminal for the Tories , and I was beginning to think that the whole thing was rigged against us , was not the BBC at all . It was an interview broadcast by a privately owned company , said to be not unfriendly to the Conservatives . Perhaps I should have put a bit more water into my late night whisky ?
Idiom: steer clear of (used idiomatically: yes)
It was the kind of story that had brought an endless succession of journalists and film crews to Liverpool throughout the turbulent Militant - in - control years of the 1980s . That period had made the city a fertile news ground for freelancers such as myself . However , I began to steer clear of such stories . When the cameras had long since departed , I was left to carry the can and answer any angry participants who felt they had been given a raw deal . ‘ You 've sold us down the river,’ became a familiar shout from across a crowded bar .
Idiom: in the long term (used idiomatically: yes)
Thomson Holidays , Britain 's biggest package holiday company , this week made a fresh effort to stimulate bookings for winter holidays by cutting prices on 100,000 holidays . In the short term , the situation for the industry is serious . In the long term , with bookings for next summer arriving in a bare trickle , the prospects are disastrous . Science comes to defence of the chapati By TONY HEATH
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: yes)
On one occasion I was round at a neighbour 's house and despite my warnings that it could get rather messy , they insisted that I show them how Dawn fed . Sure enough , right in front of her astonished onlookers , she set about disembowelling a dead chick . I held out my free hand to catch the gooey bits before they fell on the rug and , mischievously I thought , Dawn proceeded to place them in a precise bloody pile in the palm of my hand . A few mouths dropped open and then there were a few nervous giggles . They were really shocked .
Idiom: strike a chord (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Pretend to pick up a stone and throw it at the dog . It is not the stone which stops the dog . But the picking up strikes a chord and going through the motions always works . This has never failed me.’ Please , can we close the doggy postbag for now !
Idiom: all over the map (used idiomatically: yes)
Higher education , as the opening of a person 's consciousness , is in contrast unpredictable . Certainly , that movement of mind normally takes place in a bounded framework of study , i.e. the student 's ' course ' . The very term ' course ' implies a definite path of study ; the student is not going to go wandering all over the intellectual map . But higher education produces a dynamic interaction between the mind of the student , the teachers , the other students on the course and even on other courses in other subjects , and the array of resources the institution has to offer . And students are expected to make their own responses to what is put in their way .