Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: in the saddle (used idiomatically: yes)
Neil Pascoe says he 's always wanted to cycle from John 0 Groats to Lands End and then the idea came to run up the three peaks and swim the lakes and try to raise money for charity … Derek Hegarty says it 's been tougher than they expected because the winds up in Scotland were very strong and after a few days they had troubles with their knees but they 've managed to keep going … Neil says he does n't like the swimming and the lakes have been cold while Derek says they 've been through the pain barrier and have had to spend up to ten hours a day in the saddle but they 've had a good back up team … he also jokes that there has n't been a day when he would n't have rather stopped in bed Neil adds that they 've collected money for charity up and down the mountains and its restored his faith in human nature Travelling with the two sergeants is a back up team from RAF Hereford … they're job is to make sure they stay on course and on time for a finish on Friday afternoon
Idiom: break even (used idiomatically: yes)
It depends on your tactics in horse racing . If you decided that you 're really only interested in long priced horses because you wanted win a large sum of money , so you only started looking at horses that were offered at fifty to one or longer odds than that , then if you look at the statistics then you 'll find that the rate of return on such bets is even lower than the rate of return that we 've quoted on football pools , but on the other hand if you look at horses which are offered , say , at odds - on or at very low odds , evens , two to one and things like that , then the rate of return is pretty close to a hundred per cent of your money . You 're never going to get extremely rich by betting on horses at very low odds , unless you bet very large stakes , but on the other hand if you do bet frequently at horses that are two to one or two to one on , or something like that , then the statistics demonstrate that you can , over a season , just about break even , or you tend to just about break even . That 's very interesting . What you 're saying , essentially , is that if you just automatically put a bet on every outsider with long odds , say twenty to one or something , through an entire season , you 're going to end up by losing money overall .
Idiom: lie low (used idiomatically: no)
In the Tayside uplands alone there are around 200 recognizable agricultural settlements from 1500 BC onwards . Both hunters and farmers fished in the rivers , lochs or sea from skin - boats and log - boats , and further incomers braved the waters between Ireland and Britain in similar small craft . Much low - lying land which today is fertile was in the past an exasperating jigsaw of bog , burn and loch , difficult to negotiate , let alone exploit . Mountainsides and glens with their rocks only sparsely coated with acidic , unproductive soil offered different problems . Incomers had to combine harsh subsistence farming with hunting in forest and stream .
Idiom: bugger all (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Me ? Ah'm just old moneybags . But Ah tell ye this , laddie , Ah'm a helluva fast learner , so do n't think ye can pull the wool or sit around on yer fat little arse doin' bugger all . Ah want that riggin ' fixed and workin ' inside of a week.’ ‘ And the sails?’
Idiom: marching orders (used idiomatically: yes)
SKIPPER Richard Gough was sent off as Scotland 's World Cup hopes were hammered by a late Swiss surge at the Wankdorf Stadium last night . It was a disastrous night for Andy Roxburgh 's men , despite the fact that they went in at half - time all square at 1 - 1 . Gough got his marching orders from Dutch referee Mario Van Der Ende when he caught the ball during a devastating Swiss assault . The day had started in farce when keeper Andy Goram somehow lost his passport on Scotland 's team coach . Only hurried negotiations between the Scots and the British Embassy produced the necessary clearance papers in time for the keeper to play .
Idiom: in the bag (used idiomatically: yes)
She said , ‘ There you are , you 've taken your time , have n't you ? Did you bring the tomatoes?’ ‘ They 're in the bag . I was a long time because everyone was gassing in the shop . Some men pinched all the wages at the gravel pit .
Idiom: word of mouth (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's amazing how much we all trust to luck and hope that it will never happen to us . Yes . If you cast your mind back to when we first spoke and how we build our business by word of mouth introductions , I 'd like the opportunity of meeting one or two of your colleagues and introducing them to our service . Well er I , I 'm not sure that they 're really interested in insurance . Well I can appreciate that .
Idiom: call the shots (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ They made me out to be a hooligan , which I 'm not.’ Self - assured , positive and verging on bossy , Paula Hamilton is a tough cookie . She calls the shots and the people she meets have to dance to her tune if they are going to get on with her . Paula , 30 , is a fighter and is back with a vengeance , looking fantastic with a shorter hairdo , body toned to perfection and for once , she 's feeling fit . She has been involved in three new workout videos entitled The Shape Series , which she presents .
Idiom: under the table (used idiomatically: yes)
Just him . Not ‘ Tod’ , not any longer . The name on the bell , the name on the door , the name on the envelopes under the table lamp : they said John Young , John Young , John Young . Scraps of paper , issuing from the city , came twirling in through the cab window . We healed them with our doctor 's hands and placed them about our person .
Idiom: have someone's number (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah ? Could you , would you like to give me his number ? Well I do n't actually have his er telephone number . Okay , can I contact him your place of work ? Yeah you can
Idiom: slip through the net (used idiomatically: yes)
And ‘ each’ and ‘ other’ . ‘ To’ as well . Maggie feels no doubt about that : so small a word , so small and so necessary a word is bound to survive , to slip through the net of destruction that she and Fenna — no , that she herself , alone — will loose on the cold sky tonight . But ‘ belong’— she is fearful that for her at least the word may explode , may vanish in a puff of smoke as delicate as the smoke that trickles from Fenna 's nostrils when he is asleep ; as delicate as the fronds of smoke that drift mysteriously from the end of Phoebe 's cigarette when she gestures impatiently in conversation . Maggie might no longer belong , to anything or anyone , if she did not belong to Fenna .
Idiom: squeaky clean (used idiomatically: yes)
There were several changes to key members of the cast from the Glasgow premiere in December . Richard Halton might have been felt to have the least enviable job in taking on Simon Keenlyside 's much praised Papageno , but he did so with great panache and comic flair , and sang soundly as well . Penelope Randall - Davies was a suitably alarming Queen of Night , while Neill Archer succeeded admirably in keeping the rather squeaky - clean Tamino on the right side of prim , while underlining his virtue . Industrial dissent may be simmering in the orchestra pit , but the musicians played well enough under their musical director , Robert Dean , who replaced Nicholas McGegan but retained his forthright ( and occasionally cavalier ) approach to tempo and dynamics . Gidon Saks brought an uncharacteristic menace ( for the character , that is , rather than the singer , whom we have seen wonderfully menacing before ) to the role of the wise priest Sarastro , and his decidedly unplatonic attraction to Susannah Waters 's bright , pert , splendidly sung Pamina added an element of tension not envisaged in the original .
Idiom: call it a day (used idiomatically: yes)
In the 68th minute the huge Musselburgh contingent in the crowd went wild when McMillan broke up the blindside and sent winger Craig Ramsey racing in for a try to put his side 14 - 10 up . But back came Colleges and after Rigby ( damaged ankle ) had been replaced at prop by Alan Kittle , Wyllie grabbed a loose ball 20 metres out and simply exploded through the visitors ' defence for what proved to be the clinching score , Thomson adding the two points . Then Wyllie just kept thumping the ball downfield and soon time ran out on Musselburgh , whose only crumb of comfort is that their coach , Raymond Clark , who had planned to call it a day , is now likely to stay on next season . Glasgow H - K provide puzzle over relegation Glasgow H - K 39 Hawick 0 THE difficulty in watching this match was to ascertain how it was Glasgow High - Kelvinside who have anchored themselves in the relegation battle and not their more illustrious Border rivals , Hawick .
Idiom: hold someone's hand (used idiomatically: yes)
Did anyone see?’ They stirred uneasily . Jack , still kneeling beside Bunty and holding her hand to his cheek , said , ‘ She 'd just left … ’ He was crying . ‘ We 'd been in my room — Ronny'd gone out , he always does between shows .
Idiom: behind someone's back (used idiomatically: yes)
If you say I wo n't hit you and put your hands behind your back what do you reckon I 'm gon na do ? Do you reckon I 'm gon na do it ? Now , put your hands behind your back . Now . Stop shouting .
Idiom: nine times out of ten (used idiomatically: yes)
But they are wank that But you know but if they are wankers nothing you do , and including , I mean I 've done it in the past , slowed right down and nine times out of ten it jus it just incenses them to drive even closer . Yeah , exactly and tha that 's when you slam your anchors on and they 're in the fucking wall !
Idiom: come up trumps (used idiomatically: yes)
Jackie Nilsson , a councillor for the area which includes the Acklam Park ground at Middlesbrough northern home of Yorkshire county cricket has appealed to the Duke of Edinburgh to intercede . ‘ I have already written to the Duke of Edinburgh as president of the playing fields association,’ said Mrs Nilsson . ‘ Obviously if we can get his support and if he comes up trumps , it will be marvellous,’ she said . Dave Waddington , chairman of Middlesbrough Rugby Club , co - owners of the site with Middlesbrough Cricket Club , says the £ 5 m offer by developers Foinavon should be seriously considered . And that is the recommendation officers of the club are to put to members following an executive committee meeting at the weekend .
Idiom: on a shoestring (used idiomatically: yes)
The laboratory 's Spallation Neutron Source ( SNS ) will provide facilities for several hundred British and other scientists to use neutrons as a probe for studies in physics , chemistry , and biology . The capital cost of the SNS and its associated instruments will be about £ 20 million . Appleton was proud of having done much of his own research on a shoestring . He would have approved of the extensive use on the site of existing equipment and buildings . When 1 commented to the hosts of the Parliamentary and Scientific Committee ( under whose auspices 1 went ) on the use of steel for guarding the rings , I was told that the full , true installation ( ’ green field’ ) cost would have been near to £ 50 million .
Idiom: rock the boat (used idiomatically: yes)
Britain 's debt to Europe EDITORIAL Rocking the boat Can Labour manage an open debate without tearing itself apart ? How long ago it all seems . ' You Ca n't Trust Labour . '
Idiom: behind the scenes (used idiomatically: no)
We met , for instance , in one or other of the hotel bars that attract delegates of an evening , two commissioning editors we could spend months trying to reach back in London , the assembled ranks of the UK media ( usually bemoaning the lack of good gossip pieces ) and various other useful types who , post - event , look like providing some unexpected sales and coproduction outlets . I suspect that has to do with having a basis on which to talk . The subterranean world of the behind - the - scenes television power - brokers gets to meet up at these events . Going along as a small independent with just a few programmes to your name does render you relatively powerless . But the other thing of value that we came away with — much harder to define — was the beginning of an understanding of who 's out there : who your market might be ; what they are looking for ; and how you might approach them .
Idiom: take root (used idiomatically: yes)
There are more than 200,00 known plant species in the world and it is said we have learned to use only 2,500 of them . It is the marriage of traditional wisdom and knowledge of raw ingredients with modern research that makes The Body Shop products innovative and effective . But the idea for The Body Shop did not take root immediately . By the time she returned from travelling the world , she was in her mid - twenties . She fell in love , married and opened a restaurant with her husband Gordon .
Idiom: in the club (used idiomatically: yes)
The Dutch Economy Minister , Koos Andriessen , said in an interview : ' In the long term the energy problem will not be solved without nuclear power ' . According to reuters , ' his comments are the strongest signal yet that the Netherlands may be ready to expand nuclear capacity ' . MINERS WARM TO IDEA OF NUCLEAR IN THEIR CLUB SCOTTISH miners have backed a call for an integrated energy policy INCLUDING nuclear power . Delegates at the Annual Congress of the Scottish TYUC in Perth voted by a significant majority in favour of a motion tabled by the Scottish NUM .
Idiom: fight tooth and nail (used idiomatically: yes)
Last Thursday their problems became public for the first time when Allen began a legal battle for custody of three of their children . They are due to appear before a New York judge next week to present opening arguments . Mia has hired a top firm of lawyers and will fight the move tooth and nail . Allen claimed last night : ' The last thing I wanted to do was go to court . ' I tried agonizingly to work out the details privately but I was left with no alternative . '
Idiom: few and far between (used idiomatically: yes)
The problem is that normally potential purchasers have to incur the expense of undertaking surveys and arranging mortgage finance , without any idea whether they will be able to afford the final selling price . Not surprisingly , several estate agents report difficulties at the moment in attracting enough serious bidders . ‘ With an auction , you 've got to be certain that at least two buyers are there who can commit themselves , and the difficulty is that buyers who can proceed are few and far between,’ said David Phillip , a director of Yorkshire estate agents Dacre Son and Hartley . Bristol and West hopes that by arranging collective auctions it will be able to overcome this problem . It is also guaranteeing mortgages at 1 per cent below the normal interest rate , for endowment or pension - linked policies , on several of the houses up for sale , an interesting and innovative service for would - be bidders ( mortgage surveys will already have been undertaken for these houses ) .
Idiom: join the club (used idiomatically: no)
From that moment on , every day was a Saturday and between us we could sometimes manage to put the profits up by as much as fourteen shillings a week . After that , I was put on a weekly wage of five shillings — a veritable fortune — four of which I kept locked in a tin box under Granpa 's bed until I had saved up my first guinea : a man what 's got a guinea got security , Mr Salmon once told me as he stood outside his shop , thumbs in his waistcoat pockets , displaying a shiny gold watch and chain . In the evenings , after Granpa had come home for supper and the old man had gone off to the pub , I soon became bored just sitting around listening to what my sisters had been up to all day ; so I joined the Whitechapel Boys ' Club . Table tennis Mondays , Wednesdays and Fridays ; boxing Tuesdays , Thursdays and Saturdays . I never did get the hang of table tennis but I became quite a useful bantam - weight and once even represented the club against Bethnal Green .
Idiom: go begging (used idiomatically: yes)
Englefield had been fighting ' Mill for second spot . The first half was a tale of missed opportunities for ' Mill . A host of chances went begging and they had a cracking goal from John Hartless ruled out for offside . Despite all this , ' Mill did go in at half - time one goal to the good after some great work on the left by youngster Matthew Hadden . His cross found Carl Bloomfield who stuck the ball away .
Idiom: change hands (used idiomatically: yes)
As a defence , the Council pleaded an exemption clause printed on the back of the ticket . As Mr. Chapelton had obtained his ticket from the attendant at the time of making the contract ( i. e. when he collected his chair from the pile ) , the ticket had changed hands in sufficient time . The Court of Appeal rejected the Council 's defence on the ground , not that the ticket changed hands too late , but that it was not a contractual document ; for no reasonable person would expect to find contractual terms in a document which was no more than a receipt for him to prove that he had paid and which in many instances ( i.e. in the absence of the attendant ) would not change hands until long after the contract was made . Displayed notices As with an unsigned contractual document , this method of incorporation will work only if at the time of making the contract the buyer actually knew of the existence of the terms or else reasonable steps had been taken to bring them to his attention .
Idiom: to the hilt (used idiomatically: yes)
But the fact that it is protected by unwritten convention rather than by a legal constitution means that there is no external brake upon Parliament or the courts moving to restrict it in particular ways , as the mood of the times takes them . Britain may still be a country where " everything is permitted which is not specifically prohibited " , but the specific prohibitions have become more numerous , without having to justify themselves against the overriding principle of public interest suggested by the Royal Commission on the Press . However , those who operate the law are well aware that it will only be respected to the extent that it conforms with public opinion : the reason why journalists and broadcasters are not prosecuted much more often for undoubted infringements of the letter of the laws of contempt and official secrecy is simply that the authorities are well aware that up - to - the - hilt enforcement of these vague laws would bring the law into further disrepute , and precipitate precisely the sort of clash between government and the press that it has been the British genius to avoid , whenever possible , by cosy arrangements . Moreover , the law is only one method of control over what is placed in the public arena . Communicators are restrained by other forces : by shared ethical assumptions , by non - legal rules which find favour with the Press Council and the Broadcasting Complaints Commission , by pressure from advertisers , by the political predilections of proprietors , and by the host of subjective considerations which go to make up " editorial discretion " .
Idiom: have been around (used idiomatically: no)
I was hoping to collect a reassuring letter from the post office . Things had been tense between us throughout the two - year preparation period . While I had been around , it had been easy to smooth things over , but now I was at her mercy . Was she enjoying the release from all the strain ? Perhaps she was getting on a little too well without me .
Idiom: hold court (used idiomatically: no)
Also known as Gwrageth Anoon , these beautiful blonde water - maidens live in rich palaces beneath the many lakes of Wales . Stories tell of certain flowers or stones by a lake which can be touched in a special way to reveal a secret passage to the middle of the lake . There the Gwraggedd Annwn hold court , surrounded by beautiful gardens , and a visitor will be entertained with music and offered fine victuals . However , it he takes as souvenir so much as a blade of grass the entrance to this charming kingdom will close forever more . They are not as dangerous as MERMAIDS or NIXIES , and on nights of the lull moon will dance in the meadow flats , wafting scarves of silver mist above their heads .
Idiom: on the level (used idiomatically: yes)
The search techniques to reject sentences need to be highly efficient so that invalid combinations can be quickly rejected . There are points in favour of the rule - based method . The generative system is able to operate on a sentential level rather than simply consider local word combinations . Also , when successful , the rule - based system produced a much deeper analysis of the input than the probabilistic approach . It must also be taken into consideration that the generative system is being used for an application alien to its originally design .
Idiom: go downhill (used idiomatically: yes)
He took me often to organ recitals ( Goss Custard and Thalben Ball ) and to the Proms , where he sat in the balcony over the orchestra cupping his good ear in his hand . ( After scarlet fever he lost the hearing of one ear altogether . ) He was a strong long - distance cyclist , not a racer , and tended to get off his bike going downhill in case the brakes failed , but ride up everything . Harry Curwen , his friend and cycling companion , had a story that Father wanted to ride up a very long hill on one of their excursions but fell off near the top . So he went down and tried again , this time successfully .
Idiom: hit home (used idiomatically: yes)
After beating Huddersfield in the home leg of the first round Rumbelows Cup Mitch Cook scoring Bobby Gould brought former First Division giants West Brom to Feethams . Don Goodman , later to be transferred for £ 1 million to Sunderland , netted the only goal . Four days later at Huddersfield the realities hit home . In the return leg of the Rumbelows League Cup tie , the home side exposed some glaring weaknesses in the Darlington defence , and Phil Starbuck scored twice in a 4–0 win . A disallowed Willis goal when the score was 1–0 proved crucial .
Idiom: in someone's pocket (used idiomatically: yes)
One of them , who evidently thought a deal of himself , fumbled in his waistcoat pocket for a long while , that the others might see him , and finally brought out a little silver coin , which he tried to put into my hand .
Idiom: kick the bucket (used idiomatically: no)
Yeah . Erm well really it 's just what I said , it 's er roughly speaking it 's when er a string of words does n't have the meaning you 'd expect on the basis of the standard semantics of the language , but rather has a fixed different meaning and whenever there 's any apparent structure in it , I E several words , er , their , their normal meanings are irrelevant which is the meaning of the whole phrase . So like I said kick the bucket , the meaning of that idiomatically is just die , sorry die . It 's a metaphorical meaning originally ? Er , it might be I do n't know in this particular case .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
Farmer Boldwood proposes marriage On Saturday at Casterbridge market Boldwood saw the woman who was disturbing his dreams . For the first time he turned his head and looked at her . It was in fact the first time in his life that he had looked at any woman . Up to now he had considered women to be distant , almost foreign creatures , who had nothing to do with him .
Idiom: have someone's guts for garters (used idiomatically: yes)
What Staff Nurse Fields becomes tomorrow depends on you . Tomorrow you will do alone the work you 've been shown today , but under her supervision . By the third day I expect third - years to work alone , and if you slip up , gal , I 'll have your guts for garters ! Got that?’ That time I had to stifle an ‘ aye , aye’ .