Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: at cross purposes (used idiomatically: yes)
Some couples , highly intelligent and normally with a good command over words , manage to keep themselves endlessly but unknowingly confused . They may have many detailed conversations without realizing that each has attributed a different meaning to the ‘ it’ or the ‘ that’they are talking about . They continue to converse at cross purposes and wonder why their numerous conversations never seem to get anywhere or resolve any disagreement . It seems that there is an underlying need to keep things private and undisturbed by the other — a refusal to allow penetration . People who fall into this habit often have a weak sense of identity and have felt very taken over as children , not allowed their own thoughts and feelings , nor to be themselves .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
One is the requirement that contracts in the independent sector should go from now on(except in ‘ exceptional circumstances’ and subject to minimum standard requirements ) to the highest bidder : the other is the reduction in the programme obligations which at present safeguard the claim of minority programmes to television time . The present system of allocations , in which some stately committee offers the franchise to the most persuasive ( or plausible ) claimant on the basis of pledges which may never be fulfilled , is , all agree , very near indefensible . But a system in which those with the biggest moneybags automatically outpace others of greater experience , imagination , talent and future potential falls short of perfection too . Some 60 per cent of Conservative MPs who took part in a recent Gallup survey thought standards would fall , not improve , if these changes took place . Even the party leadership does n't really believe that de - regulation is the best guarantee of the public good : if it did , it would n't have needed to call up Lord Rees - Mogg to police TV decency .
Idiom: on the same page (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's important for parents to be on the same page when it comes to disciplining their children .
Idiom: fall from grace (used idiomatically: yes)
What they got — and I hope they then choked on their own bile in the process — was a performance that enabled English football to hold its head high again . Of course we do n't want to overdo it the praise that is . After all , England have another chance to fall from grace when they meet Germany on Saturday . Soccer Stalinist And once again the mad axemen from Wapping and elsewhere will be sharpening their stilettos ( knives not heels ) in the hope of finally despatching the manager they see as a soccer Satanist .
Idiom: beggars can't be choosers (used idiomatically: yes)
Yeah . Never get , you know , as big a selection as I 'd like to get in there . But , still beggars ca n't be choosers , they are cheap , they had loads of offers on them . Mm . Tins of baked beans , fourteen P.
Idiom: go all the way (used idiomatically: no)
The point cams are at needles 60 on the left and right . I 'm going to shape the right side of the neck first , so I 'll be knitting over needles 0 to 60 on the right of the machine . I do n't want to go all the way to the left of the knitting to pass the point cam at 60 on the left . So I move the left point cam to the right . But how far to the right ?
Idiom: once and for all (used idiomatically: yes)
I want storm and strife , And I want you to give me these Once and for all . So that I can be sure of having them always , Since I shall not always have the courage
Idiom: over the top (used idiomatically: no)
Just as a graph can be plotted by defining the co - ordinates through which the line must pass so any shape can be broken down into a series of co - ordinates . To be able to join these co - ordinates together in order to recreate the shape there must be some form of movement and so the pen is fixed to a travelling gantry that can move in the × axis ( left and right ) while the pen moves along the gantry in the y axis ( up and down ) . The traditional type of plotter is known as a ‘ flat bed’ plotter because the paper is fixed to a flat plate with the gantry travelling over the top but the disadvantage is that the plotter must be at least as big as the piece of paper . The mechanism that captured the attention of the micro industry when it first appeared in the Sharp CE-150 printer was the four pen printer / plotter . Its bigger brothers , Tandy 's CGP-115 and the Oric MCP-40 , have helped bring colour plotting to the home computer user .
Idiom: in bed with (used idiomatically: no)
He looked at his love 's shuttered , miserable face and realized he would get nowhere along those lines . ‘ Why ca n't your Mum or one of the boys go?’ ‘ Mum is in bed with bronchitis , as you would know if you had managed to get out of that place since last Friday.’ Francesca , a true eldest child , knew how to score her points . ‘ Charlie 's baby is due tomorrow , Perry is in Japan on tour , just like all the papers say .
Idiom: get off the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
She was very depressed , until they moved house , which gave her something to concentrate on , so she could settle down to the fact that she had retired . Previously , she had felt that the activities provided for retired people were not sufficiently mind - stretching and seemed to be based on younger people 's vision of what pensioners wanted . But recently a lot more interesting projects , such as the University of the Third Age ( address on page 148 ) had got off the ground , and she was enjoying two of the courses being run locally . George took early retirement at the age of 59 , and there 's no doubt that he felt he had been pushed — he had loved his job as a laboratory manager for a large company , but the firm was making massive redundancies , and he had to go . They gave him a bit of consultancy work for the first year , but after that he did n't know what he would do .
Idiom: play the field (used idiomatically: yes)
Very few married men wore rings these days . Ca n't blame them . Better chance to play the field . He was breathing less heavily now . Perhaps he was asleep .
Idiom: go without saying (used idiomatically: yes)
Forgotten what?’ ‘ He must have forgotten to tell us,’ Richard said slowly , as to a simpleton , and deliberately confusing the issue . ‘ It goes without saying , sirrah!’ ‘ Forgot a lot o ' things , did old Blackberry!’ observed Forest , addressing Richard as if he were of a sudden a force to be reckoned with . ‘ Forgot ' oo paid the piper , I dare say !
Idiom: over the counter (used idiomatically: yes)
This is done either on a direct encashment basis , or through a carrier - operated Bulk Cash Withdrawal Scheme , under which a selected security carrier arranges delivery from stocks held on our behalf . Both direct encashment and the Bulk Cash Withdrawal Scheme offer cost benefits . There is also enhanced security when a security carrier is employed as an alternative to over - the - counter encashments . MIDLAND BUSINESS CARD For many businesses the administration of employees ' expense accounts can be an unwanted headache , both in terms of time spent and cost .
Idiom: around the clock (used idiomatically: yes)
THE IRA bomb which killed two soldiers at Belfast 's Musgrave Park Hospital put almost 50 per cent of the hospital 's civilian beds out of commission and halted orthopaedic surgery , it was revealed yesterday . A spokesman for the Eastern Health Board said the attack affected more than 80 of the hospital 's 200 beds , including a new children 's ward which opened on Friday . Health board engineers have been working around the clock since Saturday 's attack to get operating theatres cleaned and sterilised . But already operations on 35 patients due for orthopaedic surgery over the next two days have been cancelled , and more may follow . The situation will be reviewed this morning by a medical - nursing and management team but according to an insider , the five operating theatres knocked out of action by the bomb may not be deemed re - sterilised before Friday .
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
So he suddenly came to a halt at the bottom of this stairs as it turned the corner , with the bottom of the wardrobe rammed into his chest , pinning him to the wall . The other man nose first was sliding down towards him , and ended up nose - to - nose with the other man , with his feet up in the air at th the bottom end of the wardrobe , or what was now the top end . So there they were facing each other , the man a that being squeezed er his lungs being squeezed , the man on the wardrobe n unable to move because he was upside down virtually facing him head - to - head . The man who owned the house was laughing at all this of course , cos it did look very funny apparently .
Idiom: go straight (used idiomatically: yes)
It 's a much prettier name than Maldita.’ And so Maldita the malevolent became Fantasma the fantastic . Within a few days she had recovered enough to play practice chukkas , going straight into fast polo as though she 'd played it all her life . She adored the game so much , Luke only had to shift his weight or touch her mouth to get her to do what he wanted , and she was so competitive she would bump anyone , at first even riding off ponies on her own side . She was still bitchy .
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
Among those vying for a place in the British team are Canadian singles specialist Gareth Marriott , winner of last year 's pre - Olympic regatta , and , in the individual kayak class , former world champion Richard Fox and current champion Shaun Pearce . The trio , all with realistic gold medal aspirations , were originally pre - selected for Barcelona on the strength of their international records but , at a controversial meeting of the British Canoe Union slalom committee in November , canoe club representatives rejected the principle of pre - selection in favour of first - past - the - post trials . Three places are up for grabs in each of the individual kayak , Canadian singles and women 's kayak singles classes . Four crews are also competing for places in the Canadian doubles category though none has yet reached the required Olympic qualifying standard . The longest canoeing event in the world , the 125-mile Devizes to Westminster race , begins tomorrow with organisers predicting a close finish .
Idiom: join the club (used idiomatically: no)
He was educated at Eton . A wine merchant by profession , with a well - established business in the Minories , he had a lifelong interest in cricket . In 1802 he joined the Marylebone Cricket Club at its Dorset Square venue . Thenceforth he played many games not only for the MCC but for a variety of sides . He made something of a jovial name for downright failure : a big , heavy man ( probably seventeen stone ) , he barely averaged more than four runs an innings and he took only eight wickets in his long but profoundly uneventful playing career .
Idiom: go bananas (used idiomatically: yes)
And I 'm gon na be giving you a handout which gives you information about how to calculate it . I never tell people getting a reduced rate Well no because they just go bananas if you do . You 've got to be careful . What , what do we call that reduction , deduction ?
Idiom: on the ground (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ It was a fantastic performance , ’ he said . ‘ But after last season there are no promises of anything . ‘ We will keep our feet on the ground and keep passing the ball . I will say this : we have players of real character who will not let us down . They are young enough and strong enough to handle the months ahead . ’
Idiom: leave someone in the lurch (used idiomatically: yes)
Although cost is said not to be an issue , corporate sales and marketing strategy for Teradata products , as for the rest of NCR 's offerings , will henceforth be decided in the US . Localised marketing will still take place , however . Rather than leave customers in the lurch , NCR said that Teradata and NCR staff will work together on upgrades for existing Teradata kit , but the NCR 3600 will take precedence from now on . The move comes on top of NCR UK 's December announcement that 8 % , or 150 to 160 sales and marketing staff had been told that their jobs were in jeopardy . …
Idiom: clear the decks (used idiomatically: no)
Best pipe of the day , ' he grinned . ' See what I mean ? Soon cleared the well deck . ' And so it had . Taureg had done well and had received her just and sincere due , but this was tot time , and on board the depot ship Omega , first things came first .
Idiom: cut your losses (used idiomatically: yes)
Decide what each shot is going to include and get it properly focused and framed before you press the button . There is nothing worse than sitting through shots which wobble around and zoom in and out while the camcorder operator is getting things sorted out . If you do find that you have recorded an unsatisfactory shot , cut your losses there and then by reversing back to the beginning so that you can over - record with something better before continuing with the rest of the shoot . If you leave the dud shot in place you are stuck with it , and you will dislike it more and more each time you replay the tape . These giraffes were first seen positioned against the sky .
Idiom: in the pipeline (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ We will be looking closely at people who get involved with drugs and alcohol , those who are encouraged to turn to prostitution and those who are made homeless,’ said Ms McHale . ‘ They are vulnerable to crime , whether committing it or falling victim to it.’ Other projects in the pipeline centre on auto - crime and women . INJURED Wayne Fairclough was left for dead by his friends after an horrific van smash . The 16-year - old passenger was flung from the vehicle head first into a metal fence .
Idiom: at the crossroads (used idiomatically: yes)
Far from being impossibly Utopian , these attitudes were a survival necessity and eventually flowered into the extraordinarily peaceful and creative Minoan civilisation of ancient Crete . When the goddess and the life - giving symbol of the chalice were usurped by male gods of war and the worship of the blade , our cultural evolution was forced onto the path of domination — and onwards to the nuclear age . Eisler says we are now at a crossroads . Once again our very survival depends on partnership , linking man and woman , nation and nation , humankind with nature . Our prehistory tells us that this is not a dream but a real possibility .
Idiom: give and take (used idiomatically: yes)
She 'll also make a grab for any toy that takes her fancy , even if she 's told it belongs to another child . What you can do The way to stop this problem developing is to make sure that your child plays with other children from an early age , and gets accustomed to the give and take of play . If she does n't have older brothers and sisters , or young cousins , adults will do , as long as they 're prepared to play with her — so commandeer aunts , uncles , grannies and granddads . Later on , at mother - and - toddler groups , introduce her to the idea that not all toys are hers .
Idiom: act of God (used idiomatically: yes)
The fighting season 1346–7 was one for the English to remember . It proved a fitting finale to what had been the first period of sustained fighting in the war . A factor which could be regarded as an act of God now intervened . In 1348 the bubonic plague , known as the Black Death , struck Europe for the first time and , in conditions of poor sanitation , famine and undernourishment , made rapid progress . Spreading through France , it made a dramatic impact upon England and Wales in the following year , and reached Scotland in 1350 .
Idiom: turn the corner (used idiomatically: yes)
The Anti - Rex strode along a corridor of floor sixty - five . The Robocop super - gun swinging to left and right . He turned a corner and stopped in no small surprise . Coming in his direction was a man in a trenchcoat and fedora . A man who should surely have been blown to pieces in the alleyway behind the Tomorrowman Tavern .
Idiom: put two and two together (used idiomatically: yes)
He observed three youths loitering nearby , who disappeared from view as he arrived . A security officer from a nearby building appeared with a piece of metal which possibly had been used to attack the meter . Tom put two and two together and set off in search of the youths , asking the Security Guard to summon the Police . The tracking and following of the youths , through rush - hour traffic , took Tom through most of Edinburgh New Town , and culminated , almost an hour later , with his flagging down a Police motor cyclist who stopped and questioned them at Mackenzie Place / India Place . The officer radioed his control .
Idiom: nuts and bolts (used idiomatically: no)
I think . Yeah , I 'll have a nose round and I 'll , yes I could possibly put the window back and shut one of the vents , yes . Well it should have its so and nuts and bolts . I 'll have a look . A wizard wheeze .
Idiom: sing for your supper (used idiomatically: no)
It had been really quite sharp of the pretty little Human to see that . Perhaps a tale or two from other lands ? the Girl was saying , smiling up at them . In her own country , there had been a saying : ' Singing for your Supper ' . She could not sing , she said , not really , but she could tell some stories for her supper . Would that do ?
Idiom: on the back of (used idiomatically: yes)
There had been once , but that was not his business . It was not necessary for him to know that she 'd been a widow for years . She finished scribbling her details on the back of the old envelope that she had extricated from her bag . Handing it to him , she told him , ‘ My name and address are on the front . And now perhaps you would be good enough to give me your particulars?’
Idiom: break cover (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ All quiet so far . No signs of enemy activity,’ Grant reported . ‘ We 're about to break cover to head for Fort Apache . Will let you know when we 're in position . Out.’
Idiom: rise to the occasion (used idiomatically: yes)
IT IS 500 years since Columbus discovered America — and across the Atlantic they are celebrating in true Hollywood style . The event is being marked by two major films — Christopher Columbus — The Discovery , starring Tom Selleck , and Columbus : The Discovery , with Marlon Brando — at a total cost of more than £ 40 million . Not to be outdone , the British film industry has risen to this momentous occasion , too . Our contribution ? Carry On Columbus — a £ 2.25 million quickie , which took just 30 days to make and , Carry On fans will be delighted to learn , is as cheeky and irreverent as ever .
Idiom: under the microscope (used idiomatically: yes)
Baker and his colleagues , Janice Mather and John Kennaugh , examined bones and tissues from various parts of the bodies of five recently dead subjects . Using a magnetometer , they found that only in the bones of the sinuses was magnetic remanence more than twice the background level — and in those bones it was up to 13 times background . When they examined thin sections of their samples under the microscope , stained to pick up particles of iron , they found appreciable concentrations of the metal only in these same bones ( Nature , vol 301 , p 78 ) . Baker suggests three possible reasons why human sinus bones should be naturally magnetic . One is that they are a dumping site for iron ; another is that the magnetic material is involved in the growth and repair of bones ; and the third is that the magnetic deposits are concerned with detecting magnetic fields as an aid to navigation .
Idiom: come out in the wash (used idiomatically: yes)
Very , very . However , it 'll all come out . It 'll come out in the wash I guess ! Right , yes . So there we are .
Idiom: round the bend (used idiomatically: yes)
Eleven of the working - class and fourteen of the middle - class housewives had washing machines : use of a machine in one 's own home lightens the task . As Eleanor Driscoll recollects At one time I had this scrubbing brush and I used to spend the whole day scrubbing and I used to have a big pan and I used to boil my clothes up in it — it drove me round the bend … I 've got this washing machine now , thank goodness . A washing machine cuts housework really down .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: yes)
There were one or two points in what he was going to say that he wanted to sound out on George . He felt full of power . The years of work and attention were bearing fruit now , and suddenly this stroke of luck with Betty . Oh Betty , Betty he thought . He put his foot on the accelerator , he wanted to get there .
Idiom: up for grabs (used idiomatically: yes)
But so far they have not found a cause or a cure . Not a job to sniff at FIVE hundred jobs are up for grabs — but applicants must be prepared to spend time off sick . Researchers at the University of Wales College , Cardiff , will pay volunteers to take medication and keep a diary of their illness in their search for a cure for the common cold . River baby on the road to recovery
Idiom: get the boot (used idiomatically: no)
Er eight o'clock at night , eight in the morning . Now when er when I was coming down er , coming from , I lived on the Green then , to go to work , we used to met er a person and we used to call her Rosie . And she 'd got a big black hat on , and a big black cloak , and all er crosses down here , and she 's got a boot on her arm all laced up , and nobody'd know whether she were a man or a woman . Then there was another one , outside the church , they 'd made a hole for a man to sit in there , and he used to sell papers . Then there was er
Idiom: on the game (used idiomatically: yes)
He was all set to take an early bath from his marriage to have an affair with soccer writer Suzannah Dwyer . Behind them is David Mellor , soon to be appointed Minister for Fun — and later to be dubbed Figure of Fun for his fling with actress Antonia de Sancha . The whistle was blown on Chelsea fan Mellor 's game . And HE was the one to cry foul . Bates , however , decided yesterday to play fair and own up about his mistress .
Idiom: have a few (used idiomatically: yes)
After today 's practice session , that seems unlikely . ‘ It 's good to get your bearings and get a feel of the atmosphere and conditions of a ground before you play on it . I generally ask to have a few kicks before a big game,’ Fox said . ‘ I 've already had a brief look at the Arms Park and it seems a great ground.’ The attention to detail displayed by Fox reveals much about New Zealand 's attitude to the game , nothing being left to chance .
Idiom: stand someone in good stead (used idiomatically: yes)
During Worswick 's time there , Harwell — as part of the AEA — made the transition to a trading fund ( effectively a nationalised company rather than a government department ) , an experience that taught him a great deal about finance . His job included the ‘ difficult task of reviewing all of Harwell 's overhead services’ which resulted in a ‘ considerable rationalisation of the organisation’ . This troubleshooting record no doubt stood Worswick in good stead when he was considered as a candidate to head the increasingly market - oriented LGC . As did his experience of environmental concerns as head of safety branch and then of environmental and medical sciences division which , as he remembers , ‘ coincided with the great upswing of interest in the environment’ . A major reorganisation of AEA ensued and nine separate businesses were identified .
Idiom: at a snail's pace (used idiomatically: yes)
It now appears that the Government is moving them to only one area , on the Uraricaa River , probably to avoid further confrontation with the courts . The Government claims that 10,000 miners have already been put on buses to their place of origin . Observers confirm , however , that evacuation is progressing at a snail 's pace . The removals have been hampered by a serious lack of aeroplanes and helicopters . The few craft of the disposal of the Government Indian Agency FUNAI have frequently broken down .