Gooogr/pie_idioms huggingface dataset:
Idiom: on the ball (used idiomatically: no)
Dear Keith Thank you for your letter of 9 June . On the matter of OALDCE 3/e Electronic and availability on your campus , the ball is currently in my court . I am taking one final bit of advice before I bat it back to Noel Wilson in the Computing Service , and I imagine we will have reached some conclusion to the game before the end of June . It is certainly good news that it will be so conveniently placed for you .
Idiom: song and dance (used idiomatically: no)
Films and Filming compared the stars with those in the 1958 non - musical screen version . ‘ Nobody in the present cast is in the race,’ wrote Gordon Gow , ‘ with the single exception of Walter Matthau who deadpans beautifully as the miser Vandergelder and even gets away with his preposterous volte - face in the telescoped conclusion.’ The Daily Mirror conceded that the story was ‘ still corny , predictable and thin to the point of malnutrition’ but believed that the lavish settings , its song - and - dance routines and the cast made up for this and added that Crawford ‘ brings a superb youthful energy to the role of the gawky , naive young clerk’ . Perhaps the most damning criticism of Crawford 's performance came years later in Donald Zec and Anthony Fowles 's biography of Streisand , Barbra . ‘ Casting Britain 's Michael Crawford in the role of Cornelius was close to unintended farce,’ they wrote .
Idiom: for the time being (used idiomatically: yes)
a reasonable profit but some would have made more than others . When you 're looking at an , a a a an average profit for the group erm you I 'll tell you what it 's a sound argument for the time being but it 's not a sound argument if we 're involved in a management buy out . Aye but you 've got ta Ah yes .
Idiom: put two and two together (used idiomatically: yes)
Weeks later at his trial such a person not infrequently produces an explanation of , or a defence to , the charge the truthfulness of which the police have had no chance to check . Despite the fact that the explanation or defence could , if true , have been disclosed at the outset and despite the advantage which the defendant has gained by these tactics , no comment may be made to the jury to that effect . The jury may in some cases put two and two together , but it seems to us that the effect of section 58 is such that the balance of fairness between prosecution and defence can not be maintained unless proper comment is permitted on the defendant 's silence in such circumstances . It is high time that such comment should be permitted together with the necessary alteration to the words of the caution . Abolition of the right to silence has been rejected by Parliament on a number of occasions , most recently when the Police and Criminal Evidence Act was enacted .
Idiom: on the cuff (used idiomatically: yes)
And the fibroid and the caesarians . And the cramp and the croup and the bag under one eye . Finally when he ran completely out of paper and was writing on his cuff , I stopped . There was a silence in the room as we all simultaneously racked our brains for a missing disease . Then the doctor suggested he and I went into the next room for an examination of the condemned woman .
Idiom: off the shelf (used idiomatically: no)
Lamb from New Zealand is usually sold frozen , and is cut while still frozen into cubes , chops and cutlets . However , Marks & Spencer imports fresh New Zealand lamb during the winter months to fill the gap in the British lamb season . Off the shelf Many supermarkets now sell naturally produced lamb . Sainsbury 's Tenderlean Lamb is labelled ' naturally produced ' and it comes from selected farms .
Idiom: up to scratch (used idiomatically: yes)
I believe that if I 'm given the chance to fight the George Forman of old , the George Forman of today would be the better . Now since coming back from retirement in nineteen eighty - seven , you 're unbeaten in twenty - two fights , two one by knockouts . A lot of people have said that those fighters were n't up to scratch , they were n't the most hard - hitting of fighters — what would you say to that ? I 'm going to put up a good fight . I want all of you to go there , and tell all your friends to come see one of the wonders of the world .
Idiom: teething troubles (used idiomatically: yes)
Stork claims NT is ‘ dead - on’ schedule and will have first product in user hands by the end of year . He categorically refused to discuss NT - on - Alpha . UK , Macclesfield firm , JSB Computer Systems Ltd 's US operation , out in Scotts Valley , California ( UX No 347 ) , has had a few teething troubles — it is some $ 200,000 short of its initial target and has undergone a few staff changes — however JSB managing director , Steve Jones says the unit turned in $ 150,000 last month and is now holding its own . We can all get a chuckle over that the fact that Microsoft is going to refuse to renew the cross - licence it has with IBM for Windows and NT after it expires next year . At least that 's what it 's telling the PC press , with IBM retorting that it 's trying to spook customers .
Idiom: take a bow (used idiomatically: yes)
' I 'll lend you mine . The pull 's fairly heavy , but someone with your shoulders ought to be able to manage . ' An orderly ran up and Burun took his bow out of the case , and strung it . Rostov held out his hand . ' May I see it ? '
Idiom: get on someone's nerves (used idiomatically: yes)
Oh ! I know . They get on your nerves . Make a bloody song and dance of it ! Do n't half get on your nerves !
Idiom: up in the air (used idiomatically: yes)
Now the mix - up we had yesterday , er on a lot of aggro when I got about this dust extract system one line three . I do n't know whether people think they can move a dust extract in an hour or two hours . When I come back in , things was all up in the air because while he was moving the first position of the dust extractor , there 's a radio there . And we 'd squared it up once before because there was wires hanging all over from the sp not from the radio , from the speakers . Which they did do , but yesterday when Brian went to move the dust extractor that the radio was at the side of , there was wires hanging again like bloody clothes line again .
Idiom: on someone's mind (used idiomatically: yes)
Silently , they walked past dozens of sprawled figures basking in the early afternoon sun until they came to a fairly quiet and deserted stretch of grass , beneath a plane tree . ‘ Now , old friend . What is on your mind ? What is the trouble?’ Vologsky urged , still only slightly concerned .
Idiom: in the offing (used idiomatically: yes)
She came to North Yorkshire from London with her husband and was moved to write after his death . ‘ I thought I would never be another Thomas Hardy so I 'd write romance , using places I know in real life for inspiration,’ she says . Her third novel , Another Sort of is due on the shelves by September and she has plenty more ideas in the offing . — A new award scheme has been launched to to encourage and support budding writers in the north . The Northern Arts ' Writers Awards 1992 will give two writers the chance to take off to Ireland and work on a literary project free from the distractions of everyday life .
Idiom: play ball (used idiomatically: yes)
But Graham and Russell , if anything more composed , made them defend that advantage , and the Chelsea defence responded with a disorder to which only Ken Monkou was an exception . After 70 minutes , Paul Robinson , a tall , long - necked forward , stubbed Scarborough 's second from close range . Blackwell was immediately inspired to a fine save , and , in the 73rd minute , the ball was played forward quickly . Clarke seemed momentarily to have the legs of Steve Norris , but as the Scarborough forward edged ahead Clarke used his arm to restrain him . Russell converted the penalty , Beasant ( and Chelsea ) going completely the wrong way .
Idiom: turn someone's head (used idiomatically: yes)
I have n't touched him , I do n't think I 've had him any trouble Ah Aaron let 's see if we can turn your head , oh dear it 's a little bit big no , he They 've actually been taken apart , and probe about saying school leaving age and that one
Idiom: in Dutch (used idiomatically: yes)
On the other hand , the non - standardised dialects of Germany , Austria , and German - speaking Switzerland are all heteronomous with respect to standard German , in spite of the fact that they may be very unlike each other and that some of them may be very like Dutch dialects . This is because speakers of these German dialects look to German as their standard language , read and write in German and listen to German on radio and television . Speakers of dialects on the Dutch side of the border , in the same way , will read newspapers and write letters in Dutch , and any standardising changes that occur in their dialects will take place in the direction of standard Dutch , not standard German . autonomous linguistics See under linguistics .
Idiom: hot air (used idiomatically: yes)
They intended to make a prophecy that would be self - fulfilling in its entirety . By saying the war was over , the territory pacified , they would make it so . It was n't just hot air — it was a blow against FAKINTIL that was as deadly in its way as a Bronco strike . If all the press reports chimed the same note at the same time it would be a brave and stubborn fool who would go against them . What they had in common would become irrefutable , objective verity , the stock - in - trade of general knowledge for the educated and interested ( few enough in all conscience ) of the metropolises of the West .
Idiom: nine times out of ten (used idiomatically: yes)
that 's the way I look at it and But you ca n't you see that you you just show them something to back off , as you say and my way of doing that is slow down and then nine times out of ten once they 've got the hint , well I 'll sp speed it up again . Like I said , I 've slowed down in the past for people like that and they have n't you know I do n't think that Well if they do n't , then you slow right down again simple as that .
Idiom: seal of approval (used idiomatically: yes)
And so I could help my mother out of her embarrassment . All she had to do was to confirm what I thought I knew already , and to give this knowledge an official seal of approval . ‘ Now,’ she said with some relief , ‘ you can tell the others when you think they 're old enough to understand.’ This I did at once with a feeling of self - importance which blinded me to the now obvious fact that she was abrogating her responsibilities and allowing them to devolve , once more , upon her eldest daughter .
Idiom: take someone to task (used idiomatically: yes)
Like many others , it too had its great hall in which the classes did sometimes mingle for such festivities as Mr Lyle 's Christmas celebration . Mr Lyle had his critics , who realized — as seems evident to us — that his prescription would not resolve the problems of industrial England . His views are taken to task by Lancelot , the hero of Kingsley 's Yeast ( 1848 ) : ' It may suit the Mr Lyles of this age … to make the people constantly and visibly comprehend that property is their protector and their friend , but I question whether it will suit the people themselves , unless they can make property understand that it owes them something more definite than protection . ' Kingsley has some sympathy with Lord Vieuxbois , his representative of Disraeli 's group , the Young Englanders , but he also has sympathy with Lord Minchampstead , whose views resemble those of Mrs Gaskell 's industrialist , Robert Thornton , in North and South ( 1855 ) . Lord Vieuxbois is paternalistic and feudalistic ; he improves his estates on principles that are , like Mr Lyle 's , ultimately religious .
Idiom: carry the day (used idiomatically: yes)
People might think , in their innocence : ‘ Look , John Major 's won against all the odds , and good luck to him . So why chop off the hand of the messenger when the news turns out to be good?’ Simple folk might likewise reflect that this is the fourth time the Conservatives have carried the day in elections in the teeth of alleged BBC bias . Conservatives ca n't have it all ways . Either the campaign on the electronic media is n't as important as we are all led to think , so any bias does n't make that much difference , or the alleged partisanship is largely in the mind of the beholder .
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: yes)
And Rose looked like … Rose . He saw her face clearly , sometimes in the photograph , sometimes in the flesh . And he did n't have to drink to see it . At least , not much .
Idiom: once in a blue moon (used idiomatically: yes)
MASTERCLASS Moonlight becomes you Once in a blue moon … By the light of the silvery moon … Moonlight becomes you …
Idiom: break the ice (used idiomatically: yes)
Try to recognise this man early in the meeting and , when an item comes up on which you know he has some expertise , ask him for his opinion . Bolster up his ego a little by saying : " I know you have had some valuable experience on this , Mr S. , and the meeting would welcome your advice . " Having broken the ice , the shy one then feels more confident to contribute on his own later . The Tongue - tied , a type that you will occasionally meet , has some very good ideas but can not express them clearly . There is a danger that he could become a joke with the other members .
Idiom: follow in someone's footsteps (used idiomatically: yes)
Charles repeatedly threatened this for those who flouted his authority . He staged lavish spectacles to signify the granting of favour to a subordinate - ruler , again " in the style of Roman emperors " and made the most of the great assemblies in which king and aristocracy joined to " maintain the healthy condition of the whole realm " . He also mobilised the resources of Christian ritual ( again following in his father 's footsteps but going far beyond him ) in the royal and imperial consecrations staged not only for himself and his son but for Ermentrude and Richildis ; in the development of royal funerary cult at St - Denis and in the lavish endowment of liturgical commemorations of himself , his family and friends , at a number of churches ; and in the use of spiritual kinship , especially the godparental bond , in political dealings with neighbouring princes as a paradigm of beneficent authority . All these demonstrations of rulership had an afterlife long after Charles himself had gone . Even when assemblies rarely if ever met and capitularies were no longer read , the idea of the realm survived in myth , symbol and tradition .
Idiom: fall short (used idiomatically: yes)
When , as seems often to occur , a parent merely uses a child as a convenience for sexual activity , the situation is that of using a person as a " thing " , and one feels that the aberrance is as described on page 83 , and should be treated as such . The practice of incest presents obvious problems . Probably equal in incidence are the problems raised by incestuous feeling within a family which falls short of sexual activity . Any social worker of experience has encountered cases of marital disruption or dissonance resulting from obsessive preoccupation and affection of one parent with a child and from the tensions and jealousies arising in the other parent . Incestuous feeling need not always figure in such a situation but there is no doubt that it often does .
Idiom: in the flesh (used idiomatically: yes)
Whereas for me … the gallop ! the gallop ! the wind in the hair , the laughter forced from the lungs ! It flattered his vanity to think himself in love with me ; it also gave him , I believe , some unadmitted pleasure constantly to long for my flesh and yet always to forbid himself the attaining of it : to deny himself was just as exciting as to indulge himself . He used to tell me I was less of a woman than most women ; that I was a woman in flesh but a man in spirit ; that I was an hermaphrodite nouveau , a third sex . He told me this foolish theory many times , but really he was just telling it to himself : the less of a woman be made me out to be , the less of a lover he would need to be . What he wanted most of me , I finally came to believe , was an intellectual partnership , an affair of the mind .
Idiom: keep a low profile (used idiomatically: yes)
During all the long years of the war it was she who kept up the morale of all of us , especially my father , who went through many difficult times . In the days which followed the declaration of war , the press did its best to inspire enthusiasm in the Italian people and build confidence in the belief that victory was inevitable ; backed by this propaganda , Mussolini ordered the invasion of Greece in October of the same year . By December the press , heavily scrutinized by Mussolini , kept a very low profile about it . As battles were lost , Italian journalists stressed that success would come as a result of Italian cleverness , led by the Duce , and because the Italians were so imaginative and cultured and brave . During the first months of war life in Fontanellato was uneventful and the fighting seemed far away .
Idiom: make tracks (used idiomatically: yes)
He was off his f — in ' tree . ' The new Messiah single takes the pair 's anti - pigeon - holing policy further . Having proved to themselves that they can make successful hardcore tracks , ' Temple of Dreams ' stomps boldly into oddball crossover territory by coating the robo - deth rhythm loop in sugary vocals nicked from 4AD indie band This Mortal Coil . And they wo n't be miming along to it at club PAs either . These boys want to offer the full band treatment .
Idiom: the icing on the cake (used idiomatically: yes)
St Mirren : Fridge ; Wishart , Beattie , McGowne , Broddle , Manley , Stickroth , Lambert , Torfason , Hewitt ( Kinsey 78 ) , Elliott ( McWhirter 45 ) . Referee : D Syme ( Rutherglen ) . Soccer : Rogan 's icing on the cake Ian Stevenson on the Northern Ireland scene SUNDERLAND defender Anton Rogan is almost certain to be included in Northern Ireland 's squad for the April 28 World Cup qualifying tie against Lithuania at Windsor Park .
Idiom: bear fruit (used idiomatically: yes)
To see the biblical renewal of liturgy successful in Europe , one still has to seek out certain churches . The greatest renewal is elsewhere . The Council 's encouragement in the field of Bible translation and inter - confessional co - operation ( DV 22 ) has borne abundant fruit . The key figure here was Cardinal A. Bea , the veteran biblical scholar whose experience and contacts fitted him uniquely to head the Secretariat for Christian Unity , to develop sensitive relations with both Christians and Jews , to bring all this manifold competence to the redrafting of Dei Verbum and the production of Nostra Aetate , and to foster the desired biblical renewal both pastorally within the Church and by ecumenical co - operation . The World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate ( WCFBA ) was formed in 1969 , both to co - ordinate Catholic projects and to be the appropriate organ to work in partnership with the United Bible Societies .
Idiom: make someone's day (used idiomatically: yes)
Full anthems like Tomkins 's ‘ When David heard’ , Weelkes 's ‘ Gloria in excelsis : Sing , my soul’ and ‘ Hosanna to the Son of David’ , Gibbons 's setting of the latter text and his ‘ O clap your hands’are masterpieces of free and flexible polyphony . But the full anthem was gradually making way for the verse anthem , of which Gibbons was the outstanding master . His finest things in this form date from his later years —‘Behold thou has made my days’ can be dated 1618 and ‘ Glorious and powerful God’was probably nearly contemporary and the great ‘ O Lord , let me know mine end’of the long - lived though generally conservative Tomkins may be later still . Gibbons 's verse anthems generally have accompaniments for viols as well as organ , while Tomkins 's organ accompaniments are full and sometimes marked by florid ornament in strong contrast to the frequently sketchy organ parts of the previous generation . Secular Song and Instrumental Music ( c. 1560–c.1610 )
Idiom: neck and neck (used idiomatically: yes)
He then teamed up with partner Jason Jones to clinch the vital seven victory points in the deciding doubles encounter . Drake ( left ) defeated Clark to set Royal Berkshire on the road to victory against David Lloyd 's Heston Things remain neck and neck in Area 3 of the event , as City of Nottingham maintain the pressure on leaders and former champions Hallamshire Sheffield , following a 3–0 victory over Hallamshire 's neighbours Abbeydale Park . Hallamshire themselves dropped their first point of the season , but nonetheless earned a crucial away win against Leicestershire 's in - form Melton Mowbray . Last season 's national finalists Watchorn Alfreton , of Derbyshire , may have left their title challenge a little late this year , but notched up their first victory in three games to jump up two places in the tables with more than a little help from experienced manager Ashley Broomhead .
Idiom: one of those days (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ You look fine,’ I reassured her . ‘ Only fine?’ she remonstrated , half - seriously . After she had roared off , it was one of those days when I had the house to myself . The other servants were at market or running errands . On these days I never snooped .
Idiom: do a runner (used idiomatically: yes)
‘ Not much call for it these days,’ she said sullenly . I gave up trying to remember her husband 's name so I could ask after him . From the look of things , it was odds on he 'd done a runner with either the till , a barmaid or the Christmas Club fund . Maybe all three . ‘ There has n't been any post for me by any chance , has there , Iris?’
Idiom: last hurrah (used idiomatically: yes)
His implication was that the French " strike force " ( " force de frappe " ) would provide a more credible deterrent and could , therefore , protect Western Europe more effectively than the infinitely larger American arsenal . This strategy appeared to receive a boost a week after his conference , when Chancellor Adenauer came to Paris to sign the Franco - German treaty . In fact , however , the signing of this treaty proved to be the last hurrah of de Gaulle 's West European strategy . When Bonn soon realigned itself with Washington , de Gaulle was compelled to look for other ways of resisting American hegemony in the West . There were two options : he could either take unilateral measures to challenge US hegemony or he could seek alternative partners with a common interest in breaking down hegemonic control .
Idiom: come to terms with (used idiomatically: yes)
The mediocre does not offend , it is not controversial , and it certainly does not challenge . It is respectable , comfortable , and bland : What I principally object to are all our dreary , smug books about growing up and coming to terms with oneself , that … are merely another brand of conformity … . It 's the mediocre that drags us all down to a common denominator; … that deprives us of judgement; … that particularly deprives us of a sense of humour . ( Egoff , 1972 , p.3439 )
Idiom: sleep rough (used idiomatically: yes)
So you never felt I mean presumably you never felt that yourself and therefore and also perhaps if you 've never come across Fair enough . Right what about in our country ? The people sleeping rough in the streets . Yeah . Good one .
Idiom: break someone's heart (used idiomatically: yes)
Did you make love to these other women?’ ‘ Does it matter?’ ‘ I was told that you broke their hearts.’ ‘ That does n't really make sense . I made no promises to them .
Idiom: live in sin (used idiomatically: yes)
We look for chocolate wrapped in silver paper Or Father Christmas , in from the planet Venus . But he lives in sin and points to wounded feet And hobbles round in distant labour camps Or dies unnoticed in a neighbouring street .