a handsomely produced and illustrated book that is easy to admire, suitable for casual study or entertainment

Not a children's book at all, but a modern illustrated coffee-table book with careful, delicate photographs. BNCI

The price of a large coffee-table book is in a number of cases twenty times higher than it was two years ago.  BNCI

£103 Glossy and evocative album format, coffee-table book.  BNCI

an organized course or plan for sth to be learnt much more quckly than is usual

If you've enjoyed this crash course on semiotics, or if you're not exactly sure what you've been listening to, try the website run by Daniel Chandler. WebC

This article is meant to be a crash course in Slackware security. WebC

It is a crash course in how to be poor - lessons long assimilated by the well-off, who have learned how to feel dissatisfaction with plenty, the inadequacy of excess.  WebC

a reasonable or permissible question

It is a fair question, and it deserves to be taken seriously.  BNCI

This was a fair question, although the same could have been asked about his relationship with Wimbledon Parish Church.  BNCI

It is a fair question, and allows of more than one answer.  BNCI

an indication of sucess, improvement that proves to be an illusion

It was a false dawn, replaced soon after by a now starless night that was blacker than the previous hours.  bNCI

It is our belief --; shared by a number of retailers --; that Christmas will prove to be yet another false dawn as far as reawakening consumer confidence is concerned.  BNCI

Nevertheless, it has proved in more than one respect to be a false dawn, realizing only a part of the promise looked for from it by so many of those who struggled to achieve it.  BNCI

a school where rich parents send their children to be ´finished´ , to acquire cultured tastes, social assurance and good manners

At one point, Roberts' character derides Wellesley as "a finishing school disguised as a college."  WebC

She later attended a finishing school in Paris, studying French and music. WebC

." They aimed to "give girls a serious education, not to be a finishing school."  WebC

an idea or opinion, not only firmly, but often obsessively held and unlikely to be affected by the argumentes of others

It was a question of wanting an entirely new thing, of undertaking a thoroughgoing renovation of yourself, `;in all simplicity, with the fixed idea: ça ira .';  BNCI

`;Give yourself up to the fixed idea: to become a painter.';  BNCI

He's come here with a fixed idea, which he's been looking forward to for half his life.  BNCI

an end, consequence, or result that is completely predictable

It was perhaps a foregone conclusion that he would go into the family firm founded by his great-grandfather, John Cadbury, in 1824, although he had two tempting offers from outside industry when he had completed his degree. BNCI

Some commentators and businessmen have suggested that the successful privatization of the National Freight Corporation was a foregone conclusion.  BNCI

Do not be deterred from exercising your right of appeal by the belief that the outcome will be a foregone conclusion.  BNCI

je těžké někooho následovat, být stejně dobrý jako on

And he should be, I guess, because he is a hard act to follow, to paraphrase
the first line of this review. Google

He did a wonderful job! The board has been active and efficient and
this is partly due to his leadership. He is a hard act to follow. Google

He is a hard act to follow, so it's encouraging
to see four candidates trying to do just that. Google

staying up late or all night, possibly on special duties, but esp. to drink, dance etc.

It’s been a hard day’s night And I’ve been working like a dog It’s been a
hard day’s night I should be sleeping like a log ... Google

A hard day’s night. It's hard to work when everyone around you is
having a good time.  Google

After hard day’s night, Santa and elves back
at PeaceCorner. Google

partial or superficial knowledge or information leads to more serious errors than complete ignorance

A little learning is a dangerous
thing, but a lot of ignorance is just as bad. Google

A little learning is a dangerous thing, but we must take
that risk because a little is as much as our biggest heads can hold.  Google

So they can only be talking about a superficial familiarity, not a deep understanding.
As Alexander Pope said, a little learning is a dangerous thing. Google

a writer of essays, poetry, criticism, novels, who is likely to be of lasting literary worth

He leads the busy life of a professional
man of letters, which I gather is not exactly how he wants to be looked at. Google

 Teen is a man of letters in the puzzle world.  Google

He was "The Last Man of Letters" in our increasingly unimaginative age of information.
 Google

a person or a book with a lot of information

This book is a mine of information, but it is no dry history book, nor
a guide for geologists and miners. Google

The ECATT site is a mine of information on all aspects of the digital economy,
including materials, links and cases related to flexible working !  Google

This book is a mine of information on all aspects of gold and its uses. Google

a subject on which there are, or may be, different opinions, which may be discussed but not, as yet, settled

Lack of bars is a moot point. Google

Abbott wants more board oversight, others say a moot point. Google

Moot Point. Are you then saying that people who are uncertain
about the appropariate usage of the word moot should remain mute? Google

a recently enrolled pupil in a school

On a personal note, in my very early days on the staff of Ipswich Art School, Squirrell was teaching and I have very fond memories of the kindness and helpfulness which this most likeable man extended to me as a new boy.  BNCI

It was in September 1953 that I arrived as a new boy at Woolverstone Hall School and it may be that Ray was also new to the school.  BNCI

Finlayson's flight consisted of Richards and a new boy called Tribe, a big, broad New Zealander.  BNCI

an account of sth that is totally untrue

Democrats would have you believe a pack of lies. Google

Former minister Neil Hamilton has told the High Court that allegations about him
taking cash for asking questions in the House of Commons are a "pack of lies".  Google

You can't just write a pack of lies!' Google