be the person who organizes sth, esp. sth successful

The Prosecution had long claimed that Federman
was the "brains" behind the Bat Ayin plot. Google

Bob McTavish was the brains behind the shortboard revolution
coming out of Australia in the late 60s.  Google

There, he was the brains behind the building of the Colossus code-breaking
computer which was used to decipher enemy messages. Google

be very drunk

Maybe somebody is three sheets in the wind, just totally drunk and shouldn't even be behind the wheel. WebC

He goes up Tower Hill to-morrow night at nine o'clock, walking very slow and very unsteady on 'is pins, and giving my two beauties the idea that 'e is three sheets in the wind. WebC

There was much merry chat in the booking hall as we queued for tickets, until a character whom I suspected, nasty though this may seem, of being a politician of some description suddenly appeared. He was quite obviously three sheet in the wind, and accompanied by a smug-looking chauffeur. WebC

to be too confident of your own intelligence in a way that annoys other people

Everything about the show is too clever by half, especially the clichéd story setup,
which composer, lyricist, and writer Anne Nygren-Doherty tries to redeem . Google

Usually, word play is too
clever by half and not nearly relevant enough or fresh enough.  Google

Sherlock's Home is too clever by half, but the beers are terrific ...
 google

be too energetic or troublesome an activity, sport, pastime etc. for somebody to want to do

Anything bigger than this is too much like hard work.';  BNCI

It was all too much like hard work. BNCI

(De-rigging the spinnaker had sounded too much like hard work.)  BNCI

to be acting as you do when you are working as a teacher, lawyer etc., which may be different from the way you act in other situations 
 

I was wearing my teacher's hat at the meeting. (Cambridge International Dict. of Id.)

Wearing my teacher's hat I am excited by some of the modular schemes available at A-level, particularly those which enable the modules to be examined throughout the course and points aggregated for a grade at the end. WebC

When I was wearing my teacher´s hat, I was in a classroom with 16 students working on degrees in teachimg English as foreign language. Google

show results

This is still an isolated case but it shows that our steadfastness will bear fruit and that, with your support, ultimately we will prevail. WebC

I can truly say that the response was overwhelming and will bear fruit for many years to come. WebC

Web-based design tools bear fruit for engineers. WebC

puzzle, think very hard in order to solve a problem

A contemporary coinage by the press, I suppose, beats my brains in establishing any possibility of a coherence in between the constituent words and the meaning. WebC

Though why the young should do so beats my brains. WebC

My 68 MGB beats my brains out driving at 70 mph. WebC

there is no absolute standard of beauty  

Art is supposed to be subjective, it's beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.  WebC

Let it never again be said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, yet let it be said that beauty lies in the work of Jim Mountford.  WebC

While it is said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, a flattering hairstyle and the right touch of makeup can play up your best features to draw attention to them. WebC

usual success at the start of learning to do something

podprůměrný, pod průměrem

Dominican Internet penetration rate is 9% below average for Latin America. (Google)

About 70 per cent of water supplies in the south come from underground sources and levels are currently well below average for almost all sources, particularly in Sussex and Kent. (Google)

Seasonal rains will be below average, says meteorological dept. (Google)

an excuse or apology for one´s lateness

It was better late than never for the 12 lucky winners of a tennis holiday at the Sport Hotel in Eilat, Israel. BNCI

She could have sent that message earlier, but better late than never.  BNCI

I meant to pop the enclosed in a drawer of the chest of drawers to thank you for its removal --; better late than never, and the card early to save a stamp.  BNCI

may you succeed on some future occasion

There was no question of saying to myself `;better luck next time'; --; there might not have been a next time.  BNCI

Better luck next time… but the doctor told me there would be no next time. BNCI

And if you didn't win, better luck next time.  BNCI

internátní škola

Most issues abound in stories of high interest to the stereotypical young girl - boarding schools, French lessons, ballet, etc. BNC

That´s really why Aleena, who´s only thirteen, goes to boarding school in Sandestown. BNC

I´d asked my mum and dad if I could go to a boarding school - the one in Edinburgh Andy was at. BNC

knihomol

1. Kathy’s not going to the beach with us. She's such a bookworm she'll probably be reading homework all afternoon! (google)

2. My sister is a bookworm and is always reading a book. (google)

3. Bookworm is a popular generalization for any insect which supposedly bore through books. (google)

born, reared and educated

A picture came to her of the shaggy wanderers huddling together in the bus shelter at the top of the road where she had been born and bred.  BNCI

Although born and bred in the country and reinstalled there for the past 30 years, I fear I am not a proper countryman; London has dished me.  BNCI

For a girl born and bred in the slums of Clerkenwell she showed surprising embarrassment at the discreet mention of his hopes.  BNCI