probably wrong: At first sight , it would seem they have a point. However, this reasoning is a bit short sighted. in sight—1. within view: The small jet began to lose height, and soon airport buildings, a runway, and taxi strips were in sight . 2. in one’s mental or spiritual vision: His sagacious mind immediately recognized and caught on to the only plan of sal- vation in sight . 3. said of smth. likely to happen soon: That such a development is not now in sight does not offer conclu- sive proof of technical infeasibility. at the back of something • on the back of some- thing at the back of something—1. behind smth.: At the back of the house there was a large garden. 2. in the part which is far- thest from the front: a room at the back of the house; a door at the back of a building. 3. responsible for smth., especially smth. bad: Mr. Tillotson is at the back of the plan to demolish those fine old buildings. on the back of something—1. on the reverse side of smth.: On the back of the letter was a diagram. 2. in addition to smth.; immediately following smth. (usually of an unfortunate event): The child had the measles, and then on the back of that came the scarlet fever. at the beginning • to begin with at the beginning —(also: in the beginning ) initially; at first: At the begining , he was simply darling to me. Lately, he is distant and not very responsive. to begin with—(also: to start with) 1. most importantly: There were other considerations that made Dudley unsuitable. To begin with he was already married…. 2. = at the beginning: To begin with he was against the Turks, later he suddenly changed policy and joined them for a short period. at the bottom of something • in the bottom of something at the bottom of something—1. in the lowest part outside smth.: I stood there at the bottom of the steps. 2. in the part farthest from the front: The poor relations were seated at the bottom of the long table. 3. being the real cause of smth. un- desirable: Greed lies at the bottom of our ecological predica- ment. in the bottom of something—in the lowest part inside smth.: The fish we had caught were flopping about in the bottom of the boat. at the bottom of the bag • at the bottom of the barrel at the bottom of the bag—(also: in the bottom of the bag) re- maining as a last resource or possibility: If there’s one small favour left at the bottom of the bag , clean-slate my bank ac- count and credit history please. at the bottom of the barrel—(also: in the bottom of the barrel) among the worst or the least desirable elements of a group: Corporations that don’t have time to deal with these issues will find themselves at the bottom of the barrel . at the conclusion • in conclusion at the conclusion—at the finish of an event or activity: At the conclusion they remarked that it was a useful exercise and perhaps should happen more often. in conclusion—1. finally; in the end: He changed sides so often, that in conclusion no side trusted him. 2. to sum up: In conclusion , everybody has his own ways of expressing emo- tions. In any case we should not let our rage out. at the conference • in conference at the conference—1. in the course of the conference: A good deal of discussion at the conference has been about pluralism. 2. attending the conference: The gays at the conference were all people who had “come out”—that is, openly declared themselves to be homosexual. in conference—busy at a meeting to discuss smth. or ex- change views: He went to see the managing editor, but Percy was in conference with the publisher. at the cutting edge of something • on the knife- edge of something at the cutting edge of something—(also: on the cutting edge of something ) involved in the most advanced developments in a particular field: It is unrealistic to expect to be at the cutting edge of the fashion industry for anything longer than fifteen years. on the knife-edge of something—(also: on the razor’s edge of something ) on the brink of smth. bad or dangerous: The ex- pansion of trade hasn’t closed the gap between those who live on the cutting edge of the global economy and the billions who live on the knife-edge of survival. at the depth of something • in the depth of some- thing at the depth of something—at a specified distance from the top down: At the depth of 180 feet, at what was called the third gallery, the width of ore was, as I have said, 45 feet. in the depth of something—1. in the deepest or most central part of smth.: In the depth of the valley, there is a lochan (the diminutive of loch) of superlative beauty. 2. in the middle of the winter or night (when the cold or darkness is most intense): In the depth of winter it is quite enough to fire up twice in the twenty-four hours. at the end of something • in the end of something at the end of something—1. in the farthest or last part of smth.: The player tries to catch with his teeth a cherry sus- pended at the end of a string. 2. at the finish of an event or activity: The audience gave him a big hand at the end of the performance. 3. at the conclusion of a period: The fully an- glicized spelling genteel came in at the end of the 17th century. in the end of something —1. = at the end of something 1: I ad- justed the knot in the end of the rope to be as a small as pos- sible and as close to the end of the rope as possible. 2. = at the end of something 3: The latter pronunciation appears to have been the only one in common use in the end of the 18th cen- tury. at the end of the day • late in the day at the end of the day —(coll.) after one has considered all the relevant facts: The question at the end of the day is whether the house is actually worth that amount. late in the day—1. said of an action taken somewhat late and consequently not fully effective: It’s a little late in the day to start talking about policy changes. 2. eventually; at almost the last possible time: It was the pensioners’ vote late in the day which influenced the election of Mr. Simmons. at the feet of someone • at the foot of something at the feet of someone—on the floor in front of a person, es- pecially to show homage: One of the lay-followers threw her a cloak and … she prostrated at the feet of the Buddha. at the foot of something—at the bottom of hills and moun- tains: The city stretches out at the foot of the mountain, low houses dwarfed by the immensity of the snowcapped peak. at the front • on the front at the front—1. (also: in front) in the position nearest to the front part of smth.: A loudspeaker system is a box with a grille at the front through which the sound comes. 2. fighting as a member of the armed forces in a war: Women must keep the at the back of something – 24 –