I remember one such occasion when a Siamese pupil had fired the train from Lime Street, and so complimentary were the Chief's remarks on the condition of the fire that we found our young Siamese friend difficult to live with for about a week afterwards!

to hit close to home

The Adagio sostenuto of Opus 106 — the greatest adagio Beethover ever wrote, without qualification — is supertranscendental.

His plight reveals a truth that's often obscured by the envy of newspaper readers; that it's not all beer and skittles in restaurant-critic land.