Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms

If you say that someone is within an ace of something, you mean that they very nearly succeed in doing it. You can also say that they come within an ace of something. These expressions are used mainly in British English.

The defendant was intent on murder and he came within an ace of succeeding.

She had just watched her hero come within an ace of a place in the Wimbledon quarter finals, only to lose his grip on the game.

See also: come within an ace of something

If you say that someone comes within an ace of something, you mean that they very nearly succeed in doing it. You can also say that they are within an ace of something. These expressions are used mainly in British English.

The defendant was intent on murder and he came within an ace of succeeding.

She had just watched her hero come within an ace of a place in the Wimbledon quarter finals, only to lose his grip on the game.

See also: be within an ace of something

◄ If you have an ace in the hole, you have something which you can use to gain an advantage when you need it. This expression is used in American English.

He doesn't usually risk that much unless he thinks he has an ace in the hole.

Luckily, we had one beautiful ace in the hole. What made our computer different and will continue to make it different from any of our competitors is that we own our own systems software technology. Nobody else does.

If someone plays their ace, they do something clever and unexpected which gives them an advantage over other people.

She went on to say that he was also a very important criminal lawyer who had defended men on heavy charges. And then she played her ace. He also had a number of clients who were involved in the gold business.

With all this meddle, muddle and money wasted, who could be surprised if the union plays the aces?

If you have the ace in your hand, you have something which you can use to gain an advantage when you need it. This expression is used in British English.

You have to convince your opponent that you have the ace in your hand. Especially in politics. Everyone bluffs in politics.

The paper concludes that the President's adoption of special powers to tackle the economic crisis and maintain public order is a last throw. The Guardian says he now needs five aces in one hand to succeed.

If you say that someone holds all the aces, you mean that they are in a very strong position because they have more advantages and more power than anyone else.

When I was an adolescent, I thought girls held all the aces. When you call for a date, you are sitting there wide open. She can slam the door in your face.

They hold all the aces and are not going to make changes voluntarily because it wouldn't be in their own interests.

◄◄◄ If you refer to something as the acid test, you mean that it will show or prove how effective or useful something is. You can also say that something is an acid test.

The acid test for the vaccine will be its performance in African countries where malaria is raging more fiercely than in Colombia.

So far, I don't feel too bad but I'm waiting for my first really stressful day when things go wrong. That will be the real acid test.

The case, as a whole, is an acid test of the justice system.

◄◄◄ If you say that someone is performing a balancing act, you mean that they are trying to please two or more people or groups or to follow two or more sets of ideals that are in opposition to each other.

Mr Alia is performing a delicate balancing act. He talks of reform, but clings to old certainties.

It’s been a difficult balancing act for the Japanese government under pressure both at home and abroad.

Vice-Mayor Simitian called it a classic balancing act between individual rights and community rights.

◄◄◄ If you say that someone, for example a sports player or a performer, is a class act, you mean that they are very good at what they do.

Koeman is a class act. He's got great control and can hit passes from one side of the pitch to the other with amazing accuracy.

I have been tracking Neil for a year, he is a class act and I've got a lot of respect for his ability.

Hiatt’s songs have been recorded by class acts like Bob Dylan, Rosanne Cash, The Everly Brothers and Willie Nelson.

◄◄ If you are caught in the act, someone sees you doing something secret or wrong.

The men were caught in the act of digging up buried explosives.

The local authority has set aside £500 to spend on security cameras, hoping the residents will be able to catch vandals in the act on film.

If a person or organization cleans up their act, they stop behaving badly or irresponsibly, and begin to act in a more socially acceptable way.

The Minister warned the press two years ago that privacy laws would be implemented unless newspapers cleaned up their act.
There is enormous corruption in the game, but the game does not want to clean up its act.
In the last couple of years I've cleaned up my act a bit. I just drink wine and beer mostly, hardly any spirits.

See be in on the act.

See a slice of the action.

Essentially, the information industry wants a piece of the action, the right to distribute parts of the Library’s collection itself.
Within five years, every car manufacturer was at it. The hatchback explosion had begun and everyone wanted a piece of the action.
Because the US airline industry is in such a poor way, it is falling over itself to get a slice of the action elsewhere.