A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

arrive dead on time • be dead on arrival
arrive dead on time —arrive exactly at the expected or pre-
arranged time: We arrived dead on time at Cape Town where
we were met by Che in the arrivals hall.
be dead on arrival —be without any chance for success: The
idea of legalizing some drugs is a concept that’s dead on arrival
in many law enforcement circles.
art film • artful film
art film —a film intended to be a serious artistic work, often
experimental and not designed for mass appeal: Because it was
an “art film,” it probably reached the wrong audience.
artful film —a skillful, ingeniously crafted movie: Leni suc-
cumbed to every filmmaker’s dream — an unlimited budget to
make an artful film and not just “a boring newsreel.”
Note:
Neither expression correlates in meaning with the phrase
arty film
— a film characterized by a showy, pretentious display
of artistic skill: As an arty film, it would have been acceptable.
As a major, mainstream release, it was a failure.
art work • work of art
art work —(also: art-work) a fine painting, piece of sculpture,
etc.: They dreamed of great art-works, lovely compositions,
impassioned song.
work of art—
1
. = art work 
1
: Whether buying stocks or works
of art he adopted the same technique. 2. (hyperbolic) said of
smth. very skillfully made: His own papers were works of art
on which he labored with loving care.
as a last resort • in the last resort
as a last resort—as a last means; when everything else has
been tried and failed: The imprisonment of a child should be
used only as a last resort.
in the last resort—ultimately; in the end: He was worried
about his production figures. In the last resort it was the
human factor that counted.