"by a long chalk" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "A reference to the practice of writing the scores of games on boards using chalk.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "by a long chalk",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "by a long chalk",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Australian English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2021 October 25, Magdy Samaan, “Mohamed Salah added to school curriculum in Egypt”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-11-30",
          "text": "He [Mohamed Salah] is, by a long chalk, the world's favourite living Egyptian, and [has] been heralded as a role model in his adopted city of Liverpool.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To a great extent; by far."
      ],
      "id": "en-by_a_long_chalk-en-prep_phrase-YEMB2APx",
      "links": [
        [
          "great",
          "great#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "extent",
          "extent#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "by far",
          "by far"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, Australia, informal) To a great extent; by far."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "by chalks"
        },
        {
          "tags": [
            "obsolete"
          ],
          "word": "by long chalks"
        },
        {
          "word": "by far § Synonyms"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "British",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɒŋ ˈt͡ʃɔːk/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɔŋ ˈt͡ʃɔk/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔːk"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-by a long chalk.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c9/En-us-by_a_long_chalk.oga/En-us-by_a_long_chalk.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/En-us-by_a_long_chalk.oga",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "by a long chalk"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "A reference to the practice of writing the scores of games on boards using chalk.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "prepositional phrase",
        "head": ""
      },
      "expansion": "by a long chalk",
      "name": "head"
    },
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "by a long chalk",
      "name": "en-prep phrase"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "prep_phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "Australian English",
        "British English",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English informal terms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English prepositional phrases",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Rhymes:English/ɔːk",
        "Rhymes:English/ɔːk/4 syllables"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2021 October 25, Magdy Samaan, “Mohamed Salah added to school curriculum in Egypt”, in The Times, London: News UK, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2021-11-30",
          "text": "He [Mohamed Salah] is, by a long chalk, the world's favourite living Egyptian, and [has] been heralded as a role model in his adopted city of Liverpool.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To a great extent; by far."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "great",
          "great#Adjective"
        ],
        [
          "extent",
          "extent#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "by far",
          "by far"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(British, Australia, informal) To a great extent; by far."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "by chalks"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Australia",
        "British",
        "informal"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɒŋ ˈt͡ʃɔːk/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ˌbaɪ‿ə ˌlɔŋ ˈt͡ʃɔk/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "rhymes": "-ɔːk"
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-us-by a long chalk.oga",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c9/En-us-by_a_long_chalk.oga/En-us-by_a_long_chalk.oga.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/En-us-by_a_long_chalk.oga",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (GA)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "obsolete"
      ],
      "word": "by long chalks"
    },
    {
      "word": "by far § Synonyms"
    }
  ],
  "word": "by a long chalk"
}