накануне новогодних праздников(In the run-up to the New Year festivities, Moscow's supermarkets carried vast selections of vodka with luxury brands priced more than ten times above the new minimum. Daily Mail Alexander Demidov)
неудовлетворительный(Sometimes it was for a fairly important matter–to say that you had been promoted, or that your work was not up to standard. 4uzhoj)
в ограниченных пределах(Х Of course there is some truth in all this, but only up to a point. Х The new traffic scheme worked up to a point, but it had its problems. CALD Alexander Demidov)