Terms for subject Figurative containing by a

English	Russian
bitten by a snake	укушенный змеёй (euphemism for experiencing failure or bad luck Val_Ships)
by a smidgen of a second	на долю секунды ("In 1975, Prof. Allie of the University of Maryland synchronized two atomic clocks. One stayed on Earth while the other was loaded aboard an airplane. The times were checked at the end of the experiment, and the mobile clock revealed time aboard the airplane traveled slower by a smidgen of a second than it did for the clock on the ground." A Case for Time Travelers, Jason Offutt ART Vancouver)
by a wave of the wand	по щучьему велению
in a class by itself	вне конкурса