• НЕ ЗНАТЬ, КУДА ГЛАЗА ДЕВАТЬ/ДЕТЬ coll
[VP (subj: human) + subord clause (these forms only)]
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⇒ to experience a feeling of embarrassment, awkwardness, shame:
- X не знал, куда глаза девать ≈ X didn't know where (which way) to look;
- X didn't know where to hide (from embarrassment etc).
♦ "Стали снимать [меня с должности председателя] - ни у людей, ни у райкома слова доброго для меня не нашлось". Михаил не знал, куда и глаза девать: это ведь его стараниями так отолагодарили [iron] Анфису Петровну (Абрамов 1). "When they decided to throw me out, nobody from the village or the District Committee could find a good word to say about me." Mikhail did not know which way to look. After all, it was his doing that they had shown their gratitude to Anfisa Petrovna in that way (1a).
Большой русско-английский фразеологический словарь. — М.: ACT-ПРЕСС КНИГА. С.И. Лубенская. 2004.