• ЕДВА <ЕЛЕ, ЧУТЬ, С ТРУДОМ> ДЕРЖАТЬСЯ <СТОИТЬ> НА НОГАХ; НА НОГАХ НЕ ДЕРЖАТЬСЯ <НЕ СТОИТЬ>
[VP; subj: human; usu. pres or past]
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⇒ to walk with difficulty (because of exhaustion, weakness, intoxication etc):
- X едва держится на ногах{{}}≈ X can hardly (barely, scarcely) stand on his feet;
- X can hardly (barely, scarcely) stand up (straight);
- X is having a hard time (is experiencing some difficulty) staying on his feet;
- [in limited contexts] X is almost dropping from fatigue;
- X is dead on his feet.
♦ [Ольга:] Я устала, едва на ногах стою... (Чехов 5). [О.:] I'm tired, I can barely stand on my feet... (5c).
♦ [author's usage] "Ну, веришь, Порфирий, [Раскольников] сам едва на ногах, а чуть только мы, я да Зосимов, вчера отвернулись - оделся и удрал потихоньку и куролесил где-то чуть не до полночи..." (Достоевский 3). "Would you believe it, Porfiry, he [Raskolnikov] could hardly stand up, but as soon as we-Zossimov and I-turned our backs yesterday, he got dressed and made off on the sly, and carried on somewhere till almost midnight..." (3c).
♦ Зурин поминутно мне подливал, повторяя, что надобно к службе привыкать. Встав из-за стола, я чуть держался на ногах... (Пушкин 2). Zurin kept filling my glass, repeating that I must get used to the ways of the Service. When I rose from the table, I could hardly stand up straight (2b).
♦ Договор был обмыт, и в сумерках, покидая контору, оба с трудом держались на ногах (Войнович 2). The agreement was sealed with a drink and when, at twilight, the two of them left the office, they were both experiencing some difficulty staying on their feet (2a).
♦ Главное было передохнуть и не ездить в Москву. Передышка нам была нужна как воздух. И психически сил не хватало на нищенство у довольно бедных людей, хотя по тем временам они казались богачами, и главное - потому что мы оба еле держались на ногах (Мандельштам 2). ...The main thing for us was to have a break from our journeys into Moscow. We needed this as much as air to breathe. We just had no heart anymore for the business of begging from people who were themselves quite poor - though by the standards of those times they seemed very well off. But even more to the point, we were almost dropping from fatigue (2a).
Большой русско-английский фразеологический словарь. — М.: ACT-ПРЕСС КНИГА. С.И. Лубенская. 2004.