Akademik

• ПОМИНАЙ КАК ЗВАЛИ coll

[Invar; predic or indep. clause; usu. follows one or more predicates having the same subj; used in pres, past, and future contexts; fixed WO]

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1. поминай как звали (кого) [impers or with subj: human]

⇒ s.o. died, perished or will die, perish:

- (X-a) поминай как звали{{}}≈ [in past contexts] that was the end of X;

- that was the end of the road (for X);

- it was all over (for X).

     ♦ "...Или, может, и сам [ты], лежа на полатях, думал, думал, да ни с того ни с другого заворотил в кабак, а потом прямо в прорубь, и поминай как звали" (Гоголь 3). "Or perhaps you took to brooding lying at night on your bunk over the oven, and then suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, after a stop at a tavern, headed straight for the river, jumped into a hole in the ice, and that was the end of you" (3c).

     ♦ "Пора положить конец всему: пропадай душа, пойду утоплюсь... и поминай как звали!" (Гоголь 5). "It's time to put an end to it all. Damn my soul, I'll go and drown myself...and it will all be over!" (5a).

2. Also: МИТЬКОЙ ЗВАЛИ substand [impers or with subj: human (both variants) or animal (var. with поминай only)]

⇒ s.o. disappeared and has not been seen since, or will disappear and not be seen again:

- X ушел (уехал и т. п.) и поминай как звали{{}}≈ X left (took off etc) and that's the last we (I etc) ever saw of him;

- X left etc and we (I etc) haven't seen him since;

- X left (disappeared etc), never to return (never to be seen again, never to be heard of again);

- X left (disappeared etc) and was never heard of again.

     ♦ После смерти матери Михаил уехал из родной деревни - и поминай как звали. After his mother's death Mikhail left his native village, never to return.

3. [used as a clause]

⇒ (in refer, to sth. mentioned in the preceding context that has been lost, stolen, borrowed etc) sth. was never seen again or will never be seen again:

- [in past contexts](and) that's the last we (I etc) (ever) saw of it;

- (and) we (I etc) never saw it again;

- (and) we (I etc) haven't seen it since;

- it disappeared without a trace;

- [in limited contexts] it had vanished into thin air.

     ♦ "Дай, Захар, фрак, не упрямься!" - "Не дам! - холодно отвечал Захар. - Пусть прежде они принесут назад жилет да нашу рубашку... Взяли вот этак же на именины, да и поминай как звали..." (Гончаров 1). "Don't be obstinate, Zakhar, bring the coat." "I won't!" Zakhar answered coldly. "Let him first return your waistcoat and shirt. ...He borrowed them to go to a birthday party and we've never seen them since" (1a).

     ♦ На другой день хватился - нет топора. Обыскал все - нет, поминай как звали (Распутин 2)... .The next day he noticed that the ax was gone. He searched everywhere-it was gone, vanished into thin air (2a).