Akademik

• ЛОМАТЬ ХРЕБЕТ{{}}

[VP]

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1. substand [suby. human]

⇒ to work, labor to the point of exhaustion, wear o.s. out with hard (usu. menial) work (usu. in an attempt to earn enough money to live on, often with the implication that one is being exploited by s.o.):

- X ломает хребет{{}}≈ X is breaking his back;

- X is working his fingers to the bone;

- X is working his tail (butt etc) off.

2. ломать хребет кому-чему usu. media. Also: СЛОМАТЬ ХРЕБЕТ usu. media [subj and indir obj: human or collect]

⇒ to destroy or severely damage (some person, group, movement etc):

- X ломает Y-y хребет{{}}≈ X breaks (destroys) Y;

- X breaks Y's back.

     ♦ "А с Першиным, между прочим, советую не ссориться. Не забывай, кто его поставил". - "Ну и что?" - "А то. Подрезов не таким, как ты, хребет ломает" (Абрамов 1). "By the way, I advise you not to fall out with Pershin. Don't forget who put him there." "What about it?" "Just this: Podrezov can break bigger people than you" (1a).