Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
оказаться у разбитого корыта
English translation:
to end up with nothing
Added to glossary by
julls
Aug 28, 2006 16:19
17 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Russian term
Not a translator
оказаться у разбитого корыта
Russian to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
пословица, идиоматическое выражение
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+1
8 mins
Selected
to be left with nothing
.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "It was exactly what I need... Thank you very much, indeed."
-1
14 mins
end up near a broken-down trough
lose one's hopes of getting rich
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Alexander Demyanov
: 1. This wouldn't make any sense for an English language reader. 2. "Okazat'sya u razbitogo koryta" doesn' t necessarily mean "lose hopes"
7 mins
|
36 mins
to be back where you started
From Lubensky's R>E Dictionary of Idioms
+2
5 mins
Kirill Semenov
Ukraine
Ukraine
Native in Russian
Works in field
Ukraine
60+ books translated and published
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian
Related KudoZ points
:
79
be back at the bottom of the ladder
.
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Note added at 7 mins (2006-08-28 16:26:57 GMT)
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Или просто "back at the bottom"
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Note added at 8 mins (2006-08-28 16:28:06 GMT)
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to land back at the bottom
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Note added at 46 mins (2006-08-28 17:05:50 GMT) Post-grading
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You've lost the idea that the person started from having nothing, then gained a lot, but then lost everything - and, voila, is having nothing again.
As I had told, it's from a famous poem by Pushkin.
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Note added at 7 mins (2006-08-28 16:26:57 GMT)
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Или просто "back at the bottom"
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Note added at 8 mins (2006-08-28 16:28:06 GMT)
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to land back at the bottom
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Note added at 46 mins (2006-08-28 17:05:50 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------
You've lost the idea that the person started from having nothing, then gained a lot, but then lost everything - and, voila, is having nothing again.
As I had told, it's from a famous poem by Pushkin.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
David Knowles
: to be back where one started
11 mins
|
|
The expression comes from Pushkin's famous story - meaning someone started from nothing, then climbed high, but then again fell to the bottom because of being too greedy
|
|
| agree |
Peter Shortall
: Which poem? (out of interest!) / Thanks! I love things like that, I'll see if I can find it to read!
2 hrs
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Hi Peter :) It's "Сказка о рыбаке и золотой рыбке", "The Fishermand and The Goldfish". The fisherman's wife owned nothing, but wanted more and more - until finally she had nothing again, the moral of the story.
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51 mins
back to square one
Meaning the same: being back at where you started.
HTH
Sara
HTH
Sara
Example sentence:
As soon as I thought I had made money, a massive bill would land on my doorstep and, financially, I was back to square one again.
Something went wrong...