до посинения (do posineniya)

Meaning: To do something with extreme effort or persistence, usually futilely.

Language: Russian

Literally: until blueness

Category: Body & Senses

Origin: The phrase pictures someone straining so hard their face turns blue from exertion or holding their breath.

More idioms — Body & Senses

на коленке (na kolenke) — Done hastily and without proper tools or technique; improvised or makeshift.
Tomber dans les pommes — Suddenly losing consciousness — possibly derived from the older expression 'être dans les…
Avoir la moutarde qui monte au nez — To be getting angry.
Couper les cheveux en quatre — To over-analyze or split hairs.
Se regarder le nombril — To be self-centered or narcissistic.
Tomaten auf den Augen haben — To be oblivious to what's right in front of you.

горе луковое (gore lukovoye) — A person who is accident-prone, hapless, or bumbling; one who causes trouble by their own…
огород городить (ogorod gorodit') — To make a fuss or create complicated problems over something trivial; to engage in useles…
на честном слове и на одном крыле (na chestnom slove i na odnom kryle) — Succeeding or surviving by the barest margin, through luck or desperation rather than sol…
развесистая клюква (razvestistaya klyukva) — Ignorant stereotypes and tall tales about Russia, especially those peddled by foreigners.
сыграть в ящик (sygrat' v yashchik) — To die.
нашего полку прибыло (nashego polku pribylo) — Another person has joined a group or shared predicament; a welcome to the club.

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