IdiomFood & DrinkRussian

сушить сухари (sushit' sukhari)

Meaning: To prepare oneself mentally and materially for imprisonment or arrest.

Literally: To dry rusks

Example: “После такого отчёта можно сушить сухари.” — After a report like that, he'd better face the music.

English equivalent: To face the music

Equivalents in other languages

Origin: Сухари are rusks, bread dried so it keeps, the classic provision for a long journey, and for prison or exile. Telling someone to dry their rusks is warning them to get ready for arrest. Fedorov's phrase dictionary records it as low colloquial and ironic; no first use is documented.

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