В239
ВИСЕТЬ (ДЕРЖАТЬСЯ)/ПОВИСНУТЬ НА ВОЛОСКЕ (НА НИТОЧКЕ, НА НИТКЕ)
VPsubj:
human or
abstr, often жизньif
subj:
human,
usu. one's life or career is involved) to be in a perilous position or condition, be threatened by imminent danger, ruin, or death
X висит на волоске = X is hanging by a thread
person X is within a hairbreadth (a hairsbreadth
etc) of deathperson X is on the brink of death(in limited contexts) X is within a hairbreadth of disaster (ruin)X is on the brink of disaster (ruin)thing X is touch and go.
From the story of Damocles, courtier of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius in classical mythology. At a banquet, Dionysius had Damocles seated under a sword suspended by a single hair to show him how precarious power and the ruler's happiness were.
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В24 →← В238