• ЕЛЕ <ЕДВА, НАСИЛУ, ЧУТЬ, С ТРУДОМ> НОГИ ВОЛОЧИТЬ <ПЕРЕДВИГАТЬ, ТАСКАТЬ, ТАЩИТЬ, ТЯНУТЬ> coll
[VP; subj: human; pres or past]
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⇒ to be barely able to walk (usu. from exhaustion, weakness, illness etc):
- X еле ноги волочил{{}}≈ X could hardly put one foot in front of the other;
- X could scarcely drag one foot after the other;
- X could scarcely (barely) drag himself along (around);
- X's legs would barely move.
♦ ...Эти стихи он [Шаламов] писал, как и я, еле таская ноги, и наизусть, пуще всего таясь от обысков (Солженицын 2). ...Не [Shalamov] had written these poems as I had written mine, when he could scarcely drag himself along, committing them to memory because his main concern was to avoid discovery by the searchers (2a).
♦ ... [Нюра] еле ноги таскала. Хотя ложились они рано, Чонкин ей спать не давал, будил по нескольку раз за ночь для своего удовольствия, да ешё и днём... (Войнович 2). ...[Nyura] could barely drag herself around. Although she and Chonkin went to bed early, he wouldn't let her sleep, waking her up at least several times each night to take his pleasure, which he wanted in the daytime as well (2a).
♦ Выпили так много, что Ребров еле передвигал ноги (Трифонов 1). They had drunk so much that Rebrov's legs would barely move (1a).
Большой русско-английский фразеологический словарь. — М.: ACT-ПРЕСС КНИГА. С.И. Лубенская. 2004.