начать за здравие, а кончить за упокой

• НАЧАТЬ ЗА ЗДРАВИЕ, А КОНЧИТЬ <СВЕСТИ> ЗА УПОКОЙ coll

[VP; subj: human; usu. past; fixed WO]

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⇒ (of the disparity between a good beginning and a bad ending in words and actions) to begin pleasantly but end sadly, unpleasantly:

- X-ы (X и Y) начали за здравие, а кончили за упокой ≈ Xs (X and Y) started out smiling and (but) ended up crying;

- Xs (X and Y) began with laughter and (but) ended with tears;

- X and Y met as friends and (but) parted as enemies;

- X and Y started out playing and (but) ended up fighting.

     ♦ Каждые первые две строки свидетельствовали для Лёвы о бесспорном природном гении Лермонтова; если бы всё оно [стихотворение] было составлено из этих первых строк минус вторые, то всё было бы так же хорошо, почти как у Пушкина. Но зато вторые две... боже! зачем же так! всё насмарку; начал за здравие, кончил за упокой... (Битов 2). [context transl] For Lyova, the first two lines of each stanza bespoke Lermontov's indisputable natural genius; if the whole poem had been made up of these first lines, minus the second ones, it would have been just as good, almost, as Pushkin's. But then the second two...good God, why does he do it! The whole thing falls flat, he goes from the sublime to the ridiculous (2a).