черная кость

• ЧЕРНАЯ КОСТЬ obs

[NP; sing only, but may refer to one or more persons; fixed WO]

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⇒ (a person or people) of undistinguished lineage, not (a member or members) of the upper class or any privileged group:

- common (ordinary) person (people, worker(s) etc);

- run-of-the-mill peasant(s) (worker(s) etc);

- of humble birth;

- [in refer, to a group only] common (ordinary, plain) folk;

- [contemp. usage, said sarcastically] second-class citizen(s).

     ♦ [author's usage] Вот обратите внимание на Андрея Арсеньича, вот западная школа, вот тренаж, ни жириночки. Аристократы, хе-хе, а мы мужицкая кость (Аксёнов 7). Have a look at Andrei Arsenievich over there That's the Western look for you. Not an ounce of fat. They keep in shape. They're blue bloods, after all, and we're just your run-of-the-mill peasants (7a).

     ♦ Оказывается, свободных номеров в гостинице сколько угодно. "Для китайцев... Нам не дают, мы черная кость" (Гинзбург 2). Apparently there were any number of vacant rooms in the hotel "They re all for the Chinese. They're not for us, we're second-class citizens" (2a).