как небо от земли

• КАК НЕБО ОТ ЗЕМЛИ отличаться coll

[как + NP; Invar; adv; fixed WO]

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⇒ (to differ) very much, sharply:

- X отличается от Y-а как небо от земли{{}}≈ X and Y are as different as heaven and earth (as night and day);

- X is the exact (the very) opposite of Y;

- X is poles apart from Y;

- X and Y are poles (worlds) apart.

     ♦ "Я не понимаю, отец, как с добрейшей душой, какая у тебя, и таким редким сердцем ты будешь принимать человека, который как небо от земли от тебя, о котором сам знаешь, что он дурён" (Гоголь 3). "I can't understand, father, how a man with a heart of gold like yours, a man as kind as you, can go on receiving a man who's the very opposite of you and who you know yourself is a bad character" (За). "I don't understand, father, that a man with a heart of gold like yours can go on receiving a person who is poles apart from you and whom you yourself know to be a bad character" (3d).