по плечу

• ПО ПЛЕЧУ кому coll

[PrepP; Invar; nonagreeing modif or subj-compl with быть, оказаться (subj: usu. abstr, often дело, работа, задача etc)]

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⇒ (sth. is) within the range of s.o.'s abilities, achievable by or understandable to s.o.:

- X Y-у по плечу{{}}≈ X is within Y's grasp (reach);

- Y is capable of doing (handling etc) X;

- Y can handle (do etc) X;

- Y is equal to the task (the work, the job etc);

|| Neg X Y-у не по плечу{{}}≈ X is too big (much) for Y;

- Y is out of his depth in (with) X;

- X is beyond Y;

- X is over Yls head;

- Y is not up to X.

     ♦ Для творческой личности, говорит Неврастеник самому себе, самая большая трагедия - невозможность сделать дело, которое, как чувствует личность, ей по плечу (Зиновьев 1). For a creative person, said Neurasthenic to himself, the greatest tragedy is not to be able to do what he believes himself capable of (1a).

     ♦ "Рано, раненько мы возгордились, не по плечу задачку взяли" (Максимов 3). "We were a bit too hasty with our damned pride, we took on something too big for us" (3a).

     ♦ Многие хотели бы видеть его, Кирова, на посту Генсека - ему это не нужно, не по плечу, он не теоретик, он практик революции (Рыбаков 2). A lot of people would like to see him, Kirov, in the post of general secretary, but he didn't want it, he wasn't up to it. He wasn't a theoretician, he was one of the practical organizers of the Revolution (2a).