на хвосте

• ВИСЕТЬ <ПОВИСНУТЬ> НА ХВОСТЕ (кого, у кого; НА ХВОСТЕ{{}}all coll

[VP or PrepP (Invar, subj-compl with copula); subj: human or collect]

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⇒ (of a pursuer, an athlete in competition, or enemy troops) to be following s.o. very closely and be about to catch up to him:

- X висел на хвосте у Y-a ≈ X was (right) on Y's tail;

- X was right behind Y;

- X was closing in on Y.

     ♦ "Зараз [regional = сейчас, только что] разведка вернулась, говорят, что бугор пустой. Стало быть, Журавлев потерял нас, а то бы он теперь на хвосте висел" (Шолохов 5). "Our patrol has just come in, they say there's no one on the hill. Zhuravlyov must have lost us or he'd be on our tail right now" (5a).