нелегкая дернула за язык

• ДЕРНУЛО ЗА ЯЗЫК кого coll; ЧЕРТ <less often БЕС, ЛЕШИЙ> ДЕРНУЛ ЗА ЯЗЫК highly coll; НЕЛЕГКАЯ ДЕРНУЛА ЗА ЯЗЫК highly coll

[VP, impers (1st var); VPsubj (other variants)]

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⇒ used to express the speaker's extreme regret, anger, or annoyance over the fact that he or another person said sth. inappropriate, offensive, out of place etc:

- дёрнуло <чёрт дёрнул> X-a за язык{{}}≈ what (something must have) possessed X to say that!;

- why the hell <in blazes, on earth> did X (have to) say that?;

- what the hell <in blazes, on earth> did X say that for?;

- X and his big mouth!;

- there goes X with his big mouth!

     ♦ И дёрнуло ж меня за язык! Промолчи я насчёт его топорика, ничего бы не было (Искандер 4). What had possessed me to say that! If I'd kept quiet about his ax, nothing would have happened (4a).

     ♦ "Ты-то выпьешь со мной на радостях?" - спросил он. И тотчас же с тревогой подумал: "Ну, вот и опять дёрнул меня чёрт за язык!" (Шолохов 5). "You'll have one [a drink] with me to celebrate, won't you?" he asked. And at once the alarming thought crossed his mind, "There I go again with my big mouth!" (5a).