столбовая дорога

• СТОЛБОВАЯ ДОРОГА{{}}

[NP]

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1. obs a large post road with poles indicating distance in versts (verst ≈ an old Russian measure of linear distance, approx. two thirds of a mile):

- highroad;

- main road (thoroughfare);

- highway.

     ♦ А Чичиков в довольном расположении духа сидел в своей бричке, катившейся давно по столбовой дороге (Гоголь 3). As for Chichikov, he was in a contented frame of mind, sitting in his britska, which had for some time been rolling along the highroad (3c).

2. столбовая дорога (чего) [sing only; fixed WO]

⇒ the principal direction of movement or development of sth.:

- mainstream;

- main current;

- [in limited contexts] highroad.

     ♦ Вторая категория - это писатели побочные, идущие не по столбовой дороге советской литературы, а где-то в стороне от неё (Войнович 1). The second category is made up of writers who do not travel the highroad of Soviet literature, but are off somewhere to the side (1a).