на полную катушку

• НА ВСЮ <ПОЛНУЮ> КАТУШКУ highly coll

[PrepP; these forms only; adv (intensif); fixed WO]

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1. (one does sth. or, less often, sth. is operating) to one's or its full capacity, to the fullest extent possible:

- to the fullest;

- to the max;

- giving it all (everything) one's got;

- giving it one's best shot;

- going (the) whole hog;

- with might and main;

- [in refer, to volume or capacity](at) full blast;

|| жить{{}}на полную катушку ≈ make the most of one's life;

- live life to the fullest;

|| веселиться (праздновать) на полную катушку ≈ live (whoop) it up;

- have the time of one's life;

- [in limited contexts] have a big bash;

- [of a party] be in full swing;

|| влюбиться{{}}на полную катушку ≈ be (fall) head over heels in love;

- fall for s.o. hook, line, and sinker;

|| высказаться{{}}на полную катушку ≈ hold nothing back;

- leave nothing unsaid.

     ♦ Он мог опять привести ее к себе, в свою комнату. ...Но сдерживала примитивная мужская осторожность. Возобновить отношения - да. Но не на полную катушку (Рыбаков 2). [context transl] He'd be able to take her to his room again. ...But he was restrained by a primitive male cautiousness. They would rekindle their affair, fine, but this time he wasn't going to get in too deep (2a).

2. наказать кого, взыскать с кого, влетело, досталось кому на полную катушку и т.п. (to punish s.o., s.o. is punished etc) extremely severely:

- X-a наказали (X-у влетело) на полную катушку ≈ X got (they gave X) the full treatment (the works);

- X got it (they gave it to X) (but) good;

- they went hard on X;

- X was shown (they showed X) no mercy;

- they threw the book at X.

     ♦ "Воровал мой оголец, как ни попадя [ungrammat = всё, что попадётся]. Я тряпьё на базар таскала. Сколько верёвочке ни виться... Он подельников выгораживал, всё на себя взял, ему на всю катушку..." (Максимов 3). "He stole everything he could lay his hands on, this man of mine. I used to take it all down to the market to sell. It caught up with us in the end. ...He wouldn't squeal on his mates, he took all the blame, so they gave him the full treatment..." (3a).