костей не собрать

• КОСТЕЙ НЕ СОБЕРЕШЬ <НЕ СОБРАТЬ> coll

[VP; subj: human; usu. neg pfv fut, gener. 2nd pers sing не соберёшь; fixed WO]

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⇒ you will be destroyed, you will perish (in some battle, while doing sth. dangerous etc):

- you'll never come <get> back alive;

- you'll never come <get> out of it alive;

- that will be the end of you;

- [in limited contexts] you've had it.

     ♦ "Знаешь, Кемал, - говорит, - надо кончать с этим". - "Почему кончать?" - спрашиваю. "Затаскают. Потом костей не соберёшь" (Искандер 5). '"You know, Kemal,' he says, 'we have to end this ' 'Why end it?' I ask. 'They'll haul us in. We'll never get back alive'" (5a).

     ♦ "Не нравится мне что-то в последнее время эта печка [вулкан]... копоти больно много, не загудеть ли собралась? Если по-настоящему разойдется, костей не соберем, такая у нее слава (Максимов 1). "Somehow I haven't liked the look of that stove [the volcano] recently. ...There's a hell of a lot of soot. Can it really be going to erupt? If it goes up properly we've had it - at least that's its reputation" (1a).