куда за

• КУДА кому-чему ДО кого-чего (ЗА кем) coll

[impers predic with быть; usu. pres; if indir obj is human, prep obj is also usu. human; if indir obj is abstr, prep obj is also usu. abstr etc]

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⇒ a person (or thing) significantly lags behind, falls short of another person or category of people (thing or category of things):

- куда X-у до Y-a ≈ X cannot compare with Y;

- how can X compare with Y!;

- X is crude (nothing, backward etc) by comparison;

- X can't hold a candle to Y;

- Y is out of X's league;

- Y is in a different class than (from) X;

- X can't keep up with Y;

- [in limited contexts] X is no Y;

- [in refer, to being unable to understand sth.] Y is way over (miles above) person X's head.

     ♦ Когда-то я помнил эту теорию назубок. Изящная теория!! Куда до нее электродинамике! (Зиновьев 1). "There was a time when I knew this theory by heart. It was very elegant! Electrodynamics is crude by comparison!" (1a).

     ♦ "Да куда мне за ней! Я даром что моложе, а не выстоять мне столько" (Гончаров 1). "...I'm afraid I can't keep up with her! I may be the younger one, but I can't stand as long as she can!" (1a)

     ♦ "Папа, ты герой". - "Нет, дочка, куда мне до героя. Вот у нас в роте был Петя Курочкин - это вот да, герой" (Абрамов 1). "Papa, you're a hero." "No, daughter. I'm no hero. Now there was a man called Petya Kurochkin in our outfit - there was a hero for you" (1a).

     ♦ "...Я очень рад, что вы занимаетесь естественными науками. Я слышал, что Либих сделал удивительные открытия насчет удобрения полей..." - "Я к вашим услугам, Николай Петрович; но куда нам до Либиха! Сперва надо азбуке выучиться и потом уже взяться за книгу, а мы еще аза в глаза не видали" (Тургенев 2). "I must say I...am very glad you are studying the natural sciences. I have heard that Liebig has made some astonishing discoveries to do with improving the soil. ..." "I'm at your service, Nikolai Petrovich; but Liebig is miles above our heads! One must learn the alphabet before learning to read, and we don't know the first letter yet" (2c).