куда там!

• КУДА ТАМ (ТУТ)!; ГДЕ (УЖ) TAM tall coll

[Interj; these forms only; fixed WO]

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⇒ sth. is difficult or impossible to accomplish, the undertaking in question is futile, the effort in question did or will produce results opposite to those desired (often foll. by an explanation of why the attempt failed or what happened instead):

- no way;

- not a chance;

- fat chance!;

- out of the question;

- [in limited contexts] far from it;

- what Is the use?;

- not likely.

     ♦ "Твой еще не проснулся?" - "Куды [ungrammat = куда] там, - засмеялась Нюра, - спит, как сурок. А чего?" - "Дело есть" (Войнович 2). "Your man up yet?" "Fat chance," laughed Nyura "Sleeping like a log. What's the matter?" "I need to see him" (2a).

     ♦ Бабка понесла на базар какое-то барахло, простояла два дня подряд - куда там, никто не покупает, все только продают (Кузнецов 1). Grandmother took some stuff to the market and stood there two days in a row - but what was the use? Nobody was buying, everybody was selling (1a).

     ♦ "Вот у тебя по старому делу в 63 году Джилас шел. Что это за штуковина?" - "Неужели даже вам [следователям КГБ] не дают почитать [конфискованные книги]? Тоже не доверяют?" - "Где там... Только то и прочтешь, что на обыске отнимешь" (Буковский 1). "What about that book by Djilas that you were charged with in 1963? What sort of whatsit was it?" "Do you mean to say they don't let you [the KGB investigators] read them [confiscated books] either? Don't they trust you either?" "Not likely. All you get to read in my job is what you turn up in the searches" (1a).