хоть пруд пруди

• (ХОТЬ) ПРУД ПРУДИ кого-чего, rare кем-чем coll

[хоть + VPimper; these forms only, subj-compl with copula (subj/ gen: any common noun) or adv (quantif); fixed WO]

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⇒ (s.o has or in some place there is) a surplus or a lot of (people or things). X-OB у Y-a <в месте Z> хоть пруд пруди ≈ person Y has more Xs than he knows what to do with; place Z is swarming (crawling) with Xs; there are scores of Xs in place Z; Xs are as plentiful as fish in the sea in place Z; person Y has Xs in spades (Xs galore, Xs enough and to spare); there are Xs in spades (Xs galore, Xs enough and to spare) in place Z.

     ♦ ...В докладной записке для Теоретика он писал, что известность Мазилы на Западе имеет скорее политический характер, так как художников таких на Западе пруд пруди (Зиновьев 1). In a brief report to Theoretician he wrote that Dauber's fame in the West was largely political, because the West had more artists like him than they knew what to do with (1a)

     ♦ "Видите, та жирная... стерва? У нее в каждом ушке ценности, особняк можно купить. Посмотрите на ее лапы! А таких теперь пруд пруди" (Зиновьев 2). "You see that fat old cow? Each of her earrings is worth a mansion And look at her paws' There are scores of people like her these days" (2a)

     ♦ Руководил отделом [сельского хозяйства] Платон Самсонович. Не следует удивляться его имени. У нас таких имен хоть пруд пруди (Искандер 6). The papers agricultural section was headed by Platon Samsonovich. If one wonders at the name, I should point out that in our region such names were as plentiful as fish in the sea (6a)

     ♦ "Да таких колхозниц и колхозников у нас хоть пруд пруди" (Абрамов 1). "If it's kolkhozniki like her you're talking about, we've got them in spades" (1a)