рабочие руки

• РАБОЧИЕ РУКИ{{}}

[NP; pl only, may refer to one person; usu. this WO]

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⇒ people who work (more often those who perform physical or unskilled labor):

- worker(s);

- working hands;

- manpower;

- labor;

|| в месте X не хватает рабочих рук{{}}≈ place X is short-handed.

     ♦ По тем временам достать справку об увольнении из совхоза, где каждые рабочие руки числились на вес золота, было делом нелёгким... (Максимов 2). То obtain a release permit from a state farm in those days, when every worker was worth his weight in gold, was not an easy matter... (2a).

     ♦ Подлинно нечего было писать старому Листницкому о своей жизни, текла она, по-старому однообразная, неизменная, лишь рабочие руки поднялись в цене да ощущался недостаток в спиртном (Шолохов 2). It was true enough that the old Listnitsky had nothing to write about his life. It dragged along in its old rut, as monotonous and unchanging as ever. Perhaps the only difference was that the cost of labour had risen and there seemed to be a shortage of liquor (2a).