нетолченая труба

• НЕТОЛЧЕНАЯ <НЕПРОТОЛЧЕНАЯ> ТРУБА (народу, гостей и т. п.) obs, coll

[NP; these forms only; usu. subj or subj-compl with copula (subj/ gen: народу, гостей etc)]

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⇒ there is a huge number (of people, often guests, in some place):

- a (whole) slew of people;

- a huge (whole) crowd of people;

- scads of people;

- [in refer, to many people in a relatively small space](some place is) jammed (packed etc) with people.

     ♦ Неподалёку от санатория мы встретили Людмилу Павловну. Она вернулась утром, и я уже виделась с ней. Про сестру она ничего не узнала. "В прокуратуре народу - труба непротолчёная и никакого толку не добиться" (Чуковская 2). Not far from the rest-home we met Lyudmila Pavlovna. I had already seen her after she had returned that morning. She had not found out anything about her sister. "The Public Prosecutor's office was jammed with people and one could get no sense out of them" (2a).

     ♦ ...B предводительском доме... труба нетолчёная. Туда всякий идёт, как в трактир, и всякий не только ест и пьёт, но требует, чтобы его обласкали (Салтыков-Щедрин 2). [context transl] ... The Marshal's house was like a market place. Everybody went there as if it were a public house and everybody not only ate and drank there, but also expected to be well treated (2a).