едва не

• ЧУТЬ HE

[Particle; Invar]

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1. Also: ЕДВА HE; ЧУТЬ-ЧУТЬ HE [usu. foll. by a pfv past verb, Part, or Verbal Adv]

⇒ s.o. was about to do sth. but did not, or began doing sth. but quickly stopped; sth. was about to happen but did not, or began happening but was quickly interrupted:

- almost;

- (very) nearly;

- all but;

- (be) on the verge of (doing sth. <happening>);

- [of a person only](come) near to (doing sth.).

     ♦ В войну сад едва не погиб (Трифонов 1). During the war the garden had almost perished (1a).

     ♦ "...Не дай господи, как он рассердился! чуть-чуть не отдал под суд" (Лермонтов 1). "...Goodness, how furious he was! He very nearly had us court-martialed" (1a).

     ♦ ...В движениях девушки...было что-то такое очаровательное, повелительное, ласкающее, насмешливое и милое, что я чуть не вскрикнул от удивления и удовольствия... (Тургенев 3) There was in the movements of the young girl...something so fascinating, imperious, caressing, mocking, and charming, that I nearly cried out with wonder and delight... (3a). ...There was something so charming, so imperative, so gracious, amusing, and pleasant in the girl's movements, that I all but cried out with amazement and delight... (3c).

2. [usu. foll. by NP, AdjP, or AdvP]

⇒ almost but not quite or entirely:

- almost;

- nearly;

- practically;

- virtually;

- [in limited contexts] barely;

- just about.

     ♦ "Ну, веришь, Порфирий, [Раскольников] сам едва на ногах, а чуть только мы, я да Зосимов, вчера отвернулись - оделся и удрал потихоньку и куролесил где-то чуть не до полночи..." (Достоевский 3). "Now, would you believe it, Porfiry, he [Raskolnikov] could hardly stand, and yet the minute we, that is Zosimov and I, turned our backs on him yesterday, he got dressed and sneaked out on the sly and was whooping it up somewhere till almost midnight..." (3a).

     ♦ "Мне сказывали, что в Риме наши художники в Ватикан ни ногой. Рафаэля считают чуть ли не дураком, потому что это, мол, авторитет; а сами бессильны и бесплодны до гадости..." (Тургенев 2). "I am told that in Rome our artists never set foot in the Vatican. Raphael they practically regard as a fool because, if you pleaese, he is an authority. Yet they themselves are so impotent and sterile..." (2c).