ИЗ ГОЛОДНОГО КРАЯ
• (КАК) ИЗ ГОЛОДНОГО КРАЯ coll
[(как +) PrepP; these forms only; adv or subj-compl with быть (subj: human); fixed WO]
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⇒ (to look emaciated, eat hungrily etc) as if one were starving, without food for a long time:
- (look <eat>) as if one hadn't eaten for days;
- (look <eat>) as if one were on the brink of starvation;
- (eat) as if one had never seen food before;
|| Neg не из голодного края••≈ it's not the first time one has seen food.
♦ Пили красное и по неполной рюмке, губы вытирали чистыми платками, закусывая, оставляли на тарелке малость: не из голодного края, мол (Максимов 3). They drank red wine, not quite filling the glasses, they dabbed at their lips with clean handkerchiefs; and when they ate they left a little on the plate: It's not the first time we've seen food, you know! (3a).