hardly make both ends meet

Князь Шеин, несмотря на своё видное положение в обществе, а может быть и благодаря ему, едва сводил концы с концами. (А. Куприн, Гранатовый браслет) — Despite his prominence in society, or possibly because of it, Prince Sheyin could hardly make both ends meet.

Когда в семье четыре парня, одежонка на них горит, как на огне. Ещё удивительно, что Мария как-то сводила концы с концами и ребятишки ходили чисто, не хуже других... (В. Распутин, Деньги для Марии) — When there are four of them in a family the clothes go as if devoured by flames. The remarkable thing was that Maria managed to make ends meet and her sons always looked neat and clean and were dressed as well as the rest of the village children.

Писатель придумал Зубцова, заставил его влюбиться по уши в жену товарища, осрамил перед всеми, а затем, чтобы свести концы с концами, отправил в Заполярье. (И. Эренбург, Оттепель) — The novelist thought up Zubtsov, made him fall in love with his friend's wife, shamed him publicly, and to tie up the ends, sent him to Arctic.

Был ли я справедлив? Научился ли этому за долгую жизнь? И как свести концы с концами в поисках справедливости? (И. Грекова, Кафедра) — Was I just? Did I learn to be so in my long life? And how to make ends meet in the search for justice?

Кошев, зелено-бледный от ядрёного дыма самосада, то и дело вытирал платком влажную шею и не знал, как свернуть собрание и свести концы с концами. (П. Проскурин, Судьба) — Koshev, pale, almost green from the poisonous fumes of home-grown tobacco, kept dabbing his sweaty neck with his handkerchief, at a loss how to round the meeting out and bring matters to a successful conclusion.

...кофе у меня ещё 1 1/2 банки; питаюсь мёдом и акридами; буду обедать сегодня и в Иркутске. Чем ближе к востоку, тем дороже всё становится. (А. Чехов, Письмо М. П. Чеховой, 28 мая 1890) —...I have still a jar and a half of coffee; I feed on locusts and wild honey; I shall dine to-day at Irkutsk. The further east one gets the dearer everything is.

- Совестно мне обирать тебя, ангел мой; знаю, что сам ты едва концы с концами сводишь и акридами питаешься, но ничего я со своим нахальством не поделаю. (А. Чехов, Отец) — 'It hurts me to plunder you in this way, angel mine; I know that you can hardly make both ends meet, and live - so to say - on locusts. But with impudence like mine you can do nothing.'

В течение двадцати лет бедный немец пытал своё счастье: побывал у различных господ, жил и в Москве, и в губернских городах, терпел и сносил многое, узнал нищету, бился, как рыба об лёд. (И. Тургенев, Дворянское гнездо) — For twenty years the poor German continued to seek his fortune; he found various employers, lived both in Moscow and in different provincial towns, patiently suffered a great deal, experienced destitution, and struggled like a fish out of water.

Илья знал до мелочей жизнь Перфишки, видел, что он бьётся, как рыба об лёд... (М. Горький, Трое) — Perfishka's life held no secrets for Ilya. He knew the cobbler could hardly make ends meet.

- Дом хороший, хозяйство - всё пошло прахом. Что девка одна-одинёшенька-то сделает? Бьётся как рыба об лёд, батрачит, стирает, огородом малым пробавляется. (И. Ефремов, Лезвие бритвы) — 'The house is a good one, but it's all gone to rack and ruin. What can one maid do all by herself? She thrashes round like a fish on the ice, goes out working on other farms, takes in washing, and grows a few vegetables and garden stuff.'

• llegar [a], cuando llegamos a Bilbao estaba lloviendo — when we got to {o} arrived in Bilbao it was raining

• llegarle [a alguien], ¿te ha llegado ya el paquete? — have you got the parcel yet?

•[estar] al llegar, Carlos debe de estar al llegar — Carlos should be arriving any minute now

•[hacer] llegar algo a algn, hacer llegar una carta a algn — to send sb a letter

llegarle LAm —

• llegar [a] {o} [hasta] — to come up to

• me llega al [corazón] ver tanto sufrimiento — seeing so much suffering touches me to the heart

la audiencia de este programa ha llegado a cinco millones — (Radio) as many as five million people have listened to this programme; (TV) the viewing figures for this programme have been as high as five million

• si lo llego a [saber] — if I had known

• llegar a [ser] famoso/el jefe — to become famous/the boss

• llegar a [ver], no llegó a ver la película terminada — he never saw the film finished

• puede llegar a [alcanzar] los 300km/h — it can reach speeds of up to 300km/h

• ¿llegó a [creer] que sería campeón del mundo? — did you ever believe you'd be world champion?

• llegó al [punto] de robarle — he even went so far as to rob her

•[hacer] llegar el sueldo a fin de mes — to make ends meet

tienen que estar por or al llegar — they'll be arriving any minute now

llegar a — a país/ciudad to arrive in; a edificio to arrive at

llegar a casa — to arrive o get home

llegar a or hasta: este tren no llega hasta or a Lima this train doesn't go as far as o all the way to Lima; sólo llega al tercer piso — it only goes (up) to the third floor

llegar a algo — a acuerdo to reach something

llegué a la conclusión de que... — I reached o came to the conclusion that...

llegará lejos — she'll go far o a long way

su estilo no llega a la gente — people can't relate to o understand his style

un lenguaje que llega a la juventud — language that gets through to o means something to young people

se llegó hasta aquí para dármelo — she came all the way here to give it to me (colloq)

tienen que estar por or al llegar — they'll be arriving any minute now

llegar a — a país/ciudad to arrive in; a edificio to arrive at

llegar a casa — to arrive o get home

llegar a or hasta: este tren no llega hasta or a Lima this train doesn't go as far as o all the way to Lima; sólo llega al tercer piso — it only goes (up) to the third floor

llegar a algo — a acuerdo to reach something

llegué a la conclusión de que... — I reached o came to the conclusion that...

llegará lejos — she'll go far o a long way

su estilo no llega a la gente — people can't relate to o understand his style

un lenguaje que llega a la juventud — language that gets through to o means something to young people

se llegó hasta aquí para dármelo — she came all the way here to give it to me (colloq)

Ex: The time has arrived when it is more appropriate to ask why cataloguing is still conducted on a manual basis, rather than to seek to justify the use of computers in cataloguing.

tenía mucha pena después de la muerte de su hijo — she grieved a lot o was extremely upset after her son's death

• alma en pena — lost soul

• dar pena, da pena verlos sufrir así — it's sad to see them suffer like that

me daba pena dejar España — I was sad o sorry to leave Spain

• morir de (la) pena — to die of a broken heart

¿no podéis venir? ¡qué pena! — you can't come? what a shame o a pity!

¡es una pena que no tengamos más tiempo! — it's a shame o a pity that we haven't got more time!, it's too bad we haven't got more time! (EEUU)

mi habitación está que da pena verla — my room is in a terrible state *

• de pena, la economía va de pena — the economy is in a terrible state

• estar hecho una pena — to be in a sorry state

• ahorrarse la pena — to save o.s. the trouble, save o.s. the bother *

• merecer o valer la pena — to be worth

• bajo o so pena de — [+ castigo, multa, prisión] on o under penalty of

bajo pena de muerte — on pain of death, on o under penalty of death

tiene prohibido hacerlo, so pena de ser expulsado — he is forbidden to do it, on o under penalty of expulsion

pena máxima — maximum sentence; (Ftbl) penalty

sentir o tener pena — to be o feel embarrassed, be o feel ill at ease

tenía/sentía mucha pena — he was o felt very sad

me da pena verlo — it upsets me o it makes me sad to see it

qué pena! — what a pity o shame!

de pena — (Esp) terrible

estar hecho una pena — to be in a sorry o terrible state

vale or merece la pena — it's worth it

no vale la pena intentar convencerlo — there's no point o it's not worth trying to persuade him

me contó sus penas — he told me his troubles o (liter or hum) woes

a duras penas — ( apenas) hardly; ( con dificultad) with difficulty

bajo or so pena de — (frml) on pain of (frml)

quitado de la pena — (Méx) blithely, gaily

tenía/sentía mucha pena — he was o felt very sad

me da pena verlo — it upsets me o it makes me sad to see it

qué pena! — what a pity o shame!

de pena — (Esp) terrible

estar hecho una pena — to be in a sorry o terrible state

vale or merece la pena — it's worth it

no vale la pena intentar convencerlo — there's no point o it's not worth trying to persuade him

me contó sus penas — he told me his troubles o (liter or hum) woes

a duras penas — ( apenas) hardly; ( con dificultad) with difficulty

bajo or so pena de — (frml) on pain of (frml)

quitado de la pena — (Méx) blithely, gaily

Ex: 'The word's out: all departments have to cut their staffs by 10%' -- Her voice was weak and laden with woe.