• (КАК) НА КУРЬЕРСКИХ obs
[(как +) PrepP; these forms only; adv]
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⇒ very quickly, hurriedly:
- swiftly;
- posthaste;
- promptly;
- [in limited contexts] make short work of sth.
♦ Наконец толстый [мужчина], послуживши богу и государю, заслуживши всеобщее уважение, оставляет службу, перебирается и делается помещиком, славным русским барином, хлебосолом, и живёт, и хорошо живет. А после него опять тоненькие наследники спускают, по русскому обычаю, на курьерских все отцовское добро (Гоголь 3). Finally, the fat man, after serving God and Tsar and earning general respect, retires from service, moves out of town, and settles down as a landowner, a hospitable Russian gentleman. And thus he lives, and lives well. And after him come his thin heirs, who promptly squander, Russian-style, the wealth he has accumulated (3e). In the end, after having served God and the Emperor and won general respect, the fat man resigns the service, goes to live on his estate, becomes a landowner, a fine Russian gentleman, a hospitable host, and lives on and lives well. After him, as is the Russian custom, his thin heirs make short work of their father's fortune (3a).
Большой русско-английский фразеологический словарь. — М.: ACT-ПРЕСС КНИГА. С.И. Лубенская. 2004.