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| English | Russian |
| at the coal face | на передовой ("at the coalface" is more usual. Alexander Demidov) |
| as black as coal | чёрный, как уголь (Bobrovska) |
| canary in a coal mine | предвестник, индикатор надвигающейся беды (An allusion to caged canaries (birds) that mining workers would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as methane or carbon monoxide leaked into the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately. Miss Martyshka) |
| canary in the coal mine | предвестник грядущих неприятностей, проблем (Notable projects looking down the barrel of receivership are not new to Vancouver’s development industry – but recent activity may well be a canary in the coal mine, according to researcher Andy Yan. (biv.com) ART Vancouver) |