to criticize someone unfairly; to speak badly about someone
несправедливо критиковать кого-то; плохо говорить о ком-то (nespravedlivo kritikovat' kogo-to; plokho govorit' o kom-to)
"He always runs his coworkers down behind their backs."
"Он всегда говорит плохо о своих коллегах за их спинами." (On vsegda govoriit plokho o svoikh kollegakh za ikh spinami.)
to allow yourself to think freely and creatively
a decision has not yet been made
to achieve a small success but fail in the larger goal
to resume a relationship after breaking up
a sudden realization or idea
to be in a difficult situation requiring careful balance
