Poetry: A Strange Case of Adultery

A STRANGE CASE OF ADULTERY

(A Study in Alliteration)

The English Language I adore.

Of course, by all its lore t’explore

I ought to set much store;

Yet lore is mainly law,

And English is something more.

Because with its womanly charm and its mystery

It looks like a mystical mistress,

Who often mistreats you

And whom you must always mistrust.

But if you miss a tryst or two,

You mustn’t try to misconstrue:

You’ll miss her trick to make it worthwhile, too.

So when in search of high romance I go,

Where to look for me, by now you know.

But when I go about my daily life,

I treasure Russian as a faithful wife.

Alexander Demidov

5 December 1988

Idioms: Ado - much a. about nothing

Check out my companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid)

Idiom(s) of the day: much ado about nothing

My category (Russian-to-English translation): Важность и приоритеты (Importance and priorities). Положительная или отрицательная оценка (Positive or negative evaluation)

Explanation(s):

Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, 2004 (CCDI):

If you say that people are making much ado about nothing, you mean that they are making a lot of fuss about something which is not as important or significant as they think it is. “Much Ado About Nothing” is the title of a play by Shakespeare. This expression is often varied.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

a phrase which people sometimes use to describe a situation in which there has been a lot of excitement about something that is not really important. It comes from the title of a humorous play by William Shakespeare.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

fuss, especially about something that is unimportant

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

Translation(s):

CCDI:

Много шуму из ничего; нечего было и огород городить; нечего было волну поднимать.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

много шума из ничего [выражение, популярное во времена Шекспира и взятое им в качестве названия одной из своих комедий]

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

много шума из ничего

Multitran (www.multitran.ru):

что за шум, а драки нет?

из пустяков, да много шуму

сыр-бор разгорелся

Multilex (www.multilex.ru):

Examples:

CCDI:

French newspapers described the international row as “Much Ado About Nothing”.

After one year, I dropped out of the course because it was much ado about nothing really. It was all about style, not content.

Lately there’s been much ado about the ducks belonging to my poultry-farming neighbour.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

When you've been here a few years and you go back to an ordinary life, you feel a bit out of it, you know... It all seems an awful rush. Much ado about nothing, that's what it is. (W. S. Maugham, ‘Creatures of Circumstance’, ‘Sanatorium’) — Вот поживете в санатории несколько лет, а потом захотите вернуться к обычной жизни - увидите, как трудно снова войти в колею... Везде какая-то безумная спешка. Много шуму из ничего - вот что это такое.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

this is much ado about almost nothing

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) v4.0:

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

British National Corpus (BNC), Mark Davies (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/): much ado about, 25 total

…to start work on a movie version of the bard's famous play, Much Ado About Nothing

All successful thrillers need hype. Bloomsbury makes much ado about its author, David Mason.

Although I did the lights for Hamlet at school, I never understood the play, thinking at the time that it was much ado about very little.

Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA), Mark Davies (http:// www.americancorpus.org/): much ado about, 173 total

Case himself suggested he was close to developing a "radioactive" magic bullet that would cure cancer, and there was much ado about his moving to California to be near radiological research at the Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley.

The growing public debate on pharmaceuticals in water will heat up this summer as experts on both sides of the issue try to convince the public that it's either much ado about nothing or another example of humans ignoring early warning signs such as deformed frogs.

There's so much ado about stress, keeping track of it all can be stressful.

My companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid): With so much ado about Twitter, keeping track of it all, though fun, can be a drain on resources. Is it worth it or much ado about nothing?

Poetry: Good News for the Women of the USSR

Good News for the Women of the USSR

(Possibly to be included verbatim in the official address by the General Secretary [of the Communist Party of the USSR] on International Women’s Day, 8 March)

Why, in spite of our wishing them all the best,

Aren’t Soviet women with happiness blessed?

Why, by society oppressed,

Aren’t, say, American women ever depressed?

No sooner involved, than the problem I solved:

American women—every one—

Have their happiness wished in another tongue!

Soviet women! You may rest assured:

From now on, your happiness shall be ensured

Because now in English we say:

Many happy returns of This Day!

On behalf of mankind

Alexander V Demidov

5 March 1988

Idioms: Adam - not to know sb from A.

Check out my companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid)

Idiom(s) of the day: not know someone from Adam

My category (Russian-to-English translation): Общение и отношения (Communication and relationships).

Explanation(s):

Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, 2004 (CCDI):

If you say that you don’t know someone from Adam, you mean that you do not know them at all, and would not recognize them if you saw them. The reference here is to the first human being, Adam, according to the Bible.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

to have no knowledge of or acquaintance with (someone)

To not know a person; be unable to recognize someone.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

not know or be completely unable to recognize the person in question. ORIGIN from Hebrew 'ādām ‘man’, later taken to be a name.

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

to be unacquainted with

Translation(s):

CCDI:

Не иметь ни малейшего представления, понятия о ком-либо; не знать кого-либо в лицо; видом не видал, слухом не слыхал.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

не иметь ни малейшего представления о ком-л., не знать кого-л. в лицо

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Multitran (www.multitran.ru):

не иметь ни малейшего представления; не соображать, что к чему

Examples:

CCDI:

We’ll have one contact, who is simply a voice on the phone to us. I don’t know him from Adam.

I knew nobody: I took with me two names and telephone numbers. One was an Anglo-Argentine couple: friends of a friend, who didn’t know me from Adam.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

I have no idea who that guy is that Jane just walked in with; I don't know him from Adam.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Multilex (www.multilex.ru):

I don't know him from ~ я его никогда в глаза не видел.

I don't know him from Adam я его (в жизни) в глаза не видал;

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) v4.0:

not to know (a person) from Adam: not to recognize him

1784 London Sessions Feb. 400/1 Some man stopped me, I do not know him from Adam. 1795 T. Wilkinson Wand. Patentee IV. 129 He was so great a stranger I should not have known him from our father Adam. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxxviii, He called to see my Governor this morning,‥and beyond that I don't know him from Adam. 1900 Buchan Half-Hearted xx, I found people I didn't know from Adam drinking the old toasts

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

He says hello to us every morning, but we don't know him from Adam.

British National Corpus (BNC), Mark Davies (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/): [know] * from Adam, total 7

"Who called, do we know them?" "No, nobody knows 'em from Adam ," he nodded jovially at the gardener who flashed back with a wall of white teeth.

"No one's saying it is, but I'm in the house because I'm doing you a favour. I don't know Sunil from Adam --;" and I went on before he could ask Adam who?" --; and naturally, the cops will want to check that out.

Dibble said, "Please bear in mind that Lena didn't know me from Adam but she was so helpful and concerned, she took a chance on my honesty

My companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid): I’m amazed and flattered that people who don't know me from Adam find it worthwhile to follow me on Twitter.

Poetry - У природы нет плохой погоды (Nature has no bad weather)

13.02.10

The other day, when rummaging through my stuff in search of a book, I came across a bunch of typewritten poems that I composed in an attempt to hone and show off my English writing skills some 20+ years ago when I read English at the Moscow State Linguistic University. I was surprised to find that they weren’t half-bad. So I decided to digitize them for posterity by posting them on my blog—otherwise Google might miss them in their global book-digitization effort. If nothing else, they are sure to provide comic relief from my more serious endeavours such as the Idiom-a-Day project.

They’ll be coming one a day in no particular order, always providing I have time to spare from my translation work. I don’t intend to edit the poems but I might make a minor correction here or there. If I do, I’ll indicate it in the date of the poem.

Here’s the first one. The idea was suggested by a line in a song from Ryazanov’s film, “У природы нет плохой погоды“ (Nature has no bad weather). The film is question is “Служебный роман” (Office Romance), 1977.

If with your wife you’re out of temper

And Nature’s, too, has kicked up a tempest,

Don’t say you’re glad

The weather’s also bad

For weather can be neither good nor bad;

It’s just your being mad

That makes it sad.

Nature holds the weather as a mirror,

With your emotions keeping pace,

So whenever you look nearer,

What you see is your own face.

Alexander V Demidov

9 December 1988

Idioms: Action - a piece/slice of the a.

Check out my companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid)

Idiom(s) of the day: A piece/slice of the action

My category (Russian-to-English translation): Участие и заинтересованность (Involvement and interest). Успех и неудача (Success and failure).

Explanation(s):

Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, 2004 (CCDI):

If someone wants a piece of the action or a slice of the action, they want to get involved in an activity which seems exciting and likely to be very successful or profitable. ‘A slice of the action’ is used mainly in British English.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

a share in an exciting or profitable enterprise

a share in the excitement of something

a share or role in an interesting or exciting activity, especially in order to make money

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

a share in activity or profit

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

a share of the proceeds or profits

Translation(s):

CCDI:

Свой вклад в дело (, обещающее быть прибыльным).

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

участие в чём-л.

доля в деятельности

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Multitran (www.multitran.ru):

Доля в афере; плата за соучастие; часть, доля в деле; участие в деятельности

Examples:

CCDI:

Essentially, the information industry wants a piece of the action, the right to distribute parts of the Library’s collection itself.

Within five years, every car manufacturer was at it. The hatchback explosion has begun and everyone wanted a piece of the action.

As the British rap scene grows in strength, the Americans are becoming keener to grab a slice of the action.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

He sold his piece of the action before blowing town — Прежде чем уехать из города, он продал свою долю в преступном бизнесе

Deal him in. He wants a piece of the action — Давай включим и его. Он тоже хочет участвовать в этом деле

He'll naturally ask for a piece of the action — Он, естественно, потребует своей доли в этом бизнесе

Foreign firms will all want a piece of the action if the new airport goes ahead.

a share in the profits accruing from something

Don't be selfish. Give me a slice of the action — Не будь эгоистом. Выдели мне долю.

If you want a slice of the action, tickets may still be available.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) v4.0:

Activity considered noteworthy or important; freq. with the. spec. in gambling or betting, esp. in phr. where the action is (freq. transf., i.e. the centre of some activity); also in drug-trafficking, etc. a piece (share, etc.) of the action, involvement in this. slang (orig. U.S.).

1966 Maclean's Mag. 4 June 1 And last year mink breeders from Scandinavia to California were falling over themselves to buy a piece of the action. 1982 Times Lit. Suppl. 2 Apr. 373/2 Not that the activity should be suppressed, but that the aggrieved party should get a share in the action.

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

Cut me in for a piece of the action.

Multilex (www.multilex.ru):

...a coalition of organizations formed to fight addiction in the Negro communities asked the officials to give them "a piece of the action". (‘The New York Times’, DNW) — ...объединение организаций, созданное для борьбы с наркоманией в негритянских районах, обратилось к властям за содействием.

British National Corpus (BNC), Mark Davies (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/):

Piece of the action (total 15):

Nation shall speak peace unto nation, and I shall grab a piece of the action.

A knee injury denied Pears apiece of the action as Boro celebrated promotion at Wolves, but that could not detract from the elation he and his teammates experienced in reaching the Premier League.

Come with us into the Kasbah, and get your piece of the action.

If you want to be one of the crowd, there's no time like now to book a piece of the action.

Slice of the action (total 11):

Telephone, television and computer technology are converging and high tech companies are scrambling for a slice of the action.

"I'll never believe he done it," said Mrs Flaherty, when she came round for a cup of tea and a slice of the action …

And some scientists are angry that ISPRA seems certain to grab a large slice of the action, at the expense of the other laboratories.

The promotional activities of dealers and certain critics became more brazen as the decade proceeded. Perhaps that is to be expected in a market in which "art" largely collapsed into "investment", and in which artists were happy to take a slice of the action.

My companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid): The Twitter explosion has begun and everybody wants a piece of the action.

Idioms: Act - hard a. to follow

Check out my companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid)

Idiom(s) of the day: a hard act to follow

My category (Russian-to-English translation): Положительная или отрицательная оценка (Positive or negative evaluation).

Explanation(s):

Collins Cobuild Dictionary of Idioms, 2004 (CCDI):

If you say that someone is a hard act to follow, you mean that they are so impressive or so effective that it will be for anyone else to be as good or as successive. Adjectives such as ‘tough’ and ‘difficult’ can be used instead of ‘hard’.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

an achievement or performance which sets a standard regarded as being hard for others to measure up to

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

Translation(s):

CCDI:

Не знающий себе равных, непревзойденный мастер чего-либо; недосягаемый образец чего-либо.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

1) номер, имевший шумный успех, повторить который последующим выступающим очень трудно 2) труднодостижимый уровень, высокая планка; образцовое исполнение своих обязанностей

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Multitran (www.multitran.ru):

Multilex (www.multilex.ru):

Examples:

CCDI:

Prince Charles has known his destiny since childhood. He knows too that his mother will be a hard act to follow.

He had a hard act to follow. His predecessor was a brilliant intellectual who also drew, as Chancellor, on long practical experience as an observer of the economic scene.

There’s no doubt Ford’s vision and hard work has played a major role in the museum’s success. He’ll be a tough act to follow.

Lingvo (www.lingvo.com):

Will we ever see his like again? A titan like John Paul II will always be a hard act to follow. (Times Online) — Появится ли в будущем на папском престоле личность такого же масштаба? Иоанн Павел Второй задал очень высокую планку.

Babylon (www.babylon.com):

Oxford English Dictionary (OED) v4.0:

Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary v4.7:

British National Corpus (BNC), Mark Davies (http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/): 27 total

Whenever he goes, he will be a hard act to follow .

Last season's total of 38 seemed like a hard act to follow, but McCoist admitted: "I always knew that I was capable of scoring even more, but I didn't want to shout too loudly about it. "

"He will be, as they say, a hard act to follow , but the board will rally round whoever is chosen for this difficult and very important job."

There is no question that Mr Brown's will be an exceedingly hard act to follow . His tenure saw the gallery grow from a provincial treasure house to a world-renowned showcase which challenged the Metropolitan as the country's most prestigious venue.

You've certainly set us a hard act to follow !

My companion project: An Idiom a Day (www.twitter.com/AVDemid)