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Thread: Russian proverb

  1. #1
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    Russian proverb

    Hi,

    Does anyone know what is the Russian translation of the proverb, "Better is the enemy of good enough?" Thanks.

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    Re: Russian proverb

    Quote Originally Posted by jurban
    Hi,

    Does anyone know what is the Russian translation of the proverb, "Better is the enemy of good enough?" Thanks.
    "Лучшее - враг хорошего."
    "Happy new year, happy new year
    May we all have a vision now and then
    Of a world where every neighbour is a friend"

  3. #3
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    I don't even know what this proverb means in English. Explain.

    __________________________________________________ ___
    Pravit's nitpicking perfectionist tendencies have complled him to edit this post 2343 times in total.

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    I'm assuming that, to a lazy person, "better" would be the enemy because they would just be content to leave it at "good enough".

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    al
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    Nope, it has nothing to do with lazyness. It means that, for example, if you have done something good enough, and there is an opportunity to do it even better, it is not worth the time and effort to redo it. Thus, "better" is enemy of "good enough".
    Хорошо не просто там где нас нет, а там где нас никогда и не было.

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    I don't think it is even a proverb, it is kind of an aphorism, rather. Someone said this one day about something.

    It reminds me of a theory about Soviet drama (drama as in theater plays). As you perhaps know, one of the most common denominators of all plays is that they are built around some kind of a conflict -- typically a conflict of good vs evil. Well, our wise drama theoreticians used to say that since in Soviet Union all things evil and bad had been destroyed, a Soviet play should be founded on a conflict of good vs better. Doh!

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    It means that, for example, if you have done something good enough
    Should be 'well enough'.
    А если отнять еще одну?

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    Oh. I thought it meant something like "If you keep trying to make something better you will end up screwing it up." That's happened to me plenty of times. Hence the little "fake edit" thingy. Stupid English proverbs. For the longest time I didn't understand what "horse of another color" or "to change horses in midstream" meant. Stupid horses...

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    al
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    Quote Originally Posted by Pravit
    Oh. I thought it meant something like "If you keep trying to make something better you will end up screwing it up." That's happened to me plenty of times. Hence the little "fake edit" thingy. Stupid English proverbs. For the longest time I didn't understand what "horse of another color" or "to change horses in midstream" meant. Stupid horses...
    Right, it could mean this too in some contexts.
    Хорошо не просто там где нас нет, а там где нас никогда и не было.

  10. #10
    al
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    Quote Originally Posted by joysof
    Should be 'well enough'.
    Thanks.
    Хорошо не просто там где нас нет, а там где нас никогда и не было.

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    What about a translation for "leave well enough alone" ??
    Yay! I broke 200 posts!

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    Quote Originally Posted by emka71aln
    What about a translation for "leave well enough alone" ??
    Do you mean this is a proverb too? Never heard this one.

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    Well, not exactly a proverb, but it is one of those things people say a lot. It means the same as "don't fix it if it ain't broke"
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    Quote Originally Posted by emka71aln
    Well, not exactly a proverb, but it is one of those things people say a lot. It means the same as "don't fix it if it ain't broke"
    "Не тронь говно - не воняет".

    Sorry, if it sounds rather rude.

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    Haha, that's awesome. Is that a pretty common thing to hear?
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    Not very much common, I think, but this dictum is, I'd rather say, somewhere in the background of every Russian mind.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Propp
    Quote Originally Posted by emka71aln
    Well, not exactly a proverb, but it is one of those things people say a lot. It means the same as "don't fix it if it ain't broke"
    "Не тронь говно - не воняет".

    Sorry, if it sounds rather rude.
    But it is not the same thing

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