Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: "Play off of" and "Have a go of it"

  1. #1
    Administrator MasterAdmin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    MasterRussian.com
    Posts
    1,730
    Rep Power
    16

    "Play off of" and "Have a go of it"

    Please, help me translate/understand the phrases "play off of" and "Have a go of it" in the following sentences.

    What Ventiv is playing off of is the major sort of the macro trend that we see occurring in the pharma industry.
    *Ventiv is a company name

    Let’s face it. The industry is having a tough go of it now and pharmaceutical growth has been sharply lower.”

    Thanks.
    ~ Мастерадминов Мастерадмин Мастерадминович ~

  2. #2
    DDT
    DDT is offline
    Завсегдатай DDT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    I have given up the Gambling, the Wine and the Cows!.. I'm in St Petersburg Russia
    Posts
    3,368
    Rep Power
    17
    I'll start off with " having a tough go of" because it is simple to explain.

    It just means that they are going through difficult times. They are struggling.


    playing off of

    Reacting to.
    Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself. - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

  3. #3
    Administrator MasterAdmin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    MasterRussian.com
    Posts
    1,730
    Rep Power
    16
    Thank you. I couldn't find those in a dictionary.
    ~ Мастерадминов Мастерадмин Мастерадминович ~

  4. #4
    Завсегдатай
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Seventh
    Posts
    4,113
    Rep Power
    18
    Hmm, I have heard "play off of" many times, but isn't "off of" gramatically incorrect?
    Ingenting kan stoppa mig
    In Post-Soviet Russia internet porn downloads YOU!

  5. #5
    DDT
    DDT is offline
    Завсегдатай DDT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    I have given up the Gambling, the Wine and the Cows!.. I'm in St Petersburg Russia
    Posts
    3,368
    Rep Power
    17
    I believe it is bad English but never the less, this is an expression that I here all the time.
    Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself. - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

  6. #6
    Почётный участник
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    109
    Rep Power
    13
    It's not bad English, it's just the language evolving! :P

  7. #7
    DDT
    DDT is offline
    Завсегдатай DDT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    I have given up the Gambling, the Wine and the Cows!.. I'm in St Petersburg Russia
    Posts
    3,368
    Rep Power
    17
    Remind me to squash you later.
    Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself. - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

  8. #8
    Почётный участник
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    109
    Rep Power
    13

  9. #9
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    онтарио, канада
    Posts
    39
    Rep Power
    13
    Questions like these are fun lol...let's see if I know my own language...

    play off of = react to
    have a go = give something a try; however:
    have a tough go = have a rough time

  10. #10
    Завсегдатай
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Serving Polonium-flavoured Sake at a London Japanese Restaurant
    Posts
    2,662
    Rep Power
    15
    It doesn't apply here, but it's also interesting to note that people can be "played off of" each other. Essentially it means deliberately and strategically pitting people against one another.
    "After learning that Janet hated Debbie, Susan played them off each other so that she could take Steven to the dance."
    That's actually a horrible example, but it's what I thought of at the moment.

    Also, it's used when talking about business or diplomatic negotiations sometimes, in the same manner.
    Заранее благодарю всех за исправление ошибок в моём русском.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 14
    Last Post: March 24th, 2010, 04:03 PM
  2. Replies: 2
    Last Post: March 16th, 2010, 12:13 PM
  3. How to say "Bless our home" and "Happy Holidays" in Russian?
    By Ruby Daniels in forum How do you Say... in Russian?
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: December 19th, 2009, 03:29 PM
  4. Replies: 2
    Last Post: February 17th, 2009, 08:07 PM
  5. Poem ..."Play my death queen"
    By eMAD in forum General Discussion
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: March 21st, 2006, 03:43 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


Russian Lessons                           

Russian Tests and Quizzes            

Russian Vocabulary