Thread: мымра

Ребята! Как можно перевести на английский слово "мымра"?
Да, да, например, как в "Служебном романе".

Мымра means a woman which is ugly and not young, but the word is not very spiteful (i.e. it's softer than vixen or harridan). In the subtitles for "Служебный роман" I saw "old stick", but I'm not sure it fits... I don't like this variant. Is there some English word for what I've described?

P.S. Gramota.ru says: Мымра - morose unpleasant woman

Originally Posted by Оля

Ребята! Как можно перевести на английский слово "мымра"?
Да, да, например, как в "Служебном романе".

Мымра means a woman which is ugly and not young, but the word is not very spiteful (i.e. it's softer than vixen or harridan). In the subtitles for "Служебный роман" I saw "old stick", but I'm not sure it fits... I don't like this variant. Is there some English word for what I've described?

P.S. Gramota.ru says: Мымра - morose unpleasant woman

I don't think there is a good word for this in English.

"Hag" is one word, but it is not at all polite. "Crone" is the same. "Blue hair" is a softer term for an old woman, but it is not common and some people think it is an insult.

It is common to use a euphemism in a situation like this: "She's not as young as she used to be." My favorite euphemism ever (this is for someone who was fat): "if the word thin had ever applied to her, it was a long time ago."

In American culture people pretend that no one ever gets old, so we don't have good words for this

Мымра is not actually about age (though you probably have to be at least in your 30's to qualify ) It's more about general nastiness and/or sloppiness/bad looks. So it's just a very unpleasant and peevish woman, as Olya said.

Originally Posted by Оля

In the subtitles for "Служебный роман" I saw "old stick", but I'm not sure it fits... I don't like this variant. Is there some English word for what I've described?

P.S. Gramota.ru says: Мымра - morose unpleasant woman

Maybe "old stick" was a slight mistranslation:

old bat . . . f someone refers to an old person, especially an old woman, as an old bat, they think that person is silly, annoying, or unpleasant. INFORMAL, OFFENSIVE

English Collins Dictionary - English Definition & Thesaurus http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/old%20bat

A similar term:

old bag - an ugly or ill-tempered woman; "he was romancing the old bag for her money"

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/old+bag

old bag - an ugly or ill-tempered woman; "he was romancing the old bag for her money"

Sounds very much like "старая кошёлка". ))

As gRomoZeka said, it's not about age. The most important thing is that the woman is ugly/morose/unpleasant (and not very young).
She's not silly or annoying AT ALL! I don't think a morose person can be silly and annoying.

Maybe this variant is suitable:
frump
- a woman who is dowdy, drab, or unattractive

Hi ruPashka!!! I like this variant, thank you so much!
I don't know if you're a native speaker, so... Natives, what do you say about "frump"??

Originally Posted by Оля

Natives, what do you say about "frump"??

I haven't heard that term being used very much here in the United States, but if you like it, you will have to add an adjective in order to include the concept of "morose", like in the following examples:

She was a sad frump. Her scant grey hair was strained tightly back and plastered in a tiny, tight ring behind. Her smart little face was a map of wrinkles. . . . Her shabby old beaver coat had done service for years, her hat dated back to prehistoric times.

Reynolds, Minnie J., "The Crayon Clue" 121 (1915) http://books.google.com/books?id=wrdEAA ... &ct=result

by my 30s and i turned into a miserable frump! a stay at home. size 22 lard arse.

i dont want to be a miserable frump...
thats not me!

I blame my frumpiness/ weight gain/ dont care approach on the breakup with ex.

I was totally shattered and broken up into tiny peices, chewed up and spat out by him and that blonde skinny moron he shacked up with.

Bitter?..oh yes...very...and for a long time too.

Devonbabe Posted 01 September 2005 11:41 PM http://community.homeandhealthtv.co.uk/ ... 03591/p/12

Frumpy means old and boring. Not exactly what you wanted, but it might be the closest thing. Sometimes it refers to a person, and sometimes to clothing.

Originally Posted by paulb

Frumpy means old and boring. Not exactly what you wanted, but it might be the closest thing. Sometimes it refers to a person, and sometimes to clothing.

I think it fits well; "frumpy" does mean "old and boring" but can still be applied to a younger woman if she dresses that way. It does mostly describe appearance (clothes, hair etc.) rather than personality.

Did you really see "Служебный Роман" with English subtitles? I was told by at least two distributors that it does not exist with English subtitles. I would love to find a subtitled copy if one is truly out there. Any thoughts or suggestions? I started translating it myself, which led me to the same dilemma of how to translate "мымра." "Frump" seems an excellent, if not perfect, alternative, by the way.

Originally Posted by mag777moon

Did you really see "Служебный Роман" with English subtitles? I was told by at least two distributors that it does not exist with English subtitles. I would love to find a subtitled copy if one is truly out there. Any thoughts or suggestions? I started translating it myself, which led me to the same dilemma of how to translate "мымра." "Frump" seems an excellent, if not perfect, alternative, by the way.

You can download them here http://www.divxsubtitles.net/page_subti ... ?ID=105036

There is no any DVD with English subtitles, that's true.

Originally Posted by ruPashka

Maybe this variant is suitable: frump - a woman who is dowdy, drab, or unattractive

I've never heard the noun form, but the adjective form "frumpy" fits the situation well. For an unattractive, not so young woman I would use the phrase "a frumpy old lady."

"Why is John hanging out with that frumpy old lady?"
"Because she always buys him dinner."

"Frump" as a noun is not commonly used (at least not in the US). I don't think I've ever used it. However, "frumpy" as an adjective captures the meaning of мымра very well because it is funny in that it depicts an unattractive woman creature. I often say that I am "in a frumpy mood" when I don't do my hair or wear bad clothes. It's not terribly offensive if said with a grin.