Thread: Can't get the meaning of phrase

Hi there.
I'm watching The Bourne Supremacy movie. There's such a dialouge of two men there:

- Operation Treadstone
- Never heard of it
- That won't fly
...

What does 'that won't fly' mean? Is it something like Russian "это не прокатит"?
I didn't find such phrase in my idioms dictionaries.
Thanks.

There's another sentence from the movie.
The situation is - agent Bourne escaped, and when the boss knows about it (am I right here? I wanted to say "узнал об этом"), she's telling to another agent such a sentence: 'When I ask you where we stand, I had better be impressed'.
I think I got the meaning of this sentence, but I still can't understand, why it's not like this: 'When I ask you where we stand, I'll better have to be impressed' or this: When I ask you where we stand, I should better be impressed'. Could someone explain me, please?

Originally Posted by blacky

Hi there.
I'm watching The Bourne Supremacy movie. There's such a dialouge of two men there:

- Operation Treadstone
- Never heard of it
- That won't fly
...

What does 'that won't fly' mean? Is it something like Russian "это не прокатит"?
I didn't find such phrase in my idioms dictionaries.
Thanks.

It means 'that's not an acceptable/ believable answer'.

Originally Posted by blacky

There's another sentence from the movie.
The situation is - agent Bourne escaped, and when the boss knows about it (am I right here? I wanted to say "узнал об этом"), she's telling to another agent such a sentence: 'When I ask you where we stand, I had better be impressed'.
I think I got the meaning of this sentence, but I still can't understand, why it's not like this: 'When I ask you where we stand, I'll better have to be impressed' or this: When I ask you where we stand, I should better be impressed'. Could someone explain me, please?

узнал об этом - found out about it

Her sentence is correct and both of yours are wrong. I can see why the tenses are confusing but I don't know how to explain why they're like that, that's just how that kind of subjunctive sentence is formed.

Can you just put some simpler examples of such sentences here, please?

"I/you/he had better" (often contracted to I'd better etc.) - это довольно обычное выражение.
Обычно это совет или сообщение о том, как лучше поступить.
I'd better leave ~ мне лучше уйти/я, пожалуй, пойду
Но иногда это произносится с угрожающей интонацией:
You'd better stop annoying me.
Tell him he had better keep his mouth shut.
При этом подразумевается "а не то хуже будет"

Форма именно такая: "had better <do something>"

Originally Posted by translationsnmru

"I/you/he had better" (often contracted to I'd better etc.) - это довольно обычное выражение.
Обычно это совет или сообщение о том, как лучше поступить.
I'd better leave ~ мне лучше уйти/я, пожалуй, пойду
Но иногда это произносится с угрожающей интонацией:
You'd better stop annoying me.
Tell him he had better keep his mouth shut.
При этом подразумевается "а не то хуже будет"

Форма именно такая: "had better <do something>"

Аа-а-а, вот оно что!
Спасибо большое. А то я уже полез в учебники смотреть где это я прохлопал ушами в согласовании времен.
Спасибо.

Ты прав, что прохлопал. В учебниках эта тема охвачена широко, мне кажется.

Originally Posted by alexB

Ты прав, что прохлопал. В учебниках эта тема охвачена широко, мне кажется.

Пример такого предложения чуть попроще?

Вот срисовал из того, что было поблизости:

Set Expressions Used to Denote Unreality:
a) would rather (sooner)+infinitive
b) had better+infinitive
In these expressions the first element (the modal verb will, the verb to have) is used in the past tense to express the unreality of the action named by the infinitive. The action is characterized as problematic.
The expression would rather (sooner) +infinitive denotes preference.
E.g. 1. I’d much rather walk.
Я б охотней пошёл пешком (сейчас).
2. She’d rather have stayed at home.
Она бы предпочла (тогда) остаться дома.

The expression had better+infinitive denotes advice.
Pattern:
Smb had better (not) do smth
E.g. 1. You had better wait here.
Лучше подождите здесь.
2. You had better not eat this salad.
Тебе лучше не есть этот салат.

Stop

All that I have is all that you've given me
(ooh)
Did you never worry that I'd come to depend on you
(oooh)
I gave you all the love I had in me
Now I find you lied and I cant believe its true
Oooh whoa oh

You better stop (stop)
Before you tear me all apart
You better stop (stop)
Before you go and break my heart
Ooooh oooh oooh you better stop

Time after time I tried to walk away
But its not that easy,
When your soul is torn in two
So I just resigned myself to it everyday yeh
And now all that I can do is to leave it up to you aah oooh

Ooh whoa oh
You better stop (stop)
Before you tear me all apart
You better stop (stop)
Before you go and break my heart
Ooooh oooh oooh you better stop

Ohh ooh whoa you better stop
If you love me
Now the time to be sorry
I wont believe that you'd walk out on me baby
Ohhh yeaahhh
Oooh!

Ooh whoa oh
You better stop (stop)
Before you tear me all apart
You better stop (stop)
Before you go and break my heart

No whoa whoa you'd better stop, stop
Oooh whoa oh
You'd better stop, stop stop
You'd better stop, stop

Originally Posted by Wiki

"Stop!" is a song by English singer Sam Brown, which was later covered by English R&B singer Jamelia.

Клип Джамелии на эту песню:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC4fJkmIv0E

What does 'that won't fly' mean? Is it something like Russian "это не прокатит"?

Originally Posted by Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th edition (2005)

fly
14. [v] (North American English) to be successful:
It remains to be seen whether his project will fly.
IN BASEBALL

Originally Posted by Zaya

Originally Posted by Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 7th edition (2005)

fly
14. [v] (North American English) to be successful:
It remains to be seen whether his project will fly.

Эта дефиниция не совсем точна. Точнее, несколько ограничена.
Вот что говорит американский словарь (Random House Unabridged Dictionary):

12. Informal. to be acceptable, believable, or feasible: It seemed like a good idea, but it just wouldn't fly.
Т.е. в приведённом Блеки примере человек имеет в виду, что объяснение неприемлемо. Как, в общем, Скотчер и объяснил.

Значит, я что-то пропустила. )

In the forum that I often visit there has recently been installed the "thanks" mod. And there's such the phrase there: "Thanks says" in the users' profiles.
How would you translate this phrase into Russian? How do you understand this phrase?
Let's say, there're two men: a man A and a man B. When the man B click the "thanks" button, the man A's thanks-counter grows up and "Thanks says" is changed.
Well, who should I refer "Thanks says" to? The man A (how many times he's been thanked) or the man B (how many times he's clicked the "thanks" button)?
I hope you undestand my question.
Thanks. =)

Is that the exact text? It does not seem right.

поправка--
Please correct any mistakes I may make.

Originally Posted by chaika

Is that the exact text? It does not seem right.

Yes, that's the exact text. Here is a screenshot: http://www.onlinedisk.ru/view/93885 (click on the picture to get it bigger).

Originally Posted by chaika

поправка--
Please correct any mistakes I may make.

Thank you. But is my signature not correct?

Please correct any mistakes I may make - пожалуйста, поправьте любые ошибки, которые я могу допустить
Please correct any mistakes made by me - пожалуйста, поправьте любые ошибки, которые я допустил

Originally Posted by blacky

Please correct any mistakes made by me - пожалуйста, поправьте любые ошибки, которые я допустил

any mistakes I made тогда уж.

Please correct any mistakes made by me - пожалуйста, поправьте любые ошибки, сделанные мною.
по-английски звучит коряво.

Ok.
What about "Thanks says"? What does that mean?

Originally Posted by blacky

What about "Thanks says"? What does that mean?

It means that somebody is saying thanks, that is somebody is expressing gratitude. So in the example at the link you provided you have received 3 "thanks" from a person or persons that clicked your "thanks" button a total of 3 times.

thanks . . . noun plural . . . 2 : an expression of gratitude <return thanks before the meal> —often used in an utterance containing no verb and serving as a courteous and somewhat informal expression of gratitude <many thanks>

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary (2009) http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thanks

Thanks Says John . . . Lions chairman John G. Berylson has thanked Lions fans for their support this season.

http://www.millwallfc.co.uk/page/NewsDe ... 99,00.html

Normally you might see it written this way:

"Wow," says Erin. "You look great. You look fabulous."
"Thanks," says Mary. "You do, too. Good luck to you and the baby. I'm surprised how good you look."

http://www.cleveland.com/erinsrace/inde ... erin4.html