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About LinkBacksСтоять над душой у кого-либо.
Is this what it means?
Стоять над душой у кого-либо.
Is this what it means?
This is just one particular case. It's more like when you do something and someone stands behind your back and keeps watching you work and inserting 'clever' remarks or hurrying you up.
Send me a PM if you need me.
To me, not at all. Not even a "particular case".Originally Posted by Johanna
In Russian, all nationalities and their corresponding languages start with a lower-case letter.
Hmmm... perhaps to be (or "to act like") a backseat driver would be a good English equivalent. Literally it refers to a passenger in a car who's sitting behind the driver and always offering "helpful" advice and criticism as though he's an instructor in a driving school: "You're going too fast! Now you're going too slow! Don't forget to use your turn-signal! You're too close to the car in front of you! You could pass that other guy now -- why don't you pass him? You know, it's starting to get dark -- you should turn on your headlights! " (etc.)
Metaphorically, anyone who is "standing behind your back and watching you work", as Ramil describes, could be told: "Dammit, I wish you'd stop being a backseat driver!" Of course, sometimes you can't say this aloud, but you can THINK it!
Говорит Бегемот: "Dear citizens of MR -- please correct my Russian mistakes!"
In order to be a backseat driver one needs to talk, and the talking is supposed (by backseat drivers themselves) to be helpful.
People who стоят над душой do not need to talk at all, or they may say things like "are you sure?" or "hurry up" etc. It's something that bosses often do when they are worried about work you are doing (in my experience).
Exactly.People who стоят над душой do not need to talk at all, or they may say things like "are you sure?" or "hurry up" etc. It's something that bosses often do when they are worried about work you are doing (in my experience
Often it's just a silent and opressive presense. It can be an impatient boss who's checking on your progress every 3 minutes, or just a curious bystander, who's standing right behind your shoulder and watching you. God, it's annoying.
Что значит "стоять над душой"?
http://otvet.mail.ru/question/10737067/
PS. I had a boss who liked to "стоять над душой". He appeared behind your back a few times a day, and was just standing there looking into your monitor to see what you were doing, occasionally asking "How is it going?", "When will you finish?" or "???", "...", "Hmmm" and making other unintelligable sounds. It was a nightmare.
I was shocked a little then I get that In vino veritas = Что у трезвого на у ме, то у пьяного на языке reading Throbert's post. I never put a parallel betwen these proverbs. And I always translated In vino veritas as Drinking is only true way of lifeIf you stop and think about that you will see that the meaning is still the same - In wine the truth is. A drunken man unfastens his tongue and reveals the truths he would otherwise have preferred to conceal.We Russians apply another meaning to this latin proverb: Истина в вине - Drinking is a true thing.
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
I always thought that it meant: "You'll find a truth in vine", which was open for interpretation, really.I was shocked a little then I get that In vino veritas = Что у трезвого на у ме, то у пьяного на языке reading Throbert's post. I never put a parallel betwen these proverbs. And I always translated In vino veritas as Drinking is only true way of life
Probably the strongest association was that it can help to open one's mind or to see the true meaning of things. :"": (but not in the "make it your way of life" sense, more like 'vine is a last resort of a confused person").
In fact, it was on of these ambigous sayings that you never knew what to make of.
As a former student of Latin, I promise you that In vino veritas means: "If you want a man to speak 100% honestly, get him stinkin' drunk."
But by the way, вино is "wine". A "vine" is a long, climbing, rope-like plant that Tarzan swings on. (My translation dictionary says that "vine" = лоза -- I guess that лоза is related to лезть, and basically means "climber"?)
I didn't mean that you were wrong.
BTW, most Russians know this phrase due to Blok's poem "Stranger". No wonder many of them got confused (nothing in the poem points to connection betwen drunkness and honesty). An extract:
А рядом у соседних столиков
Лакеи сонные торчат,
И пьяницы с глазами кроликов
«In vino veritas!» кричат.
[...]
В моей душе лежит сокровище,
И ключ поручен только мне!
Ты право, пьяное чудовище!
Я знаю: истина в вине.
Full poem is here: http://www.staratel.com/poems/begXX/block/neznakom.htm
Упс. Спасибо. )))But by the way, вино is "wine". A "vine"..
Maybe they are related, but "лоза" means "vine" and nothing more.
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
when pigs fly - когда рак на горе свистнет
Явно нерусская женщина наблюдала за горящей избой, когда её сбил конь.
I like it.But I don't use it. Or only use it about myself with the meaning "I can't talk". Because, yeah, it may sound a bit rude, though if used among friends and jokingly/ironically, it's probably ok.
I think these are synonyms for "the pot calling the kettle black":
look who's talking
you/I can't talk (example from Harry Potter-1, ch. 6: "Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron [about Neville complaining that he'd lost his toad]. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
you're a fine one to talk
that's rich, coming from you
What about the Russian "В чужом глазу соломинка видна, в своём не замечаем и бревна". Is it equivalent to "the pot calling..." or different?
I'd say it's an exaggerated example of "пилить (кого-либо)" (to nag).
Uh-huh, good one.
More proverbs:
one man's meat is another man's poison -- что русскому хорошо, то немцу смерть
out of the mouths of babes -- устами младенца глаголит истина (I believe there was a tv program with that name in the 90s!)
people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones -- не руби сук, на котором сидишь
it never rains but it pours -- пришла беда, отворяй ворота
you reap what you sow -- что посеешь, то и пожнёшь
there is no smoke without fire -- нет дыма без огня
strike while the iron is hot -- куй железо пока горячо
the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence -- там хорошо, где нас нет
Alice: One can't believe impossible things.
The Queen: I dare say you haven't had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
Interesting, I never heard the rhyme version of this proverb. Besides, it's more common to say "соринка" instead "соломинка", it makes a little more sence.
Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!
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