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Thread: "fishbowl community"

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    "fishbowl community"

    In English "fishbowl" can mean "a bowl for fish" or it can mean "a place where there is no privacy" (because it's made out of glass, you see).
    So a "fishbowl community" is a community where everyone knows everything about everyone else.
    Is there an analogue word/phrase/idiom in Russian for "fishbowl" (in the 2nd sense) and "fishbowl community"?

    Thank you
    If I was kiddin' you, I'd be wearin' a fez and no pants. (Lennie Briscoe)

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    Завсегдатай Crocodile's Avatar
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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quote Originally Posted by quartz
    So a "fishbowl community" is a community where everyone knows everything about everyone else.
    Is there an analogue word/phrase/idiom in Russian for "fishbowl" (in the 2nd sense) and "fishbowl community"?
    I think the Russian equivalent might be: "как в деревне".

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    Завсегдатай Basil77's Avatar
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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    I live in a town with a population about 150 thousand people. And sometimes when I meet new people (I mean complete strangers) it appears we have common acquaintances, heard similar local rumors etc. In this case I usually think: "Our town is just a big village" (большая деревня).
    There is also a saying about that:
    На одном конце деревни чихнешь, на другом ответят: "будь здоров".
    Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!

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    Старший оракул CoffeeCup's Avatar
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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quote Originally Posted by quartz
    a "fishbowl community" is a community where everyone knows everything about everyone else.
    I would say "У них вся жизнь как на ладони". So the idiom is "как на ладони" - "as if it was placed onto your palm". When you put something onto your palm it is close to your eyes and you can examine it in all the details. Nothing remains hidden.
    So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quote Originally Posted by Basil77
    I live in a town with a population of about 150 thousand people. And sometimes when I meet new people (I mean complete strangers), it happens that we have common acquaintances, heard similar local rumors, etc.[/i]
    Quote Originally Posted by CoffeeCup
    When you put something onto your palm, it is close to your eyes and you can examine it in all its details.
    variations: examine it in all its details; examine all the details; examine it in detail


    Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. And for the amusing saying, Basil. I love Russian sayings like that.
    If I was kiddin' you, I'd be wearin' a fez and no pants. (Lennie Briscoe)

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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quartz, а ты не могла бы привести несколько фраз, в которых бы употреблялось fishbowl (во втором значении)? Возможно, что в разном контексте понадобятся совершенно разные русские выражения.
    В основном безвреден.

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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quote Originally Posted by Vadim Mo
    Quartz, а ты не могла бы привести несколько фраз, в которых бы употреблялось fishbowl (во втором значении)? Возможно, что в разном контексте понадобятся совершенно разные русские выражения.
    Bah! I'm like Marx -- terrible at coming up with examples. Linen and coats?! Really?!


    "It is difficult to preserve privacy in an increasingly transparent fishbowl."
    "Living in a fishbowl world requires ingenuity"
    "Our neighbours knew our every move. The fishbowl was becoming unbearable."

    etc.
    If I was kiddin' you, I'd be wearin' a fez and no pants. (Lennie Briscoe)

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    Старший оракул CoffeeCup's Avatar
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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quote Originally Posted by quartz
    "Living in a fishbowl world requires ingenuity"
    We have another idiom which is suitable here "под микроскопом" (in the front of the microscope). The idea for the idiom is the same as for "как на ладони".
    Если твоя жизнь под микроскопом, будь хитроумнее.
    So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

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    Re: "fishbowl community"

    Quote Originally Posted by CoffeeCup
    Quote Originally Posted by quartz
    "Living in a fishbowl world requires ingenuity"
    We have another idiom which is suitable here "под микроскопом" (in the front of the microscope). The idea for the idiom is the same as for "как на ладони".
    Если твоя жизнь под микроскопом будь хитроумнее.
    very cool
    we say exactly same thing: "under the microscope"
    If I was kiddin' you, I'd be wearin' a fez and no pants. (Lennie Briscoe)

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