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легок на подъем

English translation: he is up-and-go

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:легок на подъем
English translation:he is up-and-go
Entered by: xeni (X)

15:30 Apr 1, 2002
Russian to English translations [Non-PRO]
Russian term or phrase: легок на подъем
Речь идет о человеке.
Как бы это хорошо сказать по-английски? То, что дает Lingvo: nimble, light on one's feet, quick on one's toes, мне как-то не очень...
xeni (X)
he is "up and go"
Explanation:
Я слышала такое выражение...
Selected response from:

Tatiana Neroni (X)
Grading comment
Thank you, everybody! All answers are very good.
But Tatiana's answer helped me to find an expression I was looking for in the Webster dictionary:

get-up-and-go (gtpn-g)
n. Informal
Initiation of action motivated by energy and ambition.

I guess, he is all (get-)up-and-go would be the right way to describe somebody who is легок на подъем.


4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
2 +4a rolling stone
Jack Doughty
4 +1he is "up and go"
Tatiana Neroni (X)
5enthusiastic, keen, brisk, ardent (+Lingvo's)->>>
Vladimir Dubisskiy
4spontaneous nature
Ira Parsons
4a travelling man
Ludwig Chekhovtsov
4a rolling stone
OlgaP
4Always on a-go
Oleg Pashuk (X)
4mobile
Yelena.
4Agile
Jim Otis
4peppy or zippy
AndrewBM
4ready and willing; quick off the mark
GaryG
4ready to go; always ready to go
Dell (X)
3restless, energitic , impatient
1964


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
restless, energitic , impatient


Explanation:
restless, enegitic , impetiant

1964
Türkiye
Local time: 06:39
Native speaker of: Native in TurkishTurkish
PRO pts in pair: 3
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
spontaneous nature


Explanation:
A person who decides quickly to do something would be termed as having a spontaneous nature, ready to go at a moments notice. Quick to make a decision.

Ira Parsons
Local time: 04:39
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in pair: 8
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
a travelling man


Explanation:
По Василию Аксенову:
I used to be a travelling man,
Yo-yo-yo,
Until I hit Mcdonald's place,
Yo-yo-yo,...

(Я был бродягой, легким на подъем,
Йо-йо-йо,

Пока не споткнулся о Макдональда дом,
Йо-йо-йо,...)


Ludwig Chekhovtsov
Local time: 23:39
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
PRO pts in pair: 217
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36 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): +4
a rolling stone


Explanation:
If we're getting into pop music as Chekh suggests, how about a Rolling Stone?
(from the saying "A rolling stone gathers no moss", so it means someone always on the move).

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:39
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 14525

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  OlgaP: Sorry. I did not see your entry
7 mins
  -> That's OK, I often find myself in that position myself in respect of other people's answers.

agree  Olena Kurashova
8 mins

agree  helena590
16 mins

agree  Jim F.
1 hr

agree  DTec: не раз приходилось встречать именно в таком значении, хотя все-таки есть в этом выражении иной оттенок...именно 'перекати-поле', что все-таки отличается от 'легок на подъем'
1 hr

disagree  Ira Parsons: 'rolling stone' is a nice expression, but does not accurately describe someone who is легок на подъем.
1 hr

neutral  Yelena.: a slightly different meaning from the original
1 hr
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41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
a rolling stone


Explanation:
перевод "перекати поле" в Русско-Англ. словаре

OlgaP
PRO pts in pair: 8
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55 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Always on a-go


Explanation:
Sounds reasonable to me

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-04-01 16:29:25 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

\"Always ready to go\" will do also.

Oleg Pashuk (X)
PRO pts in pair: 619

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Yelena.: "on the go" generally means "very busy"
35 mins

neutral  Ira Parsons: As Yelena says, it means busy, not really appropriate here.
1 hr
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55 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
mobile


Explanation:
Mobile - tending to travel and relocate frequently (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language + Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English)



Yelena.
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:39
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in pair: 342
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
he is "up and go"


Explanation:
Я слышала такое выражение...

Tatiana Neroni (X)
PRO pts in pair: 148
Grading comment
Thank you, everybody! All answers are very good.
But Tatiana's answer helped me to find an expression I was looking for in the Webster dictionary:

get-up-and-go (gtpn-g)
n. Informal
Initiation of action motivated by energy and ambition.

I guess, he is all (get-)up-and-go would be the right way to describe somebody who is легок на подъем.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  DTec: мне нравится ;-)
58 mins
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Agile


Explanation:
Smirnitsky translates this as "light on one's feet." So maybe "agile" would be an acceptable alternatinve.

Just another variation.

Jim Otis
United States
Local time: 23:39

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Ira Parsons: Agile is more a description of their physical condition.
2 mins
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
enthusiastic, keen, brisk, ardent (+Lingvo's)->>>


Explanation:

there are shades of meaning (depending on the context), so among those shades you may even consider:
easy-going person
then
easy rider (negative connotation definitely)
Then the Lingvo's variants are taken from the great Dictionary by Smirnitsky and there they go with opposite meanings (лёгкий vs тяжёлый на подъём) and I don't think it's bad.


Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 22:39
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
PRO pts in pair: 1408
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
peppy or zippy


Explanation:
meaning lively, energetic, enterprising, full of vigor

(my tuppence)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2002-04-01 18:35:01 (GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

also: perky

AndrewBM
Ireland
Local time: 04:39
PRO pts in pair: 7
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
ready and willing; quick off the mark


Explanation:
From Sophia Lubensky's R-E Dictionary of Idioms, p. 476
Also "can go at the drop of a hat", "quick off the mark"

GaryG
Local time: 23:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in pair: 3430
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
ready to go; always ready to go


Explanation:
usually said about alert, energetic people.

Dell (X)
PRO pts in pair: 82
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