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показать кукиш

English translation: make a fig

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:показать кукиш
English translation:make a fig
Entered by: Olga Layer

17:28 Jun 29, 2007
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Russian term or phrase: показать кукиш
Нет ли у кого-нибудь идей, как можно перевести на английский выражение "показать кукиш", сохраняя этот специфический жест - то есть, к примеру, замена на "give a finger" в данном случае не подойдет, нужна именно эта конкретная реалия и значение.
nattash
Local time: 12:07
make a fig
Explanation:
Found this really interesting explanation on "Answers.com". It mentions the many different meanings of the gesture, including the Russian one:
http://www.answers.com/topic/hand-gesture
<<...Fig sign

The "fig sign" is an ancient gesture with many uses.The "fig sign" is a gesture made with the hand and fingers curled and the thumb thrust between the middle and index fingers, or, rarely, the middle and ring fingers, forming the fist so that the thumb partly pokes out. In some areas of the world, the gesture is considered a good luck charm, in others it is considered an obscene gesture, and in still others it is used in the "I've got your nose!" child's game. This gesture is also the letter "T" in the American Sign Language alphabet. In International Sign, which otherwise uses the same manual alphabet, "T" has been modified to avoid possible offense.

In ancient Rome, this gesture was called the mano fico, and was a fertility and good luck charm designed to ward off evil. Although this usage has survived in Latin America, where carved images of hands in this gesture are used in good luck talismans, in many other cultures, such as Indonesia, Turkey and Russia, the sign has come to have an insulting meaning roughly equivalent to "screw you", based on the thumb being seen as representing a clitoris or sexual intercourse; this usage goes back at least 300 years, being attested in The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto XXV). In modern Russia this gesture is used mostly by kids with the meaning "screw you/no way". The same meaning is expressed by adults either with the bent elbow (rude, very emphatic, non-classy), or with the "finger" (used mostly by city dwellers). The "finger" made it to Russian gesture language from Western movies. In modern Italian, the gesture is called the mano fica, taken to mean "fig hand", as the Italian word for "fig" is fico (ficus in Latin). The obscene connotations of the gesture may partly originate from the fact that a similar Italian word, fica, is a slang term referring to the vulva. This sexual connotation may date back to ancient Roman times; some Roman amulets combine a phallus and a mano fico gesture. In the Indian sub-continent, this gesture is taken as threatening symbol.

The gesture is also used in a trick played by adults and parents, with the intention of convincing their child that his or her nose has been ripped off. Someone, usually an adult, grabs at the child's nose and forms the fig sign, exclaiming, "I've got your nose, I've got your nose!" The thumb is supposed to be the child's removed nose.

Many neopagans use this gesture as a symbol of the mother goddess to help adherents identify one another. In this context, it is referred to as the "Sign of the Goddess". Its counterpart is the corna sign.>>

Selected response from:

Olga Layer
Local time: 06:07
Grading comment
Спасибо большое - в самом деле, очень интересная информация! Отдельное спасибо Андрею Вдовину за примеры, очень любопытно!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +8flip the bird / thumb nose at
Anna Makhorkina
4 +2make a fig
Olga Layer
4 +1cock a snook
Vladimir Baranich
3 +1but it hardly exists
Vladimir Dubisskiy
3 +1shove it
The Misha
3 +1a few examples
Andrew Vdovin
3to produce/show an obscene (hand) gesture
Tevah_Trans
4 -1to shake a fist at somebody
stanna (X)


  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +8
flip the bird / thumb nose at


Explanation:
or your "give the finger" :)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 20 mins (2007-06-29 17:49:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Thumb nose at" would be a more elegant version, while "flip the bird" is pretty much the same thing as "give the finger" (which is, clearly, quite rude...:))

These are the closest by meaning, since the exact "kukish" is not used in English-speaking environment...

Anna Makhorkina
United States
Local time: 06:07
Native speaker of: Native in UkrainianUkrainian, Native in RussianRussian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Knowles: "thumb nose at" - certainly for UK
6 mins
  -> Thank you, David! :)
neutral  Vladimir Dubisskiy: not "flip the bird" as it is the same as 'finger' thus it does not follow the asker's request :-)) Indeed, it's more on the softer side :-))
12 mins
  -> True. The "bird" does not sound as crude, as "the finger," though... :)
agree  Iryna Tuerk (X)
16 mins
  -> Thank you, Iryna!
agree  Alexander Demyanov
25 mins
  -> Thank you, Alexander! :)
agree  Dorene Cornwell: Actually I think flipping the bird is a splendid euphemism for giving the finger though I also agree that thumb one's nose at is another way to display indifference or disregard.
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Dorene!
agree  Mikhail Kropotov
4 hrs
  -> Thank you, Mikhail!
agree  The Misha
6 hrs
  -> Thank you!
agree  Arkadi Burkov
23 hrs
  -> Спасибо, Аркадий!
agree  Andrew Vdovin
1 day 11 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
but it hardly exists


Explanation:
Look, the English reading audience may not understand neither gesture of "kukish" nor the meaning.

kukish, figa, dulya - if you want перевести на английский выражение "показать кукиш", сохраняя этот специфический жест - then it is:

to show (a) 'kukish' (with further description of the gesture and what it means). It can be "to show kukish*" and then at the ned of the page
* kukish - a specific gesture (description) meaning (description)
or
you may incorporate the proper description into your text.

Otherwsie [and by all laws of translation] you shall search for the equivalent in TL (English), which would express the same meaning by means which exist in TL (target language). And here the 'multifunctional' 'giving a finger' would inevitably come forward :-))

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2007-06-29 17:51:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Nice artilce about 'finger':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_finger

flip the bird / bird etc/ means the same 'finger', but, actually, the meaning does not correspond with some of the 'kukish' meanings :-)

For example 'kukish' never (as far as i know) bears the meaning of "f** off" but a 'finger' does. And the list can be extended.

Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 05:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
PRO pts in category: 36

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Emil Tubinshlak
3 hrs
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24 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
to produce/show an obscene (hand) gesture


Explanation:
This would make it not quite so definite. Because in the US the gesture itself isn't meaningful - but this may help you relate the effect it might produce.

Tevah_Trans
Local time: 06:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 64
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
make a fig


Explanation:
Found this really interesting explanation on "Answers.com". It mentions the many different meanings of the gesture, including the Russian one:
http://www.answers.com/topic/hand-gesture
<<...Fig sign

The "fig sign" is an ancient gesture with many uses.The "fig sign" is a gesture made with the hand and fingers curled and the thumb thrust between the middle and index fingers, or, rarely, the middle and ring fingers, forming the fist so that the thumb partly pokes out. In some areas of the world, the gesture is considered a good luck charm, in others it is considered an obscene gesture, and in still others it is used in the "I've got your nose!" child's game. This gesture is also the letter "T" in the American Sign Language alphabet. In International Sign, which otherwise uses the same manual alphabet, "T" has been modified to avoid possible offense.

In ancient Rome, this gesture was called the mano fico, and was a fertility and good luck charm designed to ward off evil. Although this usage has survived in Latin America, where carved images of hands in this gesture are used in good luck talismans, in many other cultures, such as Indonesia, Turkey and Russia, the sign has come to have an insulting meaning roughly equivalent to "screw you", based on the thumb being seen as representing a clitoris or sexual intercourse; this usage goes back at least 300 years, being attested in The Divine Comedy (Inferno, Canto XXV). In modern Russia this gesture is used mostly by kids with the meaning "screw you/no way". The same meaning is expressed by adults either with the bent elbow (rude, very emphatic, non-classy), or with the "finger" (used mostly by city dwellers). The "finger" made it to Russian gesture language from Western movies. In modern Italian, the gesture is called the mano fica, taken to mean "fig hand", as the Italian word for "fig" is fico (ficus in Latin). The obscene connotations of the gesture may partly originate from the fact that a similar Italian word, fica, is a slang term referring to the vulva. This sexual connotation may date back to ancient Roman times; some Roman amulets combine a phallus and a mano fico gesture. In the Indian sub-continent, this gesture is taken as threatening symbol.

The gesture is also used in a trick played by adults and parents, with the intention of convincing their child that his or her nose has been ripped off. Someone, usually an adult, grabs at the child's nose and forms the fig sign, exclaiming, "I've got your nose, I've got your nose!" The thumb is supposed to be the child's removed nose.

Many neopagans use this gesture as a symbol of the mother goddess to help adherents identify one another. In this context, it is referred to as the "Sign of the Goddess". Its counterpart is the corna sign.>>



Olga Layer
Local time: 06:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Спасибо большое - в самом деле, очень интересная информация! Отдельное спасибо Андрею Вдовину за примеры, очень любопытно!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yuri Geifman: given the requirements, I think this is the only option... thanks for the info btw, very enlightening :)
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Yuri! :)
neutral  Mikhail Kropotov: I read up on this while researching a very different topic. The article is worth reading, indeed. But I don't think this translation would be understood by almost anyone.
3 hrs
  -> Perhaps. However, even Shakespeare used the word "fig" as an insult (see "Iago"), and the meaning of "fig" as a gesture of contempt figures in quite a few dictionaries. See for example: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fig
agree  daruuntje (X): love your idea :)
6 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
cock a snook


Explanation:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cock a snook

или give the finger (to)

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give the finger


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2007-06-29 21:59:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

David прав, выражение такое же классическое как и наша фига в нос.


    Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cock+a+snook
    Reference: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/give+the+finger
Vladimir Baranich
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  David Knowles: I considered suggesting this, but I thought it might be a little old-fashioned!
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, David!
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
shove it


Explanation:
It sure does convey the meaning, but no fingers are involved. See if it may fit your context. Otherwise, I think you are hopelessly stuck with the bird or finger, different connotation or not.

The Misha
Local time: 06:07
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 96

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  stanna (X)
1 hr
  -> Thanks.
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1 day 12 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
a few examples


Explanation:
Вот несколько примеров, как обычно переводятся подобные выражения в литературе – надеюсь, поможет:

Ведь если мне, например, когда-нибудь, расчислят и докажут, что если я показал такому-то кукиш, так именно потому, что не мог не показать и что непременно таким-то пальцем должен был его показать, так что же тогда во мне свободного-то останется, особенно если я ученый и где-нибудь курс наук кончил?
(Ф. Достоевский, Записки из подполья)
If, for instance, some day they calculate and prove to me that I made a long nose at someone because I could not help making a long nose at him and that I had to do it in that particular way, what FREEDOM is left me, especially if I am a learned man and have taken my degree somewhere?
(F. Dostoyevsky, Notes from the Underground)


- Питает! Вот ей, не угодно ли этого?- вскричал я, в негодовании показывая кукиш.
(Ф. Достоевский, Пождросток)
“Cherishing! What doesn’t she deserve?” I cried with a gesture of contempt.
(F. Dostoyevsky, A Raw Youth)


– А что имеет? – зловеще спросил офицер я встал. – Может быть, вот это? – Он сложил кукиш и поднес его к моему лицу. – Дулю! – сказал он. – Дулю с маком стоит ваше советско-еврейское подданство. Мне начхать на него с высокого дерева.
(К. Паустовский, Повесть о жизни)
'And what has?' He rose ominously to his feet. 'This?' He made an obscene gesture and shook his fist. 'Think I care a fig for your Soviet-Jewish citizenship? I spit on it. I don't give a damn.'
(K. Paustovsky, Story of Life)




Andrew Vdovin
Local time: 17:07
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 88

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  stanna (X): How interesting! Scarlett O'Hara in the "Gone with the wind" also says: "I don't give a fig..." (in a sense "I don't care")
1 day 10 hrs
  -> Thank you!
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
to shake a fist at somebody


Explanation:
This is the most common way to say this in US.
Also, for instance: "She shook her clenched fist and screamed:I hate you"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-06-29 19:55:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Well, without context it is really hard to guess:-))

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 days1 hr (2007-07-02 18:49:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

В словаре Даля: Кукиш - кулак, сжатая ладонь, кука, шиш, дуля, ... в бранном значении... непристойное движение...

stanna (X)
Local time: 03:07
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Arkadi Burkov: неудачный Вы предложили вариант - кукиш не является ни жестом угрозы, ни отчаяния. Посмотрите его значение в словаре.
23 hrs
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