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посплетничать

English translation: to gossip (a little)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:посплетничать
English translation:to gossip (a little)
Entered by: Jack Doughty

12:02 Dec 4, 2004
Russian to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Russian term or phrase: посплетничать
Надо было за короткий срок попить, поговорить, подергать кого-то, разглядеть новую шляпу, посплетничать, обменяться коллекцией засушенных листьев, потолкаться, попрыгать, поразмяться и т. д.

О детях на перемене в школе. Как лучше перевести в данном контексте?
Get a couple pieces of gossip?
Andrew Vdovin
Local time: 22:18
to gossip
Explanation:
I don't see why you can't simply translate it as "to gossip". Or does it carry more meaning than that?

THIS WAS TOLD ME IN CONFIDENCE

by Ogden Nash.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip
In the course of a cosy little chat,
And I often wonder why
My neighbors all imply
I’m a pussy, I’m a tabby, I’m a cat.

Mrs. Dooley murmured “Miaow!” at me this morning;
Mrs. Cohen would have cut me if she could;
But my feelings aren’t so filmy
That names are going to kill me,
And a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip;
I am pleased with Mr. Moffat’s double life.
It’s provocative to watch
Mr. Taylor guzzle scotch;
I wonder if he knows about his wife?

The sheriff wants a word with Mrs. Walker;
She doesn’t pay her bills the way she should.
Yet I hear from several sources
That she gambles on the horses –
Oh, a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip;
It seems to lend a savor to my tea;
The deplorable mistakes
That everybody makes
Are calories and vitamins to me.

If I tell you Mrs. Drew is off to Reno,
You are not to breathe a word, that’s understood;
For I said to Mrs. Drew
That I heard it all from you –
Oh, a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip,
But for scandal or for spite there’s no excuse;
To think of Mrs. Page
Telling lies about my age!
Well, her tongue is like her morals, rather loose.

Mrs. Murgatroyd eats opium for breakfast,
And claims I’m running after Mr. Wood;
That sort of vicious slander
Arouses all my dander –
But a little bit of gossip does me good.




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs 25 mins (2004-12-04 15:27:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or maybe, to quote the above poem:
\"a little bit of gossip\".
Selected response from:

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:18
Grading comment
Thank you again, Jack! And, again, thanks to everyone else!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +9to gossip
Jack Doughty
4 +2to tittle-tattle
sergey (X)
4to gossip or natter
Ines Burrell
4tell a few tales / exchange some rumo(u)rs
Mikhail Kropotov
4here "to chat"
Vladimir Dubisskiy
3to have a chinwag
Mikhail Kriviniouk


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
посплетничать
to gossip or natter


Explanation:
.

Ines Burrell
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:18
Native speaker of: Native in LatvianLatvian, Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
посплетничать
tell a few tales / exchange some rumo(u)rs


Explanation:
Варианты.

Mikhail Kropotov
Germany
Local time: 17:18
Works in field
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 376
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
посплетничать
to tittle-tattle


Explanation:
4. Nightingale, who, in many other instances, was rather too effeminate in his
disposition, had a pretty strong inclination to tittle-tattle. ...
www.bartleby.com/302/1509.html

sergey (X)
Local time: 16:18
PRO pts in category: 51

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Anatoliy Babich: I liked yours
2 hrs
  -> thanks, i think it's less unkind than gossiping
agree  Dmytro Voskolovych: or just "tattle"
7 hrs
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +9
посплетничать
to gossip


Explanation:
I don't see why you can't simply translate it as "to gossip". Or does it carry more meaning than that?

THIS WAS TOLD ME IN CONFIDENCE

by Ogden Nash.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip
In the course of a cosy little chat,
And I often wonder why
My neighbors all imply
I’m a pussy, I’m a tabby, I’m a cat.

Mrs. Dooley murmured “Miaow!” at me this morning;
Mrs. Cohen would have cut me if she could;
But my feelings aren’t so filmy
That names are going to kill me,
And a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip;
I am pleased with Mr. Moffat’s double life.
It’s provocative to watch
Mr. Taylor guzzle scotch;
I wonder if he knows about his wife?

The sheriff wants a word with Mrs. Walker;
She doesn’t pay her bills the way she should.
Yet I hear from several sources
That she gambles on the horses –
Oh, a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip;
It seems to lend a savor to my tea;
The deplorable mistakes
That everybody makes
Are calories and vitamins to me.

If I tell you Mrs. Drew is off to Reno,
You are not to breathe a word, that’s understood;
For I said to Mrs. Drew
That I heard it all from you –
Oh, a little bit of gossip does me good.

Oh, I do like a little bit of gossip,
But for scandal or for spite there’s no excuse;
To think of Mrs. Page
Telling lies about my age!
Well, her tongue is like her morals, rather loose.

Mrs. Murgatroyd eats opium for breakfast,
And claims I’m running after Mr. Wood;
That sort of vicious slander
Arouses all my dander –
But a little bit of gossip does me good.




--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs 25 mins (2004-12-04 15:27:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or maybe, to quote the above poem:
\"a little bit of gossip\".

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 658
Grading comment
Thank you again, Jack! And, again, thanks to everyone else!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kevin Kelly: Maybe "do a bit of gossiping" to convey the sense implied by the Russian prefix "po"
3 mins
  -> Yes, good idea. Thank you.
agree  Kurt Porter
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  Yuri Geifman: to share some (juicy, latest) gossip
1 hr
  ->  That would be OK. Thank you.
agree  Anu Carroll: "spread a little gossip" The structure of the overall sentence will affect final word choices. Perhaps try something like "within a short time there were pigtails to be pulled, there was gossip to be spread..."
2 hrs
  -> Another improvement. Thank you.
agree  Kirill Semenov
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Сергей Лузан
2 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  David Knowles: especially in a list like this, "to gossip" seems quite enough. I enjoyed the poem!
3 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Anna Tomashevskaya
6 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Yelena.
219 days
  -> Thank you.
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
посплетничать
to have a chinwag


Explanation:
just an option...

Mikhail Kriviniouk
Local time: 16:18
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 8
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

13 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
посплетничать
here "to chat"


Explanation:
*

Vladimir Dubisskiy
United States
Local time: 10:18
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in UkrainianUkrainian
PRO pts in category: 36
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