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14:23 Nov 6, 2011
Russian to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - Slang / slang
Russian term or phrase:на мыло
Добрый день! Подскажите, как адекватно перевести выражение "На мыло!"
Речь идёт о возмущенных криках зрителей во время недавней скандальной премьеры: "Режиссёра на мыло!"
Спасибо!
For a bad actor, "Get the hook!" could work, but the director is not on stage, so some options might be:
"Time to retire!"
Since everybody knew it was Chernyakov's production, "director/producer" is implicit; in English you wouldn't shout "Time for the director to retire!" though you might yell out his name: "Chernyakov, time to retire!"
Variation:
"Time for the glue factory!"
That's a bit more pointed, and closer to the origin of the Russian expression, but I think it would be less likely to be shouted out.
The "direct" meaning (as you call it) doesn't really matter much. Today my wife said "I am going to kill this useless horse" (he refused to do flying changes...) while everybody, including her, knows how much she adores the guy and how she would never hurt him for all the gold in the world. So, the hyperbolic term "kill" cannot, and should not, be taken seriously. Contrary to what you assert, I think lots of people know what на мыло means: that's what they did with old or damaged horses: sent them to the glue and soap factories (still do, I hate to say...). Of course, nobody seriously thinks to send a socker impire or a play director to be processed into a detergent: the question, I repeat, is not of the meaning per se, but of our ability to pick a mirror-idiom in the target language, so as to produce the same or similar emotional response in the foreign "recepient". Remember? “Гоги, ты любишь помидоры?“ “Кушать - люблю. А так - не очень“.
So it is with "на мыло": one can translate is as anything, from "kill the bugger" to "geddauddahere!". Actually, the latter may be a good idea.
Говоря "на мыло", сейчас вряд ли кто-то помнит о прямом значении и вряд ли также высказывает (имеет в виду) что-то больше, чем неодобрение, неприятие. Это далеко от "долой", которое несет более возвышенный оттенок, требование кого-то свергнуть или ликвидировать что-то господствующее. Кого-то на мыло - это значит, что кто-то очень плохой, никуда не годится, мол, фу ему, палец вниз.
а, Большой театр...
"Впервые (на памяти нынешних зрителей) зал раскололся на две части: одни бурно аплодировали и кричали "Браво", другие – прямо по ходу действия – скандировали "Позор" и, перекрикивая хор с оркестром, ядовито комментировали происходящее на сцене. Судя по всему, это была не заранее нанятая клака, а искренне возмущенные поклонники традиции. Они орали и свистели, по преимуществу, в первой картине третьего акта (где Людмила, окруженная официантами, массажистами и медсестрами, томится в стерильно-белом дворце Черномора и там же пляшет лезгинку атлетического сложения культурист)...." http://www.svobodanews.ru/content/article/24380488.html
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
11 mins confidence:
Down with ....!
Explanation: ,
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 14 mins (2011-11-06 14:37:59 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
"долой", "на мыло" - смысл един.
Andrey Belousov United States Local time: 21:24 Native speaker of: Russian PRO pts in category: 23
Notes to answerer
Asker: Это скорее "долой!"
Asker: но стилистика разная. Выкрик "долой режиссера" звучал бы несколько странно :))
Explanation: I can't imagine moviegoers in America chanting anything agains the director of a film. Americans don't tend to view directors as artists the same way Russians do - unless they're true film buffs. The only exception I can think of is Mel Gibson's recent movie on the Passion of the Christ - the media gave him a lot of attention for directing that film. However, the audience in a movie theater wouldn't chant "Down with the director" or any other variant - they would just yell "booooo!!!" and shout out derogatory things about the movie, not the director (individually- not in unison).
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 1 hr (2011-11-06 16:03:48 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Oh, I see. Sorry, I assumed that the crowd was chanting because I've heard chants of "судью на мыло" at football games and talent competitions, when the entire audience chanted together... In this case, I agree with rikka's suggestions (except the one about the soap factory). They sound natural and real.
Amy Lesiewicz United States Local time: 20:24 Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: The shouts were individual, rights. With this opera production, the public's anger was clearly directed against the producer. It was Dmitry Chernyakov and his latest creation, Ruslan and Lyudmila.
"Boo" was also heard in the audience.
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +1
