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Ну знаете...
с хищно очерченным разлетом черных бровей
Oct 15, 2008 22:02
16 yrs ago
Russian term

Женщина с большой буквы Ж

Russian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature book title
Working version - Female Starts with "F"

Apprehension: might be too vulgar. The point is to be sarcastic/smart/funny.

TIA.
Proposed translations (English)
4 Female with a capital F
4 +8 Woman with an ASSet
4 +3 Woman in every sense of the word.
4 +3 Woman With a Capital B
4 Always write "Lady" with a capital letter
4 "W" Is for Woman
3 +1 A real classy broad, a real classy lady, classy lass,
2 +1 WOMAN
3 glamor puss

Discussion

Mark Berelekhis (asker) Oct 16, 2008:
I really don't think the controversy is about a big ass. That would be rather crude, whereas the author has a smart and snappy writing style. Again, I think the focus should be personality - modern, spunky, assertive; hence the capital letter Ж.
N Watterson (X) Oct 16, 2008:
that she is moodier, more emotional, gets PMS worse than other women (negative). But if you are alluding to physical characteristics, then there are other variants; junk in the trunk, built like a brick house, etc.
N Watterson (X) Oct 16, 2008:
So is the implication that she has "junk in the trunk?" In (American) English, when we say "woman with a capital W," it means that she is all woman. This might mean that she is smarter, sexier, classier than other women (positive), or it might mean
Angela Greenfield Oct 16, 2008:
We do have a "W" magazine after all. So what's obscene about that? :-)
Mark Berelekhis (asker) Oct 15, 2008:
Angela, it is my understanding that yes - the Ж refers to just that. But I think it's only somewhat vulgar, not at all obscene. The protagonist is a "modern woman" - smart, spunky, Sex-and-the-cityish...
SirReaL Oct 15, 2008:
Who are we to spoil the author's fun? :)
Angela Greenfield Oct 15, 2008:
Сюзан, я согласна. Я просто думаю, что даже по-русски это не звучит как комплимент, т.к. большая Ж ассоциируется с большой пятой точкой, извините, или с буквой на общественном туалете. Отсюда и вульгарный вариант перевода. :-)
Susan Welsh Oct 15, 2008:
Without more context, it's hard to tell what the meaning is. Many of the answers proposed so far seem rather weird.
Angela Greenfield Oct 15, 2008:
Марк, мне кажется что идет аналогия с Ж на туалете. Так или нет? Если так, то я бы сказала "a woman with a capital W".

Proposed translations

2 days 8 hrs
Selected

Female with a capital F

Female with a capital F


note: F is used in various constructions when one wants to allude to an obscene term but does not want to say it.

Capital letters are used for emphasis like this.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "After much deliberation, this is what the author ended up choosing. Thank you everyone for lots of great and creative answers!"
+1
11 mins

WOMAN

simply write the word in capitals
Peer comment(s):
agree palilula (X)
1 day 3 hrs
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2 hrs

glamor puss

Maybe this is too "1950s," but it seems to fit the idea: a suggestion of obscenity that could be "plausibly denied" as just being just a Hollywood-inspired idiom. I couldn't think of any way to get the "toilet humor" in without it being juvenile and silly.
(We also have a President named "W," but I won't go there....)
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+8
3 hrs

Woman with an ASSet

Эльвира Барякина, автор романа "Женщина с большой буквы Ж", явно неравнодушна к этой букве (одна из её предыдущих книг носит название "Ж. замечательных людей").
Иллюстрация суперобложки, а также авто-презентация героя романа "I have a big ass" (http://baryakina.com/index1.php?razdel=literature&do=showboo... - не оставляет сомнения в назначении пресловутой буквы.
Кстати, книга выпущена в переводе под названием "The Woman" (?!)
Note from asker:
The book hasn't been published yet. The translation on the website is the author's own, one she's not all that happy with, which is why I'm here. She's also not too ecstatic about "The Woman," which is why we're here :)
Peer comment(s):
agree Angela Greenfield : I love it... :-)
1 hr
thank you
agree Susan Welsh : Me too. Mark, how can it suggest toilets and NOT be a bit crude? ("The Woman" is a terrible title!)
1 hr
thank you
agree Aleksey Chervinskiy
3 hrs
thank you
agree Alexander Kondorsky
5 hrs
thank you
agree Sergey Gorelik : Super!
5 hrs
thank you
agree Nata Wise
6 hrs
thank you
neutral SirReaL : Kind of taking on my idea #6 aren't you?
7 hrs
thank you (Михаил, к сожалению, все мои усилия были направлены на ознакомление с романом и его автором, совершенно не оставив времени на обращение к Вашему варианту #6..."
neutral danya : great minds, huh?
9 hrs
thank you
agree svetlana cosquéric
10 hrs
thank you
agree Tatiana N. (X)
11 hrs
thank you
Something went wrong...
+3
4 hrs

Woman in every sense of the word.

This can be a compliment - or just the opposite of it, depending on the tone of the voice with which it's said.
Peer comment(s):
agree Kurt Porter : Best choice of all the above (without any context)...I assume the author meant it as a compliment.
28 mins
Thank you, Kurt. Since the asker said "The protagonist is a "modern woman" - smart, spunky, Sex-and-the-cityish...", this being a compliment is a strong possiblity.
agree diana bb
7 hrs
Thank you, Diana!
agree R. E. M : this one is great! =)
12 hrs
Thank you, R.E.M.!
Something went wrong...
+3
5 hrs

Woman With a Capital B

Since it's a title, shorter might be better: "With a Capital B"

Peer comment(s):
agree Elene P. : with a capital letter
2 hrs
Thanks :)
agree danya : I like the subtle ring about it
7 hrs
Thanks, Danya
agree Tatiana N. (X) : exactly :)
9 hrs
Thx Zyz
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7 hrs

Always write "Lady" with a capital letter

*
Something went wrong...
1 day 13 hrs

"W" Is for Woman

I think this works well as the title of a novel, whereas the humorous translation proposed by ecandle does not.
It conveys dignity and hints at sexuality, both at once.
(With a subtle suggestion that the era of "W" meaning GW Bush is a thing of the past.)
I like this much better than my earlier suggestion (I haven't been able to get Mark's intriguing question off my mind for two days!)
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+1
5 days

A real classy broad, a real classy lady, classy lass,

На выбор, в разных степенях вульгарности. Тут есть и толика ехидности, и 'snappy''.
Example sentence:

"She's a real classy broad, not like anything you've seen."

"She's out of your league. The girl's got class."

Peer comment(s):
agree evgeniabennett : Whoever started this thread was joking. A Russian would NEVER say "Женщина с большой буквы Ж." The proper phrase omits the "Ж" at the end. Adding a "Ж" makes it a huge farce. We would say something completely different, like "she's every inch a lady."
149 days
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