черта лысого найти можно

English translation: with the Internet, you can find every f... thing imaginable

19:45 Aug 28, 2006

Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Russian term or phrase: черта лысого найти можно

Я совсем не давно убедилась в том, что в интернете, как говориться, и черта лысого найти можно!

If possible, I would like to retain the черт reference for effect.
Thanks in advance

Simon Hollingsworth KudoZ activity Questions: 355 (2 open) (2 without valid answers) (9 closed without grading) Answers: 244 United Kingdom
Local time: 16:56

English translation:with the Internet, you can find every f... thing imaginable

Explanation:
with the Internet you can find any info you want

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Note added at 19 mins (2006-08-28 20:05:18 GMT)
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Any damn thing imaginable/possible

Selected response from:

Kirill Semenov
Ukraine
Local time: 18:56

Grading comment

I agree with the "any damn thing" version, but this fits very nicely. Thank you Kirill and to everyone else for such a range of responses
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +9

with the Internet, you can find every f... thing imaginable

Kirill Semenov

5 +6

wrong usage!

Natalie

there isn't such a thing as wrong usage - not for grading

sergey (X)

3 +1

can find anything [and anyone], be it the devil himself

Alexander Demyanov

any damnedest thing there is

Irene N

Devil's eye

anatolia iosifidou

On the Internet you can find the Devil's virgin grandmother!

mayakal

There's a tailless devil to be found

Dorene Cornwell

It's the devil's own job to find anything at all

David Knowles

a hell of a lot of (various things to find on the Internet)

zhop (X)

all hell break loose with the internet

ochkarik

Discussion entries: 12

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

14:48 Sep 6, 2006

I'm re-reading it now - what a mess... Absolutely illegible... The thought seems to be there, but my typing... Sorry guys, I was completely stoned at the time. I know, it's a lame excuse, but that's all I have... Apologies Simon, colleagues... :-((

Simon Hollingsworth

United Kingdom

ASKER

05:17 Aug 31, 2006

Vladimir, thank you for the additional feedback. Thanks to a number of the responses here, I understand that the phrase was used incorrectly. Rather than not being able to find anything, you can find everything. Therefore, Kirill's response, in my opinion, is the best version.

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

19:35 Aug 30, 2006

The complete saying goes: " Ну и чего ты там хочешь поймать (найти)? Черта лысого?"

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

19:23 Aug 30, 2006

Dear Simon. Прелесь этой фразы в том что в интернете можно найти все, даже черта лысого, чего, по-определению, сделать нельзя. So you may go with smthng like: You may find anything in the Inet, even maybe the true Satan's name".

Vladimir Dubisskiy

United States

01:49 Aug 29, 2006

Probably the speaker meant that Internet is so tangled \ complex nowadays that one can hardly find anything there - than there is nothing wrong with the usage.

Vladimir Dubisskiy

United States

01:46 Aug 29, 2006

лысый черт - it's even more rare than yeti \ Bigfoot \ Sasquatch :-)))

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

22:51 Aug 28, 2006

Simon, are we talking of a real wron thing, as Natalie spacified, or are we talking of the wonge usage if it here?

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

22:21 Aug 28, 2006

Great request to the moderators and/or owners of the side - pleas, make the font larger, at least in the comments.... Thanks!

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

22:19 Aug 28, 2006

On the other hand your Russian is deteriorating, sorry. So, is there enought of further Pickering?

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

22:19 Aug 28, 2006

Sergey, my 235 hits may mean that I'm a rare visitor to these fora. On the other hand if you compare my English wins to that of Russian you'd conclude that I have work here with knowledge of both of those languages, or command of them, if I dare say.

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

22:17 Aug 28, 2006

Sergey wrote: "... i speak russian you know :-)"

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X)

22:16 Aug 28, 2006

Sergey wrote: "люкайкину: 235 hits are pretty existent to me. a great deal of russian native speakers are using this expression in that sense. dictionaries only register usage, they do not dictate usage...
i can't quite understand what you are saying the

Answers

12 mins confidence:

There's a tailless devil to be found

Explanation:
No one cares about the devil's hairdo, but all devils have tails?

Dorene Cornwell
Local time: 08:56
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24

17 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +6

wrong usage!

Explanation:
Hi Simon, it's an example of wrong usage of the expression (the more than there are other mistakes: недавно, говорится). "Черта лысого" is used here in the sense of "you may find anything you like"; at the same time this expression should be used for complete negation os something:

Чёрта (или беса) лысого (прост.) — употребляется для выражения полного отрицания по поводу какого-л. предложения, соображения и т. д.: нет, не…, ничего не…, совсем не… — Черта лысого вырастет здесь капуста! Камень у нас да голый мох. Соколов-Микитов, На пробужденной земле. — Вот и попробуй разберись! Сбытчику-то легко, он грамотный, и председатель тоже институт кончал, а вот тот, который, как я, черта лысого поймет. Воронин, Деревянные пятачки.
http://feb-web.ru/feb/mas/MAS-abc/12/ma220623.htm

Natalie
Poland
Local time: 17:56
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 36

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you for this, Natalie

16 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +9

with the Internet, you can find every f... thing imaginable

Kirill Semenov
Ukraine
Local time: 18:56
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 148

Grading comment

I agree with the "any damn thing" version, but this fits very nicely. Thank you Kirill and to everyone else for such a range of responses

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Vladimir Lioukaikine (X): there's nothing you can fird on the Internat, to put it literally

18 mins

-> ah, lad, I just tried to insert *f...* or *damn* somewhere here

agree

Sara Noss: I totally understand David's logic, but in this case I agree that you can find any old crap on the internet! ;)

35 mins

-> and not only old but also bald :-)

agree

Andrey Belousov (X): Freakin correct!

1 hr

agree

zhop (X)

2 hrs

agree

Blithe: that's what the author means

7 hrs

agree

Crio: I think not "every" but rather "any"

7 hrs

agree

Zamira B.

9 hrs

agree

tanyazst

11 hrs

neutral

Dorene Cornwell: any damn thing imaginable is probably a tad softer equivalent

1 day 3 hrs

agree

Marta Argat: "Any damn". :) That's what she wanted to say, though said that in a wrong way (either on purpose or because of her ignorance)

1 day 7 hrs

28 mins confidence:

It's the devil's own job to find anything at all

Explanation:
This may be the complete opposite of what's meant here, but I think that's the original meaning. Another alternative: sometimes on the internet you can find fuck all! ("Cats/snowballs in hell" also come to mind.)

But it's possible the meaning here is: On the internet you can find even the devil himself!

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-08-28 20:58:44 GMT)
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I suppose the real meaning is: On the internet you can find the impossible, even a bald devil! Flying pigs might be a more modern version.

David Knowles
Local time: 16:56
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 160

Notes to answerer

Asker: Yes, although your translation is correct, the context requires the opposite. DoU H8 internet blog-speak like I do?

48 mins confidence:

there isn't such a thing as wrong usage - not for grading

Explanation:
235 hits of "черта лысого найти можно" on nigma.ru in this sense.
if russian native speakers are using this expression so widely then dictionaries need to be brought up-to-date...

7. Машкин чердак. || Типа, форум. Вот, думаю, классно, в сетях же черта лысого найти можно, сейчас поищу. Поискала. Обломалась. Ничего, только пара упоминаний, собственно, ...
Найти слова | www.xepb.ru/XEPb/Fmargo?a=l&offset=214

А по слову "рыб" насыпалось аж 5 страниц ссылок (правда там и Рыбаковы разные, импорт рыбы и другая муть). Если грамотно в реестре поискать — черта лысого найти можно.
http://www.fishing.ru/Forum/024/2003/12/11235959

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Note added at 55 mins (2006-08-28 20:41:28 GMT)
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i think 'be it the devil himself' suggested by demyanov and then later by david is the closest in english...

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-08-28 21:15:13 GMT)
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люкайкину: 235 hits are pretty existent to me. a great deal of russian native speakers are using this expression in that sense. dictionaries only register usage, they do not dictate usage...
i can't quite understand what you are saying there in english to be honest... i speak russian you know :-)

sergey (X)
Local time: 16:56
PRO pts in category: 50

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

can find anything [and anyone], be it the devil himself

Explanation:
-

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-08-28 21:04:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It doesn't really matter in this case whether the author used the idiom correctly (i.e. in the generally accepted way) or not. It's clear to any Russian speaking reader that the author means "can find anything", not "nothing". A translator's job is to deliver the meaning, not to edit the original.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-08-28 22:04:25 GMT)
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Just like certain words in Russian may mean "very good" or "extremely, irreversibly bad", depending on wider context and speaker's intend.

Alexander Demyanov
Local time: 11:56
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 84

2 hrs confidence:

a hell of a lot of (various things to find on the Internet)

Explanation:
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/hell of a lot of

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-08-28 22:56:07 GMT)
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you will find a bald devil and whatnot

zhop (X)
Local time: 18:56
Native speaker of:

Russian

3 hrs confidence:

all hell break loose with the internet

Explanation:
не из интернета

ochkarik
Local time: 11:56
Native speaker of:

Russian,

Ukrainian

11 mins confidence:

any damnedest thing there is

Explanation:
I doubt "hell" or "devil" would retain the effect.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2006-08-29 02:09:47 GMT)
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Честно говоря, не знаю, мыслила ли авторша столь же глубоко, как и я:-) но только насчет неправильного употребления... На самом деле совершенно неожиданно получилось весьма эффектное противопоставление - если черта лысого или его эквивалент больше нигде, никто и никогда найти не может, то вот как раз в Интернете-то и можно.

Нигде кроме, как в Моссельпроме...

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Note added at 6 hrs (2006-08-29 02:11:05 GMT)
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С таким расчетом я, собственно, и предложила свой вариант.

Irene N
United States
Local time: 10:56
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 21

17 hrs confidence:

Devil's eye

Explanation:
You can find even Devil's eye in the Internet

anatolia iosifidou
Local time: 18:56
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Greek,

Russian

1 day 17 hrs confidence:

On the Internet you can find the Devil's virgin grandmother!

Explanation:
I must agree this could be considered rather un-PC by some, though!

mayakal
Local time: 17:56
Native speaker of:

Bulgarian

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черта лысого найти можно

English translation: with the Internet, you can find every f... thing imaginable

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