взять кого-либо под белые ручки

English translation: apprehend, take into custody, bust, catch redhanded

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:взять кого-либо под белые ручки
English translation:apprehend, take into custody, bust, catch redhanded
Entered by: Henry Schroeder

09:27 Apr 10, 2009
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Russian term or phrase: взять кого-либо под белые ручки
- Где он, заслуженный покой? Нет его, Клоп. Есть старость, отравленная страхом, как бы этот великовозрастный эмбрион не учудил чего, как бы не взяли его под белые ручки... И мы не всегда можем им помочь...

Контекст: Мужина говорит с собакой о том, как "великовозрастный эмбрион", т.е. молодой негодяй, залез ему в окно и украл вещи.

Замечание: Это "им помочь" тоже относится к этому вору. Рассказчик раньше объяснил, что этот мужина думает о нем в мн. ч.

Прежде всего мне нужно понять общюю суть выражения. Точный перевод не нужен.
Henry Schroeder
United States
Local time: 07:53
apprehend
Explanation:
with an undertone of "politely but firmly"
Selected response from:

Anton Konashenok
Czech Republic
Local time: 13:53
Grading comment
Спасибо всем!!!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5apprehend
Anton Konashenok
4 +1catch red-handed, put under arrest
Yelena Pestereva
4 +1take into custody
Eric Candle
4 +1(...and that he is going to) get busted
Michael Korovkin
4см.
Anna Fominykh


Discussion entries: 11





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
catch red-handed, put under arrest


Explanation:
catch red-handed, put under arrest

Yelena Pestereva
Israel
Native speaker of: Russian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Susan Welsh: with "catch red-handed," it's more "colorful"
43 mins
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
apprehend


Explanation:
with an undertone of "politely but firmly"

Anton Konashenok
Czech Republic
Local time: 13:53
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 32
Grading comment
Спасибо всем!!!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Anna Bordanova (Semyonova)
12 mins
  -> Спасибо, Аня

agree  Angela Greenfield: absolutely not necessarily "red-handed". literally means "politely escorted to the detention facility" (if "politely" is appropriate here :-)))
4 hrs
  -> Спасибо, Анжела

agree  Olga Cartlidge: It is a euphemism for getting nicked of course ( just like места не столь отдаленные used to be a euphemism for jail or labour camp) and Angela s description is spot on.
9 hrs
  -> Спасибо, Ольга

agree  Daria Isakova
9 hrs
  -> Спасибо, Дарья

agree  Jim Tucker (X)
1 day 4 hrs
  -> Thank you, Jim
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
см.


Explanation:
Example usage of this expression:
"Ломоносовский турнир
Видючи теперь, как *возьмут вас за белые ручки и поведут* в опочивальню, ... могу сказать, чувствительна, что вот взял бы я его, вырезал булатным ножом из "...
rus.1september.ru/articlef.php?ID=200800507 - 13k

Henry, to give you the sense of deeper meaning of this expression I gave you an example of its usage. From it you can see that it is archaic and somewhat poetic expression. In this dialog you are translating, it gives us the sense that the man is concerned about the fate of the robber, he may look on to him like a father since the robber is so young and already lost his way. This a very russian thing, when, for example older women would call soldiers "Сыночки', it reflects their empathy towards them, so young and being put in a harm's way.
I hope you got the sense of this expression. The translation should reflect the feeling of being involuntary put away, arrested, but you may want to use either high or poetic diction to reflect the full meaning.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 hrs (2009-04-10 18:36:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Also, "им помочь" has a similar meaning,it means: "them, young people, who lost their way" with a sense of pity.

Anna Fominykh
United States
Local time: 06:53
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 12
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11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
take into custody


Explanation:
"Исторически - "Вывести под белы ручки" означает "с уважением, расположением, оказывая честь". В настоящее же время в иронически переосмысленном виде широко распространено в значении "выпроводить вон", а например, в блатном фольклоре - в значении "арестовать, повязать". Именно последнее значение и используется в источнике.

Eric Candle
Local time: 07:53
Works in field
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 32

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Oxana Snyder: основываясь на коннотациях,в которых мне доводилось встречать это выражение,согласна с вашим объяснением.ни о какой аристократии тут речи не идет!и поэзии тоже никакой.Достаточно расхожее ироничное выражение с обозначенным вами значением.Во как завернула)
23 hrs
  -> thank you
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1 day 9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
(...and that he is going to) get busted


Explanation:
...
Forget about the excursions into the Red Eeric's age and other nostalgia for Good Ole Russia.
The contemporary cons use the terms as readily as the goy iesi dobrye molodtzy...
The overaged embrio will get busted soner or later, that's all there is to it.

Michael Korovkin
Italy
Local time: 13:53
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 174

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Daria Isakova: sincerely hope we'll avoid the excursion to the 90's
1 hr
  -> why? The 90s have defined the way the Russians (their "freely elected" Prime Minister including) speak now. Horrible but unavoidable. How much of its own past is Russia going to be embarrassed for? Prefer to remain "the people without history"?

agree  Oxana Snyder: I agree with your interpretation.My only concern would be stylistics.Your variant is colloqual while the Russian phrase is bookish and a bit sarcastic (but I wouldnt call it archaic or poetic).Anyways,it's up to the asker if it fits the style of the text.
1 hr
  -> Thanks Oksana. Mine might be a bit colloquial (not much); but "apprehended", with all due respect is a police-sergeant's xilo-language. Translated back it would sound worse than "задержан“. Дело, конечно, их...нее.
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