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E зам
не на стогнах
Jul 24, 2009 17:47
14 yrs ago
Russian term

что Бог послал

Russian to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature
- Вот, закусим, что Бог послал - сказал ХХХ, приглашая УУУ к столу. Oh, boy, where do I even get these ones? Thank you, folks.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 Whatever God has provided
4 +5 please share/join me in my modest meal
4 +4 pot luck
3 +2 pot luck
5 ..,thank you God,...
4 +1 let's have a bite of whatever we have, by the grace of God
3 whatever food God blessed me with
3 Odds and ends that are on hand/in the fridge

Discussion

Judith Hehir Jul 24, 2009:
Pot luck doesn't work. I agree despite the citations.
Tevah_Trans Jul 24, 2009:
Agree with Angela. Pot luck is not appropriate, Ilf and Petrov notwithstanding (and English translation of Ilf and Petrov shouldn't be regarded as gospel).
Angela Greenfield Jul 24, 2009:
См. 2-ой параграф здесь: http://books.google.com/books?id=yPrbad-HoUIC&pg=PA56&lpg=PA...
Angela Greenfield Jul 24, 2009:
1 глава Старого завета на англ. языке о еде: http://bible.cc/genesis/1-29.htm

Переводят: Food that God has given
sokolniki Jul 24, 2009:
Анжела совершенно права Еда вскладчину не подходит
Angela Greenfield Jul 24, 2009:
pot luck Это еда вскладчину, когда участники приносят, кто что может. Я не думаю, что это подходит к вашему контексту.

Proposed translations

+3
11 mins
Selected

Whatever God has provided




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Note added at 13 mins (2009-07-24 18:00:52 GMT)
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или What God has provided
Note from asker:
I was a bit skeptical at first, but the phrase does google, and there are some food-related hits too. This is definitely a possibility. Many thanks for your input.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tatiana Lammers
5 mins
neutral Victor Zagria : ... provided for/us with?
37 mins
agree Rachel Douglas : With "What God has provided"; not "whatever" in this context. Whether he says literally this, or what Mark proposed, depends on how he talks in general. For "food-related" - Thanksgiving hymn: "God our maker doth provide for our wants to be supplied..."
2 hrs
agree Vladimir Alexandrov : Rachel Douglas+ "What God has provided"
20 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks much. This fits best into my context. Many thanks to everyone, Mark and incomparable Signor Korovkin in particular."
+2
12 mins

pot luck

аллюзия на Ильфа и Петрова? )
Peer comment(s):
agree gutbuster
10 mins
благодарствую!
neutral SveR (X) : Вообще-то, принято считать, что Potluck, a form of group gathering, usually involving a meal.
18 mins
pot luck Noun take pot luck Informal to accept whatever happens to be available: we'll take pot luck at whatever restaurant might still be open Collins Essential English Dictionary 2nd Edition 2006 © HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006
agree Victor Zagria
34 mins
thank you Victor!
Something went wrong...
1 hr

whatever food God blessed me with

whatever food God has bestowed on me
whatever food God sent/gave me
Something went wrong...
+5
17 mins

please share/join me in my modest meal

Lingvo is giving "take pot luck," but I've never actually heard it used, so...


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-07-24 19:12:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That's one reason I love me a novel -- everything is much more flexible. Anyhow, my answer was driven mainly by the tone, which seems very similar to the source.
Note from asker:
Yep, Lingvo is dead wrong (why am I not surprised?), and they way potluck is used in English refers to something totally different - just as David explained below. This is for the novel, by the way, so my hands are in no way tied here: if nothing else, I can always transliterate the original Russian phrase for extra flavor and then give a translation along the lines of what you suggested in the notes. Cheers and muchos gracias.
Peer comment(s):
agree Ekaterina Filatova
10 mins
Thank you, Kat!
agree Vitals : bearing in mind the Asker's comment about the food-laden table, I think this answer should be good
53 mins
Many thanks, Vitals.
agree sokolniki
1 hr
Thank you, Sokolniki.
agree Alexei Shmouratko
1 hr
Thank you, ashiva.
agree Rachel Douglas : This could work, depending on how the character talks in general. I agere that "pot lucK" won't work; it used to mean "whatever there is," but has come to be a type of party invitation, where each invitee brings some food.
2 hrs
I've never encountered it myself, so I wrote it off as archaic English initially. Thank you, Rachel.
Something went wrong...
+4
20 mins

pot luck

This seems to be an appropriate expression.
It was also used by John Richardson in his translation of the Soviet-era bestseller The Twelve Chairs by Ilf and Petrov.

According to the Freedictionary,
Pot luck is "Whatever food happens to be available for a meal, especially when offered to a guest: Having arrived unannounced for supper, we had to take potluck."


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-07-24 19:36:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"a host is inviting his guest to join him at the food-laden table" - that's exactly the situation described in The Twelve Chairs
Example sentence:

Without further hesitation the bashful Alchen invited the fire inspector to take pot luck and lunch with him.

Pot luck that day happened to be a bottle of Zubrovka vodka, home-pickled mushrooms, minced herring, Ukrainian beet soup containing first-grade meat, chicken and rice, and stewed apples.

Reference:

http://lib.ru/ILFPETROV/ilf_petrov_12_chairs_engl.txt_Piece40.03

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/potluck

Note from asker:
Thanks for trying, but unfortunately, this is not it. David's comment above is in fact quite telling: everyone brings something in for a makeshift meal. That's potluck all right. The implications of what I have here, are quite different: a host is inviting his guest to join him at the food-laden table. No one brings anything in. Thus, it is no potluck. Thanks for your help anyway.
Peer comment(s):
agree gutbuster
3 mins
agree Mari_aka_Shkoda : отличное пояснение! thnx
22 mins
agree Victor Zagria
23 mins
agree David Knowles : Also "potluck supper" - everybody brings something, but who knows what until they arrive!
34 mins
Judging by what dictionaries say - I checked with Freedictionary and with Longman dictionary of contemp. English - it's не только еда вскладчину, но также "что найдётся", what's available
neutral Tevah_Trans : Dictionaries aren't gospel, and frequently suggest only academic/theoretical options. I think that while technically viable, this is not in context, imho.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

Odds and ends that are on hand/in the fridge

I would go with something casual here, because it seems like that's how it was meant from the phrase you quoted. "Pot luck" just doesn't sit well with me - though technically maybe correct, it is no longer used in this context, and Ilf&Petrov's translation is not an authority by the way. Language evolves in both cultures, and current English has moved on from the original "pot luck" meaning to the "vskladchinu" as Angela explained.

Perhaps I will submit a "how a language evolves" topic into the ATA annual conference agenda at some point, is how much this irks me.
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

..,thank you God,...

/
Something went wrong...
+1
5 hrs

let's have a bite of whatever we have, by the grace of God

sturgeon, caviar, Alba trufflles, foie gras, Chateau Lafit 69, Lord be blessed, amen!

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Note added at 13 hrs (2009-07-25 07:19:20 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Если сами пишете, то пишите уж тогда, с божьей помощью, “закусим ЧЕМ Бог послал“. А иначе Бог пошлет для закусывания удила или ЧТО там еще можно закусывать.

By the way, is it a victorian novel or somthing else from the 17 Hundreds? Why everybody agrees with "please share/join me in my modest meal"? All you need to go pre-dickensian is to add "my very good fellow" to it.
Just write: "let's have a bite (to eat)" and you'll have more brevity with less hypocrisy.
Note from asker:
Thank you, caro signor Korovkin. This might very well be it too, except it's a little long for my purposes. I am actually writing this text, not translating, so the responsibility for style, etc. is all mine too. In any case, grazie mille di cuore.
Peer comment(s):
agree Alexandra Taggart : There is a translation exists of:"Бог послал кусочек сыру"
20 hrs
Thanks, Alexandra. Actually, I'm gonna have a bite right now!
Something went wrong...
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