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настрогал детей, что чушек

English translation: Sired children prolifically like piglets.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:настрогал детей, что чушек
English translation:Sired children prolifically like piglets.
Entered by: Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.

14:36 Aug 2, 2015
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - History
Russian term or phrase: настрогал детей, что чушек
From a work on architectural monuments in Constantinople.

This was apparently a scene making fun of the Emperor Maurice. Clearly I am missing something.

А народ нашел человека, похожего на императора, надел на него черный плащ, венец из листьев чеснока и, посадив задом наперед на осла, стал возить по городу, распевая непристойные частушки, намекавшие на многочадие Маврикия.

«Нашел себе телку, да и потоптал ее, словно петух! И настрогал детей, что чушек. Господи, дай ему в лоб!»
Deborah Hoffman
Local time: 00:46
Sired children prolifically like piglets.
Explanation:
Proposition
Selected response from:

Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
United States
Local time: 00:46
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +3Sired children prolifically like piglets.
Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
5like rabbits
JW Narins
4Cranking out them babies like he was a stinking bunny
The Misha


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Sired children prolifically like piglets.


Explanation:
Proposition

Frank Szmulowicz, Ph. D.
United States
Local time: 00:46
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PolishPolish
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tatiana Grehan: I found this: "He slept with whichever woman he came across and sired children like rats."
11 mins
  -> It does convey the sense. Thank you, Tatiana.
agree  Natalia Olshanskaya Robinson
25 mins
  -> Thank you Natalia.
agree  Yuri Larin: X sired a litter of Y :)
54 mins
  -> Thank you Yuri. "Litter" was a wonderful suggestion by Mr. Mihail Kropotov (see the discussion), which Ms. Deborah Hoffman can weave into the answer as she sees fit.
neutral  The Misha: I am totally with you, except can you really believe the hoi polloi singing this on the streets as they drag the donkey around? For the life of me, I can't.
4 hrs
  -> When singing a ditty, all kinds of words are permissible in the general merry-making, even among the hoi-polloi. This ought to have at least a mediæval or Elizabethan flavor. Litter would fit; prolifically for more academically-inclined rabble rousers.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Cranking out them babies like he was a stinking bunny


Explanation:
Found himself a broad, and really let her have it. (or: had a go at'er, or: humped her real good, etc.) Cranking up them babies like he was some stinking bunny. God, why don't you just strike him dead?!

Of course, sky is the limit here and you can phrase in in a myriad ways. It would actually be easy enough to style it so that it would have some rhythm and actually sound like a mildly obscene ditty English speakers might actually sing. If you want it to be credible enough, the really important part is to not make it sound like it came from a PhD thesis.

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Note added at 5 hrs (2015-08-02 20:11:27 GMT)
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Cranked out, that is, not cranked up, of course.

The Misha
Local time: 00:46
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 8
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
like rabbits


Explanation:
in English. Are you sure you get the previous part, with "натоптал", by the way? Because that also doesn't mean what it literally means)))

Also, can you provide bibliographic info? I now have to read this book!

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Note added at 1 day3 hrs (2015-08-03 18:35:19 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks, looking forward to it!)

JW Narins
United States
Local time: 00:46
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Notes to answerer
Asker: have fun :) https://books.google.com/books?id=QalmAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA298&lpg=PA298&dq=%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BB+%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9,+%D1%87%D1%82%D0%BE+%D1%87%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BA&source=bl&ots=NkX_PHT9wu&sig=oFSnSB5x7nV8xpGXqf-cZJfS_AA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAWoVChMIwYvNlMKNxwIVBKyACh0QewUL#v=onepage&q=%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BB%20%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9%2C%20%D1%87%D1%82%D0%BE%20%D1%87%D1%83%D1%88%D0%B5%D0%BA&f=false

Asker: I don't know if that worked but here is the title/author: Who knew that Byzantium could be this interesting? В поисках Константинополя. Путеводитель по византийскому Стамбулу и окрестностям By Сергей Иванов

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