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Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

off-and-on relationship

Russian translation:

они несколько раз сходились и расходились

Added to glossary by Robert Donahue (X)
Apr 8, 2005 04:10
19 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

off-and-on relationship

English to Russian Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Elliott claims she met Vick, 24, in Virginia Beach, Va., in 2001 -- both lived in the area -- and had an off-and-on relationship with him before and after she moved to the Atlanta area in 2002.
Proposed translations (Russian)
5 +6 они несколько раз сходились и расходились
3 +4 они то встречались, то расходились
4 +2 нестабильные от&
3 +1 время от времени встречалась с ним
4 они несколько раз встречались до и после ее отъезда
4 они периодически встречались (с учетом контекста)
3 напоминали огонек: то ярко вспыхивали, то едва тлели
3 они несколько раз порывали друг с другом

Discussion

Panchenko Apr 9, 2005:
Robert, thank you for more details, and sorry for the delay as well. In this context, i would pretty much stick with my choice, though some other suggestions are very nice (e.g. A.Demyanov). But they are more colloquial. I think. Thanks, and good luck:)
Non-ProZ.com Apr 8, 2005:
Svitlana A bit more context, sorry for the delay, Mr. Vick is a professional athlete. Ms. Elliot claims he knowingly gave her a sexually transmitted disease and is suing him in civil court (hence the "word" claimed).
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
...and then in your peer comment to Ann you say her translation sounds too romantic as for a claim. Filing a claim and a fling - i struggle can't picture this scenario...
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
To Taguiltsev: sorry, but you seem to be a little bit incosistent. First, you insist that Kylill's version is correct (the one basically saying the relationship was just a fling)...
Alexander Taguiltsev Apr 8, 2005:
Robert: Irina's opinion "������� � ���������" concerns, as a rule, spouse relationships. And your own explanation for Kirill meets and confirms his version!
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
To Kirill: i could agree, but the point is that there isn't that much context really, apart from the 'General/Conversation/Greetings/Letters'. The word 'claim' sounds a bit serious though, so i was more inclined to go for a bit more 'official' register.
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
Sorry for my typos - should be '*now* that it go confusing' and 'would *not* be much different'. Got a little bit excited and carried away:)
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
(oops, didn't see the explanation before posting). Anyway, 'not steady' - ����������. Relationship, not a fling.
Kirill Semenov Apr 8, 2005:
OK, then Irina's option "������� � ���������" is probably the best in the context
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
Ok, could be great if the Asker could provide some synonyms or explanation to make it easier not that it all got so confusing. But i guess his synonyms would be much different from the one provided by natural speakers i just asked, which was 'not steady'
Non-ProZ.com Apr 8, 2005:
Kirill Off-and-on relationship implies an intimate relationship (i.e. there was intercourse involved). It is more than that though, it means that they dated, spent time together fairly often when they were seeing one another, but for some reason would seperate (due to an argument or whatever) only to reconcile somewhere down the road.
Panchenko Apr 8, 2005:
To Taguiltsev: Parent-child relatonship can be dysfunctional as well. And it doesn't necesseraly involve incest! :) Or maybe i am on the wrong track (influenced by all the perverts here;)) iterpreting what you mean by 'physiology'?
Kirill Semenov Apr 8, 2005:
Robert, just out of curiosity: does it means in the context that these two had been meeting for a sex from time to time or the relationship was more serious, and they tried to live together, then someone left, and then was back again, and so on?

Proposed translations

+6
7 mins
Selected

они несколько раз сходились и расходились

It could also be ссорились и мирились but I assume the relationship was sexual and involved cohabitation

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs 12 mins (2005-04-08 22:22:49 GMT)
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Where I come from они сошлись or она с ним сошлась imples just the kind of relationship in question. But of course, this is colloquial, not legal term. This does not at all necessarily imply spouses. In fact, to say сойтись about spouses thye would have to first разойтись, which kind adds a non-spousal lelment to any further reunion.
Peer comment(s):
agree Aleksandr Okunev (X)
1 hr
agree Mikhail Kropotov
2 hrs
agree Kirill Romanenko
5 hrs
agree Kirill Semenov
6 hrs
agree Levan Namoradze : По моему, ближе остальных к смыслу...
6 hrs
neutral Alexander Demyanov : сходились indeed seems to imply cohabitation which the original doesn't mention in any way
8 hrs
agree protolmach : то сходились, то расходились
9 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you everyone for your input. It was very much appreciated. : )"
+1
9 mins

время от времени встречалась с ним

Or, more official: "и у них были периодические/нерегулярные связи до и после ее переезда..."
Peer comment(s):
neutral Panchenko : this sounds more like a "casual relationship". "on-and-off relationship" is a bit different. // somebody doesn't seem to have much trust in long-distance relationships :-) they are relationships too // i see potential for a very long discussion here :-)))
49 mins
не верится, что они расходились и сходились после ее переезда достаточно далеко. ;-) Мне кажется, просто встречались на вечерок при случае, но вместе не жили + As others' here, my first thought was of sexual relationship ;-) + We're perverted types ;-)
agree Alexander Taguiltsev : Не могу найти причинно-следственной связи между сексом и кирпичом? Ну, тупой я... :(
5 hrs
"А о чем вы думаете, глядя на кирпич?" -- "О сексе!" == "Почему?" -- "А я всегда о нем думаю!" Анекдот такой :)
Something went wrong...
+2
8 mins

нестабильные от&

-

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2005-04-08 04:19:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

нестабильные отношения

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2005-04-08 04:24:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

состоять в нестабильных отношениях.

Немного официальный регистр..
Peer comment(s):
agree Kevin Kelly
1 hr
Thank you, Kevin!
agree Mikhail Kropotov
2 hrs
Thank you, SirReal!
disagree Alexander Taguiltsev : Искажается смысл. "Нестабильные" несет слишком жесткую оценочную нагрузку и придает другую стилистическую окраску уместную для психологической характеристики отношений. Констатируются отношения. Оценка не дается. Dysfunctional - это уже физиология.
5 hrs
thank you, but i think if i was judging the relationship from the psychological point of view, i'd say it was 'dysfunctional'. Dysfunctional is not нестабильный.
agree Angeliki Kotsidou (X)
7 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
14 mins

они то встречались, то расходились

как вариант
Peer comment(s):
agree Panchenko
45 mins
thank you, Svitlana
neutral Aleksandr Okunev (X) : неоднородные значения глаголов
1 hr
thank you, Alexandr
agree olganet : Они то встречались, то прощались очередной раз навсегда. http://www.taspol.info/article.phtml?id=3601&m=0&author_id=2...
2 hrs
очень грустная история...thanks, Olganet!
agree Alexander Demyanov : to rashodilis', to snova nachinali vstrechat'sya
8 hrs
thanks, Alexander
agree Blithe
10 hrs
thanks, Blithe
Something went wrong...
11 hrs

они несколько раз встречались до и после ее отъезда

...
Something went wrong...
12 hrs

они периодически встречались (с учетом контекста)

для искового заявления в самый раз
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

напоминали огонек: то ярко вспыхивали, то едва тлели

По ассоциации с off-and-on.....
....их чувства были похожи на костер:то ярко......
....их связь напоминала огонь маяка: то освещала все вокруг, то почти угасала...

Не знаю, какого характера текст, но мне кажется, что можно использовать метафору в любом случае.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs 44 mins (2005-04-08 16:55:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

не виже проблемы- можно написать в заявлении:
*...их чувства то вспыхивали, то гасли, но они поддерживали отношения на протяжении.....\"
Нормальный человеческий язык, не обязательно романтика или \"нерегулярные половые связи\"....
Peer comment(s):
neutral Alexander Taguiltsev : В исковом заявлении, и такая романтика ...
1 hr
thank you
Something went wrong...
14 hrs

они несколько раз порывали друг с другом


"несколько раз порывали" уже подразумевает, что они возобновляли потом свои отношения - точно так же как "бросить курить легко - я делал это много раз" подразумевает, что автор, бросив, снова тянулся к сигарете
Something went wrong...
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