в глазах рябит от

10:00 Feb 23, 2017 

Keep it simple - ad hyphens
"the Ukie lads were flickering/flashing before my eyes in/wearing their flag’s yellow-and-blue"
[the question is snowed under with the discussion, non?]

06:38 Feb 23, 2017 

I know I'm a few days late to this discussion (did one half of the conversation get banned, by the way?) but I think your suggestion of "the boys in yellow and blue" is perfectly fine. I understand the point ArnieT is trying to make, but how many English speakers have heard the term "Uke"? Not many, I suspect. On the other hand, plenty of people know the colour of Ukraine's flag, or should know, if they are reading this article.

00:09 Feb 23, 2017 

It's one of the specs of this job - the client would like me to keep the English translation as close to the Russian as possible. It's for use in development of machine translation software. Not an easy task in this context!

22:38 Feb 22, 2017 

I have already referenced this aspect in a note to my answer. Whereas saying "в жовто-блакытном" in Russian gives exact info about the nationality of these guys and the speaker's attitude towards them, simply saying "boys in yellow and blue" will not tell English speakers who exactly these boys are. And "in yellow and blue" in English does not convey the negative overtones of "в жовто-блакитном" in Russian (at least as spoken in the given case).
But why are you trying to keep the "eye" reference? When used figuratively, expression "рябит в глазах от" does not mean that the subject actually experiences any physical effects. It simply means, that he/she considers that there are too many of the objects, Ukrainians in the given case, and the speaker usually finds this unpleasant to a lesser or greater extent.

20:21 Feb 22, 2017 

What do you think about: "my eyes are sore from all these boys in yellow and blue." Gets the neg. connotation across w/out being too offensive and retains the "eye" reference.

22:57 Feb 17, 2017 

But in view of the long history of Russians' belittling everything Ukrainian – the language, customs, national character, way of living, word "оказывается" – "it turns out that" takes on derisive overtones, which I don't know how to convey.

Finally, my exposing some facts of Russian-Ukrainian relationships is in no way dragging my bitterness and resentment towards Russia into a professional discussion, as some accuse me of, but simply trying to show why seemingly neutral words and expression are not such, but derisive. I tried to be as impartial as possible in this task.

22:56 Feb 17, 2017 

1) Current Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which many Russians for one reason or another do not admit and prefer to call an internal conflict or a civil war.
2) Historical, centuries long, enmity between Russians and Ukrainians stemming from Russia's oppression of Ukraine, the current aggression of the former against the latter being just the latest incident in a long chain of aggressions, some more covert, some more overt.

Having thus established the surrounding circumstances, here is how I would translate sentence "Тут, кстати, по какому-то странному стечению обстоятельств в глазах рябит от ребят в жовто-блакитном. ":
Accidentally, for some strange reason, there are so many Uke sportsmen running around here, it makes your head spin.
Sentence "Самая играющая сборная, оказывается." is not an easy one to translate, too. Under normal circumstances, apart from figuring out the most suitable English equivalent for "самая играющая сборная," it would present no problem.

22:54 Feb 17, 2017 

In both external stimuli cases, "рябить/рябь в глазах" is usually accompanied by some unpleasant effect(s): dizziness, nausea, headache, eyestrain, or just general unpleasantness.
In the case of internal stimuli, "рябить/рябь в глазах" is directly associated with some organic disorder or physical condition, usually accompanied by physical discomfort of lesser or greater extent.
In the present case we have "рябить/рябь в глазах" of type 1a, that is, one caused by a great number of moving objects.
It could be argued, that it simply states a fact of there being a great number of moving objects, without any negative connotations, as, for instance, in the example from the "Lord of the Flies."
This contention is disproved by the following sentence, "Самая играющая сборная, оказывается."
Moreover, a conclusion of a derisive connotation of sentence "Тут, кстати, по какому-то странному стечению обстоятельств в глазах рябит от ребят в жовто-блакитном." can be drawn from author's using expression " в жовто-блакитном." I have already explained why.
The reason for author's dislike of Ukrainians is explained by:

22:50 Feb 17, 2017 

А соединить свой разум с остатками защитной сети замка я больше не рискнул, мне хватило и прошлого раза, чтобы понять, какая дурацкая эта была затея - заработал мигрень, рябь в глазах и яркое нежелание больше туда лезть.
Житие колдуна, Татьяна Садыкова
====
Мина о себе волноваться не стала - ярко-красное платье настолько привлекало внимание, что на лицо уже никто не смотрел. Да и даже, если взгляд задержится на этой фантазии цвета - то долго там не останется. Ну, либо заработает мигрень, рябь в глазах и головокружение. Вот что значит выбрать удачный цвет. Хотя для окружающих - он не удачный.
http://monogatari.biz/game/viewtopic.php?f=391&t=1290&start=...
===
В последнюю неделю стала мучить рябь в боковом зрении левого глаз
http://www.medkrug.ru/community/show_thread/545?thread=14519...
=============================
As we can see, "рябить/рябь в глазах" may be caused by:
1) External stimuli, such as:
a) Observing a great number of, usually brightly colored or/and rapidly moving, objects.
b) Excessive strain on eyes.
2) Internal stimuli, such as migraine, usual headache, or tiredness.

In both external stimuli cases, "рябить/рябь в глазах" is usually accompanied by some u

22:48 Feb 17, 2017 

Когда его освободили, у него долго при виде офицеров рука подскакивала кверху, рябило в глазах и всюду мерещились погоны.
Б. Л. Пастернак, Доктор Живаго
===============
Днём и ночью холодная вода шипела у стальных бортов, гудели турбины, наблюдатели до ряби в глазах всматривались в горизонт, чтобы не пропустить дым или перископ подводной лодки.
К. Г. Паустовский, Северная повесть
===============
Ноги беспрестанно путались и цеплялись в длинной траве, пресыщенной горячим солнцем; всюду рябило в глазах от резкого металлического сверкания молодых, красноватых листьев ...
И. С. Тургенев, Записки охотника,
===============
Рябило в глазах от мыслителей, профессоров, суперпрофессоров, ультрапрофессоров, а потом и контрпрофессоров.
Станислав Лем, Звёздные дневники Ийона Тихого (цикл рассказов),
===============
Рябь в глазах от усталости.… … Толковый словарь Ушакова
===============
В глазах его рябило, мозги путались, во рту пересохло, и на лбу выступил холодный пот.
Чехов, Житейские невзгоды.

22:45 Feb 17, 2017 

fashion a translation that properly conveys the meaning of the entire phrase, we need to know:
1) The exact meaning of the expression.
2) The present state of the Russian-Ukrainian relations.
3) Some historical background of the Russian-Ukrainian relations.

To establish the exact meaning of expression "рябить/рябь в глазах", let's consider the following examples:

===
В глазах рябило от бабочек; они взлетали, порхали в воздухе, садились.
The air was thick with butterflies, lifting, fluttering, settling.
(Lord of the Flies, by William Goulding)
===
На этом пёстром фоне, от которого рябило в глазах, трудно было заметить маленькую хозяйку комнаты.
Илья Ильф, Двенадцать стульев,
=====

Только от его мельтешенья у неё, бывало, рябило в глазах, бывало, всё ей хотелось как-нибудь угомонить его, да она не знала, как это сделать.
Ф. А. Искандер, Сандро из Чегема,

====
Когда его освободили, у него долго при виде офицеров рука подскакивала кверху, рябило в глазах и всюду мерещились погоны.
Б. Л. Пастернак, Доктор Живаго

17:02 Feb 17, 2017 

My answer, most definitely, was not what El oso alleges it to be, but simply trying to give some background to the question. Once again, you got it right the first time saying that the author was somewhat derisive, and the next phrase - Самая играющая сборная, оказывается. - only confirms it. But, of course, El oso will now prove it to you that it's not so. Myself, I stand by my initial opinion - the author is derisive of the great number (in his opinion) of Ukrainians and the meaning of the phrase is as I put it. The translation does not necessarily have to be worded my way, but I believe that the overall meaning of the phrase need to be translated, and not just the meaning of the phrase "мельтешит в глазах" out of context.

16:37 Feb 17, 2017 

"Как раз для праздничного и праздного времяпрепровождения в Олимпийской деревне имеется целый развлекательный центр.
Возле него на всякий случай стоит познавательная табличка, напоминающая что Международный олимпийский комитет разными способами тратит на спортсменов $3,25 млн в день.
Центр наводнен видеоиграми, бильярдными и теннисными столами, настольными футболом и хоккеем и какими-то странными устройствами, похожими на видеотренажеры.
Это чего такое? - интересуюсь у товарища в форме украинской сборной, который активно использует диковинную игрушку.
Мог бы, конечно, просто сказать, что не хочет разговаривать с человеком в форме сборной России, да и все.
Тут, кстати, по какому-то странному стечению обстоятельств в глазах рябит от ребят в жовто-блакитном.
Самая играющая сборная, оказывается."

16:37 Feb 17, 2017 

It was definitely not my intent to stir the pot with this one, although I know this is a very touchy subject. To clarify - the whole tone of the article is rather 'tongue and cheek'. The whole "в глазах рябит" comment comes after he tries to ask a Ukrainian athlete a question and he refuses to answer - presumably b/c of the ongoing tensions we are all aware of and perhaps because the question was most presumably asked in Russian. I didn't want to turn it into a political discussion, but obviously I need to convey the tone of the original. Here is a little bit more context for you:

12:10 Feb 17, 2017 

Really? I would tell you who is actually incredibly hateful and biased and hypocritical to boot, but this is not a proper forum. So, I'll second you - End of discussion. Let other participants draw their own conclusions.

11:57 Feb 17, 2017 

And where do you see me saying that it is? You either did not detect the sarcasm in my post (which should've been quite easy with the introductory "Sure, sure") or, more likely, are engaging in playing word games.

11:48 Feb 17, 2017 

No, it wouldn't. Because the message is plain and clear - There are so many of these Ukrainians here that one gets dizzy. As I said, "в глазах рябит" is an effect, the cause being the number. And it is the number that the author emphasizes in a derisive way. For if the author simply wanted to state the fact, he could say something like - "Я смотрю, украинцы выставили довольно многочисленную команду," without all "кстати," "по какому-то странному стечению обстоятелств," "в жовто-блакитном," and especially "в глазах рябит," which as a rule has negative connotations. The author obviously felt that saying simply - "Здесь столько хахлов, что прям в глазах рябит." - would be just too much for a publication of this level, so he chose to say it in a roundabout way. Even a non-native speaker, which the asker is, could feel it. So, all your word juggling is of the same type as "ихтамнет", "в военторге купили", "отпускники по зову сердца", "украинский Бук", "украинский МИГ", "украинский пилот Волошин", "докажите, что это мы" и т.п. That's it. I will not engage in further discussion with you on this subject because of its not being productive for the above stated reasons.

09:14 Feb 17, 2017 

to concentrate not so on "в глазах рябит", which is the effect, but more on the cause - the number of members of the Ukrainian team, which the author considers too great (by his own criteria), so that it makes him feel dizzy. That's what one usually feels when "у него рябит в глазах."

09:00 Feb 17, 2017 

Or else?

08:49 Feb 17, 2017 

Sure, sure. And "в глазах рябит" is just a term of endearment. Little things mean a lot, you know.

22:36 Feb 16, 2017 

You are right. The guy is somewhat derisive. Any time a Russian uses Ukrainian words in otherwise Russian speech, he is derisive, although, quite often he/she will feign surprise - I'm just trying to speak your language. Жовто-блакитний are the colors of the Ukrainian flag and a derisive Russian name for independence minded Ukrainians. Other similar words - свидомый, нэзалэжнык, нэзалэжна Украина (Russian spelling to indicat their being spoken by Russians). So, yellow-blue does not exactly convey the meaning of "жовто-блакитний" spoken by a Russian.

19:14 Feb 16, 2017 

wrong language pair ;-)