May 3, 2010 15:25
14 yrs ago
Russian term
United Kingdom
Professional translator since 1991
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English
Назло бабушке отморожу уши
Russian to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
I know what it means, but what is the English equivalent?
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +7 | cut off your nose to spite your face/shoot yourself in the foot |
Inna Katashova
|
| 4 +1 | let my ears got frostbite - let my grandma suffer |
Alexander Onishko
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Proposed translations
+7
52 mins
Inna Katashova
Ukraine
Ukraine
Native in Russian
Specializes in field
Ukraine
good converting word currency
Native in: Russian 
, Ukrainian
Works in: English to Russian, English to Ukrainian, Russian to Ukrainian, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
cut off your nose to spite your face/shoot yourself in the foot
store up
to do something that will cause problems in the future
be your own worst enemy
to be the cause of your own problems
be asking for something
to behave in a way that makes it likely that a particular unpleasant thing will happen to you
asking for trouble
if doing something is asking for trouble, it is likely to cause you problems or difficulties
tempt fate/providence
to say or to do something that may cause problems, or to cause your good luck to end
do something once too often
to cause trouble for yourself by repeating dangerous, stupid, or annoying behaviour
looking for trouble
doing something that is likely to cause a disagreement, fight, or problem
shoot yourself in the foot
to say or do something stupid that causes you trouble
court
verb
to behave in a way that is likely to bring a bad result
punish yourself
to do something that makes you suffer
to do something that will cause problems in the future
be your own worst enemy
to be the cause of your own problems
be asking for something
to behave in a way that makes it likely that a particular unpleasant thing will happen to you
asking for trouble
if doing something is asking for trouble, it is likely to cause you problems or difficulties
tempt fate/providence
to say or to do something that may cause problems, or to cause your good luck to end
do something once too often
to cause trouble for yourself by repeating dangerous, stupid, or annoying behaviour
looking for trouble
doing something that is likely to cause a disagreement, fight, or problem
shoot yourself in the foot
to say or do something stupid that causes you trouble
court
verb
to behave in a way that is likely to bring a bad result
punish yourself
to do something that makes you suffer
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Irene Fridman
: the first one is better
57 mins
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спасибо, Ирен!
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| agree |
Judith Hehir
: with Irene
1 hr
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благодарю Вас, Judith!
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| agree |
Halyna Smakal
5 hrs
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спасибо, Галина!
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| agree |
Tatiana Lammers
6 hrs
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благодарна Вам, Татьяна!
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| agree |
koundelev
8 hrs
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мерси, George!
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| agree |
boostrer
11 hrs
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спасибо, boostrer!
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| agree |
Deborah Kolosova
: Cutting off your nose corresponds better, because the point is you're doing it to spite someone else, but harming yourself in the process. Shooting yourself in the foot doesn't imply you're trying to spite someone; you're just doing something dumb.
13 hrs
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благодарю, Deborah! foot and nose are parts of your body. both:))
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thank you"
+1
10 mins
Alexander Onishko
Native in Russian
Veni Vidi Vici
Native in: Russian , Ukrainian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, Ukrainian to English, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
71
let my ears got frostbite - let my grandma suffer
*
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
boostrer
: an eternal question: should a translator find an equivalent in the target language or isn't it better to reflect the source language natives' way of thinking and speaking))
12 hrs
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Большое спасибо, Борис!
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Discussion