uneven - V8

English translation: V8 juice

18:48 Aug 1, 2020

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / cultural reference

English term or phrase: uneven - V8

This is the story of a woman in Beauty School.

The text reads:

Our very first assignment was “the trim.” If I could have crawled under a rock that day, I would've. My poor mannequin's hair was so*** uneven, it looked like it needed a V8!***

Obviously this is a cultural reference, the writer is a New York native, but I cannot understand what V8 is in this context or the relation of uneven with V8.

I´d really appreciate if someone explains it to me so I can find a suitable translation.

Thank you!

Marina Soldati KudoZ activity Questions: 421 (none open) (29 closed without grading) Answers: 4276 Argentina
Local time: 12:07

Selected answer:V8 juice

Explanation:
She might be talking about V8 juice. The original was full of veggies so she may be suggesting the hair needed lots of vitamins. V8 (tomato juice) is also used as a quick hair fix/rinse for off shades.

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Note added at 12 mins (2020-08-01 19:01:10 GMT)
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https://www.shefinds.com/16-at-home-hair-remedies-boost-colo...
"Get rid of green or ashy tints with V8: Chlorine can give blonde hair a greenish tint. To prevent this, massage V8 juice into your hair while you are in the shower, then rinse. The red pigments in the tomato juice will warm up any ashy or green effects."

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Note added at 6 hrs (2020-08-02 00:57:07 GMT)
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Since you mentioned this being a cultural reference, I immediately thought of canned V8 vegetable juice because that's something that some of the "healthier" parents used to pack for my classmates, instead of soda, in middle school (I'm originally from LA). My first thought was that the hair must've had a ton of breakage/split ends and was in such bad shape that she was suggesting an infusion of vitamins was needed. My next thought was that tomato juice is used to get rid of unwanted tints and that the hair color could've been patchy. But, as Toni M. mentions, this may be a case of professional jargon. There's something called a "Number 8 Haircut." It's done using a special clipper attachment on a trimmer and leaves an inch of hair. Maybe, she meant that most of the hair needed to be cut off, which would've resulted in a pixie cut, which, although quite short, could've possibly passed as an acceptable alternative to just shaving the mess off and failing the test. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything mentioning a "V8" trimmer/clipper.

Selected response from:

Katya Kesten
Local time: 10:07

Grading comment

Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +4

drink v8 – keep your diet (or hair) straight

Brent Sørensen

3 +3

V8 haircut

Rachel Fell

3 +1

V8 juice

Katya Kesten

V8 is a brand of flat iron for hair

Kiet Bach

Summary of reference entries provided

In support of Brent's answer

Alison MacG

Discussion entries: 5

Answers

38 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

uneven - v8 drink v8 – keep your diet (or hair) straight

Explanation:

It’s a long shot, but it’s possible that the author is making references to these old commercials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW0jfsPLWBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imtD6kIRJn8

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Note added at 45 mins (2020-08-01 19:34:18 GMT)
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But this would be difficult for another culture and generation to understand.

The point is that it’s very uneven. You could just use another expression that conveys the same meaning.

For example:
My hair is so uneven that my 6 year old could have done better
as seen in this review
https://www.groupon.com/biz/north-palm-beach-fl/north-palm-b...

My poor mannequin’s hair was so uneven that [something that translates into the respective language/culture]

Brent Sørensen
Germany
Local time: 17:07
Native speaker of:

English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

philgoddard

22 mins

neutral

Tony M: It doesn' really make sense to talk about some kind of hair nutrient; what would be needed here would be an emergency instant hair cutting solution.

10 hrs

neutral

Yvonne Gallagher: With Tony. This makes no sense in context. NB she is working on a mannequin!

15 hrs

neutral

writeaway: nothing at all to do with drinking V8.

21 hrs

agree

Arabic & More: Definitely strongly agree with this - I remember these commercials from childhood, and they are the first thing that came to mind.

1 day 1 hr

agree

Alison MacG: Agree that this is almost certainly a reference to these commercials. (I have posted a few more links)

1 day 20 hrs

agree

Björn Vrooman: Thanks for the commercials. Now I know what I've been missing out on!

1 day 23 hrs

4 hrs confidence:

uneven - v8 V8 is a brand of flat iron for hair

Explanation:
Sutra Beauty - Cordless V8 flat iron.

uneven: some places straight, some places curly.

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/sutra-beauty-cordless-v8-...

https://www.boxycharm.com/cordless-v8

Kiet Bach
United States
Local time: 08:07
Native speaker of:

Chinese
PRO pts in category: 8

10 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

uneven - v8

V8 juice

Katya Kesten
Local time: 10:07
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

neutral

Tony M: Unlikely, really; note she says "a V8", not "some V8". Sound to me more like the description of some type of cut, you know, like a 'No 2' or a 'buzzcut'...

7 mins

-> I was thinking of a can of V8, so like you'd talk about needing a coke.

neutral

Yvonne Gallagher: It's a mannequin so this makes no sense//what????

16 hrs

-> It's like saying a mannequin at a spray tan salon looked like it'd seen a ghost. Yes, mannequins can't see, but the point is that it's pale and the humor.

agree

Dr. Jozsef Dikter: https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/V8_(Markenname) See TV-spots as well referring to nice hair, really nice hit.

1 day 20 hrs

-> Thanks!

neutral

Björn Vrooman: Don't understand the neutral comments above. In this US-DE household, we talk about a Pepsi, just like in Back to the Future: "...if you want a Pepsi, you gotta pay for it." https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Tab As for the second, see below.

2 days 21 mins

6 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

uneven - v8 V8 haircut

Explanation:
John Dumelo shows off his new V8 haircut on Instagram

http://artsgh.com/index.php/2019/04/04/john-dumelo-v8-haircu...

https://www.v8supercuts.com/

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Note added at 6 hrs (2020-08-02 00:59:55 GMT)
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maybe his hair would've looked better if it had been cut that way.

Rachel Fell
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:07
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12

Reference comments

1 day 21 hrs peer agreement (net): +2

Reference: In support of Brent's answer

Reference information:
Things end up looking a bit crooked… kind of like my card needs a V8!
https://rosyscription.com/2012/05/simple-quick-and-handmade-...

I don't know what's up with this crooked picture. I must have needed a V8.
http://www.ourlittletinies.com/2015/03/pantry-reorganization...

This chimney needs a V8. Or maybe it's too cool to stand up straight and do it's job.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/827114287789131312/

Lopsided Bus and Orthodox Easter
I was planning to be home in Copceac for Easter, but when I arrived at the bus station to board the one daily bus from the capital to my site, it looked like it really needed some V8 juice - meaning it was leaning way to the side.
http://nightpie.blogspot.com/2006/04/lopsided-bus-and-orthod...

Alison MacG
United Kingdom
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 12

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uneven - V8

English translation: V8 juice

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English translation: V8 juice

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