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Glossary entry

Russian term or phrase:

Чай - не водка, много не выпьешь.

English translation:

Drink strong or none at all

Added to glossary by Lale
Apr 11, 2008 15:27
16 yrs ago
Russian term

Чай - не водка, много не выпьешь.

Russian to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Как кратко и внятно передать идею?
Proposed translations (English)
2 +5 Drink strong or none at all
4 +5 Tea's no vodka, you can't drink so much of it.
3 +5 Tea's no vodka, a tea cup will suffice.
5 Tea is not vodka, you can't drink that much!
4 Tea is no vodka to pour down throat; to have/pour yeat another glass
3 +1 Can I have another vodka instead of another tea?
4 The more the vodka, the less the tea; the more vodka glasses, he less tea cups
3 Unlike liquor, I can’t drink that much tea.
3 tea is not as attractive as vodka
3 I drink my tea responsibly

Discussion

Vitali Stanisheuski Apr 13, 2008:
Георгий, да, разумеется! Я в курсе этого "питейного" контекста. :) Просто предположил, что обсуждаемую фразу мог сказать и самый что ни есть трезвенник, но с противоположным значением.
koundelev Apr 12, 2008:
Виталий, много водки не бывает - бывает мало закуски...
natasha stoyanova Apr 12, 2008:
Amazing. The first (I think) question with 9 answers. If you wait little longer you'll be able to write a booklet on the subject.
Aleksey Chervinskiy Apr 12, 2008:
Пристрастие русских к алкоголю объясняется суровым климатом их страны.
Любой климат в месте пребывания русских считается суровым.
Так и сегодня - погода прекрасная, а климат суровый...
natasha stoyanova Apr 12, 2008:
Cheers, Lale! Have one on us!
Vitali Stanisheuski Apr 12, 2008:
Lale, мне показалось, что выражение может также иметь другую интерпретацию с акцентом на слове "много" и в пользу чая. Т.е. чая "много" не бывает, а водки может быть "много" - т.е. опьянение, перепой, похмелье...
У вас контекст в пользу водки или чая?
boostrer Apr 12, 2008:
Jack and Natashah, your variants are the best. Post them as answers!
natasha stoyanova Apr 11, 2008:
or this one: A true Irishman won't eat meat on Friday, but will drink gin for breakfast.
Vladimir Dubisskiy Apr 11, 2008:
Jack - this is it: "..(better) drink Strong or none at all. - Awesome inscription :-))
но водка (хорошая), действительно прекрасный напиток и вполне "поспорит" с чаем, особенно, если можно выбрать, что пить :-))
Jack Doughty Apr 11, 2008:
Inscrition on gravestone of Grenadier Thomas Thetcher:

Here sleeps in peace a Hampshire Grenadier,
Who caught his death by drinking cold small Beer,
Soldiers be wise from his untimely fall
And when ye're hot drink Strong or none at all.
boostrer Apr 11, 2008:
Вариант: All we like is either harmful or immoral. Cамый точный аналог, какой мне пришел в голову.
boostrer Apr 11, 2008:
Я восхищен нашей отвагой. Мне всегда казалось, что на нерусские языки это не переводится)).
Vladimir Dubisskiy Apr 11, 2008:
RE Lale's explanation: просто хочется добавить концептуально: чай, по сути, вода... какой же смысл "дуть" чай, заполняя водой желудок, если вместо этого можно выпить много водки :-))
Serhiy Tkachuk Apr 11, 2008:
Спасибо за уточнение. Пришлось дать другой вариант.
Lale (asker) Apr 11, 2008:
Небольшое пояснение Юмористический подтекст: любому человеку проще выпить несколько чашек чая, нежели осилить столько же водки. Но ценители водки настолько ее любят, что свой отказ от предложенной чашки чая иногда подкрепляют этой поговоркой. Как бы подразумевая, что если бы водку предложили - я бы не отказался, а вот чай - это неинтересно.
Jack Doughty Apr 11, 2008:
какую именно идею? Нам, неносителям русского языка, часто не знакомо само выражение, но с объяснением, может быть сумеем кое-что предложить.

Proposed translations

+5
14 hrs
Selected

Drink strong or none at all

As boostrer suggests, I'm posting this as an answer, though I don't quite see how you can use it.
Epitaph of Thomas Thetcher.
Here sleeps in peace a Hampshire Grenadier,
Who caught his death by drinking cold small Beer,
Soldiers be wise from his untimely fall
And when ye're hot drink Strong or none at all.
Peer comment(s):
agree Serhiy Tkachuk : that is, tea's not worth the effort :)
2 hrs
Thank you.
agree boostrer
8 hrs
Thank you.
agree Aleksey Chervinskiy
8 hrs
Thank you.
agree Mikhail Kropotov
10 hrs
Thank you.
agree Vladimir Dubisskiy : Fantastic!
23 hrs
Thank you.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Из всех вариантов мне очень понравились два, жаль , что нельзя выбрать двух победителей. По-моему, лучшие аналоги - это: Drink strong or none at all и Tea's no vodka -- not worth the effort. Большое спасибо всем за варианты! :)"
+5
7 mins

Tea's no vodka, you can't drink so much of it.

:)
Peer comment(s):
agree The Misha : I like this one
18 mins
Thank you Misha!
agree R. E. M
27 mins
Thank you R.E.M!
neutral Serhiy Tkachuk : алкоголику хватает и 100 гр. ...
33 mins
Спасибо, Сергий!
agree val_legrand
1 hr
Спасибо!
agree Vladimir Dubisskiy : straightforward and true :-)) I like it!
3 hrs
Спасибо, Владимир!
agree Iosif JUHASZ
3 hrs
Спасибо, Иосиф!
Something went wrong...
27 mins

Tea is not vodka, you can't drink that much!

-
Something went wrong...
+5
13 mins

Tea's no vodka, a tea cup will suffice.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can't think of an equivalent English idiom. This is pure Russia :)

Thus, I'm attempting to render it as succinctly as possible.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 44 mins (2008-04-11 16:12:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In light of Lale's explanation, perhaps "Tea's no vodka -- not worth the effort" could work.
Peer comment(s):
agree svetlana cosquéric : Tea's no vodka -- not worth the effort
41 mins
Thank you, Svetlana.
agree Krzysztof Ryszkiewicz : IMHO the second suggestion seems outstanding
1 hr
Thank you, Krzysztof! :)
agree Nico Rhodionoff : not worth the effort sounds great!
1 hr
Thank you, FOH :)
agree Angelina Alexandrova : not worth the effort! :)
2 hrs
Thank you, Angelina :)
agree Nicholas Krivenko : The effort part works for me too. Well done!
3 hrs
Thank you, Nicholas!
Something went wrong...
53 mins

Tea is no vodka to pour down throat; to have/pour yeat another glass

Combine Skyy Vodka, Smirnoff Black Cherry Vodka, and Peach Schnapps in a blender. 2. ... Then pour liquids down throat to make self unreasonable

Something went wrong...
4 hrs

Unlike liquor, I can’t drink that much tea.

Or, tea is not like liquor, one can't finish this much of it.

Thought, I'd try too :)
Something went wrong...
+1
6 hrs

Can I have another vodka instead of another tea?

This Чай - не водка... phrase is a responce to an offer of another tea
Peer comment(s):
agree Mikhail Kropotov : In the situation you're describing, I would say, "Sure, I'll have another one, but make it vodka this time!"
17 hrs
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

The more the vodka, the less the tea; the more vodka glasses, he less tea cups

-
Something went wrong...
34 mins

tea is not as attractive as vodka

this is how I see the idea

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 hrs (2008-04-12 10:21:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

... and it's not as addictive as vodka, too...
Something went wrong...
1 day 8 hrs

I drink my tea responsibly

I'll take vodka over tea any day
I'm not a tea totaller
Not all is well that drinks well
Tee - bad, vodka - teetotally good
But do you have vodka to chase tea with?
A cup of tea will do, I only have one stomach and I'm saving it for the real stuff/have better stuff to fill it with
I easily lose count of shots, but I take my tea in moderation
A cup of tea, a small amount, it is of vodka you lose your count
A teetotaller might say:
Tea takes a minute, with vodka know your limit
Tea - moments to remember, liquor - hours to forget
Tea takes just a while, alcohol can take forever
Tea breeds moderation, beware the products of distillation
A cup of tea will do you good, with vodka oft you wish you wouldn't
Something went wrong...
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