сделать пакость

English translation: to give them a hard time

00:25 Feb 24, 2011
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Russian term or phrase: сделать пакость
Речь идет о таможне во время эмиграции. Пожилую женщину быстро пропустили с чемоданами, а ее взрослых детей задержали:

"Сложнее было у детей, т.к. кое-кто решил сделать пакость им. Один их чемодан проверял 2 часа специально присланный ювелир, сделали им личный досмотр и, конечно, ничего не нашли."
PaulinaK
United States
Local time: 13:52
English translation:to give them a hard time
Explanation:
just another option...
Selected response from:

Leigh Mosley
United States
Local time: 16:52
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5to give them a hard time
Leigh Mosley
4 +2(were victimized by someone's) dirty trick
Mark Berelekhis
3 +1harass
dennis_bg
4set them up
dennis_bg
3somebody played a very nasty prank on them
Vladimir Alexandrov


Discussion entries: 9





  

Answers


9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
(were victimized by someone's) dirty trick


Explanation:
--

Mark Berelekhis
United States
Local time: 16:52
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 136

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Olga Gladkova
21 mins
  -> Thank you.

agree  dennis_bg: You are right: it's likely there was some kind of deception going on to boot, so in that case "dirty trick" would be particularly fitting.
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
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41 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
harass


Explanation:
Если речь о том, что просто таможенники хотели над ними поиздеваться, то лучше пожалуй harass. А если есть какой-то элемент обмана, например, кто-то ложный донос на них написал, из-за которого их стали проверять, то тогда согласен с Марком - dirty trick.

dennis_bg
Local time: 16:52
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mark Berelekhis: It didn't even occur to me that it could be something else (it just seems odd to use "сделать пакость" here in another sense). But yes, if we're simply dealing with an unfortunate security procedure, "harass" is the correct option.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Mark!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
to give them a hard time


Explanation:
just another option...

Leigh Mosley
United States
Local time: 16:52
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Angela Greenfield
23 mins
  -> thanks!

agree  Yuri Larin: Maybe, also, "mess (screw) it up for them"
4 hrs
  -> yeah, if she wants something stronger, those might be closer. Or "sabotage". It depends on the desired degree of пакость.

agree  Ingunite: considering the people were under custom officials' jurisdiction, perhaps they were given "the third degree"?
21 hrs
  -> Hmmm, possibly. The "third degree" is an abusive interrogation (being beaten, water-boarded, etc.), so it depends on exactly what the officials did to them

agree  cyhul
2 days 5 hrs
  -> thanks!

agree  Judith Hehir: Sounds ever so idiomatic here.
3 days 19 hrs
  -> thanks, but I admit I'm not sure if I don't prefer Dennis' answer "someone set them up." As I said before, I guess it's a question of how much duplicity was involved
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17 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
somebody played a very nasty prank on them


Explanation:
somebody played a very nasty prank on them

Vladimir Alexandrov
Local time: 23:52
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
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2 days 5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
set them up


Explanation:
.

dennis_bg
Local time: 16:52
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 4
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