картиной-репина-приплыли

10:08 Apr 28, 2011 

Спасибо. But after all, I've been obsessing over this for about four days. (!)

02:01 Apr 28, 2011 

almost makes me feel jealous. Then again, you are the native here, so at least I have an excuse.

01:43 Apr 28, 2011 

After closing the question, this idea occurred to me, so I put it here for future Kudoz-searchers. It has a slightly humorous/ironic character, like the Russian idiom, and seems to me therefore to be a better choice than the more "grim" options.

17:57 Apr 26, 2011 

She'd like to fly above the shite that's hitting the fan:)

17:13 Apr 26, 2011 

"the proverbial sea of troubles" :)

16:59 Apr 26, 2011 

a person who is not familiar with the painting. During Soviet times Repin was considered as “painter close to ordinary people’s life” because of his realistic style and portraying revolutionaries, workers, peasants etc. So his reproduced pictures were on every corner: in schools, public places, school textbooks. They were part of the background even part of the propaganda (I do not blame Repin, he is really a great painter). So every Russian (even if he/she is not interested in painting at all) knows that Repin is a great Russian painter famous by his dramatic pictures (for example, the picture you have sent me the link to, Бурлаки, was perceived as a cliché as you could see it everywhere along with the three epical heroes of other well-known painter). Comparing a real life's dramatic situation with Repin’s picture seems funny as there is recognizability (looks like the life is a parody of the picture). Generally lots of humoristic works are based on parodying of serious dramatic pieces of art. I think, in your translation you could mention some dramatic picture or literature work or a well known author (Shakespeare?) or fairly tale expression, if relevant.

12:31 Apr 26, 2011 

Oh yes, I've long ago abandoned the notion that Repin should be in the translation (see above, my proposal on "shit's creek"), and I do understand the basic meaning of the phrase. What I'm trying to grasp is how best to choose "an authentic equivalent" that does not eliminate the colorful quality of the original. But I'm still struggling to see what that colorful quality is, since I find it such an odd idiom. (But then, my husband points out to me that we have English idioms such as "a Hobson's choice," which most people understand, even though they have no clue who "Hobson" was--nor do I.)

12:21 Apr 26, 2011 

stuff rings absolutely no bell with the English-speaking audience. Try to think of an authentic equivalent, like that's it, finita, end of the line.

11:47 Apr 26, 2011 

the keyword here is "приплыли" and the whole phrase has nothing to do with Repin or his paintings.

I think that the author used this phrase to show the hopelessness and desperation of the world (reality) the woman is living in. So instead of "this picturesque landscape" of the original translator I would use "grim, desperate, hopeless reality"

11:44 Apr 26, 2011 

You can get away with Repin's painting as the keyword is "приплыли", which is also used separately in the same meaning, and the painting is there to exaggerate.

"To fly above this vale of sorrows" seems to be adequate if overly poetic, but she's daydreaming so it's ok.

"fly my way out of this whole mess" comes to mind.

11:34 Apr 26, 2011 

I had originally edited the translation (not realizing this was a set expression, thinking it was an invention of the author) to read: "To fly above this vale of sorrows, this dismal image of Repin's painting...."

What do you think of the following variant?:

"To fly above `shit's creek'...."

It is more crude than the Russian, but the woman is daydreaming, not talking to someone, so it might be appropriate, even if she would not normally talk that way. (It gets the "river" in there.)

11:29 Apr 26, 2011 

In the immediate context, the woman seems to think along the lines of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escapism. She just had enough.

10:36 Apr 26, 2011 

That's interesting. For sure the Приплыли not-by-Repin painting is funny, whether the person who uses the idiom knows the origin of the expression or not. In my source text, the scene is for sure not a happy one, but the woman does have courage and determination, so perhaps she is saying this to herself with some grim humor. EDIT: Alla, why does this sound funny or ironic, even to a person who is not familiar with the painting?

08:21 Apr 26, 2011 

Repin's pictures (including "не ждали") aren often full of real drama or even tragedy. The expression we are talking about is ironic that is often used in not really dramatic but funny situation so a smile in reply is expected. If it is used in a really dramatic situation than it possibly means that a person who says it is capable to be ironic in cheerless conditions.

20:09 Apr 25, 2011 

In normal everyday usage this expression has little if anything to do with that painting. To be honest, it took me a few moments to even realise what any picture got to do with it. It's just an expression, used in the sense others have already described.

13:01 Apr 25, 2011 

We tried to get something good, but unfortunately we've got what we have got and that's a far cry from our first idea and sometimes even the opposite to that. Tha translator was right.