Apr 9, 2010 12:46
14 yrs ago
Russian term
поворачивают, куда заблагорассудится
Russian to English
Art/Literary
Journalism
The context:
Когда нет важных, необходимых для упорядочения жизни государства законов, а существующие нормативные акты во внимание не берутся, когда чиновники высокого ранга обращаются с законами в соответствии с поговоркой – ***поворачивают, куда заблагорассудится***, тогда и возникают ситуации, подобные той, которую сейчас называют «чеченской проблемой», «чеченской войной».
I have never heard of such a proverb in Russian but I hope there's one in English.
Thank you!
Когда нет важных, необходимых для упорядочения жизни государства законов, а существующие нормативные акты во внимание не берутся, когда чиновники высокого ранга обращаются с законами в соответствии с поговоркой – ***поворачивают, куда заблагорассудится***, тогда и возникают ситуации, подобные той, которую сейчас называют «чеченской проблемой», «чеченской войной».
I have never heard of such a proverb in Russian but I hope there's one in English.
Thank you!
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+5
5 mins
Selected
construe laws as they please/as they deem fit
ИМХО, "поворачивают, куда не заблагорассудится" вряд ли можно считать поговоркой, предлагаю переводить смысл.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
DTSM
: turn them [laws] whichever way they please// wow, i see some excellent options below. together we can do better :)
17 mins
|
Thanks! Sounds a whole lot better, for sure!
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agree |
Olga Cartlidge
: or fiddling with / bending the laws in any way they deem fit / to serve their own interests / put their own spin on the way the laws are interpreted.
1 hr
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Thanks! "Put their own spin on the way the laws are interpreted" is great! Will make a note of it!
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agree |
Angela Greenfield
: with you and also Olga's "bending" and Dimak's "whichever way they please": bend the laws whichever way they please
5 hrs
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Thanks! Will make a note of "bend the laws". Nice piece of colloquial!
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agree |
LOliver
: bend the law the way it suits them
1 day 2 hrs
|
Goes to my notebook, no doubt. Thank you, LOliver!
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agree |
Rachel Douglas
: With Olga: "to bend the law to suit themselves"
1 day 4 hrs
|
Another note made in my notebook, and a good one. Thank you, Rachel!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you!"
2 mins
'twist'em any which way you like'
#
+3
3 mins
one law for the rich, and another for the poor
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/one law for the rich and...
I think that in this context this idiom can be used very easily.
I think that in this context this idiom can be used very easily.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Natalia Volkova
: http://forum.lingvo.ru/actualthread.aspx?tid=68900
11 mins
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Sure, Natalia! Thanks a lot for your support!
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agree |
VicSot
6 hrs
|
Thank you!
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agree |
Judith Hehir
: Thanks, Natalia.
9 hrs
|
Thank you, Judith!
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neutral |
Alexandra Taggart
: That is your conjecture, not a translation-?
9 hrs
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3 hrs
turn any way they like
gпо-моему, никакая и не поговорка, так что можно перевести буквально.
3 hrs
"wherever the wind may blow"
Just a thought. I don't know that there's an English equivalent. This is all that comes to mind.
9 hrs
are turning it over like a cushion to their own convenience
They fiddle with Russian law the way they like. Russia has a rather peculiar system of law: every law has a bylaw at its subordinate regulatory act page, which allows to deal or act in such a way that may contradict the very law it spreads from. It costs those who want things play their way, of course.
Discussion
"Закон - что дышло: куда повернешь, туда и вышло!"
Evidently Nick Grekov`s version is the closest to the original proverb.
http://forum.lingvo.ru/actualthread.aspx?tid=68900