Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
"по живому резать"
English translation:
dismiss someone heartlessly / callously
Added to glossary by
Olga Cartlidge
Jul 22, 2009 10:47
14 yrs ago
Russian term
Medical and Legal Translations
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, French to Russian, German to Russian, and 9 more.
"по живому резать"
Russian to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
It s to do with a manager who feels it would not be the acceptable to fire a member of staff causing problems.
Context -
Может пора расстаться с N ? Но к этому он не был готов. Не в его правилах "по живому резать".
Thank you.
Context -
Может пора расстаться с N ? Но к этому он не был готов. Не в его правилах "по живому резать".
Thank you.
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
7 hrs
Dylan Edwards
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Greek to English, Czech to English, Slovak to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
38
Selected
dismiss someone heartlessly / callously
It was against his rules/principles, it went against the grain, it was not his way to dismiss someone heartlessly
heartless / callous / ruthless dismissal went against his code, was not part of his code
heartless / callous / ruthless dismissal went against his code, was not part of his code
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: ""Ruthless dismissal went against his moral code" would work best for my document.
Many Thanks to all for the comments.
"
55 mins
cut someone to the bone
or
cut to the quick
cut to the quick
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
The Misha
: This is not an idiom native to English, and your translation reads literally: cut someone to the bone. No more, no less. Not a good choice.
8 mins
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OK, "cut to the bone" does sound too literal. But "cut to the quick" IS an idiom, meaning deeply wound or distress (in an emotional way)
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| agree |
Rachel Douglas
: I think either one of these is fine, and "It was not his practice to cut someone to the bone" might even sound better than "to the quick", in this context. See discussion field for "native" examples of figuratively cutting somebody to the bone.
7 hrs
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Thank you, Rachel. Special thanks for the examples.
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1 hr
It would be against his own rules to merely expunge the offender from their midst
Tough one, I agree. As I said in my comment below, this is by far not a native idiom, and translating literally - cutting live, to the bone or in any other way - would just read literally, raising quite a few eyebrows. What I suggest is by far not the exact equivalent, but something I believe a native might say under the circumstances.
Another option would be to say "cutting so/too close to home", but the meaning here is somewhat different and fits you purpose even less.
Another option would be to say "cutting so/too close to home", but the meaning here is somewhat different and fits you purpose even less.
2 hrs
James McVay
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Quality translations at reasonable rates
Native in: English
Works in: Russian to English, Bulgarian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
20
thoughtless cruelty
"It wasn't his practice to act with thoughtless cruelty."
After Ozhegov's definition: По
живому резать (разг.) - действовать жестко, жестоко, не считаясь с последствиями для других. (http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/DIC/OZHEGOW/ozhegow_e_l.txt)
It happens fairly often in translation that you can't find an exact duplicate for an idiom Often the best thing to do is just to make use of the meaning in a sentence.
After Ozhegov's definition: По
живому резать (разг.) - действовать жестко, жестоко, не считаясь с последствиями для других. (http://www.kulichki.com/moshkow/DIC/OZHEGOW/ozhegow_e_l.txt)
It happens fairly often in translation that you can't find an exact duplicate for an idiom Often the best thing to do is just to make use of the meaning in a sentence.
4 hrs
to cut (someone) to the quick
It was against his rules to cut someone to the quick like that.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cut to the quick
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/cut to the quick
Discussion
"Work him heartily; cut him to the bone, I charge you. If you show him the least mercy, you are no woman." (G. Colman, "The Deuce Is in Him," 1764).
"I had intended to drive him away, not cut him to the bone." (R. Hobb, "Assassin's Quest," 1998).
"...they had not spoken, since that day in the camp, when Tharkay had so easily and so wrenchingly cut him to the bone." (N. Novik, "Victory of Eagles," 2007).
For "to cut to the quick," I don't think special examples are necessary. Judith, as a native speaker, offered that one, though Elena did say both of them first.