Sep 6, 2012 18:13
11 yrs ago
Russian term
also an attorney with AML background
Native in: English
Works in: Russian to English, English
мозги вывихнуть
Russian to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Subtitle for a portion of a chapter regarding the absurdities of life in 1940s Bessarabia:
Не все мозги удалось вывихнуть!
....
Не все мозги удалось вывихнуть!
....
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+2
1 hr
Susan Welsh
United States
United States
Native in English
Works in field
United States
Psychology, economics, politics
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English, German to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
60
Selected
scramble the brains
They didn't manage to scramble all the brains!
That's the best I can offer without more context. It's the right register anyway -- no need to "civilize" it.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2012-09-06 21:37:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
With your additional context, I think this works. Or if there is no "they" that is implied, you could say something like "Not all brains have been fried."
That's the best I can offer without more context. It's the right register anyway -- no need to "civilize" it.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2012-09-06 21:37:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
With your additional context, I think this works. Or if there is no "they" that is implied, you could say something like "Not all brains have been fried."
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
6 mins
Sarah McDowell
Canada
Canada
Native in English
Works in field
Canada
Tourism ♦ Marketing ♦ Fiction ♦ the Arts
Native in: English
Works in: Russian to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
to blow your mind
They are trying to say that things are so absurd in Bessarabia that they will blow your mind (ie. impossible to comprehend).
It's so crazy it will blow your mind!
It's so crazy it will blow your mind!
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Susan Welsh
: How would you put it in the sentence? Doesn't seem to make sense.
3 hrs
|
|
"They didn't succeed in blowing all their minds!"
|
|
| neutral |
The Misha
: Uh-huh, not everyone had their, er, minds blown. Sounds a little riskee, don't you think?
5 hrs
|
|
that was my intention slightly. After all it is about absurdities of life.
|
21 mins
to turn one's brain
Sounds a bit more civil than scrambling brains..... :-)
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
The Misha
: ... sounds a bit less authentic too.
5 hrs
|
|
Thanks for the input Misha. An added insight into the subtleties of the Russian language.
|
28 mins
Olga Dyussengaliyeva
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Native in Russian
Kazakhstan
A professional, who knows the oilfield
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, German to Russian, and 1 more.
some sanity was preserved
the title says that it was crazy (mind-blowing) but some sense remained. or sanity preserved, as in my initial suggestion
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Susan Welsh
: Sounds very formal; the colorful image has disappeared.
2 hrs
|
-1
29 mins
strain the brain
check google
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2012-09-06 18:43:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Not all the brain has been strained
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2012-09-06 18:43:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Not all the brain has been strained
Peer comment(s):
| disagree |
Susan Welsh
: Makes no sense in the context. Google can tell you that something is said, but not whether it is the correct translation for your text!
2 hrs
|
|
for me it makes perfect sense! thank you for your strong (!) opinion
|
32 mins
Alexander Teplitsky
Native in Russian
MS ME Translating for 20 Years
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English
Related KudoZ points
:
16
Screw your brain
Мои 5 копеек.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Susan Welsh
: Well, if you want to use this, say "screw up," it's more idiomatic when you are not talking about sex.
2 hrs
|
|
Apparently we are reading different books... But thank you any way :-)
|
-1
1 hr
Andrei Yefimov
Ukraine
Ukraine
Native in Russian
Works in field
Ukraine
Linguist, journalist, copywriter
Native in: Ukrainian 
, Russian
Works in: English to Russian, English to Ukrainian, French to Russian, and 5 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
rack your brains
To rack one's brains is to strain mentally to recall or to understand something.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rack-your-brains.html
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/rack-your-brains.html
4 hrs
minds tangled/backwards/spinning in reverse/unhinged
Not all the minds have been --
tangled,
forced into limping backwards,
set spinning in reverse,
unhinged
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2012-09-06 23:27:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
or maybe something like:
No mind unturned, and yet not all are tangled.
No mind unturned, and yet a few (or some) remain untangled.
This addresses the "they" (whoever they are), who attempted to вывихнуть everyone's мозги
tangled,
forced into limping backwards,
set spinning in reverse,
unhinged
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2012-09-06 23:27:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
or maybe something like:
No mind unturned, and yet not all are tangled.
No mind unturned, and yet a few (or some) remain untangled.
This addresses the "they" (whoever they are), who attempted to вывихнуть everyone's мозги
11 hrs
Vladimir Alexandrov
Native in Russian
Works in field
fight the matrix
Native in: Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian
they didn't manage to brainwash everybody/ to have everybody brainwashed
....
Example sentence:
....
16 hrs
Ilham Ahmadov
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Native in Russian
Azerbaijan
"Wide range of expertise"
Native in: Azerbaijani , Russian
Works in: English to Azerbaijani, Russian to Azerbaijani, English to Russian, and 8 more.
Not all the brains were blown out!!
just do a simple google search
Discussion