Russian hard-to-understand phrazes (folklore)

I've decided to create this thread to explain the meaning of russian folklore phrazes, which you may not find in dictionary (but they're not obscene )
So, we give a phraze, then literal translation, and then the real meaning.
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Он (она) без царя в голове (или безбашенный)

He (she) is without a tsar in his (her) head. (or without a tower)

He is absolutely thoughtless man, who always does foolhardy acts which may lead to worry.

Originally Posted by s_jazz

I've decided to create this thread to explain the meaning of russian folklore phrazes, which you may not find in dictionary (but they're not obscene )
So, we give a phraze, then literal translation, and then the real meaning.
Join

Он (она) без царя в голове (или безбашенный)

He (she) is without a tsar in his (her) head. (or without a tower)

He is absolutely thoughtless man, who always does foolhardy acts which may lead to worry.

s_jazz... ты молодец!!!! Огромное спасибо!
Очень полезный thread.

Объясни, пожалуйста, что это значит
"у меня в холодильнике мышь повесилась"

Спасибо ещё раз

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@ any moderator: please, make this thread sticky

"у меня в холодильнике мышь повесилась"
"in my refrigerator mouse died"

it means that u dont have food in refrigerator(refrigerator is empty)

Originally Posted by i'm little one

"у меня в холодильнике мышь повесилась"
"in my refrigerator mouse died"

it means that u dont have food in refrigerator(refrigerator is empty)

i'm little one, let me define concretely : not simply died, but commited suicide (hanged herself) повесилась=hanged herself) because of hunger.
So"In my refrigerator mouse hanged herself" And in real meaning you were perfect!

And I want to offer one phrase:
"У меня (него, неё) крышу сорвало".
My (his,her) roof was torn off.
It means : "I (he,she) have (has) got crazy (mad)".
Good luck!

yeah AndaribnMuzibek u r right,just when im sayin like this for me mouse has already diedbut anyway thanks that corrected me

Ты будто с Луны свалился (упал).

You seem to have fallen from the Moon.

These words we say to a person (mostly to a friend) who doesn´t know the news or obvious things.


Сейчас снег пойдет or
Сейчас дождь пойдет

It´s gonna be snowing now
It´s gonna be raining now

We use the first phraze in warm season and the second one in cold season when something unusual, absolutely incredible has happened.

(Boubou, thanks )

Объясните, пожалуйста, когда говорим
"сапожник без сапог" и что эта фраза значит?

"сапожник без сапог"
"shoemaker is without shoes"
it means if u do something,in the end u can stay without anythingso u must beware

i'm little one, are you sure?
That means that if someone doing smth for others (like job or permanent help), he/she doesn't pay attention what happens in this sphere in his/her own's life. If you're watching House M.D. he also has such thought, smth like this - doctors never think they're ill and they never noticed their own troubles with health. In other words you're doing smth for others forgetting about yourself. Well, it's hard to explain, may be my words are not very clear,sorry

Actually I think the meaning for this is slightly different,, it rather implies that people of certain professions like shoemaker here, have never time for themselves - meaning he makes a lot of shoes but he himself has no good for shoes because he is always lacking time to make it for himself.
Anyway this is just the way I understand it therefore my opinion can be wrong.
:P

Originally Posted by kolbaskina

i'm little one, are you sure?
That means that if someone doing smth for others (like job or permanent help), he/she doesn't pay attention what happens in this sphere in his/her own's life. If you're watching House M.D. he also has such thought, smth like this - doctors never think they're ill and they never noticed their own troubles with health. In other words you're doing smth for others forgetting about yourself. Well, it's hard to explain, may be my words are not very clear,sorry

hehe I think we have posted in the same time, I was trying to say the same thing

well,the meaning of that phrase is little hard to explain and yes Kolbaskina ur right,and i think we must tack together ur answer and mine and we ll get the clearly meaning of that proverb

:'(
It's so difficult to understand when to properly use it!

Could you please, give an example of a small text of 3-4 lines, using that phrase to get its meaning, maybe?

Boubou, it's very simple )
(to my opinion, Bolonka's explanation is the best (Kolbaskina's too, but more difficult))
So...for example, your friend is a teeth doctor, and one day he said he had a teethache; a month later you meet him and ask, has he cured his tooth, and he said "no, I had'nt time". So you say to him: Эх ты! Сапожник без сапог

Originally Posted by s_jazz

Boubou, it's very simple )
Kolbaskina's too, but more difficult

Oh, i'm sooo difficult, sorry

I never heard this expression before but s_jazz here's my critique of it :
a sapozhnik can fix his shoes or boots but a dentist can't fix his own teeth . I actually had a little laugh over this just now imaging a dentist working on his own teeth.

Kolbaskina, sorry, if i said smth annoying...trying to recall English

Tim2286, reffering to Kolbaskina, "he/she doesn't pay attention what happens in this sphere in his/her own's life", it means, that a doctor doesn't have to cure his tooth himself...But i agree with you, that the example isn't very good, caz i've never met a doctor who doesn't pay attention to his teeth

Originally Posted by s_jazz

Kolbaskina, sorry, if i said smth annoying...trying to recall English

Tim2286, reffering to Kolbaskina, "he/she doesn't pay attention what happens in this sphere in his/her own's life", it means, that a doctor doesn't have to cure his tooth himself...But i agree with you, that the example isn't very good, caz i've never met a doctor who doesn't pay attention to his teeth

Thank you all boys and girls.
I'm getting closer to the meaning with your help..
Here's what I found in Lingvo dictionary

сапожник без сапог = the shoemaker's wife is the worst shod

which, from my understanding, is an english proverb. The bad news is that I don't know what it means either


I just found this:

A good painter has no time for free will and can't do his work for free.

I guess you answered correctly in different ways. So.. let's move on to the next phase

Hi,
here I am again!

Who will tell me, please, what

работа не волк

and

в лес не убежит

mean and when they are used (an example for each one???)

работа не волк - в лес не убежит is the same unit. it means that you can't skip doing your work becausi it won't just dissappear (like a wolf that runs into the forest). So it's usually used in situations when someone doesn't want to do something obligatory. for example, i don't want to write a paper for university but работа не волк - в лес не убежит, i have to do it.
there. ) dunno if it helps..