Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Serbian term or phrase:
medvedja usluga
English translation:
to do someone an ill turn / a disservice
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2011-02-12 18:54:15 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Feb 9, 2011 09:52
13 yrs ago
5 viewers *
Serbian term
Greece
medvedja usluga
Non-PRO
Serbian to English
Other
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Ima li iko ideju kako bi se ovaj termin (po smislu, ne bukvalno) preveo na engleski tj. ima li neki odgovarajuci?
Hvala unapred.
Hvala unapred.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | to do someone an ill turn / a disservice |
Mira Stepanovic
|
| 4 +1 | backhanded favo(u)r |
Pavle Perencevic
|
| 5 | more harm than good |
Bojanstven
|
Proposed translations
5 hrs
Mira Stepanovic
Serbia
Serbia
Native in Serbian
Serbia
Scientific & Tech. translator, Engineer
Native in: Serbian 
, Serbo-Croat
Works in: English to Serbian, English to Serbo-Croat, Serbian to English, and 11 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
12
Selected
to do someone an ill turn / a disservice
Učiniti medveđu uslugu - nenamerno odmognuti - to do something unhelpful
to do someone an ill turn / a disservice
Učinio mi je medveđu uslugu svojom preporukom - he did me a disservice with his references
ref. Srpsko-engleski rečnik idioma, Boško Milosavljević, Margot Vilijams-Milosavljević
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/132610-do-some...
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Note added at 1 day38 mins (2011-02-10 10:30:24 GMT)
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http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/132610-do-some...
"To do someone an ill turn" means "intend to do good to someone but end up doing harm"
to do someone an ill turn / a disservice
Učinio mi je medveđu uslugu svojom preporukom - he did me a disservice with his references
ref. Srpsko-engleski rečnik idioma, Boško Milosavljević, Margot Vilijams-Milosavljević
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/132610-do-some...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day38 mins (2011-02-10 10:30:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/132610-do-some...
"To do someone an ill turn" means "intend to do good to someone but end up doing harm"
Note from asker:
| U mnogim jezicima postoji 'medvedja usluga' kao kombinacija reci 'medved' + 'usluga', nadala sam se da ce neko nesto slicno 'iscackati' i u engleskom :) ali u nedostatku toga ovo je cini mi se 'najelegantniji' izraz. Hvala. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
11 mins
Pavle Perencevic
Canada
Canada
Native in Serbian
Canada
Sparing no effort to get it right!
Native in: Serbian 
Works in: Serbian to English, Slovenian to English, Croatian to English, and 7 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
backhanded favo(u)r
Normally "backhanded" is used in "backhanded compliment", but I see no reason why it shouldn't be used in a phrase such as "to do smb a backhanded favour".
Note from asker:
| I've just found this one: 'well-intentioned favour backfired'. |
| Thank you, appreciate your contribution. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Vuk Vujosevic
: Ђе си Павле и Бог се именом зове. Поздрав из топлог Бара
2 days 6 hrs
|
|
Đe si, Vuče! Ja trenutno između dva kontinenta, ni tamo ni vamo...
|
14 mins
Bojanstven
Serbia
Serbia
Native in Serbian
&
English
Serbia
We speak your language!
Native in: Serbian , English
Works in: English to Serbian, German to Serbian, French to Serbian, and 4 more.
more harm than good
Ima više rešenja, recimo da idu ovim redosledom:
1. more harm than good
2. unintentional disservice
3. ill-placed service
itd...
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Note added at 16 mins (2011-02-09 10:08:39 GMT)
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Primer sa ruskog:
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/russian_to_english/business_commer...
1. more harm than good
2. unintentional disservice
3. ill-placed service
itd...
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Note added at 16 mins (2011-02-09 10:08:39 GMT)
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Primer sa ruskog:
http://www.proz.com/kudoz/russian_to_english/business_commer...
Example sentence:
Ultrasound: More Harm than Good?
But it’s been an unintentional disservice to homeless people, and homeless people are paying the price.
Reference:
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ultrasoundwagner.asp
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_240a8696-05b4-11e0-ab99-001cc4c03286.html
Note from asker:
| Link 'медвежья услуга' je ponudio vise nego dovoljno, hvala puno. |
Discussion