käenpoika

English translation: cuckoo in the nest

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Finnish term or phrase:käenpoika
English translation:cuckoo in the nest
Entered by: Owen Witesman

15:44 Sep 14, 2011
Finnish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Finnish term or phrase: käenpoika
In the brood parasite sense. The context is some people in an organization viewing a new department as a parasite that sucks resources from other departments. Can anyone think of any idiomatic way of saying this other than using some form of 'parasite'?
Owen Witesman
Local time: 16:01
Cuckoo in the nest?
Explanation:
The idiom is the same...

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Note added at 12 mins (2011-09-14 15:57:03 GMT)
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Juu, saattaa. Näinhän käet tekevät... laittavat pienensä muuhun pesään... ole hyvä.

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-14 16:51:48 GMT)
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Dear Vladys - this is simply an established idiom in Finnish and in English that matches the context.
Selected response from:

Hannele Marttila
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:01
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1Cuckoo in the nest?
Hannele Marttila
4sycophant, sponger
Arja Whiteside (X)
3 -1chick of a cuckoo
Vladyslav Golovaty


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


1 min   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Cuckoo in the nest?


Explanation:
The idiom is the same...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2011-09-14 15:57:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Juu, saattaa. Näinhän käet tekevät... laittavat pienensä muuhun pesään... ole hyvä.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-14 16:51:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Dear Vladys - this is simply an established idiom in Finnish and in English that matches the context.

Hannele Marttila
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:01
Native speaker of: Native in FinnishFinnish, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 7
Notes to answerer
Asker: Tosi outo, etten ollut löytänyt sitä netistä enkä koskaan kuullut aiemmin. Vaimollekin täysin outo idiomi. Saattaa olla niitä, jotka eivät välity meidän sukupolvelle. Kiitos!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Arja Whiteside (X): misfit; a person (occasionally thing) subverting or not conforming with their group; parasite
13 hrs
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31 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): -1
chick of a cuckoo


Explanation:
even worse than a parasite, projection in the future?

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-09-14 17:10:40 GMT)
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interloper is a bit different, poking one's nose or prying into smth, but not sucking any resources..?

Vladyslav Golovaty
Ukraine
Local time: 00:01
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in RussianRussian
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks for the other suggestions, Vladys. In this case using the direct translation that Hannele suggested is going to work best. I just have to wait 24 hours before awarding points. Another I thought of was interloper.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Hannele Marttila: No, this is an idiom. It is about a cuckoo leaving its young one by one in another bird's nest. The cuckoo usually grows faster than the other siblings, and bigger, and chucks the other, legitimate chicks out of the nest.
16 mins
  -> Thanx, Hannele, then did you try all the range? sponger dependent houseguest boarder?
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
sycophant, sponger


Explanation:
sycophant
A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people.
a person who uses flattery to win favour from individuals wielding influence;

sponger
a person who lives off other people by continually taking advantage of their generosity; parasite or scrounger

These are other options you could consider BUT to your question
käenpoika the Cuckoo in the nest is the correct answer

Arja Whiteside (X)
Local time: 00:01
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in FinnishFinnish, Native in EnglishEnglish
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