Aug 30, 2012 01:00
11 yrs ago
Russian term
жить на запятках.
Russian to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Help with some wordplay
The complete phrase:
Машину, Ксения, приходится обслуживать. А вольному человеку лучше умереть пешком, чем жить на запятках.
"на запятках" means to serve, i.e. as a lackey riding the footboard of a wealthy person's carriage. Can anyone think of a neat way to bring this into English? The original is based on feet imagery, but I'm open to other suggestions...
Машину, Ксения, приходится обслуживать. А вольному человеку лучше умереть пешком, чем жить на запятках.
"на запятках" means to serve, i.e. as a lackey riding the footboard of a wealthy person's carriage. Can anyone think of a neat way to bring this into English? The original is based on feet imagery, but I'm open to other suggestions...
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | a free man would rather die on his feet than live on his knees |
Mark Berelekhis
|
| 3 | live as a running footman |
RitaZ
|
Proposed translations
+2
2 hrs
Mark Berelekhis
United States
United States
Native in Russian
&
English
Specializes in field
United States
Exemplary quality, truly bilingual
Native in: Russian 
, English
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, English
Related KudoZ points
:
666
Selected
a free man would rather die on his feet than live on his knees
.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jack Doughty
4 hrs
|
|
Thank you.
|
|
| neutral |
rikka
: i think this is a translation of Zapata's quote "Prefiero morir de pie que vivir de rodillas" might be a bit too serious here? // sorry Mark, i'd agree with you on nearly everything, but i think here it has to be a tiny bit more ironic n transport-specifi
5 hrs
|
|
No worries. I see your point, but I think it still works. The car is mentioned right before, establishing the connection, and I don't really sense any irony there.
|
|
| agree |
cyhul
1 day 6 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks, this is excellent!"
18 mins
live as a running footman
...would rather die walking than live as a running footman.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Running Footman
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Running Footman
Discussion
a free man would rather die a pedestrian than live as a slave of his motor..