Oct 31, 2005 16:30
19 yrs ago
English term

Tom, Dick, Harry

English to Hungarian Other Linguistics
Please, give me the equivalent in your language of the "every Tom, Dick and Harry" thing. I need to know how you call "mister anybody", a person whose name you don't and won't remember, an insignificant, average person (or more of them)! And what I need are personal names that replaces that "anybody": like Fulano y Mengana (Spanish), Caio, Tizio e Sempronio (Italian), etc.
Thanks!

Proposed translations

+3
4 hrs
Selected

pityipalkó

This is a combination of two words, 'pityergő'= crying, and 'Palkó'= little Paul. A name for any useless so-and-so, whose name you may not know, or you may know, but can't be bothered with. So it is quite close to what you are after.
Peer comment(s):

agree Jozsef Gal
1 hr
agree CSsys (X)
5 hrs
agree Attila Hajdu
1 day 12 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "I will use "pityipalkó", so I grade this one. But thank you everybody!"
52 mins

Kovács 132. János

I cannot think of any first names for such phrase.
We do have something similar, but it would be closer to "John Doe":
This is "Kovács 132. János".
"Kovács János" is probably the most common surname - first name combination (equivalent of "John Smith"). For an emphasis of insignificance, we sometimes add a serial number in the middle.* For some reason, the number that pops into my mind is "132", others may use this phrase differently.

*This formula was originally used in football teams. When two players in a team share the same name, they are mostly referred to as e.g. "Kovács 1. János" and "Kovács 2. János".

Apologies from anyone who happens to be called "Kovács János".

(In the brilliant Hungarian translation of "Winnie the Pooh", the little bear lives in a hut with a board nailed to the top. The name engraved on this board is also "Kovács János")
Peer comment(s):

agree novist : a többi is jó, de szerintem ez a legjobb
1 day 5 hrs
disagree Attila Hajdu : This is not a living expression.
1 day 16 hrs
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+6
1 hr
English term (edited): every Tom, Dick and Harry

ˇ

anyone = akárki
average person = átlagember

John Smith or Mr. Smith:
Gipsz Jakab (A Hungarian name used in examples.)

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Note added at 1 hr 8 mins (2005-10-31 17:38:43 GMT)
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The difference between "Gipsz Jakab" and "Kovács János":
There are many Hungarians with the name "Kovács János", while "Gipsz Jakab" is not so common in real life, but a typical Joker name in examples.
Peer comment(s):

agree Csaba Ban : Yes, "Gipsz Jakab" is used often. And certainly nobody is actually called this way, so this may serve your purpose better
5 mins
Thank you, Csaba
agree Krisztina Lelik : yes, it is Gipsz Jakab or Pityi Palkó
1 hr
agree perke
1 hr
agree CSsys (X)
9 hrs
agree Balazs Horvath
14 hrs
agree Attila Hajdu : Gipsz Jakab
1 day 15 hrs
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+1
1 hr

János, vagy Mihály [vagy=or]

This combination was used to express the exact sentiment of Tom Dick and Harry by the Hungarian poet of the 19th century, János Arany [...amit ne értsen János, vagy Mihály...= that should not be understood by John or Michael, in Vojtina Ars Poeticája=The Ars Poetica of Vojtina - assuming that my memory is correct.) Now tiems have changed and the cited expression has never become used by others. Possibly the poet of today would put it differently.

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Note added at 4 hrs 16 mins (2005-10-31 20:47:15 GMT)
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In a very scarcely known song of the Chilean Quilapayun group (that was translated around 1970, if I remmember correctly, by P. Dabasi), the Spanish names Juan i Jose (and a third that I can't now remember) were replaced by János, Tamás és Kati. The meaning however here does not carry the somewhat belittleing if not ouright unpleasant overtones of Tom, Dick and Harry. Rather, they are replesentatives of the People. Notable, however that, touched by the times, a woman's name was included.

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Note added at 4 hrs 17 mins (2005-10-31 20:47:35 GMT)
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In a very scarcely known song of the Chilean Quilapayun group (that was translated around 1970, if I remmember correctly, by P. Dabasi), the Spanish names Juan i Jose (and a third that I can't now remember) were replaced by János, Tamás és Kati. The meaning however here does not carry the somewhat belittleing if not ouright unpleasant overtones of Tom, Dick and Harry. Rather, they are replesentatives of the People. Notable, however that, touched by the times, a woman's name was included.

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Note added at 7 hrs 11 mins (2005-10-31 23:42:02 GMT)
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Only for the sake of accuracy: the cited passage is in a different poem by Arany, titled "Vojtina Levelei Öccséhez, I" (Vojtina's Letters to his Cousin, I). As far as the intended meaning, there is no question that the citation is correct. It is a tongue-in-cheek instruction for the aspiring poet to choose words in his poems that won't be understood by Tom, Dick and Harry, or even by himself. (Te mindig olyan szót válassz, csinálj,/ amit ne értsen János, vagy Mihály;/ Legjobb, ha tenmagad sem érted azt..."). Hopefully this clarifies it for Csaba.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Csaba Ban : This phrase may actually refer to two specific people: actually the two leading poets of this time (1850) (Sándor died a year earlier...). I may be wrong, but this poem is full of names of actual literary figures of this time.
22 mins
I agree: you may be wrong :)
agree Balazs Horvath : or "János és Tamás" (the most common first names) appears in the lyrics of Hobo Blues Band and Cseh Tamás
2 hrs
Thx. Interesting. And see the note above.
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+1
16 hrs

Átlag János

"Átlag János" = "John Average"
also used in this form: "átlagjános",
which is pronounced very similar to "általános" (=general, common).
Peer comment(s):

agree Attila Hajdu
1 day 53 mins
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2 days 4 hrs

Kifenevóth Gábor *** NOT FOR GRADING

...just for fun :)
This is a fancy name - the name of the first Hungarian lacquer maker appearing in a caricature of Eötvös Károly written by Karinthy Frigyes. Back translated the name sounds like "Gabriel Whothehellwas".
This name isn't part of the standard language, but may be a good choice, if somebody wants to shed light upon the exaggeration of a dead person's importance.
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