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амортизация на базу активов
Jul 10, 2014 04:42
10 yrs ago
Russian term

спекуляций на костях

Russian to English Social Sciences Government / Politics expression/figurative language
Правда может быть неприятна и тем, и другим, но лучше правда, чем продолжение обманов и спекуляций на костях.

I don't think we have an exact equivalent in English, do we? I get it - letting a tragedy happen and then trying to deal with it after the fact, is that the idea?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions, literal or "explanitory."
-Beth
Proposed translations (English)
4 +3 profit on/exploit the dead
4 exploit the tradegy
2 +1 dancing on the graves
3 capitalizing on the ashes of the dead / those who passed away
5 -3 (lie) and let others guess (about the rest)
3 -1 desecrate the memory of those who died
2 -1 trading with bones

Discussion

katerina turevich Jul 10, 2014:
Perhaps 'speculations' ? in the context of telling the truth, and preventing other people from random guessing (well, not quite random):: "с помощью костей (о гадании) ◆ Испытал гадание и на костях, и на воске, и на картах, и на бобах; хиромантию, кристалломантию, катоптромантию и геомантию; прибегал к гоетейе и некромантии, а гороскопов сколько мне составляли, — и не упомню! "
from here : http://ru.wiktionary.org/wiki/на_костях
Sarah McDowell Jul 10, 2014:
More context necessary We need more context to figure out how best to translate this. Is it part of a newspaper article? What is the general subject? Do you have the surrounding sentences where this came from? I am afraid that any answers with this little context will be merely wild guesses.
Ella Gokhmark Jul 10, 2014:
I think it's not just dealing with tragedy after the fact but using someone's death
- to gain some benefit,
- to some advantage,
- profiteering on someone's death.

Proposed translations

+3
2 hrs
Selected

profit on/exploit the dead

as opposed to "the tragedy". The meaning is concrete: dead people, not just a general tragedy.
I've also heard an expression "Using the dead for PR", but perhaps you might find it too colourful, I don't know

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Note added at 2 hrs (2014-07-10 06:51:19 GMT)
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Sorry! I meant "profit FROM". A feudian slip: while typing I was thinking of "building on" and typed ON instead of FROM !!!

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Note added at 5 hrs (2014-07-10 09:49:14 GMT)
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НУ РАЗ УЖ ПОШЛА ЕЩЕ ОДНА СТЕРИЛЬНАЯ ДИСКУССИЯ, ВОТ ВАМ ПРИМЕРЫ (ИХ ТЫСЯЧИ):
Спекулировать на костях – страшнее, чем на них строить ...
www.spb.aif.ru/society/details/134889
Translate this page
Nov 21, 2011 - Спекулировать на костях – страшнее, чем на них строить. Почему ветеранов не спросили про захоронения их боевых товарищей?
Спекуляция на костях жертв января 1990 года ... - NEWS.am
news.am/rus/news/190006.html
Translate this page
Jan 20, 2014 - Спекуляция на костях жертв января 1990 года продолжает оставаться неотъемлемой частью политики алиевского клана

и т.п.
Peer comment(s):
neutral LilianNekipelov : not really--nothing about nay dead here.
2 hrs
and whose bones are those, then?
neutral Susan Welsh : The meaning is clearly right, but there must be a more vivid way to say it in English.
5 hrs
All power to you, Susan: you finds them thar right terms terms, you posts it :))))
agree The Misha : Nothing Freudian about your slips. It's the mad cow disease encroaching. I should know, I get tons of those.
6 hrs
Болезнь сумасшедшего коровкина
agree Maria Popova : Exploit the dead! E.g.: Why do the republicans exploit the dead? https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080905132935A...
10 hrs
Thanks Maria
agree Natalia Volkova
12 hrs
thanks, Natalia
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
56 mins

exploit the tradegy

The idea is to take advantage of the tragedy or turn it to one's advantage
Peer comment(s):
neutral LilianNekipelov : Too broad.
4 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
4 hrs

trading with bones

=
Peer comment(s):
neutral LilianNekipelov : Not exactly--there is nothing about real bones here.
23 mins
disagree Susan Welsh : which means ... what?
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
-3
4 hrs

(lie) and let others guess (about the rest)

In this context--it is about guessing--like fortune telling, not about any real bones., although it may slightly combine both meanings, but the main one is fortune telling.


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Note added at 5 hrs (2014-07-10 09:43:10 GMT)
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Or, make predictions on the bones, perhaps--if you want it more visual.
Peer comment(s):
disagree El oso : it is about guessing--like fortune telling" - made out of thin air. Neither guessing nor fortune telling has anything to do with "спекуляция на костях".
2 hrs
disagree Susan Welsh : It is about the dead. Just look at Mikhail's examples, or do your own google or yandex search.
2 hrs
disagree The Misha : You may be right about the fortune telling part, but your wording is convoluted and totally unwieldy in the sentence given. Above all, it squarely gives you away as a non-native speaker of English.
3 hrs
Something went wrong...
-1
7 hrs

desecrate the memory of those who died

This depends on the context, which as Sarah said, is inadequate. However it works for the instances of the Russian phrase that I found on the net.
Reference:

https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=np&q=%22desecrate+the+memory%22&oq=%22

Peer comment(s):
disagree Maria Popova : Different meaning! Russian: make profit out of the dead *because they are important*, nothing about profaning.
5 hrs
The one is an example of the other: if you make profit from the dead, you are desecrating their memory. You desecrate their memory because they are important.
Something went wrong...
+1
7 hrs

dancing on the graves

мне кажется, что более распространенное выражение "пляска на костях" здесь подходит по смыслу, так же как и переводной вариант. Ну может быть еще можно как-то выразить это через 'trading on the graves'. Just IMHO.

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Note added at 7 hrs (2014-07-10 12:22:41 GMT)
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как вариант еще 'dancing on the tombs'

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Note added at 9 hrs (2014-07-10 14:25:09 GMT)
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The Mikhail's note is quite resonable. To avoid the connotation of getting happy with someone's death, perhaps it is better to replace 'dancing' with 'trampling'.
Peer comment(s):
agree The Misha : I think dancing on the graves works just fine, all the more so since it's perfectly idiomatic and vivid unlike most other suggestions so far.
53 mins
Thank you the Misha, I'm flattered of your positive opinion.
neutral Michael Korovkin : Actually, I totally disagree: this idiom means having positive FEELINGS about somebosy's death, or gloating over having survived one's enemy. Here, it's simply taking advantage (economic, political, etc...)of somebody eslse's death.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

capitalizing on the ashes of the dead / those who passed away

As yet another option.
Something went wrong...
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