# cool as a cucumber



## vandad

To show that s.o is calm and composed, americans use this slang .How can it be translated into Russian in a sentence like this:"Although he's guilty of the crime ,he sure is cool as a cucumber."


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## Natalisha

"As cool as a cucumber" means "хладнокровный, невозмутимый". If you want to use a comparison you can say "спокойный как скала".


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## Saluton

http://www.multitran.ru/c/m.exe?CL=1&s=cool+as+a+cucumber&l1=1
I'd translate it as "он невозмутим" in this sentence.


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## morzh

В разговорном есть:

Спокойный как удав.
СПокойный как танк.
И даже - спокойный как огурец.


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## Wertis

vandad said:


> To show that s.o is calm and composed, americans use this slang .How can it be translated into Russian in a sentence like this:"Although he's guilty of the crime ,he sure is cool as a cucumber."



Many idioms are possible. Sometimes it's impossible to find them all in a dictionary and you need to feel whether or not some phrase is possible. I would give some variants that I would use to translate "cool as a cucumber":

Спокойный как танк
Спокойный как скала
Спокойный как удав
Спокойный как бык
Спокойный как лед

The first three I like most because we often use these phrases in the everyday life. Tanks are very poweful war machines and they can resist almost any amunition and that is why we use this comparison. Also there is a phrase "You have nothing to be afraid of if you are in/inside a tank", which has the same meaning. In the second example we mention a rock, which is high and sturdy and very difficult to break or damage and hence the collocation. The third phrase contains the word "boa" ("удав") because these snakes usually wait for their victims (rodents, waterfowls) in ambush and they have nothing to be worried about because once an animal appears in the proximity of a snake, it captures the victim and eats it up after crushing it with great effort. So instead of bustling you are just waiting and are very calm since you are confident you'll get what you want or need. Example 4 is similar to #3 because a bull is also very strong and probably even stronger than the snake mentioned. In #5 ice ("лед") is used to mean a sturdy and vast area which ice often occupies especially in polar regions. Saying that something is as cool as ice you mean that they are very powerful and do not require any encouragement or inspiration.

As I have said my options don't exhaus all the possibilities.

Wertis


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## estreets

I've never heard the last two phrases, I don't think they idiomatic.
I like those quoted by Morzh:


> Спокойный как удав.
> Спокойный как танк.


They are rather common and sound OK.


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## Wertis

estreets said:


> I've never heard the last two phrases, I don't think they idiomatic.
> I like those quoted by Morzh:
> 
> They are rather common and sound OK.



They are, but my two latter options are also correct. I agree that they are more rare, but they definitely make sense.


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## estreets

> I agree that they are more rare, but they definitely make sense.


Not to me. To me they are some personal sayings and noway idiomatic.


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## SteveCJD

Wertis - Just curious: what is the Russian version of the expression you mentioned ("There is nothing to fear when you're in a tank")?

This doesn't exist in AmE, although it should after the pilot episode of "The Walking Dead" the other day! (Man surrounded by zombies seeks refuge in a tank -- standard stuff.)


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## morzh

I remember something like "А мне не страшно - я на танке".


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## estreets

The only version I've ever heard
Для тех, кто в танке - (for those who are in a tank)
implying that those who are in a tank are stupid and don't understand simpliest things.


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## morzh

Ну есть еще "радиостанция - на танке".

Но есть, есть это, "мне не страшно - я на танке".


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## Natalisha

morzh said:


> Ну есть еще "радиостанция - на танке".
> 
> Но есть, есть это, "мне не страшно - я на танке".



Конечно, есть! Есть сомневающиеся?


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## estreets

Я сомневающаяся! Честно говоря, никогда не слышала, и даже в интернете какое-то незначительное число упоминаний (21 в гугле, 5 в рэмблере) (это про мне не страшно - я на танке)


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## morzh

estreets said:


> Я сомневающаяся! Честно говоря, никогда не слышала, и даже в интернете какое-то незначительное число упоминаний (21 в гугле, 5 в рэмблере) (это про мне не страшно - я на танке)



http://blog.i.ua/community/896/209993/

(I do not recommend reading the body - it is...well...about pre-conceived notions about ethicities, but read the header).

"Мне пофиг - я в танке".

Another one

http://www.hip-hop.ru/forum/a-mne-poh-ya-v-tanke-i-em-36565/

"Мне пох....я в танке...."

http://eldesign.ru/sreda/2009/0211/

"Мне плевать -я в танке".

---


All these are versions of what I gave here (Мне нестрашно - я на танке).

I agree, it is not the most popular phrase on Internet, and it is "low spoken" but it does exist.


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## estreets

Так сейчас и "отлить в граните" уже есть... а еще пару лет назад не было...


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## morzh

estreets said:


> Так сейчас и "отлить в граните" уже есть... а еще пару лет назад не было...





Never heard this one before.

But about the "I'm in the tank" - it is fairly old. I think I first heard it in my student years, and I graduated in 1982.
(Then again....I'm an army brat and a son of an army officer who is a tank commander  - though this is not the reason I heard it before.)


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## estreets

Да, я тоже думаю, что изначально существовало "мне не страшно, я в танке", а потом, как ответ на эту фразу, возникло "для тех, кто в танке". И уж после того, как "для тех, кто в танке" получило распространение, "мне не страшно, я в танке" стало звучать... несколько сомнительно, что и привело к его закату.


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## morzh

estreets said:


> Да, я тоже думаю, что изначально существовало "мне не страшно, я в танке", а потом, как ответ на эту фразу, возникло "для тех, кто в танке". И уж после того, как "для тех, кто в танке" получило распространение, "мне не страшно, я в танке" стало звучать... несколько сомнительно, что и привело к его закату.




Вот насчет "для тех, кто в танке" - это выражение имеет совершенхно другое значение.

Полностью оно такое (кажется из анекдота, или просто фольклор такой): "Для тех, кто в танке - повторяю....".
Т.е. тем, кто в танке - им плохо слышно.
Иногда используется для замены "повторяю для тупых".

Нашел ссылку.

http://forum.lingvo.ru/actualthread.aspx?tid=78402
В остальном - думаю, да.


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## Wertis

SteveCJD said:


> Wertis - Just curious: what is the Russian version of the expression you mentioned ("There is nothing to fear when you're in a tank")?
> 
> This doesn't exist in AmE, although it should after the pilot episode of "The Walking Dead" the other day! (Man surrounded by zombies seeks refuge in a tank -- standard stuff.)



Hi,

Well, even if this phrase is non-existent in AE, I suppose it is rather easy to guess what it really means. You definitely know that a tank is a very powerful machine that is difficult to attack and damage. So when you are inside a tank you can feel safe and confident because you know that hardly anything threatening your life will happen. That is the intended meaning. No surprise such a phrase is alien to AE and BE. The English phrase given here was literally translated from Russian, which is usually a wrong thing to do with idioms and proverbs. They are, as a rule, similar in many languages, but sound different and often contain different words. This is just the case.


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## morzh

Сегодня на моем форуме, такой пост:

>>>>>Компутер проорал "Вирусная база обновлена!!"
Кролик шуганулся и по дороге снес спящего кота. 
А крысе пофих - *она в танке.* 8))


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