"Shit hits the fan" - another translation option :)

[watsonesq.livejournal.com]

Hi, I am a newbie here and just want to share with you one interesting observation. :)
Some time ago I was thinking about an adequate Russian idiom for the English "The shit has already hit the fan" and suddenly realized that "Аннушка уже разлила масло" from Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" would be one the best matches :)

Comments

[gauchette.livejournal.com]

hm... can we compare flying shit with rolling head? in other worlds - some trouble in your life with inexorable verdict of fate? i don't think so...

[watsonesq.livejournal.com]

I mean the "indirect" meaning of both idioms - both events lead to bad and inevitable consequences. Flying shit all over the room in the first case which is of no doubt bad for me))) and rolling head which is not so good as well.
I agree that the degree of "badness" is not comparable.

[dark-spectrum.livejournal.com]

And what does this shit-on-the-fan-expression mean?

[sergeys.livejournal.com]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shit+hits+the+fan (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=shit+hits+the+fan)

[wizary.livejournal.com]

Beginning of some troubles

[sergeys.livejournal.com]

There's a phrase “потекло дерьмо по трубам” which means quite the same as “shit hits the fan”. And it's about shit as well! :)

[equal-shit.livejournal.com]

xD

[ginnyboy.livejournal.com]

Not quite right. When you say “потекло дерьмо по трубам” it means you know and see that problem.
When you say "Аннушка уже разлила масло", it means the hero (you) didn't knew it.
It's better to say "пиздец подкрался незаметно" I think :)

[luck243.livejournal.com]

=)))))))

(was posted ot the bash.org.ru)


So this very impolite, rude phraes means that something has happened suddenly. Always some kind of trouble and it was always unexpected. The word "пиздец" means a very big problem (in the direct meaning - something, that could cause die). Подкрался незаметно in thayt meaning means, it came unexpected.

[luck243.livejournal.com]

Also you shouldnt use the word "пиздец" in normal or especially in the formal speach

[la-hummanoid.livejournal.com]

Shit hits the fan = Дерьмо попало в вентилятор. It means that something awful happens, and brings problems for all. "Потекло дерьмо по трубам", means the beginning of some event. It close for rude "Here we go!", but I don't know same phrase.

[dark-spectrum.livejournal.com]

Is there such expression in russian language?

[ex-roumor.livejournal.com]

hahaha super )
very accurate match. the best indeed

[pashator.livejournal.com]

> very accurate match

Not at all!

[vovse-ne.livejournal.com]

You are wrong.

PS. Speak English.

[ars-longa.livejournal.com]

"The shit has already hit the fan" means that something bad is already happening and can be seen or felt by everyone, whereas "Аннушка уже разлила масло" means that the unpleasant events are set in motion, but it's by no means apparent for everyone. So no, I wouldn't say it's a goos translation.

[pashator.livejournal.com]

+1

[apredeus.livejournal.com]

well, the expression in English originated from the joke; the same joke is also known in Russian, and in certain communities I am familiar with the expression "говно попало на вентилятор" is known and used as is.

[watsonesq.livejournal.com]

I think that "говно попало на вентилятор" appeared in Russian together with the translation of "Airplane" movie into Russian. Before that nobody in Russia used it.

[heilrussia.livejournal.com]

Funny resource.)))

[dirty-sanchezzz.livejournal.com]

На башорге узнал об этом месте? Не так ли?!

[no-access.livejournal.com]

"Жопа случилась" would be better as translation, I think. And, what about "Аннушка...", this expression isn't widely used in Russian. Most of the Russian expressions I know mean than something is happend just here, or something starts. But the author's expressoin means that something is happend somewhere, and it could be filled here soon.

[markushka.livejournal.com]

"Говно попало в вентилятор" definitely just translation from English.

But I have found Russian anecdote which clearly describes the source of the expression (couldn't find the English version, sorry):

Захотел мужик пожрать. Видит, рядом ресторан. Заходит, видит — стены в веснушках. Раздевается, смотрит — гардероб и гардеробщик в веснушках. Проходит в зал — столы, стулья, потолок, занавески — все в веснушках! Садится за стол, к нему подходит официант в веснушках и приносит суп (тоже в веснушках). Мужик поел, расплатился, и спрашивает официанта:
— Что это за ресторан у вас такой — весь в веснушках?
— Да это вчера говно в вентилятор попало.

"веснушки" = "freckles"

It's a story of man who was hungry and went to the restaurant. All around him was freckled (tables, chairs, walls, curtains), waiter face was freckled. He asked waiter why all the stuff in the restaurant is freckled. And the waiter replied: "Shit hit the fan yesterday".

So, don't see any similarity between two expressions. They are quite different and cannot be substituted with each other. For better understanding of Mikhail Bulgakov's expression it is required to read the book to understand the context. Fatality of Anna's action is prescribed probably by evil irresistible forces, not by human being.

[paladinus.livejournal.com]

I think this Russian good story is nothing but a translation of an American joke. Because it's hard to explain such similarity...

[dirty-sanchezzz.livejournal.com]

I dont like Bulgakov

[spiritrc.livejournal.com]

What have you read? Have you read anything at all?

[jakobz.livejournal.com]

"говно попало в вентилятор". I hear this russian idiom many times.

[lollipop--gal.livejournal.com]

as I understand, the phrase "Аннушка уже разлила масло" means "there is no escaping fate", the machine set in motion and nothing can be changed.

[kzot.livejournal.com]

absolutelly
"Аннушка разлила масло" means "there's nothing you can do about it"

[eastexpert.livejournal.com]

When mentioning "the shit has hit the fan", it also brings a meaning of fatal irreversibility. You can easily remove shit from the floor, but if it has hit the fan, the removal of this sort of contamination will be really, really difficult.

In this case "Аннушка уже разлила масло" would be quite close in meaning, because Annushka's (inadvertent) action would also be irreversible and leading to dire consequences.

* It definitely has no meaning of "Here we go" ("Понеслось говно по трубам") -- because when "shit hits the fan", it's always something very unpleasant happening, and "here we go" usually begins something we enjoy.

I would compare "the shit hits the fan" with "ящик Пандоры был открыт" and "кот выпущен из мешка" (albeit this is also reminiscence of "the cat is out of the bag").

[doclivsy.livejournal.com]

How about: "Поздно пить Боржоми" ?

[quaest.livejournal.com]

Nice one! (^_^)b

[firstlemonpie.livejournal.com]

my vocabulary says, that "the shit hit the fan" means "запахло жареным".

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Tell your "vocabulary" (actually, it must be a dictionary, I guess, not your own vocabulary?) that it's not entirely sufficient :)

corporate view

[elka78.livejournal.com]

The phrase "shit hit the fan" is sometimes used in the corporate environment to indicate that some big issue/problem was discovered by the big wigs (management) and will not affect everyone badly.
the phrase "Аннушка разлила масло" means that future events are inevitable, but has nothing to do with affecting everyone. And, too true, only those who read 'Master i Margarita' will understand the meaning.
"пиздец подкрался незаметно" is a much more rude language than using the word "shit" and should only be used in very informal situations. I think the russian version would not be used in a movie, while the english one could be (at least I think so highly of russian movies - I might be wrong about modern russian cinematography)
"дерьмо потекло по трубам" does not have the same sudden effect, because something that течет is by definition much slower than something that is propelled by fan :)
As with many idioms, it is hard to find an exact match

Re: corporate view

[elka78.livejournal.com]

i meant to say "will NOW affect everyone badly"