(no subject)

[johnnyever.livejournal.com]

Это что-то с чем-то.

Can someone explain this one to me? Thanks.

Comments

[darth-biomech.livejournal.com]

"This is some incredible", i think.

[johnnyever.livejournal.com]

An announcer used it to describe the USA/Finland match. I'm wondering how exactly the words break down to yield this meaning.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

It's funny, I'm Russian and I don't know the origin/etymology of this expression. :)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Odessa The Mum :) (That's the origin, I mean. Must be pronounced as [шо'та щще'мта] ;-))

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if I heard it there, nonetheless, changing the pronunciation doesn't clarify the connection between the expression and its meaning. :)

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Well, I did hear it there, and more than once :) Speaking about ethymology, many Odessan sayings only make enough sense when prononced the Odessan way. Could we translate (or explain) why a woman who was selling fish on Pryvoz market would advertize her fish as "то ж нэ риба, то ж ти моя риба"? What conveys the meaning is mostly her accent and intonation.

[archaicos.livejournal.com]

You meant "someTHING" and "I", right?

[darth-biomech.livejournal.com]

My bad. -_-

[arashi-opera.livejournal.com]

"This is SOMETHING, really."

[shlema.livejournal.com]

I think there is a difference between «Это что-то» и «Это что-то с чем-то». First phrase is always positive but second one almost always negative.

[barrens-chat.livejournal.com]

Not true. Second phrase can be used for positive description too.

[arashi-opera.livejournal.com]

Both can be used both in positive and in negative sense. Depends on the context and on the intonation.

[barrens-chat.livejournal.com]

This is something unbelieveble.
Very funny or too awful.

Usually people tell it when they have no words to describe their thoughts.

[dekarmi.livejournal.com]

this is something with something. :)

[zauberer.livejournal.com]

Probably this is an ellipsis that can be reconstructed as follows:

"This is something [extraordinary] with another something [even more extraordinary]"

[windy-corner.livejournal.com]

That is really something!

[konstkaras.livejournal.com]

It seem that I never heard this expression with positive meaning. So it means "it's something weird, awful, surprisingly bad..."

[rina-grant.livejournal.com]

And why not? "Какие у дяди Васи в этом году арбузы уродились, это что-то с чем-то!"

[konstkaras.livejournal.com]

If you did hear this, I can't argue:)
As I remember, the phrase "это что-то" gained extra populariry about 1992, when in one of the first TV ads a character, played by Alexey Lysenkov, was encourajed by elder woman with "Какой ты умный, это что-то!" (How smart you are!..) So, first meaning was positive, but it quickly became negative.

[rina-grant.livejournal.com]

That's very possible. As for "это что-то с чем-то" I remember hearing it as long as I remember myself, and that's well into the 1960s :-) And honest, it was used in both contexts, positive as well as negative.

[rina-grant.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's simply a further emphasized version of "Это что-то!" -- "This is something!", literally. As for how it breaks down, it's highly possible it does originate in Odessan slang because they're well-known for playing on words and adding funny unexpected turns of phrase. Not just "this is something", but it's something with something else added on top. It is therefore more emotional than just "Это что-то" and is entirely appropriate for a sports commentator describing a good game. :-)

[santa-chica.livejournal.com]

I was told that it's the substitution for "жопа с ручкой" = ass with a handle" which means nonsense

[chaosmalefic.livejournal.com]

жопа с ручкой
жопа сручкой
))

it is a game of a sound

[rina-grant.livejournal.com]

I heard it a lot used as a mild/euphemistic insult when you're angry with someone but not REALLY angry. Or when you're angry with a child, it's also a nice one to call them :-)

I never heard it being used as "nonsense", though. Has to be some local variation :-)))))))

[chaosmalefic.livejournal.com]

something like "wtf.." with a good meaning

[auditorsha.livejournal.com]

I usually use it with positive meaning
like "super-super"

[permyakov-m.livejournal.com]

I've heard an idiom which imho meant the same thing: It's a something and a half. But I'm not quite sure about the meaning.

[hyyudu.livejournal.com]

The same meaning has картина маслом по сыру (oil painting on cheese)

[trilbyhat.livejournal.com]

Recently, I translated an English (Australian) phrase - 'This guy is a real beaut' (=ironically=) - as "Этот парень – это что-то с чем-то" - this may be useful for you or may be not.