тютя-матютя

English translation: namby-pamby

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:тютя-матютя
English translation:namby-pamby
Entered by: Arkadi Burkov

09:14 Jul 4, 2008
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Slang
Russian term or phrase: тютя-матютя
А ты как был тютя-матютя, так тютей-матютей и помрешь

Нужно слово с диалектной окраской, но (желательно) понятное большинству носителей. Заранее спасибо:)
Arkadi Burkov
Belarus
Local time: 09:11
namby-pamby
Explanation:
"namby-pamby" is a more modern slang expression in UK English; otherwise Rachel's "wimp" for US English is perfect.
Selected response from:

Graham Poole
United States
Local time: 02:11
Grading comment
Thank you!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4wimp
Rachel Douglas
3 +3milksop
Jack Doughty
4 +2namby-pamby
Graham Poole
3 +1milquetoast
Nata Wise
4baby,(crybaby), doormat, jellyfish (from Merriam-Webster
Simon Gregory
2milk-and-water affected creature
Nurzhan KZ


  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
milk-and-water affected creature


Explanation:
вариант

was a namby-pamby milk-and-water affected creature."

Nurzhan KZ
Local time: 11:11
Native speaker of: Native in KazakhKazakh
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18 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
milksop


Explanation:
Definitions of milksop on the Web:

* sissy: a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* A weak or ineffectual person; A piece of bread sopped in milk
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/milksop

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:11
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tatyana Chis
38 mins
  -> Thank you.

agree  Serhiy Tkachuk
1 hr
  -> Thank you.

agree  Serge Driamov
3 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
milquetoast


Explanation:
на мой взгляд выражение "тютя-матютя" применимо не только к мужскому полу, но и к женскому. Ведь говорят о женщинах: "хищницы, нормальные или тюти-матюти?", то есть "тютя-матютя"(тихий, смирный, невнимательный, равнодушный, апатичный человек)

milquetoast means a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, esp.
e.g. one who is easily dominated or intimidated: *a milquetoast who's afraid to ask for a raise.*
*person who is timid or meek, unassertive. Such people may appear apathetic or unmotivated*
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milquetoast
milquetoast- опоним от Mr Milquetoast

"Milquetoast is an eponym, named after a fictional cartoon character named Caspar Milquetoast, invented by the American illustrator Harold T Webster in 1924. The strip was called The Timid Soul and appeared every Sunday in the New York Herald Tribune up to his death in 1953. Mr Webster said that his character was “the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick”.
The name is just a Frenchified respelling of the old American English term milk toast, an uninspiring, bland dish which was created from slices of buttered toast laid in a dish of milk, usually considered to be food for invalids. There’s an even older foodstuff, milksop, which was untoasted bread soaked in milk, likewise something suitable only for infants or the sick. From the thirteenth century on, milksop was a dismissive term for “an effeminate spiritless man or youth; one wanting in courage or manliness”, as the Oxford English Dictionary puts it. Mr Milquetoast is in the same tradition."
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mil1.htm

Nata Wise
Ukraine
Local time: 08:11
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Simon Gregory: As school dictionary placed it, but begins from Capital letter as the proper name
5 hrs
  -> Yes, you are right. Thank you!
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
namby-pamby


Language variant: British English

Explanation:
"namby-pamby" is a more modern slang expression in UK English; otherwise Rachel's "wimp" for US English is perfect.

Graham Poole
United States
Local time: 02:11
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Thank you!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Deborah Kolosova: Namby-pamby has a rhyme like the original тютя-матютя. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary (an American dictionary, if I'm not mistaken) namby-pamby can be a noun as well as an adjective.
46 mins
  -> Thank you!

agree  Kameliya
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Kseniya!
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
wimp


Language variant: American English

Explanation:
"Milksop" I would have had to double-check in the dictionary, if Jack hadn't supplied the definition. I don't know how "wimp" travels back across the pond.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2008-07-04 14:02:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Actually, "wimp" comes up pretty well on .uk sites, too, though some of the references are to "weakly interacting massive particles." Here's a real example:

Paul McCartney: 'I'm a sport wimp and proud of it'
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/jun/29/olympicgames2008...

And a great combo:

A squeamish namby-pamby European wimp joins the Washington war debate
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jan/14/usa.features11


Rachel Douglas
United States
Local time: 02:11
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Natalya Boyce
53 mins
  -> Thanks.

agree  Graham Poole: Yes, perfect for a US audience! I think he might drown, however, halfway back across the pond... And n-p (at least in UK) can be both noun & adjective.
1 hr
  -> Could be. As for namby-pamby, it's OK on both sides of the Atlantic, but I think it's an adjective. I mean, you can't say "You've never been anything but a n-p and you'll die a n-p," can you? You'd have to come up with another noun.

agree  Mikhail Mezhiritsky: or a wuss (woose? woossie?)
4 hrs
  -> Thanks. I don't know how to spell that, either!

agree  svetlana cosquéric
6 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
baby,(crybaby), doormat, jellyfish (from Merriam-Webster


Language variant: American immigrants language, not overeducated

Explanation:
I have overheard them from my neighbars in real life. I like these words because metaphor is visually more expressive, easy to catch. But "wimp" placed in the briefest dictionary. So all entries above are really good. Asker has enough choice. Good luck! ( My version is not for credit.)

Simon Gregory
PRO pts in category: 4
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