Translating Idioms by Choosing Approximate Analo­gies

Some source language idiomatic and stable expressions may have a peculiar nature of their componental parts or a peculiar com­bination of them and thus form nationally peculiar expressiveness and picturesqueness of componental images. The latter constitute some hidden meaning, which is mostly not quite explicit and com­prehensible, not transient enough for the foreigner.

As a result, there exist no genuine phraseological analogies for the units in the target language. Since it is so, their lexical mean­ing can be expressed by means of only approximate analogies or through explication, i.e., in a descriptive way. These analogies are only to a slight degree similar to the source language idioms, al­though they may be no less picturesque and expressive than the source language variants: Wnd words butter no parsnips годувати байками солов'я; to lose one's breath кидати слова на вітер; to make a cat's paw of something чужими руками жар вигрібати; а joint in one's armour ахіллесова п'ята (вразливе місце); fne sow loves bran better than roses кому що, а курці просо; more power to your elbow ні пуху, ні луски!; to come off scot free вийти сухим з води; to be finger and thumb водою не розлити (cf. нерозлийвода); to be from Missouri (Amer.) вірити тільки своїм очам; it is six and half a dozen не вмер Данило, так болячка задавила; what's Hecuba to me моя хата скраю; to get the blues місця собі не знаходити/ сумувати, etc.

No need to emphasize that selection of approximate analo­gies for a translator is no easy task, as the source languages idioms/ phraseologisms often bear some characteristics of a language's traits having no correspondence^ the target language. Cf.: The answer's a lemon так не буде, такне вийде.

Many idioms have obscure origin/etymology and selecting of approximate equivalents as any other corresponding semantic vari­ants often requires a linguistic investigation on the part of the trans­lator. For example: to be in the cart means to be closed in a cage as a convict (for some crime) and be exposed to general scorn of one's compatriots (as in old times in England). It may be translated into Ukrainian as бути в стані/ситуації хоч круть хоч верть, потрапити в безвихідь.