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Old 01-09-2013, 01:30 PM   #1
johndallman
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default Looking for an idiom

In Russian, Ukrainian, or Belarusian, most likely. I'm playing in a Weird WWII campaign, with British characters who have ended up in Stalingrad, shortly before the Germans get there.

It being Weird WWII, the Germans have an unusual kind of special forces. They use a weird variety of technomagic, which comes in remotely powered backpacks. These give the user amplified strength and DR (about DR20) when switched on, and allow them to fly via mental commands to the device. The visual effects are that the user looks bigger and stronger and more "Aryan", and glows with golden light.

The name we cynical Brits are using for them is "Golden Boys", which may require some amplification. The usual meaning is only semi-sarcastic, used of an individual who is destined for fame, achievement and/or power by virtue of both talent and circumstance; we're using it a lot more sarcastically.

But if anyone has a guess what the Russians (or Ukrainians, or Belorussians) might call them, with a translation back into English, I'd really like to know.

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by johndallman; 01-09-2013 at 01:31 PM. Reason: spelling
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Old 01-09-2013, 02:37 PM   #2
vicky_molokh
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Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
Default Re: Looking for an idiom

Depending on what exactly you want to achieve, some assembly might be required. First, one of the more common rude-ish ways to refer to a German in Russian was Fritz (Фриц). A rather universal Ukrainian noun for an 'evil' foreigner would be песиголовець/песиголовці (pesygolovets/pesygolovtsy), literally dog-head. Those are two terms that I've heard old people use when telling about the war.

Golden would be zolotoy (золотой) in Russian and zolotyy (золотий) in Ukrainian. The spelling changes in accordance with the noun modified, the usual Slavic complications.
While anachronistic (dating from 80s onward), the term Golden Youths (золотая молодёжь) in Russian seems harsher than the the British analogue. It means young people who can live in leisure thanks to their parents' money/patronage, and have little to no talent/skill/etc. of their own. As I said, it's probably not what you need, since it doesn't imply any serious capability, aside from calling a bigger fish.

While the Russian word for the term Übermensch is Сверхчеловек, and Ukrainian is Надлюдина, I think a direct transliteration (roughly Уберменш) is plausible in the context of a Weird War II setting. Notably, it sounds distinctly German to Slavic ears, and can probably accept an adjective like золотой. It also implies both great power and a capability/willingness to abandon morality.

Finally, also somewhat anachronistic, золотые пацаны would literally translate as golden boys, but with the noun having an intrinsic aspect of roughness, also possibly petty and/or vandalistic tendencies.

I'm making no attempts to find any more explicit terms, and my age makes all choices based on second-hand accounts at best.
Warning: words may mutate unpredictably depending on sentence, and appear larger in mirrors.

If they don't show up on their own, you can try inviting Walrus and Moldon to this discussion.
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Old 01-09-2013, 03:59 PM   #3
Johan Larson
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Toronto, Canada
Default Re: Looking for an idiom

Quote:
Originally Posted by johndallman View Post
The name we cynical Brits are using for them is "Golden Boys", which may require some amplification. The usual meaning is only semi-sarcastic, used of an individual who is destined for fame, achievement and/or power by virtue of both talent and circumstance; we're using it a lot more sarcastically.

Thanks in advance.
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust.
-- Billy, "Fear No More"
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Old 01-09-2013, 04:49 PM   #4
johndallman
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cambridge, UK
Default Re: Looking for an idiom

Quote:
Originally Posted by vicky_molokh View Post
While anachronistic (dating from 80s onward), the term Golden Youths (золотая молодёжь) in Russian seems harsher than the the British analogue. It means young people who can live in leisure thanks to their parents' money/patronage, and have little to no talent/skill/etc. of their own.
British-sense Golden Boys may meet this description: people with favourable circumstances are very good at believing they also have talent, which means the degree of sarcasm in the term is variable. As usual for British English.

Thanks for this: I'll see who else chips in before I make a suggestion to the GM.
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