tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post6100652642967753256..comments2024-03-18T22:01:58.528+01:00Comments on W-wa Jeziorki: "What's the English for kombinować?"Michael Dembinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05657728002439035765noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-87874346319842480482017-06-05T12:42:42.177+02:002017-06-05T12:42:42.177+02:00An 'almost there' word in English - to sch...An 'almost there' word in English - to scheme. "He was forever scheming how he'd make his first million." Yet schemes and scheming suggests plans that may or may not come into fruition...Michael Dembinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05657728002439035765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-54672540598616955162016-08-30T12:31:13.575+02:002016-08-30T12:31:13.575+02:00As an academic in a Cambridge College this post ma...As an academic in a Cambridge College this post makes me rethink the common (in my context) use of 'combination'. We have Junior and Senior Combination Rooms, describing the undgeraduate and lecturer communities respectively, and after weekly formal dinners we must choose whether or not to 'combine' (stay on for fruit, petits fours, Port, coffee etc.) I had thought of it simply as 'mixing socially', but the Polish use, along with the A. Smith quotation reminds me of the questions of power and action associated with such structures and networks.Isahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09352566489348043978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-40577015785589565372014-03-16T11:54:20.848+01:002014-03-16T11:54:20.848+01:00I usually use the word tinkerI usually use the word tinkerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-27753147311170577942010-12-18T09:48:13.912+01:002010-12-18T09:48:13.912+01:00I'm with Pacze Moj. Finagle is the nearest sin...I'm with Pacze Moj. Finagle is the nearest single word I can think of to use as a replacement for kombinować. <br /><br />It not only has a close direct meaning but is also similar in that the underlying sentiment is more mischievous and cheeky than it is criminal or nasty.<br /><br />I always had the idea that finagle was an Irish American word and there is some evidence for that although the real etymology of the word is not clear.<br /><br />Thanks for reminding me of the word finagle, Pacze Moj. It's a fine word and one I shall try to hold on to a while longer now I have it back!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-81354519812576539242010-12-12T21:53:09.744+01:002010-12-12T21:53:09.744+01:00The Dad's Army characters page describes Walke...The Dad's Army characters page describes Walker as a 'wide boy' - Wikipedia does a good job of explaining who a wide boy was. Eddie Grundy is a character in the fictional village of Ambridge in the longest running British radio soap opera. Eddie and his father Joe have always got a scam going. He is your man if you need a Christmas tree, a turkey, a bag of compost, some dodgy meat, a brace of pheasants, small jobs around the house, etc, walking the thin line between the shady and the sunny side of the law. Eddie could be found flogging stuff at car boot sales, doing small favours to paying customers at cattle markets, running a book on virtually any event, and dispensing home-made cider to neighbours in their moments of weakness from a shed in his field.Jacek Kobahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602096438710949362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-43477485364355949502010-12-11T08:56:46.736+01:002010-12-11T08:56:46.736+01:00Now can somebody enlighten me? What did that chara...Now can somebody enlighten me? What did that character do? What's the verb??? AFter all <i>kombinować</i> has so many meanings that there's more than one correct translation probably?student SGHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01367244307612092688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-54215780082163299482010-12-10T11:52:23.412+01:002010-12-10T11:52:23.412+01:00Looking through this and the Polandian post, it se...Looking through this and the Polandian post, it seems that the fundamental difference between English and Polish here is the Polish positive view of theft, corruption and profiteering during the communist period, whilst the equivalent 'spivs' in Britain when there was shortages and rationing were viewed much more negatively. I've no idea who Eddie Grundy is, but English comedy (St Trinians, Carry On ... something or other, Dad's Army) has spivs as positive characters, but the joke was that such people were basically unacceptable, whilst the character in the film/TV series really had a heart of gold. English equivalents to 'kombinować' therefore describe innocent activities, but hint at illegality. The Polish word is known to refer to (acceptable) illegality, but is used to refer to innocent activities.Pan Steevahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13253724876708541368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-25991859991326930002010-12-09T06:59:49.586+01:002010-12-09T06:59:49.586+01:00Bankowski's etymological dictionary of Polish ...Bankowski's etymological dictionary of Polish (2000) states that Kombinować came into Polish in the 2nd half of the 19th century, from German Kombinieren and French Combiner (where it is attested in the 13th century), presumably in the word's original sense, i.e. to combine. It goes back to Latin 'coniungere bina' (to join two?).<br /><br />The German Kombinieren does strangely seem to give more of the Polish spiv sense, and I wonder if that too is not a borrowing from the Krauts? Bankowski doesn't seem to mention the Del Boy meaning, but he comments that the word acquired a transferred meaning in Polish: 'to cannily extract practical conclusions' (wyciągać sprytnie wnioski praktyczne), which is sort of halfway there.Sigismundonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-49664889392529867582010-12-08T21:31:50.058+01:002010-12-08T21:31:50.058+01:00Remember Walker in Dad's Army? He was the spiv...Remember Walker in Dad's Army? He was the spiv, and 'kombinowac' is what he did. Them days were the times of austerity, too. So what did Walker do? The ultimate UK equivalent of 'kombinator' to me today is another fictional character: Eddie Grundy in the Archers, whom I secretly revere. What does Eddie do? Answer with a verb and you will have the answer to your question.Jacek Kobahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602096438710949362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-45136384359211577022010-12-08T18:14:48.101+01:002010-12-08T18:14:48.101+01:00"Finagle" is English, but it's Ameri..."Finagle" <i>is</i> English, but it's <i>American</i> English, not your Euro-kind.<br /><br />:PPacze Mojhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04455647830303860446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-14002129132146134012010-12-08T17:56:58.031+01:002010-12-08T17:56:58.031+01:00Not sure how I missed this post :o and I seem to b...Not sure how I missed this post :o and I seem to be getting a deja vu regarding the word wangle.<br /><br />Perhaps the Only Fools and Horses answer is wheelin' and dealin' (someone who does this is a wheeler dealer). Maybe there's a better word from that series - but it doesn't come to me at the moment :(adtheladhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547876597884642821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-68505709970117256442010-12-07T23:25:09.935+01:002010-12-07T23:25:09.935+01:00never heard of the word 'finagle' (is that...never heard of the word 'finagle' (is that even English?!) but wangle sounds quite good to me...pinolonahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00473418753213565601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-24900348172142101222010-12-07T17:39:09.973+01:002010-12-07T17:39:09.973+01:00Not a first post on the topic, Polandian has once ...Not a first post on the topic, <a href="http://polandian.home.pl/index.php/2009/04/03/myth-22-the-kombinowac-myth/" rel="nofollow">Polandian</a> has once beaten it to you.<br /><br />Maybe just "fix sth up", "come by", "wheel and deal"? Much depends on the context in which it is used, therefore you won't find one English verb but should try to understand the concept behind each use of <i>kombinować</i> and find a suitable word.student SGHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01367244307612092688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-81951153031984643922010-12-07T17:37:47.185+01:002010-12-07T17:37:47.185+01:00On the bus earlier I also thought of the adjective...On the bus earlier I also thought of the adjective, "canny"<br /><br />–adjective<br />1.<br />careful; cautious; prudent: a canny reply.<br />2.<br />astute; shrewd; knowing; sagacious: a canny negotiator.<br />3.<br />skilled; expert.<br />4.<br />frugal; thrifty: a canny housewife.<br />5.<br />Scot.<br />a.<br />safe to deal with, invest in, or work at (usually used with a negative).<br />b.<br />gentle; careful; steady.<br />c.<br />snug; cozy; comfortable.<br />d.<br />pleasing; attractive.<br />e.<br />Archaic . having supernatural or occult powers.<br /><br /><br />The etymology of canny is interesting: "1630s, Scottish and northern England formation from can (v.) in its sense of "know how to." Often used superciliously of Scots by their southern neighbors, implying "thrift and an eye to the main chance."Paddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09163232911999188637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-76983595163788067982010-12-07T16:10:49.350+01:002010-12-07T16:10:49.350+01:00Machinate/wangle/finesse. Hustle and finagle also ...Machinate/wangle/finesse. Hustle and finagle also seem good. There must be something from 'Only Fools and Horses', which seems to be about the same activity, but I can't think what.Pan Steevahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13253724876708541368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-52263855773126437382010-12-07T13:42:44.126+01:002010-12-07T13:42:44.126+01:00I have no clue whether or not the word kombinować ...I have no clue whether or not the word kombinować existed in pre-1795 Poland, but the practice of kombinowanie certainly did. Just read Władysław Łoziński's informative and higly readable "Prawem i lewem. Obyczaje na Czerwonej Rusi w pierwszej połowie XVII wieku". <br /><br />(Online version available from http://delibra.bg.polsl.pl/dlibra/docmetadata?id=96&from=pubstats)jannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-81953628163397905422010-12-07T13:24:24.681+01:002010-12-07T13:24:24.681+01:00In English: ...maybe something like finagle?In English: ...maybe something like <i>finagle</i>?Pacze Mojhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04455647830303860446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-53635431542923247472010-12-07T10:49:25.361+01:002010-12-07T10:49:25.361+01:00Perhaps the American verb "to hustle" wo...Perhaps the American verb "to hustle" would be appropriate?<br /><br />A very similar verb used in Auschwitz occured to me as I was reading this: organizować, used there for stealing/"hustling."<br /><br />I wonder if this was a word that also existed prior to the camps? As far as I am aware this term did not survive the camps, but correct me if I am wrong.Paddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09163232911999188637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-84510099758403442272010-12-07T10:15:11.015+01:002010-12-07T10:15:11.015+01:00The closest I can get to translating it into Engli...The closest I can get to translating it into English (from my experiences of course) is 'to make do with' although this never covers kombinować 100%, perhaps only 70-80% of the time.<br /><br />An official explanation of 'to make do with' says "Accept something less satisfactory because there's no alternative" - and in my mind this seems to sum up the sort of adapt-to-survive attitude during communism which would have been a good starting point for kombinować.Decoyhttp://polandian.home.plnoreply@blogger.com