An athlete from the character of steel with eyes like Siberian lakes

[Primorskaya]

ESTA, did you write this???? No, can't be, it's not in caps.

I just had to share this article, it won't tell you anything you don't know, but you should never turn up your nose at a good opportunity to laugh.

Disclaimer: it's not the occasionally wonky english I'm laughing at, not being a native speaker myself that would send me to hell on a 1st class ticket, but this lady has a wonderfully hyperbolic turn of phrase that will make even the most dyed-in-the-wool Plushenko ubers cringe. Hope you enjoy

http://fskating.com/2012/01/blow-for-blow.html

[ItalianFan]

ESTA, did you write this???? No, can't be, it's not in caps.

I just had to share this article, it won't tell you anything you don't know, but you should never turn up your nose at a good opportunity to laugh.

Disclaimer: it's not the occasionally wonky english I'm laughing at, not being a native speaker myself that would send me to hell on a 1st class ticket, but this lady has a wonderfully hyperbolic turn of phrase that will make even the most dyed-in-the-wool Plushenko ubers cringe. Hope you enjoy

http://fskating.com/2012/01/blow-for-blow.html

(Shudder) the purple prose was too much even for this Plushy uber....
"Translated from Italian by Giorgia Ruggeri" This is the culprit, maybe I should volunteer for future translations..... so Giorgia can rest and bone up on her grammar.....

[senorita]

what blow for blow means?? because I m imagining strange stuff...

[pingu]

what blow for blow means?? because I m imagining strange stuff...

Honestly I tried to understand what it could mean in italian, but I have no idea. Maybe they meant "eye for eye"? That's the only thing I could think of.

[VALuvsMKwan]

Honestly I tried to understand what it could mean in italian, but I have no idea. Maybe they meant "eye for eye"? That's the only thing I could think of.

In American English, blow for blow or blow by blow is like describing a fight punch by punch -so in another athletic event, this might be equivalent to "action by action" - in skating, element by element perhaps. Blow for blow is maybe a way of comparing individual elements skater by skater.

In coverage of American football there is usually a "play-by-play" announcer who describes each individual play - means the same sort of thing.

[martyross]

not surprised of the Siberian lake thing as Italian skating commentators who are also Plush fans are capable of the lamest praises ever. maybe someone here remember the "panzer disguised as a skater that crush everything", by Andrea Fusco during 2010 Euros.

[Primorskaya]

(Shudder) the purple prose was too much even for this Plushy uber....
"Translated from Italian by Giorgia Ruggeri" This is the culprit, maybe I should volunteer for future translations..... so Giorgia can rest and bone up on her grammar.....

Definitely an evil alliance between writer and translator. Tripping-on-ecstasy writing enhanced by demented translation. And you would deprive us of the joy of reading more from them in the future, you cruel, cruel person?
I wouldn't say I'm an uber, but I do like Plush and I wanted to claw my eyes out.

The disturbing "blow for blow" I understand as "giving back as good as he got", which makes no sense as applied to skating as the guys aren't actually wrestling each other, although you wouldn't know it, reading articles by some bloodthirsty journos!

"panzer disguised as a skater that crush everything": I'm dying.

[ItalianFan]

"Plushenko, athlete from the character of steel with eyes like Siberian lakes, has always loved the challenges and he has found stimuli in criticism and replied blow for blow."
After re-reading that article I understand that blow for blow in this instance probably means he rebuts every criticism one after the other.
To be fair to the translator I have to say that Italian is a very flowery language compared to English and ways of saying things that seem ordinary and "normal" in Italian, if translated, appear queer to say the least. There too is the fact that translators are supposed to respect the spirit of whatever they are translating; they are not the authors but are only making it comprehensible for those who speak another language. As much as it might make you cringe, you are obliged to translate what has been written. At times a real problem for those of us who do such things.

[misskarne]

Eyes like Siberian lakes, ey? I'd best remember that one for the next time I go over all flowery and descriptive. It's quite pretty...

But panzer disguised as a skater who crushes everything? Uh, yikes?

[IceAlisa]

[Nomad]

"Plushenko, athlete from the character of steel with eyes like Siberian lakes, has always loved the challenges and he has found stimuli in criticism and replied blow for blow."
After re-reading that article I understand that blow for blow in this instance probably means he rebuts every criticism one after the other.
To be fair to the translator I have to say that Italian is a very flowery language compared to English and ways of saying things that seem ordinary and "normal" in Italian, if translated, appear queer to say the least. There too is the fact that translators are supposed to respect the spirit of whatever they are translating; they are not the authors but are only making it comprehensible for those who speak another language. As much as it might make you cringe, you are obliged to translate what has been written. At times a real problem for those of us who do such things.

True that. In English, we just say "Good question" if we can't answer something. In Italian one says "Una gran bella domanda." Literally, "A big, beautiful question." Which is one one of the reasons I love Italian. Although nt every Italian writer is given to flowery language - Grazia Deledda's novels have a lovely, starkly poetic prose style in the original. Martha King's translations do not do them justice, alas, so very few English speakers know or can appreciate Deledda.

[IceAlisa]

"Eyes like Siberian lakes" must become a rep level. Now that I've seen Kwan's boobles, I want them eyes.

[Nomad]

^ This. Admins? Per piacere?

[senorita]

It is somehow very comforting to know there are worst case ubers than me