Glossary entry

Polish term or phrase:

...pokazuje jej "wała"...

English translation:

shows her the bent elbow gesture

Added to glossary by Lota
Oct 23, 2008 04:14
15 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Polish term

...pokazuje jej "wała"...

May offend Polish to English Art/Literary Slang
Slang, którego nie znam. Co znaczy to słowo? To jest najwyraźniej obraźliwy gest. Zastanawiam się czy to jest gest, który wykonał Kozakiewicz w Moskwie. I nie wiem jak nazywa się jego gest i tylko ogólnie wiem co oznacza. Przepraszam, jeśli jedno nie ma z drugim nic wspólnego. Nie mam kontekstu, to jest książka. Po małek bitce kobiety i pijanego mężczyzny następuje właśnie ta linijka...

Proposed translations

+2
7 mins
Selected

shows her the bent elbow gesture

Propozycja

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Note added at 10 mins (2008-10-23 04:25:25 GMT)
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Dobre objaśnienie zawiera Wikipedia:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_of_gesture#Bent_elbow

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Note added at 10 mins (2008-10-23 04:25:52 GMT)
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Bent elbow
This is performed in two parts: first, the right hand is placed in the elbow crook of the left arm. The left arm is then raised (fist clenched) at the victim in a smooth and continuous motion. While the motion is essential to the gesture, the choice of arm is not. This gesture is associated with Italians and is considered a more theatrical and physically exuberant version of the finger, and may even be combined with the finger. In Italian it is known as the gesto dell'ombrello, meaning literally "the umbrella gesture." It is typically used in two different situations: 1) to answer "no way!" in an extremely emphatic (and quite vulgar) way; 2) after a triumph against some unfair enemy, with a sense of revenge. The gesture is frequently made stronger by crying "toh!" or "tiè!", both meaning "take this!", at the precise moment the hand touches the crook of the elbow.

This gesture is also in use in France as bras d'honneur (arm of honour), where it is usually understood as va te faire foutre, still meaning "fuck off". In Spain and Portugal, it is a corte de mangas ("sleeve cut") or a manguito (a cover formerly worn by public services bureaucratic workers on the arms to protect one's sleeves from ink splatters) respectively and is done with the left hand on the right elbow, without the continuous motion. In Portugal, the iconic fictional character Zé Povinho, created by Bordalo Pinheiro, is usually depicted performing this gesture. This gesture, known as banana, was also once used in Brazil with the meaning of "fuck you", but it has not been used since the middle of the 90's. The gesture is sometimes used repetitively by fans at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia when the Phillies face the Atlanta Braves as a parody of the Braves' tomahawk chop, and this usage is known as the "South Philly tomahawk chop" due to the gritty reputation of Philadelphia sports fans.

The gesture above has long been known in Slavic countries and Greece in the above senses plus "fuck you", without any standard name. In Poland its name has been standardized to "Kozakiewicz's gesture", after Polish pole vault jumper Władysław Kozakiewicz, who had shown this gesture just after he won Olympic Gold despite jeering Soviet public during the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. In the Balkans "the elbow" is called bosanski grb/босански грб ("the Bosnian coat of arms"). The origin of this name is unknown.

In some cultures it means "fuck your mother", and is sometimes accompanied by the words "your mother". In some other cultures, the hand is pumped upwards instead of swinging up and usually means "up yours".

In the Mel Brooks space-movie parody Spaceballs, the titular antagonists use the bent elbow as a salute. In essence, they salute by insulting each other.


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Note added at 21 mins (2008-10-23 04:35:58 GMT)
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lub po prostu samo THE BENT ELBOW
Peer comment(s):

agree maciejm
4 hrs
Dziękuję bardzo:-)
agree Polangmar
1 day 11 hrs
Dziękuję :-)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to all of you for thoughful comments!"
+1
37 mins

Italian elbow gesture

Inna propozycja: shows her Italian elbow gesture. Anglicy powinni znac ten gest, jako Up Yours. Różnica jest jednak w sposobie wykonania tego gestu, przez co "Up Yours" bardziej oznacza: "Wal się". Dlatego moim zdaniem bardziej odpowiednie będzie określenie podane w propozycji.
Peer comment(s):

agree Andrzej Mierzejewski : ...Polish pole-vaulter Władysław Kozakiewicz showed his defiance by doing the Italian elbow gesture..., http://www.buzzstoc.com/category/olympics/
4 hrs
Dziękuję
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+1
2 hrs

show her the finger

Wiem, że to nie dokładnie to samo, ale jeżeli jest to tłumaczenie dla jankesów to może być bardziej 'swojskie'. Taka lużna propozycja.
Peer comment(s):

neutral Magczer : to jest mocniejsze
2 hrs
agree Ewa Nowicka : poniekąd się zgadzam, to faktycznie jest odpowiednik, nie bardzo rozumiem powyższego komentarza, co jest mocniejsze? IMVHO oba są równie mocne (bądź równie słabe), nie wiem, jak teraz, ale pokazywanie palca nie bylo w Polsce tradycją, więc trudno oceniać
8 hrs
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Reference comments

5 hrs
Reference:

pokazać wała

BTW dawno temu (jeszcze przed igrzyskami w Moskwie) wykonując ten gest mówiło się: takiego wała, jak Polska cała.
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