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But he did not mention a word about repressions, searches, bans on holding a rally in memory of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars of 1944.
Но ни слова не обмолвился о репрессиях, обысках, запретах на проведение митинга в память о депортации крымских татар 1944-го года.
All right, guys, all we got to do now is keep a low profile and not mention a word of this to anybody.
Итак, теперь нам нужно лишь не высовываться и никому не говорить ни слова о случившемся.
Profiting by experiences of the past, we dare not mention a word about them until they are actually being manufactured.
Мы извлекли уроки из прошлого опыта и не говорим об обновлениях до тех пор, пока они не будут фактически использованы на Гран При.
Taking all this into consideration, we can understand why Marx does not mention a word in Ansprache about the participation of the proletariat in a provisional revolutionary government.
Приняв все это во внимание, мы поймем, почему об участии пролетариата во временном революционном правительстве Маркс не говорит в «Ansprache» ни одного слова.
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1
not a word
ни слова, ничего
‘You are so very pressing, that I scarcely know what to say…’ ‘Say nothing; not a word, not a word, my dearest madam…’ (Ch. Dickens, ‘Nicholas Nickleby’, ch. XXVII) — — Вы так настойчивы, что, право же, я не знаю, что сказать… — Не говорите ничего. Ни слова, ни слова, сударыня!…
Not a word was spoken in disparagement of him, not a word was said of him at all… (W. S. Maugham, ‘Complete Short Stories’, ‘The Yellow Streak’) — О нем дурного слова не было сказано. Вообще о нем не было сказано ни слова.
Large English-Russian phrasebook > not a word
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2
not a word
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word
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3
not a word!
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word!
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4
not in word
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not in word
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5
Not a word!
Ни слова! Ни гу-гу! Молчок!
Difficulties of the English language (lexical reference) English-Russian dictionary > Not a word!
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6
Not another word!
Ни слова больше!
Difficulties of the English language (lexical reference) English-Russian dictionary > Not another word!
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7
not a word to throw at a dog
быть необщительным, неразговорчивым [шекспировское выражение; см. цитату]
Celia: «Why, cousin, why, Rosalind!; — Cupid have mercy! — Not a word?» Rosalind: «Not one to throw at a dog.» (W. Shakespeare, ‘As You Like It’, act I, sc. 3) — Селия: «Ну, сестра, ну, Розалинда! Помилуй нас, Купидон! Ни слова?» Розалинда: «Ни одного, даже чтобы собаке бросить.»
Her mother was inaccessibly entrenched in a brown study; her father contemplating fate in the vinery. Neither of them had a word to throw to a dog. (J. Galsworthy, ‘To Let’, part II, ch. IX) — Мать была мрачна и неприступна; отец удалился в виноградную оранжерею размышлять о жизни. Оба точно воды в рот набрали.
Z: «Why, on that ship you hadn’t a word to throw to a dog; and if anyone came near you shrank up into yourself like a hedgehog…» (B. Shaw, ‘Village Wooing’) — З: «На этом пароходе вы ни с кем словом не обмолвились. Если кто-то подходил к вам, вы уходили в себя, как улитка в раковину.»
Large English-Russian phrasebook > not a word to throw at a dog
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8
not a word of truth
ни слова (ни капли/ни грани) правды
English-Russian combinatory dictionary > not a word of truth
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9
not a word about
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word about
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10
not a word escaped his lips
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word escaped his lips
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11
not a word fell from his lips
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word fell from his lips
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12
not a word has passed his lips
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word has passed his lips
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13
not a word of reproof
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word of reproof
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14
not a word of reproval
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word of reproval
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15
not a word passed his lips
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word passed his lips
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16
not a word, mind!
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not a word, mind!
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17
not one word has escaped attention
Универсальный англо-русский словарь > not one word has escaped attention
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18
Not a word of something to somebody!
Никому ни слова!
Difficulties of the English language (lexical reference) English-Russian dictionary > Not a word of something to somebody!
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19
Not in word but in deed
Не на словах, а на деле
Difficulties of the English language (lexical reference) English-Russian dictionary > Not in word but in deed
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20
be not the word for it
разг.
не то слово, слишком слабо сказано
Warm’s not the word for it. (ALD) — Мало сказать, что здесь тепло — здесь жара нестерпимая.
Large English-Russian phrasebook > be not the word for it
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См. также в других словарях:
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not the word for it — Not a strong enough word to express or describe it • • • Main Entry: ↑word … Useful english dictionary
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Not One Word Has Been Omitted — The Cassandra Complex/Not One Word Has Been Omitted EP by From a Second Story Window Released 2003 … Wikipedia
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not a word — request that something be kept a secret … English contemporary dictionary
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Word — Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The spoken… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word blindness — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word deafness — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word dumbness — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word for word — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word painting — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word picture — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Word square — Word Word, n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or[eth], Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa[ u]rd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. rh twr an orator. Cf. {Verb}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Предложения с «mentioned words»
The mere mention of the word nipples, and people get into a little bit of a tizzy. |
Стоит лишь упомянуть слово соски́, и люди становятся немножечко нервными. |
Didn’t mention a word to the Attorney General about my political aspirations. |
Ни сказал генпрокурору ни слова о моих политических стремлениях. |
And there’s an ancient law that says you can’t actually mention the word venereal disease or print it in public. |
Но есть старый закон, который гласит, что слова венерическое заболевание использовать в печати или на публике нельзя. |
Whenever you mention the word Mommy, they turn into sniveling ingrates. |
Стоит сказать слово мамочка, как они распускают сопли. |
You don’t talk about fight club, you don’t talk about a no-hitter, and you never, ever mention the Q word in an ER. |
Ты не говоришь о бойцовском клубе, не говоришь о ничьей на игре, и ты никогда не упоминаешь слово на букву Т в скорой. |
Another uninformed scaremonger going haywire because the word Ebola was mentioned . |
Ещё один неосведомлённый паникёр, разволновавшийся по причине того, что было произнесено слово Эбола. |
Dorian shook his head and a look of annoyance passed over his face at the mention of the word inquest. |
Дориан отрицательно покачал головой и досадливо поморщился при слове следствие. |
O, sir! returned Blifil, it is not without the secret direction of Providence that you mention the word adoption. |
Ах, сэр! Видно, само провидение подсказало вам слово усыновляет. |
And yet you build a wall because you read a communique that mentions the word zombie? |
И даже вы лишь тогда построили стену, когда прочитали сообщение в котором упоминалось слово зомби |
Is there a medical condition that flares up when the word air mattress is mentioned ? |
Есть ли заболевание, которое внезапно обостряется, когда упоминается надувной матрас? |
You will do as you please, notwithstanding all I say; but for my part, I would be hanged before I mentioned a word of the matter. |
Делайте как угодно и не обращайте внимания на мои слова , только, повторяю, я дал бы скорей себя повесить, но не сказал бы о находке ни полслова. |
And in that time, Mr Turley made no mention of the word mitigation, he asked for no special consideration. |
И за все это время мистер Терли ни разу не произнес слова снисхождение, не просил обсудить это. |
I am empowered to mention that it is the intention of the person to reveal it at first hand by word of mouth to yourself. |
Я уполномочен сказать, что он намерен сам открыться вам при личном свидании. |
And nobody mentions the word curse. Understood? |
И никто не говорит о проклятиях. Понятно? |
The word treason was mentioned . |
Прозвучало слово измена. |
At the mention of that one word, she suddenly cried out loud, as in some sharp agony. |
При упоминании этого имени она внезапно вскрикнула так громко, как будто ее пронзила острая боль. |
All right, guys, all we got to do now is keep a low profile and not mention a word of this to anybody. |
Итак, теперь нам нужно лишь не высовываться и никому не говорить ни слова о случившемся. |
Jones, who was hardly able to support himself, offered her his arm, which she condescended to accept, but begged he would not mention a word more to her of this nature at present. |
Джонс, который сам едва держался на ногах, предложил ей руку, и Софья согласилась взять ее, с условием, чтобы он не говорил больше ни слова на эту тему. |
My dearest, don’t mention governesses; the word makes me nervous. |
Ах, моя дорогая, не упоминай о гувернантках! Одно это слово уже действует мне на нервы. |
I am confident even you must approve my discretion, for as yet I have not mentioned the word love; but we are already got as far as those of friendship and confidence. |
Я убежден, что вы восхитились бы моей осторожностью. Я еще не произносил слова любовь, но мы уже говорили о доверии и участии. |
If you will only agree to my request, I promise you never to mention another word about escaping. |
Если вы согласитесь на мою просьбу, я обещаю вам не говорить больше о побеге. |
The term is also mentioned in Quranic verses referring to people who were living in Madina and it might be a south Arabian loan-word into Quranic language. |
Этот термин также упоминается в коранических стихах, относящихся к людям, которые жили в Мадине, и это может быть южноарабское заимствованное слово в коранический язык. |
The amount of material is simply overwhelming and yet not a word is mentioned in the article. |
Количество материала просто ошеломляет, и все же в статье не упоминается ни слова . |
In Atlantic Canada it is known as the gaspereau, from the Acadian French word gasparot, first mentioned by Nicolas Denys. |
В Атлантической Канаде он известен как gaspereau, от французского Акадийского слова gasparot, впервые упомянутого Николасом Денисом. |
The article does not mention with a single word any of the atrocities conducted either by Mohammad or his men. |
В статье ни единым словом не упоминается о зверствах, совершенных Мохаммедом или его людьми. |
The article makes no mention of the word being used in this way. |
В статье не упоминается слово , используемое таким образом. |
Moreover, parts which are relevant to the word shaitan, not to mention scholarly, have been removed by previous editors for no apparently academic reason. |
Более того, части, имеющие отношение к слову шайтан, не говоря уже об академических, были удалены предыдущими редакторами без видимой академической причины. |
Nor did the new document mention the word republic. |
В новом документе также не упоминалось слово республика. |
For example, in his book Man’s Search for Meaning author Victor Frankl mentions the frequent use of the word Musselman in the concentration camps of the Nazi regime. |
Например, в своей книге Человек в поисках смысла автор Виктор Франкл упоминает частое употребление слова Мусельман в концентрационных лагерях нацистского режима. |
This word, whencesoever it comes, is often mentioned as the longest word known. |
Это слово , откуда бы оно ни пришло, часто упоминается как самое длинное из известных. |
Do you honestly believe a mere mention of rank anywhere makes a plural word singular? |
Вы действительно верите, что простое упоминание ранга где — либо делает слово множественного числа единственным? |
Mary Anne Atwood mentioned the use of the word Hermetic by Dufresnoy in 1386. |
Мэри Энн Этвуд упоминала об использовании слова герметик Дюфресной в 1386 году. |
As mentioned above as well some people say Amen and some say Aman etc and so even today we can not decide how to pronounce the word. |
Как уже упоминалось выше, некоторые люди говорят аминь, а некоторые — Аман и т. д., и поэтому даже сегодня мы не можем решить, как произносить это слово . |
It should also be mentioned that the word Amen is still employed in the ritual both of Jews and Mohammedans. |
Следует также упомянуть, что слово аминь до сих пор используется в ритуале как иудеев, так и мусульман. |
Are you going to mention the only reference in the bible where the word Aman was used? |
Вы собираетесь упомянуть единственную ссылку в Библии, где было использовано слово Аман? |
For example, why is there no mention of the frequent assertation that his florid prose was developed as a result of being paid by the word? |
Например, почему нет упоминания о частых утверждениях, что его цветистая проза развивалась в результате того, что ему платили словом ? |
There is a reason that the word controversial is written after every mention of SPLC. |
Есть причина, по которой слово спорный пишется после каждого упоминания о НОДС. |
Currently the word OPERA is not mentioned anywhere in this article. |
В настоящее время слово опера нигде не упоминается в этой статье. |
The word virtuoso does not proceed the othe player’s names mentioned on this page,some of who are indeed virtuosos. |
Слово виртуоз не следует за именами других игроков, упомянутых на этой странице, некоторые из которых действительно являются виртуозами. |
This page doesn’t even mention that word; it should at least contain a link to a policy explaining how and when we use direct quotations. |
Эта страница даже не упоминает это слово ; она должна по крайней мере содержать ссылку на политику, объясняющую, как и когда мы используем прямые цитаты. |
Google tells me this is a word of Indian origin referring to gay oral sex, but it’s not mentioned at the target. |
Свойство, которое делает нейроны уникальными, — это их способность посылать сигналы определенным клеткам — мишеням на большие расстояния. |
However, the Korean word, Gogok, should be mentioned first thing, and both POVs described on origins, citing sources for each. |
Однако в первую очередь следует упомянуть корейское слово Гогок, и оба Повса описываются по происхождению, приводя источники для каждого из них. |
They found that the word pedophile appeared only rarely in The New York Times and Le Monde before 1996, with zero mentions in 1991. |
Они обнаружили, что слово педофил лишь изредка появлялось в газетах Нью — Йорк Таймс и Ле Монд до 1996 года, а в 1991 году вообще не упоминалось. |
There is mention of tennis, football, rugby, and more besides, but not a single word on Motor Racing… that is really quite appalling. |
Велосипед безопасности дал женщинам беспрецедентную мобильность, способствуя их эмансипации в западных странах. |
The only real exception that’s mentioned is the word judgment. |
Единственное реальное исключение, которое упоминается, — это слово суд. |
The word precipice redirects here, but this article doesn’t even mention the word. |
Слово пропасть перенаправляет сюда, но в этой статье даже не упоминается это слово . |
A word being mentioned two times in a book is still a trivial mention which doesn’t belong in the article. |
Слово, упоминаемое два раза в книге, все еще является тривиальным упоминанием, которое не относится к статье. |
The word dispute is mentioned three times in this article. |
Слово спор упоминается в этой статье трижды. |
The word Yugoslavia is ubiquitous whereas Serbia is rarely mentioned . |
Слово Югославия встречается повсеместно, тогда как Сербия упоминается редко. |
Qi is a commonly used word to get rid of the letter Q. Perhaps this should be mentioned ? |
Qi — это широко используемое слово , чтобы избавиться от буквы Q. возможно, это следует упомянуть? |
He mentioned amongst others that labelling was an issue in terms of permanence, visibility and wording . |
Он отметил, среди прочего, что одним из них является вопрос об обозначении в плане его долговечности, заметности и содержания. |
That should address the concerns mentioned above while also streamlining the currently cobbled-together A7 wording . |
Это должно решить упомянутые выше проблемы, а также упорядочить нынешнюю составную формулировку А7. |
I see we can’t get a common NPOV, so I think we should look for a wording that mention both. |
Я вижу, что мы не можем получить общий NPOV, поэтому я думаю, что мы должны искать формулировку, которая упоминает и то, и другое. |
The previous wording that qualified the mention was more accurate. |
Предыдущая формулировка, которая квалифицировала это упоминание, была более точной. |
We don’t need to use any wording from Nyteknik to make a mention of the NASA video. |
Нам не нужно использовать какие — либо формулировки из Nyteknik, чтобы упомянуть о видео NASA. |
Those are strong suggestions and your call for individual responsibility is very strong as well, but I’m troubled by one thought, and it’s this: you mentioned , and these are your words , extraordinary Western leadership which led 60-something years ago to the whole discussion about human rights, to the conventions on refugees, etc. |
Довольно смелые предложения, как и ваш призыв к личной ответственности, но меня смущает одна мысль: вы упомянули, цитирую: «исключительное западное руководство», которое 60 с лишнем лет назад привело к дискуссии о правах человека, конвенциях о статусе беженцев и т.д. |
Hmm, So only when they started mentioning the donor, I asked questions about him, using their own words . |
Хм, И только когда они начинали упоминать донора, я задавала о нём вопросы, используя их собственные слова . |
Things and words that you never mentioned because, maybe, you judged them irrelevant, or because you preferred not to repeat them. |
Слова, о которых вы никогда не вспоминали, потому что считали их незначительными или, возможно, потому, что не видели необходимости их повторять. |
Notwithstanding all which care, the little beggar, at the end of the time above mentioned , pegged out, to use Jimmy’s own words . |
Несмотря на все это, несчастный малютка по истечении указанного выше срока скапутился, — выражаясь словами Джима. |
How could you, cries Jones, mention two words sufficient to drive me to distraction?-Either of them are enough to drive any man to distraction, answered the old man. |
Вы произнесли два слова , — сказал Джонс, — способные довести меня до безумия. — Каждое из них способно довести любого до безумия, — отвечал старик. |
не проронив ни слова — перевод на английский
Он не проронил ни слова с тех пор, как мы его взяли.
He hasn’t said a word since we picked him up.
Не проронил ни слова.
Hasn’t said a word.
Жулов не проронил ни слова, как мы его арестовали.
Zhulov hasn’t said a word since we took him down.
Она не проронила ни слова.
She hasn’t said a word.
И не пророните ни слова этим куриным головам о том, что мы пошли в замок.
Not a word to those chicken-hearts about our going to the Castle.
Не проронила ни слова.
Not a word.
Я не пророню ни слова.
Mum’s the word.
Хорошо. Давай больше не пророним ни слова.
OK, let’s don’t say another word.
И почему-то до сих пор никто из вас не проронил ни слова об этом.
And neither of you has said a word about it.
Как мне кажется, за всё время твоего развода, я не проронила ни слова.
I do believe you went through an entire divorce without me saying one word.
— И со вчерашнего дня не проронил ни слова.
— Since yesterday not utter a word.
Тем вечером тётя не проронила ни слова.
That night not a word was uttered at my aunt’s.
До сих пор не проронил ни слова.
Hasn’t uttered a word.
Ты не проронил ни слова с самого Анахейма.
You haven’t said a word since Anaheim.
Ты не проронил ни слова.
You haven’t said a word.
Бернбург за все это время не проронила ни слова
Bernburg didn’t say a single word
Стэн, ты до сих пор не проронил ни слова.
Stan, you didn’t say one single word on the way home.
Ты за вечер не проронил ни слова.
You’ve been awfully quiet tonight.
Ты не проронила ни слова пока мы ехали.
You were awfully quiet on the ride here.
Клянусь, что вовек не пророню ни слова, как разоблачила ты себя, колдуя на грозу…
«And I swear eternal silence to you, maiden, about all you will reveal about witchcraft with thunder.»
Вы сегодня не проронили ни слова.
You were interestingly quiet this afternoon.
— При этом я не проронил ни слова.
So I speak six languages.
Вы не проронили ни слова об оружии или диких животных, но вы не первый ученый, кто расспрашивает меня о племени Нанду.
You haven’t said a word about guns or wildlife and you’re not the first scientist to ask me about the Nandos.
Почему мы не проронили ни слова?
We who knew the words were lies and worse than lies? Why did we sit silent?
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Check it at Linguazza.com
- hasn’t said a word: phrases, sentences
- not a word: phrases, sentences
- ‘t say another word: phrases, sentences
- not utter a word: phrases, sentences
- haven’t said a word: phrases, sentences
- didn’t say a single word: phrases, sentences
- been awfully quiet: phrases, sentences
Ни звука в ответ. JUHANI: Laß mich fragen.
Go on, and not a word if you know what’s good for you.
Ну, и ни слова, если ты знаешь, что лучше для тебя.
Ни слова, Мр. Фогг, или оно станет последним.
Not a word in
a
week, though I can’t seem to escape her.
Ни словечка за неделю, хотя я, вроде бы, не избегаю ее.
Who are you and what do want of us?- Not a word in answer.
Кто ты и чего ты хочешь от нас? Ни звука в ответ.
Not a word to anyone, Borgin, and that includes my mother, understand?»?
Никому ни слова, Борджин, включая мою мать, понятно?
You know how long I have worked with him, and not a word?
Who are you and what do want of us?- Not a word in answer. Gianni.
Кто ты и чего ты хочешь от нас? Ни звука в ответ. Gianni.
She didn’t say anything to me, Mr Carson, not a word.
Она ничего мне не говорила, мистер Карсон, ни слова.
And remember, this is top secret Not a word to anyone.
Запомните: дело секретное, никому ни слова.
I beg you, Floriana, not a word to Oliviero about what I told you.
Я умоляю тебя, Флориана, ни слово Оливьеро о том, что я рассказала тебе.
Ничему. Ни слову. Нада, нунка, найн, нехт.
Lots of better things to do, and not a word of this to Will♪.
Много вещей, которыми вы могли бы заняться, Но не говорите Уиллу об этом.
But not a word about the money to Debra, you understand?
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English
Nonword is in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary tenth edition, which was first published in 1993. More readily accessible is the American Heritage Dictionary 5th edition and the Random House Webster Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary at The Free Dictionary by Farlex.
The A.H.D’s. definition is:
A sequence of letters or sounds that is not accepted as a word by speakers of a specific language, sometimes used in psychological or linguistic experiments.
The Usage Addendum: Nothing about the signification in and of is good or bad.
As noted by the definition here, this word is used in academic contexts where researchers are supposed to remain as free from bias as possible. Although nobody can be completely free from bias, experiments generally have guidelines, such as double blind testing and control groups to minimize its effects. Using anything that doesn’t have a neutral register would likely be met with disapproval. I have no reason to imagine that such is the case in Nonword Pronunciation and Models of Word Recognition which seems to look at them with intrigue. The study Preschool Speech Articulation And Nonword Repetition Abilities May Help Predict Eventual Recovery Or Persistence Of Stuttering by Spencer C. & Weber-Fox C. even seems to have a positive outlook for therapeutic use against stuttering.
Sometimes nonwords are met with much approval, especially in the field of entertainment. Consider the following exemplary quote from Introducing Psycholinguistics by Paul Warren, page 164:
Scrambled prose is neither syntactical nor semantically well-formed but consists of real words (10.20).
Jabberwocky named after the poem in Lewis Carrol’s through the looking glass, is syntactically well-formed, but has nonwords in the place of most or all of the content words and so has little meaning, such as The waggy glim vorpily thazzes a veeg.
«Jabberwocky» with nonwords seems to be preferable to Scrambled Prose with «real» ones by this description. Moreover, the poem it references is met with much approbation for its convincingly fluent use of
Now it is true «little meaning» is not a very complimentary statement but it is an inescapably inherent quality of the concept meant to be conveyed, since this is the primary (albeit not only) difference between what a word is and is not:
A sound, or combination of sounds, used in any language as the sign of a conception, or of a conception together with its grammatical relations; the smallest bit of human language forming a grammatical part of speech; a vocable; a term.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
Yes, the word is used in critical contexts but it is the context which imparts negativity onto the word, rather than this word selection. Moreover such users of nonword is at issue with the fact that a nonword either fails to serve a word’s purpose or if it is proposed as a neoglism, somehow fails to serve it well enough.
Moreover, I suspect that such critics are more likely to say it is «not a real word» or even a «fake word» to highlight the lack of genuineness these words have (which isn’t to say everybody who uses those phrases means them critically either), whereas nonword simply negates the root.
not a word
Don’t say anything. Not a word of this to the boss, or we’ll all wind up getting fired. Not a word! I’m sick of listening to your excuses.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
not a ˈword (to somebody) (about something)
do not say anything to somebody/anybody about something: Not a word to Jean about the party — it’s a surprise! ♢ Remember, not a word about how much it cost.
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
- aint
- ain’t
- hope not
- (I) hope not
- not for a minute
- not for a instant
- not by any means
- by no means
- iota
- not an iota
The word is not a clearly definable linguistic unit. . . . what the word is or is not depends ultimately on our total view of grammar. —Frank Palmer, in Grammar
Language is a configurable space on the order of a continuum, therefore expandible in any as yet unbroached direction. —Golem, the great computer in Stanisław Lem’s Imaginary Magnitude
Irregardless, supposably, ain’t, impactful, unfriend, defriend, guesstimate, disincentivise, mentee, probletunity, orientate, loginned … Do these words make you twitchy? Would you say some of them are not words?
Orientate is probably less reviled, but some people still reject its lexical status. On Not Exactly Rocket Science, a blog at Discover Magazine, writer Ed Yong began a recent post about avian magnetoreception with the following line:
Some birds can sense the Earth’s magnetic field and orientate themselves with the ease of a compass needle.
He goes on to describe how robins ‘orientated themselves’ (simple past tense) under controlled conditions and ‘became disorientated’ (participial adjective) if their right eye was covered. It’s fascinating research, and Yong does an admirable job of explaining the science. But I want to focus on the bizarre and hostile reaction to his use of the word orientate. The second comment to his post is:
‘Orientate’ is not a word.
Just like that. Never mind how birds see magnetic fields – orientate is ‘not a word’. Comment number 8 goes beyond flat dismissal to outright abuse, calling orientate and disorientate ‘simply moronic’. This commenter, who uses the revealing name ‘Jocular Pedant’, elaborates:
Constructing a word with additional unnecessary syllables is ALWAYS awkward, and is never the preferred usage, no matter what country you are from.
This, in case you’re wondering, is rubbish. For example, the trisyllabic burglarize is preferred to the tidy burgle in American English. Orientate, despite being widely censured in AmE, is standard in BrE, has been around since the mid-19thC, and has been used by careful writers for decades.
But history and sense are rarely allowed to interfere with peeving. By comment 17, Ed Yong has had enough:
Robins can literally see magnetic fields with their right eye, and some people are more interested in discussing the usage of orient vs. orientate. This is like standing with one’s back at a sunset in order to stare at one’s shoes.
In his position, I’d have been impatient too. I wouldn’t compare an interest in usage with staring at one’s shoes instead of a sunset, but I don’t think this is quite what he meant: Ed told me by email that he finds linguistics fascinating, and that he’s happy to have errors pointed out – but not to be told he’s wrong when he has used an accepted usage, and when erroneous nitpicking hinders discussion of exciting scientific research.
.
.
If you see or hear someone reject a word by saying it’s ‘not a word’, you can reasonably assume that they mean it’s not a word they like, not a word they would use, not a word in standard usage, not a word in a certain dictionary, not a suitable word for the context, and so on. There’s a difference, and it matters. In a rousing rant at Language Log some years ago, linguist Arnold Zwicky emphatically denounced this form of dogma:
I’ve been hearing this ‘not a word’ bullshit since I was a kid, usually applied to non-standard ain’t and taboo fuck . . . . It mystified me then, and it angers me now. It’s (literally) superhyperbolic, two steps of exaggeration beyond reality, and it’s insulting.
If you’re thinking, ‘superhyperbolic isn’t a word’, you’re losing ground. Take a deep breath, then take irregardless. Some people will tell you it’s not a word, but of course it is; it’s just non-standard. A word may be considered awkward, confusing, silly, or likely to discredit its user, but these criticisms warrant reasoned arguments to back them up, not dictatorial denial. I don’t care for irregardless, but I’ll defend its right to be said.
Along similar lines, a more elaborate web page is ‘“Login” is not a verb’. Again, login is not a verb I would use – log in is better formed and less susceptible to problems with conjugation – but absolute pronouncements on what is or isn’t a verb are ill-judged, because every word can potentially be verbed. For a more nuanced and commonsensical look at login, see Mark Liberman’s analysis which is in striking contrast to the peevers’ invective:
I probably wouldn’t use ‘loginned’ or ‘loginning’ myself, but not much in the fate of the world seems to depend on the question of whether these usages catch on or not.
The not-a-verb template is extended here. Readers are introduced to a list of ‘words that are not verbs’, and are invited to ‘pick one of the non-verbs about which this site knows’. I can’t decide whether this phrase is deliberately ungainly or a good example of how people forsake clarity to avoid breaking what they imagine to be important grammatical rules (in this case stranding a preposition). As I’ve shown before, automatic deference to dubious pseudo-rules is associated with substandard prose and a penchant for dogma.
The not-a-word brigade are legion. Browsing the internet, I see countless examples of peeving, pouting and petulant proscribing: ain’t, funnest, mentee, umm, anyways, misremembered, even blog: ‘not a word’. These judgements are sometimes underlined with definitely, obviously and their weasely ilk. Weaselly, if you prefer; both are words!
There’s a Facebook group called Chillax is not a word for a reason (‘Chillax promises to be the new milleniums [sic] most embarrassing invention’), and one called Guesstimate is Not a Word – for ‘the enlightened class of people who realize that there is no middle ground between a guess and an estimate’.
That sudden whiff in the air is not the subtle aroma of enlightenment.
Word aversion and word hatred are an aesthetic indulgence; word denial is a different beast. Why the cranky resolve to outlaw disliked words? From what imaginary realm do people conjure the authority to decide what’s acceptable? And how do peevers cope with the Nadsat in A Clockwork Orange, the Newspeak in 1984, or the idiosyncratic hyperinvention of Joyce’s later novels, to name a few well-known literary examples?
Wordnik, by contrast, has ‘all the words’. Type in a clump of letters, be it a valid construction or not, and you’ll arrive at a page for that word. If you enter a made-up word, you’re unlikely to find information on it, and it probably won’t become part of the common lexicon, but who knows. In a casual conversation last night I used the word judgy, meaning judgemental. I’d never used or thought of it before; it just came out mid-sentence and made convenient sense. Turns out, of course, that I was not the first to use it. Whimsical affixation comes naturally to us, and the effects can be morphogasmic.
Neologisms, jargon, and words that shift function (e.g. verbings) attract particular condemnation. New words can seem ugly, pointless, or ridiculous at first, but over time, many have snuck into standard usage. I’m not arguing for the default acceptance of all newcomers, but by tolerating them long enough to assess them without prejudice, we can reorient(ate) ourselves to new linguistic possibilities.
Peevers: criticise pet-hate words if you must, but don’t assume that you’re right and that people who use them are lesser beings. Repressive quibbling over wordhood overlooks the fact that language is fiercely playful and productive, inviting our creativity. Wordnik’s Erin McKean put it succinctly: ‘If it seems wordish, use it.’
* * *
Updates:
Johnson, the excellent language blog at The Economist, has followed up on this post, noting my ‘defiant evocation of Evelyn Beatrice Hall‘ and explaining that The Economist maintains a strict style guide primarily for consistency and because expressions in new or niche usage might not be understood by a wider audience. This makes sense. Style guides promote internal uniformity that helps reduce both confusion in readers and headaches in editors.
Johnson finds that I ‘[skate] over the fact that such debates are most often just a proxy for ad hominem attacks’; that ‘when people criticise non-words, it’s usually just a lazy way to criticise their users’. Fair point, though I don’t know if I agree with the ‘usually’ bit. Dubious usage advice can spring from laziness, triumphalism, social anxiety and snobbery, automatic deference to tradition, and so forth. Some of that applies to the not-a-word crew too.
Ben Zimmer has also adapted my phrase for a post at Language Log: ‘”Not a verb” is not an argument.’
Update, Feb. 2013:
Revisiting this post a few years later, I find a lot of it holds up but I think I erred on the side of leniency. So I’ve written a little more on the topic, in ‘Not a word’ prolly ain’t an argument anyways:
Typos can become real words, as teh and pwn did, but more usually production errors are too infrequent to become even quasi-normal. A string like, say, errorw is not a proper word, and whether it’s ‘real’ is a semantic/ontological side-issue. Qkrghrbgyw is not a word and is unlikely ever to be.
[Cartoons by Hans Stengel and Doug Savage.]
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