Transl. & English-speaking prisoners

[Timothy D. Sergay]

Dear Natalya:

    You're very welcome. Merriam Webster's dictionary has for "frisk" 
(transitive verb): "to search (a person) for something (as a concealed 
weapon) by running the hand rapidly over the clothing and through the 
pockets." "Frisk" is definitely not your word: it's not brutal, and is close 
to "pat down." The closest English term for *shmon* in your sense is almost 
certainly "strip search" (also a transitive verb: to strip search a 
prisoner); to make its brutal, physical nature clear in English you would 
also precede the nominal term with some adjective(s) like "invasive" (36 
google hits) "brutal" (12 hits), "humiliating" (443 hits).

    Tim

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Chandler" <kcf19 at DIAL.PIPEX.COM>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2005 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Transl. & English-speaking prisoners


> Dear Natalya,
>
>> -- Concerning  *shmon* / *shmonaie*:  I wonder whether English-
>> speaking prisoners
>> would say *frisk* - *the sargent  frisks* when referring to a rather
>> brutal
>> search of the person?
> To my English (rather than American) ear, 'frisk' definitely does not 
> sound
> brutal.
>
> Robert
>
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