"stroinyi kak topol'" and other arboreal epithetry

[Inna Caron]

Michael Holman wrote:

>What about 'stroinaya'? It may seem a bit tame after all the other
body-part 
>slang, but it's still a fine word with no immediately obvious universal

>equivalent in English. 

True, there doesn't seem to be an analogous term in English. Thing is,
even in Russian the visual association with this word somewhat differs
when applied to men's and women's appearance. To go with the most common
folk idiom, a man would be described as "stroinyi kak topol' (poplar),"
whereas a woman is "stroinaia kak berezka (birch)." I tend to use
"slender" for women, and "lean" for men when translating "stroinaia/yi"
into English.

It seems the visual comparison of people to trees is a Slavic thing, and
not really found in English. Or am I mistaken? Is there an English
equivalent to "moguchii kak dub," or "gibkaia kak iva"?

Inna Caron
Ohio State

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