"stroinyi kak topol'" and other arboreal epithetry

[Brad Damare']

In English, one can say "strong as an oak" or "built like an oak tree" 
for men, but I can't immediately think of any arboreal equivalents for 
women.

Brad Damare'
University of Michigan

Quoting Inna Caron <caron.4 at OSU.EDU>:

> 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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