[Lexicog] new idiom

[Hayim Sheynin]

Dear Fritz,
   
  This is usually positive description of woman who knows how to appeciate herself and who would fulfill her goals even if they are difficult. This is a Slavic ideal of a woman in difference, let say, to Hebrew ideal woman (diligent, industrious [read laborious] and wise) as it described in Proverbs 31:10-30, even there there is verse 17, where it is said, "She girds herself with strength and performs her tasks with vigor" and in verse 25 "She is clothed with strength and splendor." In the verse 30 it is said that beauty and grace are rather not important, because they are deceptive and illusory, which older people know that this is true. However most of men, both Hebrew [read Jewish] or Gentiles, are attracted to beautiful women rather than the industrious or wise ones.  
   
  For bossy woman, who rules over her husband in Russian there is an idiom that was already cited by my Polish colleague. They say in Russian "On u neyo pod sapogom", i.e. he is under her boot. This is also not negative. This is just a frequent situation recurrent when a woman has stronger mind or character than her husband. 
   
  Cheers,
   
  Hayim Y. Sheynin

Fritz Goerling <Fritz_Goerling at sil.org> wrote:
              Hayim,
  
  Is this boy baba a positive or negative term? ‘Strong’ and ‘bossy’ do not go together for me.  A ‘strong woman’ sounds positive to me, while ‘bossy’ does not. So if this boy baba is not a ‘Kampfhenne’ (= fighting hen), a German term for a ‘malicious woman with a fierce temper; a vixen’, what is it?
  
  Fritz
  
  
  Another idiom describing a very strong and bossy woman in Russian is "boy baba" (here is boy not like in English 'boy', and not Tom boy girl, but 'a battle', and there is non-idiomatic parallel to this expression 'boevaya zhenstchina" ) so the literary meaning can be translated approximately as 'warrior woman'. This is a metafor and has nothing to do with war or battle.

Hayim Y. Sheynin




  

         

 
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