отжали

English translation: hijacked/put the squeeze on

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Russian term or phrase:отжали
English translation:hijacked/put the squeeze on
Entered by: Katya Kesten

15:48 Oct 4, 2020
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Other
Russian term or phrase: отжали
As in бандюганы у честного предпринимателя бизнес отжали or Тито после войны у итальянского короля Истрию отжал.

Naturally, I understand what the word means, and I have no problem rendering the meaning as such. What evades me is an equally slangy and colorful word in English, if there is one at all. The best I could think of so far is "grabbed" but somehow it is not quite it.

Any suggestions are welcome, but I would be most interested to hear from those who actually live "English as she is spoke" rather than look the word up in a dictionary. Thank you for your efforts.
The Misha
Local time: 04:59
hijack/to put the squeeze on
Explanation:
Hmm, getting close to the Russian would depend on context.

A member of a rival gang can “hijack” / "jack" (seize/commandeer/appropriate) another gangs street corner, while the mob can “put the squeeze on someone” to do the same. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put the squeeze on

Finally, a business may "inch" another business out.


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Note added at 2 days 4 hrs (2020-10-06 20:27:41 GMT)
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Hey, Misha! Istria, huh? Can't say I'm not a bit jealous. Funny enough, I'm currently on your home turf!
Selected response from:

Katya Kesten
Local time: 03:59
Grading comment
I don't think we can do better than "hijack" here. It has the same kind of a special semantic zing to it as the original Russian word, and even though they are two slightly different zings (for which, I am sure the learned article writers have a proper name:)), the effect is much the same. Thank you, Katya, for thinking outside the box. Thanks, everybody, for your valiant efforts.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3wrestled away
IrinaN
3muscle out of
Michael Sarni
3hijack/to put the squeeze on
Katya Kesten
Summary of reference entries provided
An idea
Elizabeth Adams

Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
wrestled away


Explanation:
As is, for example:

..Likewise, the Latino gangs might have launched an
offensive to wrestle away territory and establish their presence within the community..


On the other hand, this option can not be considered universal because it can be used in a positive way, say, to wrestle away a gun from the robber, whereas slang отжать in Russian is a "purely negative" thing.

Hi there :-)


IrinaN
United States
Local time: 03:59
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 20
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, Irina, and hi yourself:))) Yes, this may work, at least to some extent, but overall, I think that what we have here is yet another example of how you cannot really translate some things. Rather, you have to rewrite them using what's available in the target language. Take that, Google:)))

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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
muscle out of


Explanation:
After the war Tito has muscled the King of Italy out of Istria.
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/liverpoo...
http://www.monoculartimes.co.uk/architexts/driftersguide2_1....

'Muscle smb out of' matches the following (Lingvo Explanatory Ru-Ru):
отжать
I отожму, отожмешь...
4) кого-что, разг. Наступая, заставить отойти, отступить, оттеснить.
A close synonym of 'push smb out'.
It, however, doesn't quite convey the sense of a 'takeover', 'snatch' or 'grab', which is now present in "отжать" (the legacy of the stormy 1990s).

Michael Sarni
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:59
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, kind Sir.

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2 days 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
hijack/to put the squeeze on


Explanation:
Hmm, getting close to the Russian would depend on context.

A member of a rival gang can “hijack” / "jack" (seize/commandeer/appropriate) another gangs street corner, while the mob can “put the squeeze on someone” to do the same. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/put the squeeze on

Finally, a business may "inch" another business out.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 days 4 hrs (2020-10-06 20:27:41 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hey, Misha! Istria, huh? Can't say I'm not a bit jealous. Funny enough, I'm currently on your home turf!

Katya Kesten
Local time: 03:59
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
I don't think we can do better than "hijack" here. It has the same kind of a special semantic zing to it as the original Russian word, and even though they are two slightly different zings (for which, I am sure the learned article writers have a proper name:)), the effect is much the same. Thank you, Katya, for thinking outside the box. Thanks, everybody, for your valiant efforts.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi, Katya. Hijacking, huh? Now, there's a fresh metaphor - Tito having hijacked Istria from the Italians (hint: I am in fact in Istria now, that's where it is all coming from:))) Much obliged.

Asker: Yep, I noticed. Last place on earth I would want to be at right now:) I'll be back in December for a few weeks, if you are still there. Stay safe.

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Reference comments


1 day 6 hrs peer agreement (net): +1
Reference: An idea

Reference information:
If you aren't satisfied with all the swindling, wresting, and jacking English offers, why not try to make the other words around the verb more colorful?

Elizabeth Adams
United States
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Mikhail Kropotov: "Extort" would be the straightforward translation, though obviously not slangy. But Misha, you of all people should know it is difficult if not impossible to provide anything slangy in the absence of a specific communicative situation, i.e. context.
0 min
  -> Agreed, but based on the examples the poster gave I understood the question to be: what do you do when you have a colorful verb in Russian that doesn't have a really colorful equivalent in English?
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