REALITY CHECK!

[PeeWee]

The point AJ and I were trying to illustrate is that Russian women fall in love with their ears.  A few well chosen words will get you farther than a gift.  This is the chief reason I maintain that a man who cannot talk to a RW cannot win her heart. 

YMMV.

Jb, all women. I have heard the "Women love what they hear. Men love what they see."  This is not exclusive to RW by any means. It is exclusive to men and women globaly. This is why the guy with the gift for gab can snag a woman from a bar quicker than GW can give us yet another good reason why we need to remain in Iraq. Smooth talk is the tool of choice for any guy who wants to get laid. And the dumb thing about it is that women fall for it every time. Ah...but we count on that.

Peewee

[PeeWee]

Well, jb, I was almost ready to give you credit for seeming to know what  you were talking about. I did a google search on "hanging noodles" and here is what I found. Not quite what  you had said but your were kind of close.

"There’s an idiomatic saying in Russian, “to hang noodles on one’s ears,” which means, naturally, “to make one look like a fool/idiot.”

another varitation.

"If you invite a Russian friend to the opera and he politely declines, explaining that an elephant stepped on his ear, he simply means he is tone deaf.
.
Unless of course he's hanging noodles on your ears, an idiom that translates into English as not telling the truth."

it seems that the old Russian idiom goes beyond just the specific meaning that you chose to use. A woman can hang a noodle on a man's ear as well. A scammer, for example. GW could hang a noodle on your ear, jb, too. So it's not just something that a man would say to a woman as you would have us believe but I do understand your example to be a specific application of the general meaning of the idiom.  Just to clear it up for us. I really have learned something today. I have no idea where I might use that idiom but every little piece to the puzzle adds up.

Peewee 

[Bruno]

Not even close.

ROFLMFAO

Ok,,, to hang noodles on a girl's ears is to sweet talk her, i.e., to give complements about her appearance, to say nice things about a girls personality, to give the impression that she's smart, has your undivided attention and you can't even see that other woman sitting across the room.

There are no gifts involved in hanging noodles.

  sweet talk, compliment... i have always think that it was a other signification...

Вешать лапшу на уши (Vešat' lapšu na ušy)
To hang noodles on one's ears = to tell lies / talk nonsense

Of maybe you mean that "sweet talk" is non sence or "compliments over her appearance" are lies 

[jb]

Once again, Peewee, you demonstrate an almost complete lack of understanding of Russian culture. You have said over and over that you have had several relationships with RWs.  I'm beginning to doubt your veracity.

You want, (and I see Bruno joining in) to rely upon a dictionary when you should be relying on experience.  Common usage of the term goes like this:  (Listen up closely, Bruno, I'm going to save your future marriage here)
To hang noodles on one's ears = to tell lies / talk nonsense

You say something nice about a woman, she smiles and blushed,,, and says; "You are hanging noodles from my ears".  Perhaps technically she is saying' "You are lying, or talking nonsense to me", but in truth, in common usage, she is acknowledging the complement.  Women love it when you hang noodles from their ears.  Between men and women involved in courtship the term refers to "sweet talk and complements".  Even if she isn't the most beautiful girl in the world when she gets up in the morning, even if her pies are not so tasty, you had better "hang some noodles from her ears", if you want the relationship to succeed.  If you've ever been around any Russian women for any length of time, you'd know this.   

You also claim to be a writer, a writer of books should know that common usage and dictionaries often don't get along.

[catzenmouse]

catz,

I'm sure jb will  be happy to sign a copy for you but delivery terms (on top of head) might land you in the recovery room 

BC,

 As long as he hits me in the head with it I'll be fine. Nothing there but dust bunnies and rocks...

[Bruno]

You want, (and I see Bruno joining in) to rely upon a dictionary when you should be relying on experience.  Common usage of the term goes like this:  (Listen up closely, Bruno, I'm going to save your future marriage here)
To hang noodles on one's ears = to tell lies / talk nonsense

I don't rely upon a dictionary and i certainly don't need your help to save my future marriage...

I cannot write russian... so, i have have ask to a friend who have russian origine ( from tchechenie )... and he have give me these definition and write the russian text... When a woman reply "You are hanging noodles from my ears" after a compliment, it simply mean that she don't believe these compliment, that you don't really think what you say... not really a good start for a relationship... a little like these romeo's who promise the moon...

PS: i have e-mail my girlfriend and ask her what is the meaning of "Вешать лапшу на уши " for her... will see what she think...

[jb]

Well, Bruno, "Mister success story", I hope you at least put things in context.

Where I come from; Text + Context = Meaning.  Not a dictionary definition.

and i certainly don't need your help to save my future marriage...

I sincerely hope that's true.

[KenC]

Bruno,
As usual, your on the right street, but at the wrong address. Close but still no cigar! What you miss, (and cannot ever find on google) is the subtle nuances of the term. It is a cute friendly saying, not a put down or a slam in any way.  You compliment her. She accuses you of "hanging noodles." Which really means, "I know you are not being truthful with me, please tell me more sweet lies." Or she is acting humble in hopes that you will continue to compliment her.

All this discussion trying to get you to understand this simple little phrase reminds me of another, "Hello? McFly"?
KenC

[jb]

Ken, and Ken,

What I find amusing is that all the married men completely understand the concept, while the single guys are struggling with some pretty basic stuff here.

[Ste]

That phrase can be taken either way given nuances of meaning but in general it's a negative phrase certainly not complimentary.

Nadia is watching me type this!

Ste

[Jumper]

LMFAO!
i never thought there would be a discussion over that Russian phrase of all things There are some much more interesting ones???

heck jb's reference to and old adage about  .. a man needing to  be just better than a monkey ..............and its real meaning,
 is more fun to discuss! but we'd need a RW to stop in with her interpretation for the discussion to really get lively ..lol

 Bruno and peewee- like most phrases "hanging noodles on ones ears" it can be  used in general,
and yes by men and women..
it can be used as a term decribing someone telling an exgaeration,,or lying.
and of course! it isnt limited to gernder?

a woman can certainly "blow smoke up your arse" right?
she can tell you how handsome you are , how charming, vclever, etc..
and even though you know she is "full of it"
However,,
in this case it generally isnt meant as being intentionally misleading
in a malicious way?
its normally understood that both parties understand the reality and its a way of sweet talking or being nice.
you might enjoy the compliments and she knows, that you know,
 you arnt so very handsome and clever..
but you recognize it for what it is "hanging noodles"
 she cares for you and just trying to make your day.
not some con artist trying to "work you"

but yes to give you guys some credit at googling -
the phrase can be used about that con artist  as well -


and can be viewed and certainly used negatively as STE is pointing out

 but like jb mentioned you'd have to certainly know the  context of the situation?

between people involved romantically, it would normally be joking or teasing? 

its why i mentioned
earlier

hanging some noodles always makes my wife smile, even when she knows what i'm up to

KenC described it well.

Have to say its an old and very common phrase?Yes it has more than one usage,,
no big deal but it is strange that you guys wouldnt be famaliar with it ,
and its different uses..

i'm sure peewee you are famaliar with the American ones i used in this reply and no need to google for them?

it does make one wonder if you ever left your moscow hotel lobby ..
but maybe she decided to keep you in the room instead?

an example of  usage in the context of jb's statement :
"hanging noodles on your wifes ears"
YOU-
- wow you have simply the most beautiful green eyes i have ever seen on any woman!
HER- ohh stop it ! you are just hanging noodles on my ears!

now if they are strangers her view would be negative?
but from her husband it's doubtful right?

*context* people
 sheesh.


on the flowers thing: connerVT said

I grabbed a bouquet of flowers at the supermarket while picking up a few things (bread, bananas, etc).  The man standing in line asked me what I had done that I needed to buy flowers.  I told him the truth: I married a very wonderful, loving woman...  

lol Fred - exactly.

[jb]

Thanks, AJ;

As I said, all the married men understand the concept.

And I meant what I said about sincerely wishing success for Bruno, I don't think I could stand to read yet another crash and burn story from him.

Good luck to you, Bruno, I hope you get it together this time around.

[Michelangelo]

AJ- thanks for clearing this up in a most excellent manner...

I learned something new 

[BeenThereDoneThat]

I can see this forum topic is really stretching in all directions, but has been very interesting to read, to say the least. I wanted to comment on a post in this forum topic. In regard to the agency part of it, sure agencies ARE in it to make money, and CC is a good example. The real question here is, what agency is making money and also offers something beyond translations and acting as the middle man? You can hire a good translator anywhere, BUT the agencies have the girls of course, so you have to go through them. And getting the agency out of the loop is not always as easy as it sounds. What really puts a twist in all this is when an agency twists the truth or even lies to help boost business a little more. I am also in the dating process with a girl I met from the CC bunch, and I got her out of their loop after the first meeting. It was funny because the translator encouraged the girl and me that we still should write though the agency, and that the agency offered "peace of mind" for us, until I told the her that I have the ability though modern technology to translate everything on my own! It's all about money of course. Too bad, because I think there is money to be made in the dating agency business, and that it can be done in a way that offers good services beyond just translating letters. And no, I'm not looking for an agency to hold my hand either. Like most other guys, I just would like a little more for my money, and a little more integrity from the agencies. Other industries are monitored by watch dogs. I think the time is coming to put the dating web site industry under more scrutiny. Of course, the current law (for sexual predators) is not serving the purpose. It CAN be done if we the consumers and users of these businesses push hard enough for it.....

[Bruno]

Well, Bruno, "Mister success story", I hope you at least put things in context.

Where I come from; Text + Context = Meaning.  Not a dictionary definition.

I sincerely hope that's true.

I have send the following message to my girlfriend :

What is the meaning of "Вешать лапшу на уши" in English, specially when it is the reply of one woman after one man compliment?

And she have reply :

It means, talking nice and untrue (obviously or openly untrue) things to get something or just make a fool of the other.

Maybe other meaning from Russian/Ukrainian women !!! Elen was very good for this but it seem that she have dissappear ! Other one ?

[jb]

I swear, it's only 9:45 AM here, and between Bruno and Peewee, you guys have got me craving alcohol already.

Oh well,,, it's a rainy day here (just looked at the rain gauge on the backyard fence and see we got 4+ inches last night) and as soon as I finish hanging a new remote control, super quiet, 6.6 hp ceiling fan in the living room, I think I'll take a nap.  That new fan ought to blow the dust off the stereo....

[Jumper]

Bruno-
 if I see smokinhotkova on the street and go overboard with the compliments trying to get a date with her...and more

in that common context.
"a man paying a comliment to a woman"
your RW answered exactly as expected..

and honestly the "phrase"  is probably used negatively more often.

jb's context was :
"hanging noodles on your WIFES ears" not a stranger?

[Michelangelo]

I swear, it's only 9:45 AM here, and between Bruno and Peewee, you guys have got me craving alcohol already.

Actually Bruno is correct about context.  And context includes geography.   Across the FSU, words and expressions mean different things, just like they do across the US.

As a kid from the south, I did not understand my new friend from Maine when he called a soft drink like "Coke" a soda!  Soda to me was something you cooked with!

And he did not understand that "Coke" referred to all soft drinks, not just to Coca Cola  

Likewise, I have noticed differences in shades of meaning of girls in Kharkov and girls in Dnep.

[Jumper]

and a little more integrity from the agencies

I completely undertandthe frustration , but can only bid you
*good luck* on that in most cases.

as far as CC , you have barely scratched the surface of what goes on there.
IMHO.

[Michelangelo]

Speaking of CC, I just got this junk email to my company inbox....addressed to no one.

Because of the use of "au revoir... "  I was curious who come2meetlove.com was, so I hit the link... and found myself at CC :-)

grrrrr.....
______________________________________________

Hello…   

I want to start my first letter from a question: "Is it possible to be happy without LOVE?"
I think that you will agree with me if the answer will be "NO WAY". Love is the most beautiful and exciting thing
that may happen between man and woman! It inspires us only for doing positive things towards each other.
One very famous writer said: "The beauty will rescue the world" i agree with his words but still i would add :
" LOVE and Beauty will rescure the world".
I hope you agree with me that Love is a big notion.
There's love to  God, to Mother, to a child to the country where you were born, and there's love that joins a man
and woman for all their life. That is the LOVE i'm looking for! And i'm seeking for the man who is also eager to have
this life long adventure full of surprises and new experience we can share together! Will you join me for this trip?
I do realise that it should be very difficult to say "Yes" from the first letter having no idea about me.
That's why i just offer to get to know each other better though correspondence that will help us to reveal many things
about each other whether we mach perfectly or not. In addition you can look at my pictures and read some info about me here
http://AuTfQGg.come2meetlove.com/
I hope you'll like what you see and read there.
Well closing my first letter to you i just want to thank you for reading it and i really hope that you'll share
my point of view on what i said above. I do really hope that you'll answer me soon.

au revoir...

Galinochka B.

[jb]

Wow~!  Put me back in the candy store, please~!





 
With photos and letters like that it is no wonder that CC has made a ton of money off the gomers.  What red blooded man would not respond with an open wallet for a tasty morsel like that?

[Michelangelo]

hee hee  I actually had a date with this Gala chick last year while I was killing time in Zhitomir.  I wrote about her in my Zany Days in Zhitomir" trip report at this site.

Guess I was not too memorable, since she sent me her "first letter" again

And yes, JB, it was the Santa outfit that made me ask her out!

Too young for me, but what the heck. Cute, but not as cute in person.  But maybe it was the street clothes she was wearing in person that made the difference 

[jb]

But,,, but,,, but,,, her smile is sooooo pretty, and her tan is sooooo even.   Who might suspect she was anything other than a wholesome, traditional RW, looking for love?

You just gotta love the propaganda apparatchik.

[docetae]

too sad ... she is not loving only me ... I received her letter too..


Content analysis details:   (10.8 points, 5.0 required)

 pts rule name              description
---- ---------------------- --------------------------------------------------
 3.8 HELO_DYNAMIC_DHCP      Relay HELO'd using suspicious hostname (DHCP)
-2.3 BAYES_00               BODY: Bayesian spam probability is 0 to 1%
                           [score: 0.0000]
 3.2 MSGID_DOLLARS          Message-Id has pattern used in spam
 2.7 RATWARE_MS_HASH        Bulk email fingerprint (msgid ms hash) found
 3.5 RATWARE_OUTLOOK_NONAME Bulk email fingerprint (Outlook no name)
                           found






---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Galusya" <ivanko@9000let.ru>

Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2006 10:54:50 +0300
Subject: Re[5]:Hello from Galechka B.
Hello

I am a lovely and lonely Lady who is looking for the man who will make me happy and whom I want to feel like in paradise with!
If you want to be my beautiful Hero who will save me from this loneliness find me
http://www.pB90es.come2meetlove.com/
and wake me up with a warm kiss.

see you later....
Galusya

[Michelangelo]

But,,, but,,, but,,, her smile is sooooo pretty, and her tan is sooooo even.   Who might suspect she was anything other than a wholesome, traditional RW, looking for love?

You just gotta love the propaganda apparatchik.

I liked her actually....but.....found she was a simple university student looking for a free drink and meal.  My money was well spent in this case :-)