Mani se ćorava posla

English translation: Don\'t spit in the wind

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Serbian term or phrase:Mani se ćorava posla
English translation:Don\'t spit in the wind
Entered by: Davor Ivic

14:39 Mar 3, 2017
Serbian to English translations [PRO]
Slang
Serbian term or phrase: Mani se ćorava posla
Ima li nešto slično na engleskom? Hvala
Davor Ivic
Croatia
Local time: 16:16
Don't spit in the wind
Explanation:
"Don't spit in the wind" is a commonly euphemized phrase in the USA, out of "Don't pi** in the wind"

+To do something totally pointless, fruitless, or futile; to waste one's time doing something that will not or cannot come to pass

Sve zavisi od nivoa formalnosti odnosno neformalnosti koji tražite.
Selected response from:

Menad Mujkić
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 16:16
Grading comment
Hvala
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3Don't spit in the wind
Menad Mujkić
4 +1stop selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle
LogosART
4stop wasting your time on pointless things
Daryo
4to steer clear of sb/sth
Deena D. Kragulj
4Keep clear of bad business.
Slobodan Kozarčić


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
stop wasting your time on pointless things


Explanation:
..

Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:16
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian, Native in FrenchFrench
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8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to steer clear of sb/sth


Explanation:
to steer clear of sb/sth means to avoid someone/something that isn't good for you.

Example sentence(s):
  • Steer clear of suspicious characters. (stay away from people who seem shady)

    Reference: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/steer-cle...
Deena D. Kragulj
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
stop selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle


Explanation:

stop selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle

Selling, carrying, bringing, or taking coal(s) to Newcastle is an idiom of British origin describing a pointless action</b<.[1] It refers to the fact that historically, the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne in north-eastern England was heavily dependent on the distribution and sale of coal—by the time of the first known recording of the phrase in 1538,[2][3] 15,000 tonnes of coal were being exported annually from the area[4]—and therefore any attempt to sell coal to Newcastle would be doomed to fail because of the economic principle of supply.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coals_to_Newcastle

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Note added at 13 min (2017-03-03 14:52:41 GMT)
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Carry coals to Newcastle - ono što je za En- gleze nositi ugalj u Njukastl (najveći izvoznik uglja), to je za nas drva u šumu nositi, soliti more, raditi ćorava posla. # It would be like carrying coals to Newcastle if another bakery opened in this street. There are three here now.

SOURCE:
ŽIVORAD KOVAČEVIĆ
LAŽNI PRIJATELJI U ENGLESKOM JEZIKU
ZAMKE DOSLOVNOG PREVOĐENJ


LogosART
Croatia
Local time: 16:16
Native speaker of: Dutch

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Daryo: that's roughly the right idea, but I think it would sound odd to use "selling coal to Newcastle" in this way
8 mins
  -> "Ćorav" also has a odd connotation in Croatian language, according to Hrvatski jezični portal. Thany anyway! Greetings!

agree  Milena Nikolić
1 hr
  -> Thanks a lot! Greetings!
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21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Keep clear of bad business.


Explanation:
...

Slobodan Kozarčić
Serbia
Local time: 16:16
Native speaker of: Native in SerbianSerbian
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21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Don't spit in the wind


Explanation:
"Don't spit in the wind" is a commonly euphemized phrase in the USA, out of "Don't pi** in the wind"

+To do something totally pointless, fruitless, or futile; to waste one's time doing something that will not or cannot come to pass

Sve zavisi od nivoa formalnosti odnosno neformalnosti koji tražite.

Menad Mujkić
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local time: 16:16
Native speaker of: Native in CroatianCroatian, Native in BosnianBosnian
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Hvala

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Milena Nikolić
59 mins

agree  Lingua 5B
1 hr

agree  Deena D. Kragulj
2 hrs
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