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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary

Set phrase? or just garbage?

Hi,

WE ARE FEW BUT ROSES

I needed to translate a certain Russian saying into English the other day.
Naturally, I first of all checked the internet for a ready-to-use solution :-)
And indeed, someone (on one of the forums I checked) came up with the following:

we are few but roses

(Note that this is NO word-by-word translation of the original saying)

I wonder if this phrase (which can allegedly serve as an English "counterpart" to the original Russian one) does make sense to native Eng speakers?

mus-te
  

Top answer

If the phrase were punctuated with a comma after 'few", it might mean: We are not numerous, but we are as beautiful as roses... or We are not many, but we are as beautiful (and dangerous) as a rose...

— JohnParis

  • If the phrase were punctuated with a comma after 'few", it might mean: We are not numerous, but we are as beautiful as roses...
  • or We are not many, but we are as beautiful (and dangerous) as a rose...
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2 Answers
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If the phrase were punctuated with a comma after 'few", it might mean:
We are not numerous, but we are as beautiful as roses...
or
We are not many, but we are as beautiful (and dangerous) as a rose...
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Hi John,

"we are not many, but we are beautiful and dangerous as a rose"

Amazingly, this is very close to the prototype Russian saying....

Imagine a marine's battle cry: "We (marines) are few, but we have our frocks (= striped vests) on", meaning "
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