posted by murrayjames on July 21, 2012 | 4 comments
My friend sent me a list. It makes jokes about various bars in Chengdu and the clientele you're likely to find there. I have an idea what these names mean but am not 100% sure. Could someone help me with a translation?
文艺装逼范儿
无处宣泄青春少男
弄潮儿，黑木耳，吊丝，嘻哈装逼少年，海龟……
murrayjames on July 24, 2012 | reply
So I translated them myself. Still not sure about some of them. Can I get some help?
文艺装逼范儿 - artsy pretentious asshole 范儿？
无处宣泄青春少男
无处宣泄 good-for-nothing, nothing better to do 青春少男 young male
弄潮儿 - cultural pioneer, leader
黑木耳 - ?
嘻哈装逼少年 - pretentious young hip-hopper
海龟 - 海外归国人员 (thanks Baidu)
范儿 originally referred to the poses, set-pieces, and songs that opera performers (maybe just Peking Opera performers?) were supposed to be able to hit -- sort of like "marks" in the expression "hitting one's marks." (At least, this is how the term was explained to me.) These days, though, it's basically just "style" or "look" (as in "going for the heroin-chic look"). 文艺 is short for 文艺青年, a term that was recently much debated on a translator listserv that I hang out on, but basically means "artsy," with a generous dose of "fartsy" on the side most of the time.. All in all, I'd probably translate 文艺装逼范儿 as something along the lines of "artsy-fartsy jackoff types."无处宣泄青春少男 - "Young men with nowhere else to let go / release / vent."弄潮儿 - Not so much "cultural pioneer" as "fashionista," I think.黑木耳 - There is no nice way to put this. It refers to the presumed state of the nether regions of women who enjoy frequent and vigorous intercourse. "Worn-out skank" is probably too nice; the term is pretty unpleasantly visual.海龟 - Yup, as Baidu says, it's a homophone for 海归 -- returnees, and thus presumably yuppies.
@Brendan,不只是京剧，中国古典舞里也说范儿，最常用的词是“起范儿”。比如说，如果下一个动作是往右走，舞蹈演员在前一拍先往左边移动一下身体就叫“起范儿”。--Amberamber@popupchinese.com