| Subject | Russian | English |
| gen. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось | whatever tickles your pickle (Из форума: To me, whatever tickles your pickle is the same as saying "whatever melts your butter" while one is directed to males and the other is directed to women, both have the same sexual connotation that can be offensive to the opposite sex in a professional work environment. Whatever floats your boat is the more politically correct way of saying this. Mikhail.Brodsky) |
| gen. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось | anything for a quiet life (– Верещагин) |
| proverb | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | any bauble of folly will keep baby jolly (let him do whatever (silly) things he wants to do) |
| proverb | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | any toy is O.K. that keeps the baby at play |
| idiom. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | anything for a quiet life |
| saying. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | any toy is o.k. that keeps the baby at play |
| proverb | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | anything to keep someone quiet (Anglophile) |
| proverb | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | play keeps the baby from tears |
| gen. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | whatever turns you on (m_rakova) |
| gen. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | whatever floats one's boat (m_rakova) |
| gen. | чем бы дитя ни тешилось, лишь бы не плакало | as long as it keeps him/ her happy ("He likes writing, and what I say is, as long as it keeps him happy, why shouldn't he?" W. Somerset Maugham m_rakova) |
