that's the bird cinema

[tanyavasil]

помогите, пож, перевести фразу из Дживса и Вустера: "When he first met you, I thought: THAT'S THE BIRD, THERE SHE SPOUTS!"

[johnstephenson]

Literature isn't my strong point, but...

* bird = young men's slang for a young woman (especially an attractive one), a girlfriend or a female partner.
* "There she blows!" and "There she spouts!" were formerly calls used by men on whaling boats to attract the crew's attention to the fact that they'd just spotted a whale surfacing nearby and spouting (blowing out) water into the air, like this:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rqBmkouRT44

So I imagine he's saying that he'd just spotted the right female partner for his friend, but at the same time is (jokingly?) likening her to a whale.... However, I may be wrong and others with more knowledge of literature may know better.

[johnstephenson]

Here are some notes explaining other terms used in the book, if interested:

www.madameulalie.org/tmordue/pgwbooks/pgwcotw1.html

[tanyavasil]

WOW!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH, Johnstephenson!

[annaoomph]

Я бы перевела как "Вот это красотка! Ты только посмотри на нее!"
Или, чуть более развязный вариант: "Вот это киска!"

[johnstephenson]

18th-CENTURY MARINER'S PRONUNCIATION GUIDE

.... and this is how seamen/pirates of old are supposed to have said it! Obviously mariners liked to put on silly voices in those days. "Yes indeedy, Cap'n!" See Stevenson's 'Treasure Island' for more ....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFhBt7VRIXg