Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term
United States
Psychology, economics, politics
Native in: English 
Works in: Russian to English, German to English, English
хомяк
Referring to the Moscow protests. Hamsters? What is the nuance of meaning here that would allow it to be translated into English meaningfully?
| 4 +4 | hamster |
Rachel Douglas
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| 3 +1 | homebodies / coach potatoes |
Michael Korovkin
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| 3 | lemming |
Mikhail Kropotov
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| 3 | sheeple |
Kiwiland Bear
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| 3 | gopher |
Andrew Vdovin
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| 3 | net+ |
Ocean122
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May 16, 2012 00:42: Rachel Douglas changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"
PRO (3): Mikhail Kropotov, Anton Konashenok, Rachel Douglas
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Proposed translations
United States
Excellent English from Russian originals
Native in: English (Variants: British, Australian, US)
Works in: Russian to English
hamster
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-05-16 01:14:13 GMT)
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Yep, I knew Michele would not have missed that one! The use of "хомяк" in an Internet context comes from playing with English "home" as in "home page"!!
"Russians apparently didn’t like saying хом (home — a web site’s home page), so they wittily transformed хом into a similar and familiar Russian word: хомяк (hamster). This is not to be confused with English computer slang, in which the hamster is a wireless (tailless) mouse."
http://news.windowstorussia.com/the-word’s-worth-the-really-...
Her column is from last summer, and notice that she only has the IT usage of хомяк, not its transformation into a nickname for protesters who emerged from the blogosphere.
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Note added at 1 hr (2012-05-16 01:15:23 GMT)
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In other words, that's _very_ recent.
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Note added at 10 hrs (2012-05-16 10:24:45 GMT)
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Susan, do the search in Yandex Картинки and ask it for "хомячки с Болотного" or "хомячки Навального", and, voila!
http://cuamckuykot.ru/uploads//2012/02/x_c1070ad8.jpg
Here, picketing the U.S. Embassy:
http://cdn04.dayviews.com/bloglovin/5926727491429e233014384c...
| Bingo, thanks Rachel. When I searched for photos of хомяки, all I found were cute little rodents -- nobody at a demo in a hamster suit. Google Images has its limits as a resource for translators! |
| agree |
MariyaN (X)
46 mins
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Thanks, Mariya.
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| agree |
Alexandra Schneeuhr
4 hrs
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Thanks, Alexandra.
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| agree |
svetlana cosquéric
5 hrs
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Thanks, Svetlana.
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| agree |
Mikhail Korolev
22 hrs
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Thank you.
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Germany
US-educated, precise & thorough
Native in: Russian
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Russian
lemming
New Zealand
Translation with excellence
Native in: Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, French to English, and 3 more.
sheeple
I believe the word first appeared and gained traction as an opposite to "predator" types which have been variously called weasels, wolves, jackals...none of which became widely used or accepted but "хомяки" remained.
But of course, if "hamsters" are already used by mainstream media as accepted translation then I guess we don't have much choice in the matter now.
DELVING into DETAIL
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian, Russian to English, and 2 more.
gopher
| The slang meaning of "gopher" is "go-fer," as in "go for," as in a flunky whose job (figuratively speaking) is to fetch coffee or run errands for the big guys. |
Italy
Native in: English , Russian
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, Italian to Russian, and 2 more.
homebodies / coach potatoes
| neutral |
Andrew Vdovin
: А чего ж их тогда на демонстрации-то тянет?
3 hrs
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Вот именно этот вопрос в тексте и поднимается: и чего тогда лезут?
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| agree |
stanna (X)
12 hrs
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thanks directly from the coach!
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net+
Or even this one - netard?
Discussion