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Aug 1, 2020 18:48
3 yrs ago
48 viewers *
English term

uneven - V8

English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters cultural reference
This is the story of a woman in Beauty School.

The text reads:

Our very first assignment was “the trim.” If I could have crawled under a rock that day, I would've. My poor mannequin's hair was so*** uneven, it looked like it needed a V8!***

Obviously this is a cultural reference, the writer is a New York native, but I cannot understand what V8 is in this context or the relation of uneven with V8.

I´d really appreciate if someone explains it to me so I can find a suitable translation.

Thank you!
Responses
3 +1 V8 juice
3 +4 drink v8 – keep your diet (or hair) straight
3 +3 V8 haircut
3 V8 is a brand of flat iron for hair
References
In support of Brent's answer

Discussion

Marina Soldati (asker) Aug 9, 2020:
Thanks to all for your ideas and input. I´ve asked the client about this and they said it was related to the V8 juice. I still cannot understand what´s the relation between uneven and something to straighten the hair, but...
philgoddard Aug 2, 2020:
I do recommend looking at Brent's two TV commercials. It doesn't take a minute, and I find his answer the most convincing so far. They show people leaning heavily over to one side, like the "uneven" haircut in Marina's text, until they drink V8.
Sheila Wilson Aug 2, 2020:
v-shape You can find references to a V-shaped haircut. And numbers seem to have,a,connection swith length, as mentioned elsewhere. So I reckon she's recommending a short, V-shaped pixie style.
Marina Soldati (asker) Aug 1, 2020:
Thank you! I´ve found the vegetable/tomato juice, types of engines, a band but nothing related to uneven hair. That´s why I thought it would be something a native speaker, preferably from New York, would understand. Thanks anyway.
Teangacha (X) Aug 1, 2020:
@ Asker You probably found this yourself, but I have no idea how this V8 will help uneven hair. Sorry!

https://www.today.com/style/best-home-hair-tricks-1C8368659

Get rid of green with V8

Chlorine and hard water can distort blond color molecules, giving strands a greenish tint. “Massage a can of V8 into your hair as if you’re lathering shampoo,” says L.A. colorist Negin Zand, who works with Jennifer Aniston, Cate Blanchett, and Meg Ryan. “The red pigments in the tomato juice will warm up any ashy or green effects.”

V8 tomato juice
Featured snippet from the web
V8 is made from vegetables and contains many of the same nutrients you'd find in whole vegetables. Plus, it has no added sugar. According to the Campbell's website, V8 contains the juice of eight vegetables: tomatoes (V8 is mostly tomato juice)

Responses

+1
10 mins
Selected

V8 juice

She might be talking about V8 juice. The original was full of veggies so she may be suggesting the hair needed lots of vitamins. V8 (tomato juice) is also used as a quick hair fix/rinse for off shades.

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Note added at 12 mins (2020-08-01 19:01:10 GMT)
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https://www.shefinds.com/16-at-home-hair-remedies-boost-colo...
"Get rid of green or ashy tints with V8: Chlorine can give blonde hair a greenish tint. To prevent this, massage V8 juice into your hair while you are in the shower, then rinse. The red pigments in the tomato juice will warm up any ashy or green effects."

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Note added at 6 hrs (2020-08-02 00:57:07 GMT)
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Since you mentioned this being a cultural reference, I immediately thought of canned V8 vegetable juice because that's something that some of the "healthier" parents used to pack for my classmates, instead of soda, in middle school (I'm originally from LA). My first thought was that the hair must've had a ton of breakage/split ends and was in such bad shape that she was suggesting an infusion of vitamins was needed. My next thought was that tomato juice is used to get rid of unwanted tints and that the hair color could've been patchy. But, as Toni M. mentions, this may be a case of professional jargon. There's something called a "Number 8 Haircut." It's done using a special clipper attachment on a trimmer and leaves an inch of hair. Maybe, she meant that most of the hair needed to be cut off, which would've resulted in a pixie cut, which, although quite short, could've possibly passed as an acceptable alternative to just shaving the mess off and failing the test. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything mentioning a "V8" trimmer/clipper.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : Unlikely, really; note she says "a V8", not "some V8". Sound to me more like the description of some type of cut, you know, like a 'No 2' or a 'buzzcut'...
7 mins
I was thinking of a can of V8, so like you'd talk about needing a coke.
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : It's a mannequin so this makes no sense//what????
16 hrs
It's like saying a mannequin at a spray tan salon looked like it'd seen a ghost. Yes, mannequins can't see, but the point is that it's pale and the humor.
agree Dr. Jozsef Dikter : https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/V8_(Markenname) See TV-spots as well referring to nice hair, really nice hit.
1 day 20 hrs
Thanks!
neutral Björn Vrooman : Don't understand the neutral comments above. In this US-DE household, we talk about a Pepsi, just like in Back to the Future: "...if you want a Pepsi, you gotta pay for it." https://backtothefuture.fandom.com/wiki/Tab As for the second, see below.
2 days 21 mins
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you!"
+4
38 mins

drink v8 – keep your diet (or hair) straight


It’s a long shot, but it’s possible that the author is making references to these old commercials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW0jfsPLWBY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imtD6kIRJn8

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Note added at 45 mins (2020-08-01 19:34:18 GMT)
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But this would be difficult for another culture and generation to understand.

The point is that it’s very uneven. You could just use another expression that conveys the same meaning.

For example:
My hair is so uneven that my 6 year old could have done better
as seen in this review
https://www.groupon.com/biz/north-palm-beach-fl/north-palm-b...

My poor mannequin’s hair was so uneven that [something that translates into the respective language/culture]
Peer comment(s):
agree philgoddard
22 mins
neutral Tony M : It doesn' really make sense to talk about some kind of hair nutrient; what would be needed here would be an emergency instant hair cutting solution.
10 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : With Tony. This makes no sense in context. NB she is working on a mannequin!
15 hrs
neutral writeaway : nothing at all to do with drinking V8.
21 hrs
agree Arabic & More : Definitely strongly agree with this - I remember these commercials from childhood, and they are the first thing that came to mind.
1 day 1 hr
agree Alison MacG : Agree that this is almost certainly a reference to these commercials. (I have posted a few more links)
1 day 20 hrs
agree Björn Vrooman : Thanks for the commercials. Now I know what I've been missing out on!
1 day 23 hrs
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

V8 is a brand of flat iron for hair

Sutra Beauty - Cordless V8 flat iron.

uneven: some places straight, some places curly.

https://www.macys.com/shop/product/sutra-beauty-cordless-v8-...

https://www.boxycharm.com/cordless-v8
Peer comment(s):
neutral Tony M : I think "uneven" here means some places longer or shorter than others — the result of an inexperienced hairdresser!
6 hrs
neutral Yvonne Gallagher : Nothing to do with straight/curly
11 hrs
Something went wrong...
+3
6 hrs

V8 haircut

John Dumelo shows off his new V8 haircut on Instagram

http://artsgh.com/index.php/2019/04/04/john-dumelo-v8-haircu...

https://www.v8supercuts.com/


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Note added at 6 hrs (2020-08-02 00:59:55 GMT)
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maybe his hair would've looked better if it had been cut that way.
Peer comment(s):
agree Anastasia Andriani
2 hrs
Thank you Anastasia :-)
agree Yvonne Gallagher : Makes most sense that it's a type of haircut
2 hrs
Thank you Yvonne :-)
neutral Brent Sørensen : Note that the author is a New York City native and V8 supercuts is located in Australia. The other reference was from Ghana
3 hrs
neutral philgoddard : Agree with Brent - these are not very convincing references, unlike his.
6 hrs
agree writeaway
15 hrs
Thank you writeaway :-)
neutral Dr. Jozsef Dikter : V8 juice spot effect may have been used as cultural reference, both continents :)
1 day 14 hrs
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Reference comments

1 day 21 hrs
Reference:

In support of Brent's answer

Things end up looking a bit crooked… kind of like my card needs a V8!
https://rosyscription.com/2012/05/simple-quick-and-handmade-...

I don't know what's up with this crooked picture. I must have needed a V8.
http://www.ourlittletinies.com/2015/03/pantry-reorganization...

This chimney needs a V8. Or maybe it's too cool to stand up straight and do it's job.
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/827114287789131312/

Lopsided Bus and Orthodox Easter
I was planning to be home in Copceac for Easter, but when I arrived at the bus station to board the one daily bus from the capital to my site, it looked like it really needed some V8 juice - meaning it was leaning way to the side.
http://nightpie.blogspot.com/2006/04/lopsided-bus-and-orthod...
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Björn Vrooman : This. The fact that it's a mannequin is irrelevant. If I pour Red Bull over my car, it won't consume the drink, but I expect it to fly regardless. Asker's exact sentence: https://framebyframestyle.com/2012/06/23/giving-the-gladiolu...
2 hrs
agree philgoddard : If this doesn't convince the nay-sayers, nothing will! Tony, Yvonne, writeaway?
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
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