"сев в машину, я смог разглядеть водителя: красивый, атлетического вида парень; могучая мускулатура прямо распирала майку. Надо же, такой лось, а дверцу побоялся открывать!"

bruiser для меня все-таки обязательно включает поведение, но это на уровне ощущений, не настаивая. :-)

кто-нибудь слышал такой "эпитет" в жизни?

buff guy сойдет.

СПАСИБО ВСЕМ ЗА ПОМОЩЬ!

buff - качок (если осталось такое слово из 80-х)
+ jock, но тут пахнет high school

hunk+1 или если уж надо оставить животный мир, то можно gorilla

Both sides of the Atlantic use the word "humungous" to describe a very big guy.

1. It is possible to appreciate (and note to oneself) a fellow male’s sex appeal without being gay.

2. I believe it is also possible to use the word as a reference first and foremost to another male’s muscular physique rather than sex appeal because the sex appeal that the word conveys a strong sense of isn’t just any sex appeal, but one that is positively associated with having a strong, muscular body. I do agree, though, that there is a trend to generalise the use of the word as a reference to any good-looking male.

Неа, главное - рога, шоб бодаться мог!

Nor can “hunk” automatically apply to any sexually attractive male, as you have effectively suggested. I stand by my assertion that the word is first and foremost a reference to a certain type of male physique (which females just happen to find sexually attractive).

Below are some of the results I got when I did a quick search of an online thesaurus (see the link to it at the bottom).

Main Entry: burly
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: husky
Synonyms: able-bodied, athletic, beefcake, beefy, big, brawny, bruising, bulky, gorillalike, hefty, hulking, hulky, hunk, muscular, portly, powerful, stocky, stout, strapping, strong, sturdy, thickset, well-built

Main Entry: he-man
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: masculine man
Synonyms: caveman, hunk*, macho man, man's man, strong man, virile man
* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry: strapping
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: big and strong
Synonyms: brawny, burly, hefty, hulk, hulking, hunk, husky, ox, powerful, powerhouse, robust, stalwart, stout, sturdy, tall, vigorous, well-built

Main Entry: manly
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: courageous
Synonyms: audacious, beefcake, bold, brave, colt, confident, daring, dauntless, dignified, fearless, firm, gallant, hardy, he-man, heroic, hunk, intrepid, jock, jockstrap, lion-hearted, macho, male, manful, manlike, masculine, muscular, noble, powerful, red-blooded, resolute, robust, self-reliant, stately, staunch, stout-hearted, strapping, strong, stud, tiger, two-fisted, undaunted, valiant, valorous, vigorous, virile, well-built

Main Entry: masculine
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: manlike
Synonyms: adult, ape, beefcake, bold, brave, caveman, courageous, gallant, generative, hairy, hardy, honorable, hunk, jock, macho, male, manful, manly, mannish, muscular, potent, powerful, red-blooded, resolute, robust, stallion, stout-hearted, strapping, strong, stud, tuna, two-fisted, vigorous, virile, well-built

Main Entry: manful
Part of Speech: adjective
Definition: manly
Synonyms: audacious, beefcake, bold, brave, colt, confident, daring, dauntless, dignified, fearless, firm, gallant, hardy, he-man, heroic, hunk, intrepid, jock, jockstrap, lion-hearted, macho, male, manlike, mannish, masculine, muscular, noble, powerful, red-blooded, resolute, robust, self-reliant, stately, staunch, stout-hearted, strapping, strong, stud*, tiger, two-fisted, undaunted, valiant, valorous, vigorous, virile, well-built

As you can see, the word is in a pretty good company of other non-sexual terms for a strong, muscular body type, body size, strength and even courage. Because all of these traits exemplify manliness, they can’t help but lend a certain sex appeal to males possessing them. That, however, does not in any way disqualify these words from standing for things that they originally and properly stand for: muscular physique, size, strength and so on. So, a “hunk” can most definitely be a “лось”.

It is also no accident that the word’s other meaning is “a large chunk or a slab of something” and in our case that something is, of course, human body or muscle.

The sexually charged connotation of the word that you insist is its sole domain is probably the result of too many encounters with cliches like “Hollywood hunk” that cybermedia is awash with. I hope the above will go some way toward disabusing you of this erroneous notion.

http://thesaurus.com/browse/hunk

беларуские олени, напр., благородные
за «качок» можно получить в пятачок с)

We at HarryWharton&Co think that if the text in question were authored by a woman, "hunk" would do fine as a translation of "лось". However, it is not. It is man's voice that speaks.

Male members of the MT community who, for the purpose of the given text, vere toward the "лось = hunk" theory are invited to stand at the bar of a London pub and, on spotting in the crowd a man they might readily describe in Russian as "лось", exclaim "what a hunk!", "God, he's a hunk", or words to that effect. The reactions of those within earshot would possibly range from amused smiles to downright hostility, probably depending on where the pub is located. As for those who are 100% convinced that "лось = hunk", they might wish to test the theory to the full by making the same comment in a pub situated in a rough area of Liverpool. They would be well advised, however, to take along a good thesaurus to educate the locals in the subtleties of the word "hunk", and/or have an ambulance standing by outside.