You know your opponent is in trouble when he tries to joke his way out of the debate.

///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.///

How telling it is that your choices of testing venues are situated not where they belong, geographically and culturally, but in the social underbelly of the other side of that great divide of the English-speaking universe that is the Atlantic Ocean, commonly known to be an entirely different planet in terms of the speaking habits of the demographic that populates it! Since when, pray tell, has England’s underclass been a reliable authority on the English language? A new Dark Age may be truly upon us if our word choices should be held hostage to the linguistic prowess of some tracksuited bloke in some pub in some nondescript corner of your quaint little island and the amount of his alcohol intake on the night.

///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.///

Words don’t make it into thesauruses (and register a correlation as remarkable as in our case) for no reason. Again, that you chose not to confront this fact head-on is in itself tantamount to admission of defeat, I say.

///Were getting away from the actual text a bit, but, we still think, "hunk" works for "лось" if the narrator is feminine. Again (as per usual), context is important.: the "лось" is prefaced by "красивый". so that glides quite naturally into "hunk" (again, if a woman's doing the talking). Female or male narrator, the "красивый" clearly rules out translations like "gorilla" and so forth.
HarryWharton&Co suggested earlier that "hunk" would "do fine" if the author were a woman. That's not to say it's the best possible translation, given a lady narrator.
Silly Wizard is right, of course: "hunk" doesn't carry any notion of "handsome". It implies a strong and sexually attractive man. Hence, given the context, the word won't work where the speaker's male.///

I can easily see the word flashing across my mind as I put myself in place of the hitchhiker. This view has also the support of the authorities that I have quoted.

///All this chit-chat about "hunk" implying "handsome"... Oozing sex-appeal in the mind of the beholder, yes, but for that you don't necessarily have to be handsome. Take say, Jean-Paul Belmondo. The ladies tend to think he's rather sexy, but he's hardly handsome in the classic sense of the word. Time spent in North America prompts me to suggest that "hunk" means sexually appealing and of relatively tall height and failry largish proportions. That;s all. The guy in question may also be a real looker, but if he's referred to as a hunk, that's by the by.///

This reads like a total about-face from your original assertion, the only thing missing is open admission. I am glad to see you coming round.

///re: the fact that some dictionary somewhere says "hunk" means "handsome with a well-developed physique". I don't think we should kowtow to the almighty dictionary all the time. They were wriiten by mere mortals like thou and I. Personally, I'd prefer to go by common usage.///

If it hadn’t been common usage, it wouldn’t have made it into the dictionary, simple as. It is the dictionary that is the arbiter of commonality par excellence, not the very subjective opinion of any individual speaker.

Зашла в кабинет. Встречает какой-то Айболит перекачанный: ___за два метра______
ростом, из халата две простыни сшить можно. Вас ист лось?. - спрашивает. Вот
уж, думаю, точно: __лось__. И прикинь: забыла, как по-немецки ёж

Иными словами, когда человека называют лосем именно в связи с его внешностью, в первую очередь подразумевается именно высокий рост. По крайней мере, в реальной жизни я слышал именно в таком значении (когда речь о внешнем виде идет).

Пример:
По имени его никто в отделении не называл, а окликали __Лосем__. Это был ___высоченный___ широкоплечий парень с дурашливым лицом, изъеденным оспинами и покрытым бородавками. Главная беда Лося, или скорее даже общая наша беда, была его привычка, постоянно есть

Разумеется, "лось" может быть и мускулистым, но высокий рост - обязательный элемент.

Thank for paying HarryWharton&Co so much attention. We didn't know we were your "opponent"; we were simply adding our humble shilling's worth to the debate on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. It's simply a point of view with a bit of humour thrown in to add to the gaiety of the proceedings. It should be good fun, after all, not a bid for ascendancy or a life-or-death struggle, and, hopefully, some people, including ourselves, learn something new. We have. And for this, much thanks.

With all best wishes,
Bosie
(whoops, sorry, we meant, of course, Elmira and Haryy Wharton)

Thank for paying HarryWharton&Co so much attention. We didn't know we were your "opponent"; we were simply adding our humble shilling's worth to the debate on a take-it-or-leave-it basis. It's simply a point of view with a bit of humour thrown in to add to the gaiety of the proceedings. It should be good fun, after all, not a bid for ascendancy or a life-or-death struggle, and, hopefully, some people, including ourselves, learn something new. We have. And for this, much thanks.

With all best wishes,
Bosie
(whoops, sorry, we meant, of course, Elmira and Haryy Wharton)///

It takes a hunk to acknowledge that he might have got something wrong, but, in one word, that was excruciating.. How dare you taunt me and the lifestyle that I may or may not have embraced with flippant invocations of arguably the most exalted relationship to ever grace this mortal coil, a love of purity and devotion that most heterosexual partnerships, unfortunately, can only whistle at (although, admittedly, not through the fault of men)? For this OW reincarnation, that was one bit of humour too far..

Disappointed,
Oscar

http://www.capanson.com/nicknames.html