???????µ?†: end, finish, death, rope, trace
???????µ?† is a cool word.
The primary meaning is an end to something either physical or temporal. But ???????µ?† can take you around the world, drag you under water, cast you out to sea, haul you to the edge of town, bring you to meet your Maker and even hide the evidence. Not bad for five letters and two syllables.
It’s a word you probably use in the office every day. ?? ???????·???°?» ?? ???»?‹???°?» ?‚???»?????? ???????µ?† ?µ???? ???????»?°???° (I was late and only caught the end of his speech). ???µ?„ ?…???‡?µ?‚ ?????»???‡???‚?? ???‚?‡?‘?‚ ???? ???????†?° ???µ???µ?»?? (The boss wants the report by the end of the week).
The annoying abbreviation COB (close of business) — usually concluding an unexpected e-mail from the home office requesting a fully loaded, 50-page proposal — might be neatly rendered ?????” (?? ???????†?? ?????? — by the end of the day). And certainly your response to such a request might be the laconic but expressive: ???????µ?†! (We’re screwed!)
Out in the world, ???????µ?† can mean the edge of a town: ???? ?¶?????‘?‚ ?? ???????†?µ ?????€?????° (he lives on the outskirts), or a place far away: ???? ?¶?????‘?‚ ?? ???€???????? ???????†?µ ?????€?????° (he lives on the other side of town). ???? ?????µ?… ???????†???? means “from everywhere.” ???????µ?† can also mean an end of a trip. A one-way ticket is ?±???»?µ?‚ ?? ???????? ???????µ?† (literally, “a ticket to one end”), and a round-trip ticket is ?±???»?µ?‚ ?? ???±?° ???????†?° (literally, “a ticket to both ends”).
On the water, ???????µ?† refers to the mooring rope, which I imagine must create Monty Pythonesque situations when there is a landlubber on board. A sailor shouts: ?”?µ?€?¶?? ???????µ?†! (Grab the rope!), and the nonsailor clutches the end of a pole. ???‚???°?‚?? ???????†?‹ (literally, “to give up the rope”) means to cast off, but in slang it means “to die.” Context, as always, is everything.
I assume that the rope and nautical meaning of ???????µ?† has given us the visually vivid expression ?? ???????†?‹ ?? ???????? (literally, “and the ropes into the water”), which means that there will be no trace found.
Sometimes this means that a person gets disappeared: ???? ?±???»?????µ ???µ ???±???????»???»????, ???€?????°?»? — ?? ???????†?‹ ?? ???????? (He never showed up again — he disappeared without a trace). In other contexts, it means that no evidence will ever be found: ?’?????€?‹?‚?? ?????°?„, ???·???‚?? ???µ???????? ― ?? ???????†?‹ ?? ???????? (Bust open the cupboard, take the money — and no one will be the wiser).
Probably the image of tangled ropes or threads has produced the expression ???????†???? ???µ ???°???‚?? (literally “to not find the ends”), which can mean that you can’t find the source. When a friend sent me a wonderful parody of newscasts, I asked who the author was. The reply was: ???????†???? ???µ ???°?????‘????! (You’ll never figure out who wrote it!) In other cases it means not being able to get to the bottom of something: ?’???µ ???µ?€?µ?????‚?°?»??????, ?? ???????†???? ???µ ???°?????‘???? (It’s all a mess and you’ll never sort it out).
This is different from the ability to make ends meet: ???????????‚?? ???????†?‹ ?? ???????†?°????. To do so, you can ?€?°?±???‚?°?‚?? ?±?µ?· ???????†?° (to work endlessly). But ???° ?…???????? ???????µ?† (in the worst case scenario), you can always file Chapter 11.
True, declaring bankruptcy is ???°?»???° ?? ???????… ???????†?°?… (a double-edged sword). But it’s not the end of the world.
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, whose collection of columns, “The Russian Word’s Worth,” has been published by Glas.