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?? ?????»???????? ??????: a pitifully small amount of something
I've got noses on the brain. Once I started thinking about nose expressions in Russian, that's all I see or read. Then I got so interested, for the last several days ?? ???‚???????»?°???? ?????????? ?? ?????€?°?????‡???????? ???? ?€???????????? ?„?€?°?·?µ???»???????? (I've been buried in books on Russian expressions and idioms; literally, "I've burrowed with my nose").
Some of these phrases, it turns out, are fake nose expressions. For example, ?????‚?°???»???‚?? ?? ?????????? sounds like "to leave someone with his nose," but here ?????? has a different meaning. In the old days, a suitor brought his bride-to-be's family ?????? or ???€?????????µ?????µ (gift, offering). If the bride's family turned him down, they turned down his offering too, and the villagers would gossip: ?????? ?????‚?°?????»?? ?µ???? ?? ?????????? (they turned him down with his offering). Today the expression is used to describe cheating people or leaving them with nothing: ???? ?????‘?» ???‚ ?¶?µ???‹ ?? ?????‚?°?????» ?µ?‘ ?? ?????????? (He abandoned his wife and left her flat broke).
I've also come across the phrase ???…???????‚?? ?? ?????????? (to leave with one's offering) used to describe the sad plight of someone who brought ?????? to a bureaucrat or judge -- that is, he brought a ???·???‚???° (bribe) -- and the potential bribe-taker didn't accept it. The expression can be used to describe any situation in which a request was denied or a deal fell through. In translating into English, you might reverse the image: ???‹ ???????€???????»?? ?????µ?»???‡???‚?? ?????‚?°?†???? ???‚ ?±?????¶?µ?‚?°, ???? ?????»?? ?? ?????????? (We asked for a hike in funding from the city budget, but we left empty-handed).
But other Russian expressions shine the language spotlight on the real nose. ???‚?µ?€?µ?‚?? ????????-?‚?? ?????? (to wipe someone's nose) probably comes from the image of a helpless child who needs someone to look after his facial hygiene. Today it describes getting the better of someone and is often found in articles about sports competitions: ? ?????????????????µ ?±???°?‚?»?????????‚?‹ ???‚?‘?€?»?? ?????? ???µ???†?°?? (Russian biathletes whipped the German team).
Then there is the mysterious expression ???????°?€ ???????° ???µ ???????‚???‡???‚, which seems to mean, literally, "the mosquito doesn't sharpen a nose." But to add to the confusion, it is used to describe anything that is well-made or well-done. Huh? Apparently the key to deciphering this expression is ???????‚???‡???‚??. In some parts of Russia, it was a synonym for ???????????‚?? (to shove into). In the old days, the sign of a well-built piece of furniture or house was tightly joined planks of wood -- so snugly fitted that "the nose of a mosquito couldn't squeeze in between them."
There are nicely rhymed ways of describing a good-sized schnoz: ??‚???‚ ?????? ?‡?µ?€?µ?· ?’???»???? ???????‚ (That nose could be a bridge over the Volga). Or: ??‚???‚ ?????? ???‚?? ?»?µ?‚ ?€???? (That nose has been growing for a hundred years).
But small noses get their due. If someone offers a size-12 friend a size-2 dress, the friend might say: ?”?°?¶?µ ???° ?????? ???µ ???°?»?µ?·?µ?‚ (literally, it wouldn't even fit on my nose). If you want to describe a pitifully small amount of something, you can say ?? ?????»???????? ??????. Here ?????»???????? is the adjective derived from ?????»??, another word for ?????»???±?? (pigeon), and "??" stands in for ???°??: like a pigeon's beak. ???????»?µ ???‹?…???????‹?… ???µ???µ?? ?????‚?°?»?????? ?? ?????»???????? ?????? (After the weekend I'm down to my last dime).
But the true glory of the Russian nose is its ability to tell the future. If someone says: ?? ???µ???? ?‡?µ???µ?‚???? ?????? (my nose itches), it means one of two things: Either he's going to be drinking, or he's going to get some news.
In this case, it's best to get the bottle out so you'll have something to toast with when the news arrives.
Michele A. Berdy is a Moscow-based translator and interpreter.
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