???????°: let's go
Like bears waking from their long winter hibernation, native and temporary Muscovites are sleepily crawling out of parkas and fur hats into the light of spring — just in time for National Funny Russian Word Day.
OK, there isn't really a holiday like that, but there should be. And it should be held in what passes for spring in the capital, when you sure need a good laugh to get through the post-winter mud, lake-sized puddles and general filth. So I'm declaring today National Funny Russian Word Day.
My criteria for nominations? The word should sound funny, which is admittedly terribly subjective, but since I made the holiday up, I get to make the rules. And it should be used in expressive and unexpected ways.
My first nomination is the verb pair ?????°???°?‚??/?????°???????‚??, which has the primary meaning of croak, as in what frogs do: ?????°-?????°-?????° (ribbet). That's good for a smile. ?????????°?? ?»???????????° ?????°???????»?° ???° ?±???»???‚?µ (A sleepy frog croaked in the swamp). But it is also used to describe any croaking or squawking noise, human or otherwise. ???µ?????????»?????? ?????°???????» ???»?°???????? ?°???‚???????±???»?? (The automobile klaxon croaked with displeasure).
And then it's slang for tossing back a drink, which fits my second criterion, since the connection between croaking like a frog and drinking is tenuous, to say the least. ???? ???°?»???» ???µ?±?µ ?? ?????µ ???? ?????»???????? ???‚?°???°???? ??????????. ?????°???????»??. (He poured a full glass of vodka for himself and me. We tossed them down.) ?
And it can also mean to break down — to croak, as it were. One of my friends uses this slang all the time. In an e-mail about a bad weekend at the dacha, she wrote: ?? ???°?? ?????°?¶???‹ ?????°???°?»?? ???»?µ???‚?€???‡?µ???‚???? (the electricity croaked twice). … ?? ?·?°?‚?µ?? ???‚???€?°?»?????°?? ???°???????° ?????°???????»?° ???·-?·?° ???€???±?»?µ???‹ ?? ???»?µ???‚?€???‡?µ???‚?????? (and then the washing machine croaked from the electrical problems).
To which I say: ?????€?° ?????°???????‚??! (Time for a drink.)
My second nomination is the verb pair ???…?°?????????????°?‚??/???…?°?????????°?‚?? (also ???…?°?????°???????°?‚??/???…?°?????°???°?‚??). Certainly passes the funny sound test. Today the verb has three meanings, all of them slangy or folksy. The first is to kill someone. ???µ ?????µ???‚??, ???µ ???‹?????‚??, ???µ ?????†?µ?»?????°?‚??. ?? ???????????? ???µ ???…?°?????????°?‚?? (Don't eat, don't drink, don't kiss anyone. And don't knock anyone off.)
Sometimes things can be killed, in a way: ?‘???‚?‹?»???? ???? ???°???????‚?????‚?µ?»?????? ???…?°?????????°?» (He finished off the bottle by himself). ???µ???‹???»?????‹?µ ???µ???????? ???…?°?????????°?»?? ???° ???????µ???‚-???€?????€?°?????‹ (They dropped a huge bundle of money on investment programs).
The second meaning is to wear someone down to the bones, literally or figuratively. ???€???€?????° ?‘?µ?»?????? ?????€?? ???°?? ???…?°?????????°?»?° (The pitching of the White Sea did us in).
And the third meaning is to wreck something. ???? ???‡?µ?€?° ???°?????»???? ?? ???…?°?????????°?» ???????? ???°???????? (Last night he got drunk and wrecked his car).
Versions about the origins of this funny-sounding word are as hilarious as the word itself and include everything from Yiddish slang for a thief and a Ukrainian word for a servant. But the most likely explanation is that some version of ???…?°?????????°?‚?? entered Russian in the Volga region from a Turkic language, where ajda is purportedly a cry used in a chase that means something like "onward."
Today in Russian ?°?????° — another funny word nomination — means "let's get going" or "we're out of here." ???????° ??????????! (Let's hit the road home.) ???????° ?????»???‚??! ? (Come on — let's take a walk!)
???????° ?????»???‚?? — today? In this mud? Now that's a laugh.
Michele A. Berdy, a Moscow-based translator and interpreter, is author of "The Russian Word's Worth" (Glas), a collection of her columns.
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