Russian Word of the Day

Warning! This entry is slightly vulgar.

Follow up:

Despite the sound of the word осёл, it has no connection to the English “asshole.” Instead it means “donkey.” The word is grammatically spiteful in that the ё is a fleeting vowel, and the word is end-stressed:

Another English word for donkey is ass. In English it's not uncommon to call a person an ass if he is rude or obnoxious. Like English Russian also can use осёл to label a person, but it means something different: «Он такой осёл» “He is so stupid.” Sometimes in English we say "He is as stubborn as a mule." A mule, by the way, is the sterile offspring of a female horse and a male donkey. In Russian if you want to say someone is really stubborn, you might say, «Он такой баран», literally “He is such a ram.” I don't advise saying that, though. It's pretty rude.