Сало

by Don  

Some years ago I read a book entitled “Scandinavian Humor and Other Myths,” which had the following insight: every ethnic group has some food to which it is irrationally attached. In the case of Scandinavians it is lutefisk. The Scots revel in abominable haggis, and the Mexicans in menudo.

For the Russians that food is сало. No comestible could be more perfectly designed to arouse fear and loathing in American hearts. It is essentially a chunk of fat from the back or belly of a pig. The сало may be smoke-cured, brine-cured, or salted. You can then eat it raw, or it can be chopped up small, fried, and served as a condiment. The first time that I had it, it was simply served raw in little white chunks on a plate, and I was incredibly grateful that my host had some Bulgarian sauce to pour on it, otherwise I don't think I could have kept it down. And if you take a slice of it and put it on some rye bread that has been rubbed with garlic, it is the perfect accompaniment to shots of vodka (source). Sometimes it is sprinkled with black pepper to make it pretty:

Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

Doesn't that look yummy? A marvelous article on сало can be found at appetissimo.ru, which lets us know that сало won't make us fat or clog our arteries and really should be consumed with hooch. And if you read Ukrainian, don't miss out on the Salo Lovers Club.

Here are some sample sentences.

Я люблю пожарить кусочки сала и есть их на хлебе с маслом. I love to fry up pieces of fatback and eat them on bread with butter.
— Мне холодно.
— Это потому, что ты такая худенькая. Тебе надо сало есть. Ты будешь здоровее и не будешь чувствовать холода.
“I'm cold.”
“That's because you are so skinny. You need to eat fatback. You'll be healthier and won't feel the cold.”
— Ты слышал, что одесский завод производит сало в шоколаде?
— Слышал, но в действительности это лишь карамель с привкусом сала, а не настоящее сало.
“Did you hear that a factory in Odessa produces fatbook covered with chocolate?”
“I did, but really it is only caramel with some fatback flavoring, not real fatback.”
— Ой, как я пьян!
— Это потому, что не умеешь пить. Между рюмками надо закусывать хлебом с салом. Таким образом пьют здоровые люди.
“Oh, I am so drunk!”
“That's because you don't know how to drink right. Between shots you have to eat bread and fatback. That's how healthy people drink.”

Пропуск

by Timur  

The Russian word пропуск has more then one definition and can be a bit difficult to use and easy to confuse, especially if you are not following the conversation closely. It can be translated as “admission,” “pass” or “permit. Sometimes it means password but words like пароль and пассворд are used a lot more often for that. Пропуск can also refer to absences and no shows. And at last, it can be translated as a gap or a blank between something.
The word originally comes from the verb пропускать, which means to let pass, and to skip.

When пропуск means a pass or permit, it declines like this. (Note the irregular nominative/accusative plural).

SgPl
Nomпропускпропуска
Acc
Genпропускапропусков
Preпропускпропусках
Datпропускупропускам
Insпропускомпропусками

Picture of air raid passImage of an old Soviet пропуск that allows for unrestricted travel around the city during an air raid. Taken from autogallery.org.ru.

Here are some examples for the use of various translations of the word пропуск:

Пропуск людей, которые опоздали больше, чем на десять минут, запрещён. The admission of people who are more than ten minuets late is not allowed.
Oн показал свой пропуск МВД и гаишник простил ему это нарушение. He showed his Interior Ministry permit and the traffic cop forgave him the violation.
Пропуск уроков будет разрeшаться только по пятницам. The skipping of lessons will only be allowed on Fridays.
Между словами виден небольшой пропуск, который мы так и не смогли объяснить. There is a small gap between the words that we couldn’t explain after all.

Через (часть четвёртая)

by Don  

Here's where the preposition через starts to get interesting. It can be used in the context where in English we use the phrase “every other”:

— Вы каждый день бегаете утром?
— Нет, только через день
“Do you go running every morning?”
“No, only every other day.”
Если хочешь эффективно тренироваться, надо качаться через день, а на другой день надо отдыхать. If you want to train with good results, you have to pump iron every other day, and on the other days you should rest.
— Дома вы говорите по-русски или по-украински?
— Правду сказать, дома мы говорим через слово.
“Do you speak Russian or Ukrainian at home?”
“To tell the truth, at home we speak every other word [in one language, then the other].”

In this sense you can often say the same thing in Russian with a paraphrase starting with forms of the adjective каждый every:

В 1996-ом году мы все вели себя довольно глупо. Mы через день выпивали у Володи. In 1996 we all behaved rather stupidly. Every other day we would sit and drink at Vladimir's place.
В 1996-ом году мы все вели себя довольно глупо. Каждыe два дня мы выпивали у Володи.
В 1996-ом году мы все вели себя довольно глупо. Каждый второй день мы выпивали у Володи.
Нам платили через пятницу, и поэтому мы посылали домой деньги только два раза в месяц. They paid us every other Friday, so we sent money home only twice a month.
Нам платили каждые две пятницы, и поэтому мы посылали домой деньги только два раза в месяц.
Нам платили каждую вторую пятницу, и поэтому мы посылали домой деньги только два раза в месяц.

До свадьбы заживёт/ Собачья свадьба

by Timur  

This is a very popular Russian idiom used to calm someone who has been injured in some way. The literal translation is: before (до) wedding (свадьбы) it will heal (заживёт). You are pretty much telling a physically or emotionally wounded person to stop worrying and take it easy because the injury is not permanent and will eventually heal in time for the wedding. I heard the phrase a lot as a kid, mostly from parents and doctors. I still get it now and then when I do something stupid, like cut my hand while carelessly opening a can of peaches.

Не надо плакать, твоя маленькая царапина до свадьбы заживёт. There is no need to cry. Your little scratch will heal in time for the wedding.

Now, cобачья свадьба “a dog's wedding” is an example of an idiom that has almost vanished and lost its meaning. When I heard it for the first time, uttered by an elderly gentleman in a fit of anger, I had no idea what it meant—just another ancient slang term on the brink of extinction. Собачья свадьба is used to describe a fling, a love affair, a one-night stand. You might bump into it in some old movie or novel… but in today’s world it will likely come from a crazed dog lover who actually wants to organize a real dog wedding.

Image from zoochel.ru

У Бориса опять собачья свадьба с новой женщиной. Boris is having another affair with a new woman.

Свадьба

by Don  

The Russian word for wedding is свадьба, which means both the marriage ceremony itself and the festivities that follow it. The word can also mean “wedding party,” in the sense of those who participate in the wedding. Since свадьба includes the later festivities, sometimes it's better to translate it as “reception.”

Most of the Protestant weddings I have attended in the US follow a fairly standard pattern: first there is a brief wedding ceremony in a church, which often takes less than half an hour. There may be hundreds of guests at the ceremony, and those who attend it are not necessarily invited to the reception. The wedding reception is a party or dinner afterwards, which may be held in another building on the church grounds or in a room at some other location rented for the event. All wedding receptions include a small event where the bride and groom mutually cut the wedding cake and feed each other a small piece. My favorite reception of all time was a seven-course sit-down dinner and dance for one hundred people. Now that was a reception.

The standard non-religious Russian wedding is a very different thing. It begins with a visit to ЗАГС or a wedding palace where the brief ceremony itself is held.¹ The bride, groom, and closest friends participate; parents do not necessarily attend. This is followed by a traveling party where the same people drive around town visiting various city sights where they drink champagne and take photographs.² This is followed by a meal, usually in a home, but sometimes in a restaurant.

In English one “holds” a wedding somewhere, and the guests “attend” a wedding. In Russian they often use the verb играть “to play” and гулять “to enjoy oneself” to express similar ideas:

В каком ресторане вы играли свадьбу? (adapted from this source) What restaurant did you hold the reception in?
В каком месяце вы играли свадьбу? (adapted from this source) What month did you hold your wedding in?
Большинство русских не играют свою свадьбу в церквях. Most Russians don't hold their weddings in churches.
— Где ты был в субботу?
— Я гулял на свадьбе.
“Where were you on Saturday?”
“I attended a wedding.”
Ты не хочешь со мной погулять на свадьбе в пятницу? Would you like to attend a wedding with me on Friday?

Of course, not all weddings fit the description above. Devout Orthodox Russians will have church weddings, which are elaborate and lengthy affairs. For a decent description of a modern Russian wedding, see www.womenrussia.com. When you are in the mood for some amusement, you should read about the many interesting customs around weddings in Russian villages of yesteryear, which included the kidnapping and ransoming of the bride.


¹ ЗАГС is a civil registry office which often has a particular suite of rooms where marriages are solemnized.

² If the wedding is in Moscow, the wedding party usually includes visits to Red Square, the eternal flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the scenic city overlook in front of Moscow State University.

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