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10 Crazy Things Russians Say And What They Mean
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We know every country has their own idioms, which often make no sense to anyone other than those who have grown up with them, but for those in the know, they make perfect sense!
We are bringing you Russia’s TOP TEN idioms, with a helping hand from renowned artist Nathan James. By the time you’ve familiarised yourself with these, we’re hoping you won’t get overexcited… but you’ll jump out of your pants!
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Russians Don’t Exaggerate, They 'Make An Elephant Out Of A Fly'
A Russian Won’t Lie To You, He’ll 'Hang Noodles On Your Ears'
You Are Not Just Talented Or Skilled, You Can 'Shoe A Flea'
It’ll Never Happen – ‘A Lobster Whistles On Top Of A Mountain’
In Puerto Rico, it's when chickens ride bycicles!
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I heard someone say - " When a dead fish farts in a puddle" (Когда дохлая рыба в луже пёрнет)
In Bulgaria we say : "When the wooden shoes bloom" (когато цъфнат налъмите")
Heh. I have a friend with the last name Рак (Crayfish). So he specially recorded a video, where he whistles on the mountain.
In Croatia it's "When grapes grow on a willow" :D ("Kad na vrbi rodi grožđe").
to be precise, 1) crayfish, not lobster, and 2) you say something like " meh, only gonna happen when crayfish whistles on a mountain"
No panic , it's just a common saying, nothing to do with dentists, just like you say 'bet my hat', we say 'bet my tooth'
A crayfish (not lobster of course :) ) whistles quicker than what You tell....
Complete idiom is: "when a crayfish whistles on a mountain, and a fish sings". Definitely similar to "when pigs fly", as in "never" :)
One an also say 'After Thursday's rain' which is perfectly well completed by the 'when a crayfish whistles on top of a mountain'. These two can be used both separately or together.
For example, the Russian national football team will win the olympiad when the crayfish on the mountain is hanging. (Hence never)
Sounds kinda stupid since that has happened twice already.. world cup would be a whole lot better of an example)
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Cancer is also an astrological sign, whose symbol is a crab. So, very similar. :)
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A Russian Person Doesn’t Swear Something Is True… He Will ‘Give You His Tooth For It’
Russians Don’t Show Off… They ‘Throw Dust In Your Eyes’
In Syria they go, "how about I make your mind fly away!" Sort of a "blow ur mind" thing
A Russian Doesn’t Say He’s In A Crowded Place, He Says He’s 'Like Herring In The Barrel'
A Russian Doesn’t Get Overexcited, He 'Jumps Out Of His Pants'
Russians Don’t Have A Snack, They 'Kill The Worm'
Russians Don’t Say You Have An Interesting Aspect To Your Character, They Say You Have A 'Raisin'
Some of the pictures are factually incorrect. In the case of the flea, it's shoes as in horseshoes, from Leskov's "Levsha" (The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea). In the case of the worm, you do not kill the worm by eating it - it's the imaginary worm that lives in your stomach and give you stomach ache when you are hungry, so you throw something in your stomach to quieten it.
As a Russian speaking person these sound really ridiculous when you think about what you're saying. Then again, so do a lot of idioms.
We have very similar ones in spanish. I.e. no herring in the barrel but sardines in a can. All but the one about the raisin sounded quite logical to me lol i may adopt a few.
Like it's not a plane bread, it's got something interesting in it - a raisin
The same goes for German: sardines in a can, make an elephant out of a mosquito, to jump out of the pants. Then there exist regional variations... to lie to someone: To bind a bear on someone or to nail a schnitzel onto someones knee.
There are the usual cupcake and have a cupcake with raisins! Cupcake with raisins - a more pleasant and interesting) When a person has unusual positive properties, it is said that he "has a little raisin" ))
"Matar el gusanito"
In Brazil we have some even more dramatic sayings, like if you've been through some difficult time in your life, we say you're basically "killing a dog with a yell" (matando cachorro a grito), a "give your tooth for it" is silly compared to "I'd kill my mother I wasn't telling true".
Idioms are the best. They're culturally essential and usually make no sense to people who are not from that culture -even when explained. I'd love to see idioms from other languages!
In iTunes there is an app called "English idioms illustrated". Great stuff, but have to pay if you want to see more. Also giving explanations.
Yes! Could you give any idiom from your language? It would be interesting as well
In some parts of latin america, instead of saying "I'm taking a nap" we say we're gonna "Iron the ear" (Planchar la oreja)
I love these, especially when commenters add the idioms used in their countries.
Awesome list! I wish the author had more!!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
"There's no truth in the feet (legs)" as an invitation to sit down "God's dandelion" about a calm and quiet person (usually old). "A teaspoon per hour" very slowly "To be boiled in your own juice" have almost no contact with the outside world "Let's get back to our rams" let's get back on track, to the point
"Let's get back to our muttons" is the authentic phrase and it is not of Russian origin, it was borrowed from French.
"Let's get back to our muttons" exists in English
"To hang all the dogs" onto someone- to blame for all sins.
+ If you have a lot of experience you can say "I've eaten a dog in this work"
То чуство когда ты нашел пост про себя ))
Thiswas by far the most interactive conversation we have had in monthsTo read the way every one interprets the sayings was great.WeNeed more
American idioms confused the hell out of me for a great many years, even though I was born here. Adults were always telling me to keep my nose clean for no apparent reason, but I had no idea that what they meant was "stay out of trouble," so I started picking my nose constantly, to the point where it would bleed and I would have scabs in my nose. It was a long time before someone laughingly informed me what was meant by the phrase, at which point I didn't even believe them, because it didn't make any sense to me and they couldn't explain the connection, only that "that's just something people say." I can only imagine growing up in Russia being accused of putting noodles on someone's ear or throwing dust in their eye, and replying that I don't even have any noodles or dust
I am afraid that now the Americans, even less will understand Russian people
Interesting, but I was hoping for more etymology.
Theres maybe 2 which do fit and are used. Rest of it ... never heard of. Btw. Its my motherlanguage
we have some similar ones in serbian
'Dust in the eyes' is not showing off but to trick you, to make you a fool
I dont get it maybe this is what russian people say to each other almost like swearing.The only thing I understand from their perspective is the word suka which is a slang,i know the meaning by the way,used to hearing that when we are (me with my friends) while playing online moba i.e dota2 and sometimes CS.Maybe one can add that too but may disliked as its a slang.
Omg, some of them are so Polish.
I have read somewhere that a Russian expression for "doing nothing" is (wait for it) "Knocking pears out of a tree with your dick".
They are not just "killing the worm" but rather "Starving it to death or killing it slowly by similar cruel torture". This one always being puzzles me.
way too simplistic. Probably the same people that were responsible for Hillary's "Reset" button.
Not really sure how you came up with that connection but whatever
I never liked Russians anyway.
I bet none of them liked you either
Some of the pictures are factually incorrect. In the case of the flea, it's shoes as in horseshoes, from Leskov's "Levsha" (The Tale of Cross-eyed Lefty from Tula and the Steel Flea). In the case of the worm, you do not kill the worm by eating it - it's the imaginary worm that lives in your stomach and give you stomach ache when you are hungry, so you throw something in your stomach to quieten it.
As a Russian speaking person these sound really ridiculous when you think about what you're saying. Then again, so do a lot of idioms.
We have very similar ones in spanish. I.e. no herring in the barrel but sardines in a can. All but the one about the raisin sounded quite logical to me lol i may adopt a few.
Like it's not a plane bread, it's got something interesting in it - a raisin
The same goes for German: sardines in a can, make an elephant out of a mosquito, to jump out of the pants. Then there exist regional variations... to lie to someone: To bind a bear on someone or to nail a schnitzel onto someones knee.
There are the usual cupcake and have a cupcake with raisins! Cupcake with raisins - a more pleasant and interesting) When a person has unusual positive properties, it is said that he "has a little raisin" ))
"Matar el gusanito"
In Brazil we have some even more dramatic sayings, like if you've been through some difficult time in your life, we say you're basically "killing a dog with a yell" (matando cachorro a grito), a "give your tooth for it" is silly compared to "I'd kill my mother I wasn't telling true".
Idioms are the best. They're culturally essential and usually make no sense to people who are not from that culture -even when explained. I'd love to see idioms from other languages!
In iTunes there is an app called "English idioms illustrated". Great stuff, but have to pay if you want to see more. Also giving explanations.
Yes! Could you give any idiom from your language? It would be interesting as well
In some parts of latin america, instead of saying "I'm taking a nap" we say we're gonna "Iron the ear" (Planchar la oreja)
I love these, especially when commenters add the idioms used in their countries.
Awesome list! I wish the author had more!!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
"There's no truth in the feet (legs)" as an invitation to sit down "God's dandelion" about a calm and quiet person (usually old). "A teaspoon per hour" very slowly "To be boiled in your own juice" have almost no contact with the outside world "Let's get back to our rams" let's get back on track, to the point
"Let's get back to our muttons" is the authentic phrase and it is not of Russian origin, it was borrowed from French.
"Let's get back to our muttons" exists in English
"To hang all the dogs" onto someone- to blame for all sins.
+ If you have a lot of experience you can say "I've eaten a dog in this work"
То чуство когда ты нашел пост про себя ))
Thiswas by far the most interactive conversation we have had in monthsTo read the way every one interprets the sayings was great.WeNeed more
American idioms confused the hell out of me for a great many years, even though I was born here. Adults were always telling me to keep my nose clean for no apparent reason, but I had no idea that what they meant was "stay out of trouble," so I started picking my nose constantly, to the point where it would bleed and I would have scabs in my nose. It was a long time before someone laughingly informed me what was meant by the phrase, at which point I didn't even believe them, because it didn't make any sense to me and they couldn't explain the connection, only that "that's just something people say." I can only imagine growing up in Russia being accused of putting noodles on someone's ear or throwing dust in their eye, and replying that I don't even have any noodles or dust
I am afraid that now the Americans, even less will understand Russian people
Interesting, but I was hoping for more etymology.
Theres maybe 2 which do fit and are used. Rest of it ... never heard of. Btw. Its my motherlanguage
we have some similar ones in serbian
'Dust in the eyes' is not showing off but to trick you, to make you a fool
I dont get it maybe this is what russian people say to each other almost like swearing.The only thing I understand from their perspective is the word suka which is a slang,i know the meaning by the way,used to hearing that when we are (me with my friends) while playing online moba i.e dota2 and sometimes CS.Maybe one can add that too but may disliked as its a slang.
Omg, some of them are so Polish.
I have read somewhere that a Russian expression for "doing nothing" is (wait for it) "Knocking pears out of a tree with your dick".
They are not just "killing the worm" but rather "Starving it to death or killing it slowly by similar cruel torture". This one always being puzzles me.
way too simplistic. Probably the same people that were responsible for Hillary's "Reset" button.
Not really sure how you came up with that connection but whatever
I never liked Russians anyway.
I bet none of them liked you either