In some instances, a translator has come up with an original and creative translation of a Russian idiom or saying. When such translations are offered in this dictionary as regular English equivalents, the translator’s version is acknowledged by citing the excerpt in question. For example, the saying ПАНЫ ДЕРУТСЯ, А У ХЛОПЦЕВ (ХОЛОПОВ) ЧУБЫ ТРЕЩАТ has two equivalents, both of which come from published translations, and both of which are illustrated by their respective citations: “the poor man always gets the blame” comes from a Nabokov citation (translated by Michael Scammell), and “when (the) masters fall out their men get the clout” comes from a Sholokhov citation (translated by Robert Daglish). All the translators’ names are, of course, indicated in the Bibliography.
Every citation was cross-referenced to ensure that a citation used to illustrate idiom A, for example, does not have an incorrect equivalent for idiom B. Ideally, and in most cases, the translation of idiom В will be among the equivalents presented in entry B. However, in view of the fact that there are many criteria for a good overall translation apart from idiom translation, this rule has been relaxed in some instances. In no case has a citation been used for one idiom that has an incorrect translation of another idiom in it, but occasionally the translation of the secondary idiom may be bland and read more like the definition of the idiom than an idiomatic equivalent, or be correct only as a contextual translation, not as a general one.
Notes on the Origin of Idioms
Notes on the source or origin of idioms and other relevant information have been provided in cases where they might contribute to the user’s understanding of a Russian idiom and
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facilitate the selection of an English equivalent. Notes have been provided for the following groups of idioms:
1) idioms from the Bible
2) idioms from works of Russian and Western literature
3) idioms from Russian folk tales
4) idioms that are loan translations of phrases from classical or modern languages
5) idioms that are rooted in Russian history, customs, and the Russian way of life.
For Biblical references, the King James Bible was used. English titles of works of Russian literature are presented as they are known in English translation.
Notes
1. Mel’cuk, I.A., and A.K. Zholkovsky. Tolkovo-kombina-tornyi slovar sovremennogo russkogo iazyka: Opyt seman-
tiko-sintaksicheskogo opisaniia russkoi leksiki/Explanatory Combinatorial Dictionary of Modern Russian. Vienna: 1984. (Wiener Slawistischer Almanach. Sonderband 14)
2. Mel’cuk, Igor, and Nadia Arbatchewsky-Jumarie et al. Dictionnaire explicatif et combinatoire du frangais contem-porain. Montreaclass="underline" Les Presses de l’Universite de Montreal, 1984. (Recherches lexico-semantiques 1)
3. Mel’cuk, Igor. Opyt teorii lingvisticheskikh modelei “Smysl ^ Tekst. ” Moscow: Nauka, 1974.
4. Chvany, Catherine V. On the Syntax of BE-Sentences in Russian. Cambridge, Mass.: Slavica, 1975.
5. Apresjan, Jurij. Tipy informatsii dlia poverkhnostno-semanticheskogo komponenta modeli “smysl ^ tekst. ” Vienna: 1980. (Wiener Slawistischer Almanach, Sonderband 1)
6. Apresjan, Jurij. “Sintaksicheskiepriznaki leksem.” Russian Linguistics 9 (2-3), 1985, 289-317.
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ABBREVIATIONS
abstr abstract (noun)
accus accusative case
Adj adjective
AdjP adjective phrase
Adv adverb
AdvP adverb phrase
adv adverbial
affirm affirmative
anim animate (noun)
appos appositive
approv approving
approx. approximately
Cf. compare
coll colloquial
collect collective (noun)
compar comparative
compl complement
concr concrete (noun)
condes condescending
condit conditional
Conj conjunction
contemp. contemporary
context transl contextual translation
dat dative case
derog derogatory
dial dialectal
disapprov disapproving
elev elevated
esp. especially
etc et cetera
euph euphemism
folk poet folkloric poetic
foll. by followed by
fut future
gen genitive case
gener. generic
highly coll highly colloquial
humor humorous
imper/Imper imperative
impers impersonal
impfv imperfective
impol impolite
inanim inanimate (noun)
indef. refer. indefinite reference
indep. sent independent sentence
indir obj indirect object
infin infinitive
instrum instrumental case
intensif intensifier
Interj interjection
interrog interrogative
Invar invariable
iron ironic
lim. used in limited contexts
lit literary
masc masculine
mil military
modif modifier
neg/Neg negative, negated
nom nominative case
nonstand nonstandard
NP noun phrase
Num numeral
obj object
obj-compl object-complement obs obsolete obsoles obsolescent occas. occasionally offic official old-fash old-fashioned orig. originally o.s. oneself
parenth parenthetical Part participle pers person, personal pfv perfective pl plural
postmodif postmodifier
predic predicate
premodif premodifier
Prep preposition
prep obj prepositional object
PrepP prepositional phrase
pres present tense
quantif quantifier
quantit quantitative
refer. reference
restr restrictive
rhet rhetorical
sent sentence
sent adv sentence adverbial
sing singular
s.o. someone
sth. something
subj subject
subj-compl subject-complement subord subordinate substand substandard ungrammat ungrammatical usu. usually var. variant
Verbal Adv verbal adverb VP verb phrase
VPsubj contains both the subject and
the predicate vulg vulgar WO word order
symbols
быть0 indicates copular быть
/ separates verbal aspects
( ) shows variants
( ) encloses optional elements
[ ] used for grammatical information and compiler’s
comments
~ replaces an idiom in a pattern
— introduces English equivalents of Russian patterns
|| introduces patterns
о indicates related noun phrase for verbal idioms ♦ separates illustrations
< introduces notes on the source or origin of idioms, or other relevant information
indicates that the etymological information provided cannot be fully substantiated
(?)
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РУССКИЙ АЛФАВИТ RUSSIAN ALPHABET
А а К к Х х
Б б Л л Ц ц
В в М м Ч ч
Г г Н н Ш ш
Д д О о Щ щ
Е е П п ъ
Ё ё Р р ы
Ж ж С с ь
З з Т т Э э
И и У у Ю ю
Й й Ф ф Я я
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RUSSIAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY OF IDIOMS
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А
А-1 • ОТ А ДО Я (прочитать, знать что и т.п.); ОТ А ДО
зет; от Альфы до омеги lit; от азА до ижицы obs, lit [PrepP; these forms only; adv; fixed WO] (to read sth.) from the very beginning to the very end; (to know sth.) thoroughly: [of books, journals etc] (read sth.) from cover to cover; [of documents] (read sth.) from top to bottom; (know sth.) from A to Z; (know sth.) inside out.
< Refers to the first and last letters of the Russian, Latin, Greek, and Slavonic alphabets, respectively.
А-2 • БРАТЬ/ВЗЯТЬ НА АБОРДАЖ кого-что [VP; subj: human; obj: most often human] to take decisive action with s.o. or sth.: X взял Y- а на абордаж — X took (tried) a hard-nosed approach with person Y; X got tough with person Y; X tackled thing Y head-on.