Russian New Year Wish....
It would have been depraved of me to deprive my non-Russian speaking friends this information!:) As far as the holidays go in Russian speaking culture, Novyi God (New Year) would be at least as major there as Christmas is in the West... The Caption on the above picture translates as follows: " So you should live like this this!:) " ( Shob Wy Tak Zhily!) Caviar symbolizes prosperity in Russian Culture, and the wording, " So you should live like this this!:) " has Ukrainian-Odessa-Jewish-Yiddish-hypster slant in it... At least that's my take on it... It's even spelled in Ukrainian, which can sometimes be identical to Russian, except for a few letters. Here is why that Happy New Year Caption is so humorous, at least to me!!! "So you should" is how one can start a curse, bad wish in Russian. Below are just some examples roughly translated, followed by the Russian version, and its transliterated pronounciation, in case you want to impress your Russian speaking friends:)!:)!:) And trust me, I could provide a stand up comedy context for each of the following expressions, but then this page would get out of hand:)!
I.e. all the typical "loving" stuff people say to each other when they fight:)! But don't be fooled by the blunt mean surface of those expressions! Many times they are used as tongue-in -cheek, reverse psychology way! Kind of like - "You suck!" - meaning - "I like it", or "That's Bad" -- meaning "That's good"! Also, having both Read and Black Caviar makes it even more pleasingly vulgar, yet hip and naughty... Also worth noting is the kind of bread that this caviar is being served on! It's not a typical Black Bread, pumpernickel, or White Bread, but a typical Double Burger Bun! Thus the "implication" might be -- a Life outside of the former Soviet Union, which would be an euphemism for Freedom years ago, or specific to a time when the first MacDonald's opened in Moscow, around 1990?, where the line stretched for blocks, with about 3 hours wait... I am not kidding you! Nowadays, MacDonald's is not a big deal there... Obviously, everyone's got their "joe", "thing"... That caviar and New Year Wish implies: if only you have that Caviar Sandwich - you "made it", you are a "made guy", you are a success, and all your problems are solved! Another example of similar "vibe" is this expression, since it has "food overtones": Он её купал в Птичьем Молоке! - Оn yeyo koopal v pteechyem molokye - He bathed her in Bird Milk... My understanding of that expression is that a guy really took care of his woman. Comes to think of it -- does Bird Milk even exist? Maybe that "Bird Milk" alone is the essence of that expression? - i.e. that "the guy" would do anything for his woman?! And thus, it looks like Bird Milk is another symbol of prosperity in Russian language, cause it's unattainable, since it doesn't even exist... Having fun in any language is The Arkady Way, if you haven't noticed yet:)! Feel free to discuss this with your Russian speaking friends! You and them might have fun too! When other Linguistic Pearls come to mind, I might add them to this page... It's just that some expressions can be really funny, and culturally revealing! A sin not share! But hey, as much as it is fun for me to share this with whomever, it's not like I am looking to get a Russian Language Professor gig somewhere! Plus, I bet that there is a lot of material on this topic available online already! Oy!, and I promised myself not to get this explicid, coy, cute and wordy! Anyway, feel free to Bookmark this page and share it with your Russian speaking friends. And while at it, tell them about Arkady's Russian Movies Page! They will love it! Sorry it's all in Russian, and no subtitles! You are invited to Subscribe to ARKADY LIST and receive a Free Newsletter sometimes!!! We respect your Privacy and always use BCC Email!!!
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