Time flies and it’s already mid-July. Can you smell the winter frost in the air? With the thermometer stubbornly in the 90ies (Fahrenheit), I personally can’t. And yet, while the summer is in full swing, there are many signs pointing to the approaching winter. I have at least 3 of these signs in my own closet. I’m not talking about sweaters, snow boots or fur hats either, but about sundresses.

Now, before you decide that the heat finally got to me and I need a day off in the freezer section of my local grocery store, hear me out. The Russian word for sundress is «сарафан». Of course, «сарафан» can also be translated as “pinafore”.

If you have a picture in mind of a traditional Russian dress, you will most likely see some richly embroidered long scarlet-red pinafores worn over white shirts with billowing sleeves (like the one above courtesy of “Музей России“). If you don’t have this picture in mind then just Google “traditional Russian dress”.

Interestingly, a term «сарафанное радио» [word-of-mouth, lit. pinafore radio] used to imply idle gossip, typically by women-folk (oh so unfair, considering that originally «сарафаны» [pinafores] were part of men’s costume). Of course, nowadays the term «сарафанное радио» is getting a facelift and a positive spin and means “word-of-mouth” as it relates to viral marketing. You can listen to the song «сарафанное радио» here and then try singing it yourself, karaoke-style, here.

Either way, the idea behind «сарафанное радио» is informal, conversational, exchange of information. The downside it is when «народ трепется» [people shoot breeze], the once-useful information transforms into «полная брехня» [utter malarkey].

Since «брехня» [malarkey] exists, there must be something or someone generating it, right? Well, someone who routinely delivers fresh loads of «брехня» into your ears is called «брехло» (use this word with extreme caution since it is rude; if in doubt, replace with «враньё» [malarkey] and «врун» [liar]). But even if you don’t have anyone this unpleasant in your surroundings, you likely have «брехальник» – an object that serves as means of just-in-time delivery of nonsense. It can be a TV set, but most of the time when Russians mention «брехальник» they refer to the radio.

Speaking of radio… Do you know who invented it? In my «Волгоградская школа №130» [Volgograd public school #130] the correct answer was, and probably still is, «Александр Попов» [Alexander Popov] and not Guglielmo Marconi. Although, I’m not sure either of them would be thrilled to know they fathered «брехальник».

Somewhat related to «брехальник» is «мобильник» [mobile phone]. Obviously, it was invented by another Russian, Moscow engineer «Л.И. Куприянов» [L.I. Kupriyanov] who demonstrated the first working mobile phone in 1957.

1957, by the way, was the official launch year of the massive housing developments that became known as «хрущёвки» [Khrushchev’s housing] or «хрущобы» [Khrushchev’s slums]. Many of these awful and much dilapidated buildings are still standing and appear quite regularly in the photos on EnglishRussia.com. Moscow, however, commenced a systematic demolition of its «хрущобы». Reportedly, the last of these panel housing units will become a museum.

If it does, then it will be one of the most unusual Russian museums. Others include «музей истории русской водки с дегустационным залом» [museum of Russian vodka, complete with a tasting room] in Uglich and «музей валенок» [museum of felt boots] in the town of Mishkin.

«Валенки» [felt boots] are just about the most famous Russian footwear. Related to the word «увалень» [a sluggish and clumsy person], they are used to describe someone who’s not the sharpest tool in the shed to put it mildly – «тупой, как валенок». But they are also quite possibly the only footwear with a song of its own.

If you take a closer look at each and every YouTube version of this song, you’ll soon notice an interesting pattern – all female singers wear «сарафаны» [pinafores], which brings me back to the sundresses I mentioned earlier. You see, I told you, the winter is just around the corner!