{"id":13267,"date":"2020-11-24T06:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T06:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=13267"},"modified":"2020-11-24T02:59:32","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T02:59:32","slug":"russian-phrases-with-numerals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/russian-phrases-with-numerals\/","title":{"rendered":"Russian phrases with numerals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since we\u2019ve covered the difference between \u043e\u0434\u0438\u043d<\/strong> and \u0440\u0430\u0437<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>it\u2019s only apt to enrich our vocabulary with a few numeral-heavy Russian expressions and idioms. I will give both the literal translation (sometimes for the sake of curious imagery and other times for even more curious etymological reasons), as well as the actual idiomatic meaning and usage of each expression below.<\/p>\n

\u0412 \u043e\u0434\u0438\u0301\u043d \u0433\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0441<\/strong> (lit. in one voice) meaning \u201cin unison\u201d. This is mostly employed to talk about people who unequivocally agree on something and sometimes to stress that a group of people is saying something at the same time and very agreeably.<\/p>\n

\u00ab\u0414\u0410!\u00bb \u2014\u0432 \u043e\u0434\u0438\u0301\u043d \u0433\u043e\u0301\u043b\u043e\u0441 \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0430\u0301\u043b\u0438 \u0434\u0435\u0301\u0442\u0438, \u043a\u043e\u0433\u0434\u0430\u0301 \u043c\u0430\u0301\u043c\u0430 \u043f\u0440\u0435\u0434\u043b\u043e\u0436\u0438\u0301\u043b\u0430 \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0430\u0437\u0430\u0301\u0442\u044c \u043f\u0438\u0446\u0446\u0443 \u043d\u0430 \u0443\u0436\u0438\u043d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The kids all screamed \u201cYES!\u201d when their mom offered to order pizza for dinner.<\/p>\n

“\u041e\u0434\u0438\u0301\u043d, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0441\u0442”<\/strong> (lit. alone as a thumb) or “\u043e\u0434\u0438\u0301\u043d, \u043a\u0430\u043a \u0441\u044b\u0447”<\/strong> (lit. alone as a horned owl). Both phrases describe someone who is either perpetually lonely or is alone at the moment, possibly because their opinion on a certain matter isolated them from the rest of the group.<\/p>\n

\"great-horned-owl\"

Image by 272447<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

\u041f\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0432\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0435\u0301\u0447\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong> (lit. the next first person you meet) is a collocation often used when warning someone about \u201cdanger-stranger\u201d type of situations, or when criticizing someone\u2019s willingness to trust anyone and everyone. The Russian equivalent of \u201cevery Tom, Dick, and Harry\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u041f\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0441\u043e\u0440\u0442<\/strong> (lit. number one variety) – used to signify the best quality of something.<\/p>\n

\u041f\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u043f\u0430\u0301\u0440\u0435\u043d\u044c \u043d\u0430 \u0434\u0435\u0440\u0435\u0301\u0432\u043d\u0435<\/strong> (lit. the first lad in the village). This one is far from a compliment and has a similar air as \u201cthe big fish in a small pond\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u041f\u0435\u0301\u0440\u0432\u044b\u0439 \u0431\u043b\u0438\u043d \u043a\u043e\u043c\u043e\u043c<\/strong> (lit. the first pancake comes out lumpy) Here\u2019s a widely well-known Russian expression meaning one\u2019s first attempt at something is likely to fail. People use this phrase to genuinely encourage another person to try again and, from my experience, real-life pancakes do <\/em>actually come out kind of lumpy at first.<\/p>\n

\u041e\u0434\u043d\u0430\u0301 \u043d\u043e\u0433\u0430\u0301 \u0437\u0434\u0435\u0301\u0441\u044c, \u0434\u0440\u0443\u0433\u0430\u0301\u044f \u0442\u0430\u0301\u043c<\/strong> (lit. One leg is here, the other is over there.) A promise or an order to return quickly or deal with another task as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

The next 4 expressions are similar to the English \u201cbirds of a feather\u201d or \u201cto be cast in the same mold\u201d. They all meant to describe people similar in character.<\/p>\n