<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t going to do a Halloween post this year. Instead, Rob was going to talk about Russian verbs that can come quite handy around Halloween time. But it looks like, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, Rob was left without electricity and Internet access and was not able to post yesterday. Hopefully him and his family are safe and Rob will be back online very shortly.<\/p>\n
But today (and I\u2019m actually writing this on Halloween night) my son asked me to read him a book by \u0413\u0440\u0438\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u0438\u0439 \u041e<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0435\u0440<\/strong> (Grigoriy Oster) titled \u0428\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u0430 \u0443<\/span>\u0436\u0430\u0441\u043e\u0432<\/strong> (School of Horrors). \u0414\u0435<\/span>\u0439\u0441\u0442\u0432\u0443\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0435 \u043b\u0438<\/span>\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (characters) in this collection of very short stories are somewhat sinister\u00a0\u0448\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043d\u0438\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (school children), their clueless \u0440\u043e\u0434\u0438<\/span>\u0442\u0435\u043b\u0438<\/strong> (parents), strange \u0443\u0447\u0438\u0442\u0435\u043b\u044f<\/span><\/strong> (teachers), long-suffering \u0434\u0438\u0440\u0435\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0430<\/span> \u0448\u043a\u043e\u043b<\/strong> (school principals) and a few oddballs – \u0441\u043a\u0435\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0442\u044b<\/strong> (skeletons), \u043e\u0445\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (security guard), \u0443\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u0449\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (janitor).<\/p>\n Note:<\/span> Unlike in American lore, in Russian stories a janitor is almost always a woman or, more typically, an old lady thus <\/em>\u0441\u0442\u0430\u0440\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0430-\u0443\u0431\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u0449\u0438\u0446\u0430<\/strong>. On the other hand, <\/em>\u0434\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (a yard-keeper) is usually a man; if it\u2019s a woman, then it\u2019s<\/em> \u0434\u0432\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u0438\u0447\u0438\u0445\u0430<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n Now, of course, some of the characters turn out to be \u0432\u0430\u043c\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0440\u044b<\/strong> (vampires), \u043b\u044e\u0434\u043e\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u044b<\/strong> (cannibals), \u043c\u0430\u043d\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (serial killers), \u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0434\u044c\u043c\u044b<\/strong> (witches), \u043f\u0440\u0438<\/span>\u0437\u0440\u0430\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (ghosts), and \u0437\u043e<\/span>\u043c\u0431\u0438<\/strong> (zombies). And there are all sort of \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0447\u0438\u043d\u0434\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044b<\/strong> (paraphernalia) of good \u0441\u0442\u0440\u0430\u0448\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (scary stories), such as \u043a\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0433\u0430 \u0432 \u0447\u0451<\/span>\u0440\u043d\u043e\u0439 \u043e\u0431\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0436\u043a\u0435<\/strong> (a book with black cover), mysterious \u043a\u0430<\/span>\u0440\u0442\u044b<\/strong> (maps), \u043c\u0443<\/span>\u043c\u0438\u044f<\/strong> \u043a\u043e<\/span>\u0448\u043a\u0438<\/strong> (a mummified cat), \u0440\u0436\u0430<\/span>\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0436\u0435\u043b\u0435<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u044b\u0435 \u0434\u0432\u0435<\/span>\u0440\u0438<\/strong> (rusty metal doors), \u0432\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u0442\u044b\u0435 \u043f\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u0446\u044b<\/strong> (hairy fingers), girls with freaky \u043e\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0436\u0435\u0432\u044b\u0435 \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0437\u0430<\/span><\/strong> (orange eyes) and unnaturally well-behaved little schoolboys.<\/p>\n And, of course, there are plenty of excellent phrases that can come in handy not just around Halloween, but throughout the year.<\/p>\n For example, in one of the stories the security guard who is also a serial killer rips off heads of \u043e\u043f\u0430<\/span>\u0437\u0434\u044b\u0432\u0430\u044e\u0449\u0438\u0435<\/strong> (tardy) students and teachers. You might be familiar with a colloquial phrase \u044f \u0435\u043c\u0443\/<\/span>\u0435\u0439 \u0433\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u043e\u0432\u0443 \u043e\u0442\u043e\u0440\u0432\u0443<\/span>!<\/strong> (I will rip his\/her head off!) Not meant to be taken literally, it indicates that you are very upset with someone and some sort of punishment is forthcoming.<\/p>\n Another story is about a girl who loved to tell blood-curdling stories. The Russian equivalent of \u201cblood-curdling\u201d is \u043b\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0439 \u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c<\/strong> (literally: blood-freezing). For example:<\/p>\n \u041e\u043d\u0430<\/span> \u043e\u043f\u0438\u0441\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0430 \u0441\u0446\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0443 \u043d\u0430\u043f\u0430\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u044f \u0432 \u043b\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0445 \u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c \u0434\u0435\u0442\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u044f\u0445<\/strong> (She described the scene of an assault in blood-freezing details)<\/p>\n Alternatively, one might say \u043b\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0439 \u0434\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0443<\/strong> (literally: soul-freezing) as in \u043e\u043d \u0443\u0441\u043b\u044b<\/span>\u0448\u0430\u043b \u043b\u0435\u0434\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span>\u0449\u0438\u0439 \u0434\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0443 \u043a\u0440\u0438\u043a<\/strong> (He heard a soul-chilling cry).<\/p>\n In the story of the vampire first-grader, the little boy \u0432\u044b\u043f\u0438\u0432\u0430<\/span>\u0435\u0442 \u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c<\/strong> (drinks blood) of all his teachers and even the school principal who are, by the way, cannibals. The phrase \u043f\u0438\u0442\u044c \u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c<\/strong> (to drink blood) is also used \u0432 \u043f\u0435\u0440\u0435\u043d\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u043d\u043e\u043c \u0441\u043c\u044b<\/span>\u0441\u043b\u0435<\/strong> (metaphorically) to mean to frazzle or to exhaust someone as in<\/p>\n \u0412\u0430\u0448 \u043c\u043b\u0430<\/span>\u0434\u0448\u0438\u0439 \u0441\u044b\u043d \u043f\u0440\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u043e \u0432\u0441\u044e \u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u044c \u0443 \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u043f\u0438\u043b, \u0434\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u0443 \u0432\u044b<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u0442\u0430\u043b<\/strong> (Your youngest son just about sucked all my blood, frazzled my soul) – if you find this phrase an unlikely example, it\u2019s an actual complaint from a teacher to the parents of a particularly \u043d\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0441\u043b\u0443<\/span>\u0448\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0440\u0435\u0431\u0451<\/span>\u043d\u043e\u043a<\/strong> (misbehaving child).<\/p>\n Note<\/span>: The Russian word <\/em>\u043a\u0440\u043e\u0432\u043e\u043f\u0438<\/span>\u0439\u0446\u0430<\/strong> (lit: blood sucker) can be used to describe a wide range of beings, from <\/em>\u043a\u043e\u043c\u0430<\/span>\u0440<\/strong> (mosquito) to Count Dracula to Tzar Ivan the Terrible.<\/em><\/p>\n Another useful phrase is \u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u044f \u0445\u043b\u0435\u0431\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c<\/strong> (lit: to drink one\u2019s fill of sorrow) as in \u041c\u044b \u043d\u0435 \u0437\u043d\u0430<\/span>\u043b\u0438, \u0441\u043a\u043e<\/span>\u043b\u044c\u043a\u043e \u0433\u043e<\/span>\u0440\u044f \u043f\u0440\u0438\u0448\u043b\u043e<\/span>\u0441\u044c \u0435\u043c\u0443<\/span> \u0445\u043b\u0435\u0431\u043d\u0443<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0432 \u0436\u0438<\/span>\u0437\u043d\u0438<\/strong> (We didn’t know the kind of hell he went through in his life).<\/p>\n Sometimes, when parents or teachers deal with particularly troublesome kids, they might say \u0442\u044b \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> \u0432 \u043c\u043e\u0433\u0438<\/span>\u043b\u0443 \u0441\u0432\u0435\u0434\u0451<\/span>\u0448\u044c <\/strong>(you will send me to my grave) or \u0442\u044b \u043c\u0435\u043d\u044f<\/span> \u0432 \u0433\u0440\u043e\u0431 \u0432\u0433\u043e<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u0448\u044c<\/strong>\u00a0(you will send me to my coffin).<\/p>\n One of the best stories in the book is about unruly boys who go to school and disappear forever. Apparently, one of the teachers turns them all into stone statues of well-behaved boys and sends the statues to the school museum. There are a couple of phrases in Russian that come to mind here. One is \u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u043a\u0430\u043a \u043a\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u0439<\/strong> meaning to stand motionless, unflinching, steadfast. Another phase is \u0441\u0442\u043e\u044f<\/span>\u0442\u044c \u0441 \u043a\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u0435\u043d\u043d\u044b\u043c \u0432\u0438<\/span>\u0434\u043e\u043c<\/strong> (lit: to stand with a stone look) which means to be expressionless, emotionless. Of course, the boys turned statues in the story were both motionless and emotionless, truly \u043e\u043a\u0430\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u044b\u0435<\/strong> (turned to stone).<\/p>\n Finally, Halloween is not supposed to be really scary. And nor are the stories in the School of Horrors book. After reading them, you will, at most, \u043e\u0442\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f \u043b\u0451<\/span>\u0433\u043a\u0438\u043c \u0438\u0441\u043f\u0443<\/span>\u0433\u043e\u043c<\/strong> (get off with nothing more than a fright). And speaking of \u043b\u0435\u0433\u043a\u043e<\/span> \u043e\u0442\u0434\u0435<\/span>\u043b\u0430\u0442\u044c\u0441\u044f<\/strong> (to get off lightly), let\u2019s hope that it\u2019s exactly what Rob will report about getting through the hurricane once he comes back online in the next few days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I wasn\u2019t going to do a Halloween post this year. Instead, Rob was going to talk about Russian verbs that can come quite handy around Halloween time. But it looks like, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, Rob was left without electricity and Internet access and was not able to post yesterday. Hopefully him and his…<\/p>\n