Glossary
au contraire: to the contrary
babushkas: shawls; often used to designate old women
beliy grib: white mushroom
biscotti: biscuits
blat: the informal exchange of favors, bribes, payoffs; pull, influence
burqa: an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions
chadra: head scarf
chai: tea
cherkeskas: Circassian coats, with wide sleeves, that reach to the floor; they resemble burqas, except that they are designed for men.
chistka: purge
cit: citizen
cittadini: citizens
cordon sanitaire: (French) a barrier restraining free movement of people or goods, so as to keep a disease, infection, or some other contagion from spreading from one locality into another
das Ekel: Literally, the word means grouch.
davening: praying
Deus vobiscum: God be with you.
ebreo/a: Hebrew
etta govnaw: Go take a shit for yourself.
Extreme Unction: the anointing of the sick
Fasci Italiani di Combattimento: Italian League of Combat
frum: kosher
genug: enough
govnaw: shit
horribili dictu: as horrible as it is to relate
ichkari: The enclosed women’s quarters of a Muslim house; from the outside, it is impossible to see the women inside, though they can look outside.
incroyable: incredible
kvas: A fermented drink made from rye, barley, rye bread, and other ingredients; often flavored, it is not strong.
kvell: to exclaim or feel good about the achievements of a family member or a friend
le brouillon: (French) first draft
mensch: a man who is honorable, decent, and responsible; a man who exhibits strength of character
naches or nachas: joy
nepman: a merchant who buys and sells for profit; a capitalist
NKVD: The initials stand for People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs.
Novecento: nineteen hundred
oblast: geographical region
obnovlentsy: church reformers
perlustration: the opening of other people’s mail for the purpose of spying
poste restante: general delivery; a service where the post office holds mail until the recipient calls for it
Pravda: truth, the title of a Russian newspaper
predatel: traitor
Qur’an: Koran, the holy book of Islam
sans: (French) without
schmuck: Yiddish pejorative for a penis
shpik: spy
shtiklech: customs, habits, peculiarities
stopiatnitsa: a person who was not allowed to stay in Moscow; specifically, a person who had to live at least 62.14 miles outside the city
Talmud: The collection of writings constituting the Jewish civil and religious law; it consists of two parts, the Mishna (text) and the Gemara (commentary), but the term is sometimes restricted to the Gemara.
Topolino: little mouse; the smallest car that Fiat made
tovarishch: comrade
traif: forbidden food
Wehrmacht: literally “defense power”; the name of the unified armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945