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   ENGLISH_TUTOR      English Tutoring for Students of the Eng      4,347 messages   

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   Message 4,043 of 4,347   
   Gleb Hlebov to Ardith Hinton   
   Funny story about Russians   
   01 Dec 23 11:51:50   
   
   REPLY: 1:153/716.0 5692df07   
   MSGID: 2:5023/24.4222 6569909c   
   CHRS: CP866 2   
   TZUTC: 0400   
   Hello, Ardith!   
      
   Thu 30-11-2023 22:14, Ardith Hinton (1:153/716) wrote to Alexander Koryagin:   
      
    AK>>  A Russian man (muzhik)   
    AH>           According to my sources this word refers to a peasant...   
    AH> i.e. a term somebody Dallas & I knew years ago applied WRT those who   
    AH> live in the country & whom he thought to have limited education,   
    AH> intelligence, &/or knowledge of how things work in the Big City.   
    AH> But I understand it can also signify an ordinary adult male, and I   
    AH> reckon the latter is more like what you had in mind....  :-)   
      
   That's correct. "M." is basically an archaic literary form to denote a   
   "peasant" or a "rural farm laborer" type, that somehow seeped (and is   
   persisting) into contemporary speech. Although it's a "very low" (fringe)   
   register type of speech, and addressing in such a manner to a passer-by (or   
   bypasser?) in the city's public places is considered rude and may not be   
   tolerated by some. It still might be OK to use in some remote/rural regions of   
   the country (which is a vast area).   
      
   It's also widely used in the Army, or amongst "drink mates" (within the   
   context of alcoholics' socialisation & other fringe cultures).   
      
    AK>>  "One of my tomatoes is poisoned!"   
    AK>>  Next day he sees an addition: "Now there are two".   
    AH>                  | saw (verb tense agreement)   
    AH>           And whether or not either statement is true, nobody who   
    AH> values their life would risk eating a poisoned one... [chuckle].   
      
   It is a classical "the trick and the backlash" type of situation that isn't   
   uncommon in Russian "modus vivendi", and thus, joke culture: if you think   
   you've performed a smart move, then, expect something even smarter in return.   
   :-)   
      
      
   Regards, Gleb                                   | Fri 01-12-2023, 11:51   
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