Hay, Renauda! What does this word mean?

[George K]

Svoloch'

The reason I ask is that was just thinking about a vacation we were on in Montana. I must've been about 16 years old. Svoloch' was a word that was bandied about my home, in Lithuanian, usually being pronounced as "Svolochus," with the "ch" being soft, like in "church."

Anyhow, we were having breakfast with another family that met us there (they were also Lithuanian), and it was taking forever for our food to arrive. Being 16 and naive I said (in Lithuanian) "Kur tas svolochus?" (Where is that svolochus?)

My parents were beyond embarrassed because it was obvious that this was a word that was used pretty freely in our home, and the other family (they are family friends) were, well, surprised.

"That's not a word we use in polite company."

Is an appropriate translation "bastard" or is it something worse?

[Larry]

Svoloch is the sound you make when you sneeze really hard and blow a big snot wad out but it just hangs out of your nose.

[Renauda]

@George-K

Bastard is correct, however it is milder than some other words for bastard

Svolich’ = bastard light
Ublyudok = bastard medium
Mudak = real bastard, genuine asshole

[George K]

@Renauda said in Hay, Renauda! What does this word mean?:

@George-K

Bastard is correct, however it is milder than some other words for bastard

Interesting that my parents' friends were so offended. I suppose it's like saying "asshole" today vs "twat" (the non-British version, of course).

[Doctor Phibes]

@George-K said in Hay, Renauda! What does this word mean?:

@Renauda said in Hay, Renauda! What does this word mean?:

@George-K

Bastard is correct, however it is milder than some other words for bastard

Interesting that my parents' friends were so offended. I suppose it's like saying "asshole" today vs "twat" (the non-British version, of course).

My parents would have gone through the freaking roof if I'd called somebody a twat in their presence.

[Renauda]

@George-K said in Hay, Renauda! What does this word mean?:

@Renauda said in Hay, Renauda! What does this word mean?:

@George-K

Bastard is correct, however it is milder than some other words for bastard

Interesting that my parents' friends were so offended. I suppose it's like saying "asshole" today vs "twat" (the non-British version, of course).

I don’t think it is that strong. While it is considered very impolite and rude it is not all that strong as far as Russian swearing goes. As with a lot of Russian swear words I am not sure if English even has an equivalent in intensity or lack thereof.

[George K]

I worked with a guy whose parents are from Ramallah. He spoke Arabic, and he helped me learn some rather "colorful" Arabic curses.

One, in particular, he said would get you killed.

With a knife.

[Copper]

That's one thing that is frustrating about an online forum

If someone uses strong language you would like to cut their tongue out or remove some fingers, but you can't get at them