"Triuki"

[Harold D. Baker]

Ozhegov gives the definition of this word as "lovkii, iskusnyi priem" and
"lovkaia prodelka, postupok." Vasmer claims that it comes from the English
"trick," which makes sense in terms of its meaning (and especially the
popular usage for a prostitute's "sale" or customer, given what you found)
but not its phonetics, which is closer to the French "truc," meaning
"trick, device; hang, knack; thingamobob." Perhaps some combination of the
two?

>Dear SEELANGERS:
>
>A friend and I have both come across the word "triuki" in NEP era
>Russian texts and are trying to arrive at a good translation of the
>term.  In both cases, the word was used to refer to the
>unseemly--possibly sexualized--activities of young women.  Does
>anyone out there have any experience with Russian colloquial language
>of the 1920's?  I should say that we came across the references in
>Leningrad newspapers.
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Karen Kettering
>Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities
>(kkettering at getty.edu)

Harold D. Baker
Program in Russian
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA 92717 USA
1-714-824-6183/Fax 1-714-824-2379