How do you like your coffee?

[Olga Meerson]

It depends which edition of Ozhegov. When I was leaving Russia, in 1974, kompiuter was still commonly referred to as an ЭВМ (электронно-вычислительная машина), and кроссовки was a word I did not know, to the point that I misused the word сникерсы for it--while the latter is used exclusively for the short-i snickers. Keды used to be generic in my days, before the multiplying product variety. When I first heard the word кроссовки, I was absolutely convinced that it had nothing to do with running and everything with showing off their beauty -- in terms of the then-contemporary youth aesthetics: красовки, from красоваться. When I was corrected and thus enlightened, it was indeed a shock and a great surprise! I think this was some time in mid-80s. Don't check Ozhegov online but compare various years of republication. It is actually getting to be quite interesting. The linguists don't seem to remember !
 the history of their language's evolution as a set of discrete stages any more than the much disdained lay people!

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