TRANSLATION PROBLEMS: REPLIES
Jules Levin
jflevin at UCRAC1.UCR.EDU
Wed Apr 11 21:01:56 UTC 2001
At 02:52 PM 4/11/01 -0400, you wrote:
>> I have noticed something. I have heard "drug" being used in the
>> sense of a "boyfriend". Perhaps, it may be a new usage.
I quote from Zhukovskij's Svetlana (1808-1812):
Kak mogu, podruzhki, pet'?/ Milyj drug daleko;/ Mne sud'bina umeret'/ V
grusti odinokoj.
I doubt that Svetlana is referring to a platonic acquaintance. "New" slang
built on ordinary vocabulary often has an older heritage than one might
think. I think "to put (someone) on" is in Shakespeare. To connect the
dots here, a British word-a-day web site reports that a few slang terms
originating in "Clockwork Orange" have some staying power in contemporary
usage. They cite specifically "droogish", which means "gangsterish", not,
I'm afraid, "boyfriendish".
Jules Levin
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
options, and more. Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
http://members.home.net/lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
More information about the SEELANG
mailing list