| 释义 |
Russian, n. and a.|ˈrʌʃən|
Also 9– colloq. Rhoosian, Roos(h)ian, etc.: see Rhoosian n. and a.
[ad. med.L. Russiān-us, f. Russia: see prec. So F. Russien, Sp. Rusiano.]
A. n.
1. a. A native or inhabitant of Russia. Also with distinguishing adjs., as Great Russians, Little Russians, White Russians (see quot. 1866). See also white a. 11 e.
1538Elyot s.v. Scytæ, They be nowe called Russyans, Moscouites, and Tartariens. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 443 What did the Russian whisper in your eare? 1606Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes Wks. (Grosart) II. 28 The Russians haue an excellent custome; they beate them on the shinnes, that haue mony, and will not pay their debts. 1716Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. xlv[i]. II. 28 My grooms are Arabs;..my housemaids Russians. 1831Sinclair Corr. II. 248 The Russians are so fond of a country life..that almost all of them who have estates, quit the army and navy as soon as they can. 1845Encycl. Metrop. XXIV. 225/1 Two principal branches are distinguished, rivals of each other, and still cherishing the bitterest animosity—the Russians great and little, and the Poles. 1854J. S. Maxwell Czar & his People xxiii. 125 The Great Russian is predominant among the various peoples of the empire. 1866Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 380/2 The 50,500,000 Russians..are divisible into—1. Great Russians..2. Little Russians..3. White Russians. 1886Encycl. Brit. XXI. 79/1 Three different branches..can be distinguished among the Russians since the dawn of their history:—the Great Russians, the Little Russians.., and the White Russians.
b. A member of the Russian church.
1585–7T. Rogers 39 Art. (1607) 74 Which hold and affirm that..the Holy Ghost proceedeth from the Father, but not from the Son; as at this day..the Russians..maintain. 1866Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 388/2 The Russians adopt the same expedient with the Greeks, viz., of selecting the bishops from among the monks. 1963T. Ware Orthodox Church viii. 165 It is not without reason that the expressions ‘Soviet Church’ and ‘Soviet Patriarch’ have now become common in the mouth of Russians.
c. Austr. An unruly animal.
1845D. Mackenzie Emigrant's Guide 118 These wild Russians, as they are here called, will..clear at the first leap a stockyard six feet in height. 1848H. W. Haygarth Recoll. Bush Life Austral. xii. 135 Though he had been among horses since he was a child, his present lot were a set of the veriest ‘Russians’ (Anglicè, wild things) he ever had anything to do with. 1945Baker Austral. Lang. iii. 68 An old term worth noting, since it has been obsolete for half a century or more, is Russians for wild stock.
2. The language of Russia; also (with distinguishing adjs.), a form or dialect of this. Also Comb., as Russian-speaking.
1716Lady M. W. Montagu Lett. xlv[i]. II. 28 In Pera they speak Turkish, Greek, Hebrew, Armenian, Arabic, Persian, Russian. 1842Penny Cycl. XXII. 106/2 There have been several translations of it into the present Russian. 1883Morfill Slavonic Lit. i. 6 The Little Russian is spoken in all the southern governments of Russia. 1960Amer. Speech XXXV. 163 The material..was gathered among the Russian-speaking population. 1976‘M. Barak’ Secret List of Heinrich Roehm vii. 77 You need Russian-speaking agents to infiltrate Russian circles.
3. ellipt. for Russian cigarette, hemp, iron, leather, wheat.
1862Burton Bk. Hunter i. 41 The plebeian sheepskin and the aristocratic russian. 1892[see Egyptian n. 5 b]. 1893Daily News 5 June 2/8 Italian hemps are very scarce... Russians are also advancing. 1897Ibid. 9 Dec. 11/4 The cargo market for wheat is still very quiet... Russians are still held far above the market value. 1937R. Chandler in Dime Detective Mag. Nov. 43/2 There were three long cigarettes..Russians, with hollow mouthpieces. 1963N. Freeling Because of Cats x. 163 He had juju cigarettes too; like Russians, with a big mouth piece, and pretty loose.
B. adj.
1. a. Of or pertaining to Russia or its people; inhabiting, native to, characteristic of, Russia. Also with distinguishing adjs., as Great Russian, Little Russian, White Russian (see sense A. 1 a and white a. 11 e).
1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 401, I will wish thee neuer more to dance, Nor neuer more in Russian habit waite. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 155 Horsemen with all necessaries meete for the warre after the Russian manner. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xxvii. 104 There we happened to meet with a Russian prisoner, that received us very charitably. 1728–46Thomson Spring 113 If, brush'd from Russian wilds, a cutting gale Rise not. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) I. 659/2 The great goose.., weighing near 25 or 30 Russian pounds. 1838Penny Cycl. XI. 436/1 The Russian church, which now constitutes the most important branch of the Greek church. 1842Prichard Nat. Hist. Man 198 The Russian peasantry have often light-brown, or flaxen, or red hair. 1883Morfill Slavonic Lit. iii. 49 Kiev..was the first seat of the Russian nationality. 1911C. J. Hogarth tr. V. O. Kluchevsky's Hist. Russia I. xiii. 203 The Great Russian stock stands to the Little Russian in the proportion of three to one, and the Little Russian to the White Russian in a similar ratio. 1918R. Beazley et al. Russia, from Varangians to Bolsheviks i. iii. 79 The principality of Moscow had become a Great Russian nation, the Prince of Moscow a Great Russian sovereign. 1942L. B. Namier Conflicts 8 The conflict with Russia turned on Poland's dominion over vast stretches of land inhabited by White Russian and Little Russian peasantries. 1963Times Lit. Suppl. 31 May 388/4 The growth of Great-Russian jingoism.
Comb.1868Rep. U.S. Commiss. Agric. (1869) 175 The Russian-born inhabitants were..almost without exception convicts from Siberia or elsewhere. 1900Westm. Gaz. 22 Nov. 11/1 In future only Russian-made goods are to be used in the department. 1963R. I. McDavid Mencken's Amer. Lang. v. v. 265 Nudnik..is widely used by Russian-Jewish immigrants. 1976Times 15 May 14/8 Sholem Aleichem came from a middle class Russian-Jewish background.
b. Trading with Russia or in Russian goods.
1885Census Instruct. Index, Russian Merchant.
2. In specific names or designations:
a. Of animals, etc., as Russian bear (often fig.), Russian dove, Russian eagle, Russian gadus; Russian Blue, a lightly built short-haired cat belonging to the breed so called, distinguished by greyish-blue fur, green eyes, and large pointed ears; Russian long-hair(ed) (cat), a stocky, long-coated cat with a relatively short tail, belonging to a breed once so called but no longer a distinct group; Russian pony, a small, hardy, roan pony belonging to a breed originally developed in Russia; cf. Cossack 2 b; Russian sable, the heavy dark fur of the sable, Martes zibellina; cf. sable n.1 1 a; Russian wolfhound = borzoi.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, iii. vii. 154 Foolish Curres, that runne winking into the mouth of a Russian Beare. 1605― Macb. iii. iv. 100 Approach thou like the rugged Russian Beare. 1737Pope 1st Epistle 2nd Bk. Horace Imitated 22 No Lord's Anointed, but a Russian Bear. 1806M. Edgeworth Leonora II. lxix. 121 It would really be pleasant to have a Czar at one's feet... The ancients represent Cupid riding the Numidian lion, and why should he not tame the Russian bear? 1972C. Short Naked Skier xxvi. 147 All the gay, waltzing and slightly frenetic set-up [of Vienna] can be shattered at an instant by the roar of a Russian bear. 1977W. Feaver When We were Young 19 The political cartoon figures—British lion, Russian bear, German eagle.
1889H. Weir Our Cats 66 The Blue Cat was at first shown as the Archangel cat, then Russian blue, Spanish blue, Chartreuse blue, and..the American blue. 1933E. Buckworth-Herne-Soame Cats xxxvii. 164 Russian Blues, so called because they were originally brought from Russia, are now known as ‘Foreign Blues’. 1953A. White tr. Colette's Cat viii. 191 I'll withdraw..into my cold room..under the protection of..a Russian Blue cat. 1971W. J. Burley Guilt Edged viii. 132 Trotsky is our cat—a Russian blue. 1976Loughborough Monitor 26 Nov. 2/3 (Advt.), Ready for Christmas..Russian Blue Kittens.
1688Holme Armoury ii. 244/1 The Runt Pigeon or Russian Dove..are large Pigeons as big as young Hens. 1781Latham Gen. Synop. Birds I. i. 43 Russian Eagle. 1803Shaw Gen. Zool. IV. i. 158 Russian Gadus, a third variety of the Weesle Gadus, under the above title is described by Mr. Walbaum.
1889H. Weir Our Cats 30 The Russian long-haired cat..differed from the Angora and the Persian in many respects. 1939[see Burmese cat s.v. Burmese a. b]. 1972Ing & Pond Champion Cats of World 72 The Russian Longhair..apparently had an even more woolly coat, and a shorter tail.
1842Youatt Dog 144 The Russian pointer is a rough, ill-tempered animal.
1898J. D. Brayshaw Slum Silhouettes 151 I'm off the the Cattle Market to buy one o' those little Rooshian ponies. 1903A. Bennett Truth about Author xvi. 214 Arrival of the second post on a Russian pony that cost fifty shillings. 1936A. W. Seaby Brit. Ponies 144, I stopped before a strange looking old light roan pony between the shafts of a sweep's cart. It was a Russian pony the owner averred.
1871Russian sable [see doll-land s.v. doll n.1 5]. 1930M. Bachrach Fur xxi. 322 There probably has never been a peltry that has enjoyed such popularity..for so long a period of time as the Russian Sable. 1952‘M. Cost’ Hour Awaits 152 The fur was sable, and Russian sable. 1973D. Orgill Jasius Pursuit x. 99 He took one of the fur coats... It was a magnificent garment—Russian sables.
1872G. H. Lewes Jrnl. 28 Dec. in Geo. Eliot Lett. (1956) V. 352 He took us up to Lady Paget to see a superb Russian Wolf⁓hound. 1922R. Leighton Compl. Bk. Dog ix. 141 There is not a more elegant and graceful dog than the Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound... The wearer of a lovely silky coat, he is essentially a spectacular animal. 1941B. Schulberg What makes Sammy Run? viii. 157 She walked..with a haughty pride, the way one does with Russian wolfhounds. 1976Botham & Donnelly Valentino viii. 59 He bought a pair of Russian wolfhounds (white).
b. Of fruits or plants, as Russian apple, Russian birch, Russian cabbage, Russian fenugreek, Russian maple, Russian rhubarb; Russian olive (U.S.), the oleaster, Elæagnus angustifolia, a spiny shrub with silvery leaves belonging to the family Elæagnaceæ, native to Europe and western Asia, and naturalized in parts of western North America; Russian poplar (Canada), a poplar native to north-east Asia, Populus maximowiczii, which has leathery leaves with whitish undersides; Russian thistle (U.S.), a tumbleweed, Salsola kali, a creeping prickly herb belonging to the family Chenopodiaceæ; = saltwort 1; Russian vine, a fast-growing deciduous climbing plant, Polygonum baldschuanicum, of the family Polygonaceæ, native to southern Turkestan and bearing clusters of white or pink flowers.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) III. 520/2 The Russian cabbage was formerly in much greater esteem than at present. 1882Garden 9 Dec. 507/2 The name Russian is broadly applied to all apples developed from the Russian or Astrachan Crab wherever they may have originated. 1822Hortus Anglicus II. 285 Trigonella Ruthenica. Small or Russian Fenugreek. 1843Holtzapffel Turning I. 74 Some of the Russian birch (called Russian maple) is very beautiful and of a full yellow colour.
1938W. R. Van Dersal Native Woody Plants U.S. 119 Russian olive... A large shrub to small tree; introduced from Europe and Western Asia. 1951T. H. Kearney et al. Arizona Flora 586 Russian-olive, native of the Old World, often cultivated as an ornamental in the United States. 1972W. A. Weber Rocky Mt. Flora 173 The Russian Olive..is cultivated throughout the region at lower elevations.
1950E. A. McCourt Home is the Stranger ii. 19 Around the farmyard ran a stunted, ill-kempt wind-break of Russian poplar. 1965I. Reekie Melita Trail ii. 6 He planted the first grove of trees in the community—ash, cottonwood, Russian poplar, and Manitoba maples.
1861Bentley Man. Bot. 621 The principal kinds of Rhubarb are Russian or Turkey, Chinese or East Indian, Himalayan, and English.
1894Amer. Folk-Lore VII. 97 Salsola Kali, var. Tragus, Moguin, Russian thistle, Russian cactus. 1898Monthly S. Dakotan I. 103 Only tiny triangular spots remained dry in the lee of broken corn-stalks and scattered Russian thistles. 1939Nat. Geogr. Mag. Aug. 262/2 The Russian thistle..is a relative of beets and spinach in the family of the ‘goosefoots’. 1971Country Life 2 Sept 583/1 In autumn the Russian Thistles..ran freely before the wind at thirty miles an hour.
1948N. Catchpole Flowering Shrubs & Small Trees vii. 156 A vigorous climber, and the quickest growing one known in our gardens..is commonly called the Russian vine. 1963Oxf. Bk. Garden Flowers 164/2 Russian Vine..is, in fact, a native of Bokhara, and is a rampant twining plant which will quickly smother any unsightly object in one season. 1977K. O'Hara Ghost of T. Penry iv. 25 The stone arch..was half-blocked by the ruins of a ramshackle gate overgrown with Russian vine.
c. Of economic products, as Russian deal, Russian iron, Russian leather (cf. Russia 1), Russian mat, Russian rope.
1773tr. De La Lande's Art of Tanning 198 The Russian leather being thus printed, is smeared with Russia oil. 1839Russian iron [see sable n.1 3]. 1846Lindley Veget. Kingd. 372 The Russian mats of commerce are manufactured from the Tilia. 1861Bentley Man. Bot. 659 Pinus sylvestris the Scotch Fir, which yields the timber known as Dantzic or Riga Fir, and Russian Deal. 1874in Ruskin Fors Clav. xlvi. IV. 242 On the relative strength of hand⁓spun yarn rope..and Russian yarn rope.
d. Miscellaneous uses, as Russian bagatelle, Russian blouse, Russian braid, Russian chess, Russian crash, Russian diaper, Russian embroidery, Russian poker, Russian stitch.
1850, etc. Russian bagatelle [see cockamaroo].
1898Pall Mall G. 10 Feb. 3/2 A hope..that the days of the Russian blouse are numbered.
1953R. Senhouse tr. Colette's Gigi 25 The Russian braid of her nightdress. 1973Country Life 15 Feb. 425/1 Black wool suit, the jacket..trimmed with Russian braid.
1871Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 181 Who's for a game at Russian chess?
1932Russian crash [see nurse cloth s.v. nurse n.1 8].
1827Hallowell (Maine) Gaz. 20 June 4/4 (Advt.), Received..Russian Diaper. 1957Simpson & Weir Weaver's Craft (ed. 8) xiii. 165 Russian diaper.—This has a total of 26 threads to each pattern,.. and it can also be used quite successfully as a border to some of the other patterns, for curtains, covers, etc.
1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlewk. 429/2 Russian Embroidery..is worked either upon hollands and washing materials..or upon cloth.
1970T. Lilley Projects Section x. 121 He plays Russian poker in the mess. Ibid. xvii. 232 In Russian Poker there are four players: each has thirteen cards which he arranges in three hands—two of five cards and one of three. These hands are each arranged in poker fashion... Three players play against the fourth—the banker—and the bank changes after every fourth deal.
1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlewk. 125/1 Ribbed Stitch..is also called Russian stitch. It is much used for babies' socks and muffatees.
e. Special collocations: Russian ballet, a style of ballet developed at the Russian Imperial Ballet Academy and popularized in the West by Sergei Diaghilev's Ballet Russe from 1909; also a group of dancers trained in this style; Russian Bank (Banker, banque), a card game similar to solitaire but played by two persons; Russian bath = Turkish bath s.v. Turkish a. 2 a; also fig.; Russian boot, a leather boot that extends to the calf, usu. with a wide cuff; Russian cigarette, a cigarette with a hollow pasteboard filter; Russian dancer, one who performs a Russian folk-dance; Russian dinner, a style of dinner in which fruit and wine are placed at the centre of a table and courses are served from a sideboard; Russian doll, any of a set of hollow wooden dolls, the smallest of which fits inside the next smallest, and so up to the largest; Russian dressing, a savoury dressing with a mayonnaise base; Russian Easter egg, an artificial egg shell designed as a container for presents given at Easter; Russian egg, a poached egg served on a lettuce leaf with mayonnaise; Russian (spring–summer, etc.) encephalitis, a viral encephalitis transmitted by wood ticks; Russian Revolution, the overthrow of the Tsar and the eventual establishment of the Bolshevik form of government in Russia between February and October (Old Style) 1917; cf. October Revolution s.v. October 3 and revolution n. 11; Russian roulette, an act of bravado in which a person loads (usu.) one chamber of a revolver, spins the cylinder, holds the barrel to his head, and pulls the trigger; also fig.; Russian salad, a salad of vegetables with mayonnaise; Russian scandal, (a) a game in which a whispered message, after being passed from player to player, is contrasted in its original and final versions; (b) gossip inaccurately transmitted; Russian tea, (a) tea grown in the Caucasus or a drink made from this; (b) any tea laced with lemon or rum.
1911Westm. Gaz. 3 June 2/3 She disapproved of early morning tea and auction bridge, of ski-ing and the two-step, of the Russian ballet and the Chelsea Arts Club ball. 1928A. Christie Mystery of Blue Train xxxi. 261, I never saw anything in this Russian ballet... Too highbrow for me. 1937J. Laver Taste & Fashion viii. 110 The overwhelming wave of Orientalism which swept over Parisian society..was due to..Paul Poiret and the Russian ballet. 1947Ballet Ann. I. 68 Diaghileff, in search of inspiration, made straight for Paris, chic and chi-chi, and so Russian ballet became Ballet Russe. 1973W. Tute Resident ii. 36 As you know the Russian ballet is the best in the world.
1915W. Del Mar Rules of Russian Bank 1 The game of Russian Bank is played by two persons each with a pack of fifty-two cards. The object of the game is to dispose of the cards. 1930A. Woollcott Let. 26 Apr. (1944) iv. 85 We played backgammon or Russian Bank all the way over [the Atlantic]. 1930‘E. Queen’ French Powder Mystery xv. 118 Not many people know how to play Russian banque. 1970R. Lowell Notebk. 121 Ford, playing Russian Banker.
1804M. Wilmot Let. 24 Apr. in Russ. Jrnls. (1934) i. 94 The true Russian Bath admits a Vapour which I cou'd not support. 1863C. Lever Day's Ride in All Year Round 16 Feb. 455/1 It is a sort of intellectual Russian bath, in which the luxury consists in the exaggerated alternative between being scalded first and rolled in the snow afterwards. 1961L. Mumford City in Hist. xiii. 386 In the seventeenth century..the bath was reintroduced as a foreign importation, a luxury..: the so-called Turkish or Russian bath. 1975A. Hailey Moneychangers ii. vi. 193 Mr Quartermain likes either a sauna or a Russian bath wherever he is.
1915in C. Willett Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing (1952) iv. 132 The fashionable side-lacing Russian boots with fawn cloth tops and patent leather fronts, 21/– a pair. 1926Wodehouse Heart of Goof iii. 108 You bet your Russian boots I was! 1977V. S. Pritchett Gentle Barbarian xiii. 212 Turgenev..wandered about in heavy Russian boots.
1905C. Mackenzie Diary 30 Mar. in My Life & Times (1964) III. 222 A lazy young man..who used to smoke Bobbie's Russian cigarettes. 1926C. Beaton Diary 24 Apr. in Wandering Yrs. (1961) 87 Smoking Russian cigarette after Russian cigarette. 1940E. Hemingway For whom Bell Tolls ii. 20 Robert Jordan..brought out one of the flat boxes of Russian cigarettes... They were long narrow cigarettes with pasteboard cylinders for mouth pieces. 1972J. Wainwright Requiem for Loser iii. 52 They sipped tea, smoked Russian cigarettes and discussed this and that.
1913Mrs. P. Campbell Let. 25 Mar. in B. Shaw & Mrs. Campbell (1952) 102 Russian dancers were imitated—shoes kicked off—hair came down. 1931C. Remfry-Kidd tr. Colette's Renée Néré i. i. 9 The Russian dancers are trying to get warm... They shout ‘Yonk!’ all together.
1851London at Table i. 26 We have already alluded to a Russian dinner, which is the best and most economical. It is always served hot from the kitchen, and as the entrées are not exposed to the public gaze, there may be fewer of them; the joints served at the side-board by an experienced artist, are more palatable and tempting than when carved on the table. 1868M. Jewry Warne's Model Cookery 56 The present fashion of Russian dinners is fast banishing the necessity for promiscuous carving.
1937K. Blixen Out of Afr. ii. 135 Those Russian wooden dolls which will unscrew, and have then got another doll inside them, and another inside that, and which are sold under the name of Katinka. 1967C. Fremlin Prisoner's Base xvi. 114 Each item in the dream was fitting into her interpretation like a set of Russian dolls.
1922Hotel World 15 Apr. 15/1 Russian Dressing. 1938L. Bemelmans Life Class ii. ii. 127 The salad, covered with Russian dressing, is a mixture of endives..pineapple..cream cheese with chopped chives. 1976Billings (Montana) Gaz. 1 July, In medium bowl, thoroughly combine 1/4 cup Russian dressing, ground beef, and breadcrumbs.
1949H. C. Bainbridge P. C. Fabergé iv. 67 (heading) The Imperial Russian Easter Eggs. 1955W. Gaddis Recognitions iii. v. 903 Like a Russian Easter Egg, this Thing had a tiny window in one end.
1932M. F. Daniels tr. F. Nietlispach's Cold Dishes & Hors-D'œuvre i. 16 Russian Eggs. Poach the eggs, strain and cool. Arrange on a lettuce leaf..cover with mayonnaise and sprinkle with..minced ham and a little chopped parsley. 1969G. Lyall Venus with Pistol vii. 39, I yelled an order for..Russian eggs... It comes up a salad the size of the Garden of Eden.
1943Science 12 Mar. 246/1 (heading) Close relation between Russian spring–summer encephalitis and louping-ill viruses. 1948Olitsky & Casals in T. M. Rivers Viral & Rickettsial Infections of Man viii. 192/1 Russian Far East encephalitis (Synonyms: Russian spring–summer encephalitis; Russian spring or summer encephalitis; Russian forest-spring encephalitis; Russian tick-borne encephalitis; Russian endemic encephalitis). Ibid., Russian Far East encephalitis is a disease occurring in spring and early summer, mainly in the Far East provinces of the Soviet Union and less frequently in European and Siberian Russia. 1976W. L. Drew Viral Infections i. 7 Group B [sc. arboviruses] includes the viruses of St. Louis encephalitis, yellow fever, and dengue, as well as the viruses of Russian encephalitis and hemorrhagic fever found in Europe and Russia.
[1805C. Wilmot Let. 7 Dec. in Russ. Jrnls. (1934) ii. 208 The famous 28th of June 1762, the day of the Russian Revolution. 1907I. Zangwill Ghetto Comedies 399 We are a Labour party... We have the whole Russian Revolution on our shoulders.] 1917C. P. Scott Let. 25 Mar. in D. Ayerst Guardian (1971) xxvii. 403 Don't you feel the Russian revolution rather stirring in your bones? 1919Mr. Punch's Hist. Great War 176 A ‘History of the Russian Revolution’ has already been published. 1922Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 319/2 The history of the Russian Revolution starts with the gradual dissolution of all fundamental institutions and notions. 1945‘G. Orwell’ in Common Wealth Rev. Nov. 12/1 The failure of the Russian Revolution—failure, that is, in the sense that the Revolution has not fulfilled the hopes that it aroused twenty-five years ago. 1977Times 26 Mar. 12/4 A history-teaching colleague suggested that it might have been better if the Russian Revolution had never taken place.
1937G. Surdez in Collier's 30 Jan. 16 ‘Did you ever hear of Russian Roulette?’.. With the Russian army in Rumania, around 1917,..some officer would suddenly pull out his revolver,..remove a cartridge from the cylinder, spin the cylinder, snap it back in place, put it to his head and pull the trigger. 1946N.Y. Post 23 Oct. 5/2 The game was ‘Russian Roulette’, and the odds were 5–1. 1956‘M. Innes’ Appleby plays Chicken i. ii. 18 ‘Is it done with a revolver..with one of the six chambers loaded?’ ‘No. That's Russian roulette.’ 1960Guardian 27 July 16/4 This party..had ‘played Russian roulette with American strength and American progress’. 1976Lancet 9 Oct. 776/2 Abusive parents are often the scarred survivors of generations of reproductive russian roulette.
1879M. Jewry Warne's Model Cookery (new ed.) 456/2 Russian Salad... Cold boiled beetroot; cold carrots [etc.]..smoked salmon, or white meat of chicken and tongue. Cut the vegetables into pieces all of one size, add the salmon..mix with Mayonnaise sauce. Garnish with anchovies. 1940M. Dickens Mariana iii. 64 ‘I'll tell you something, Tich,’ said Uncle Geoffrey beginning on his Russian salad. 1973‘S. Harvester’ Corner of Playground i. viii. 70 He had carved the cold roast chicken and served it with Russian salad.
1873L. Troubridge Jrnl. 28 Aug. in J. Hope-Nicholson Life amongst Troubridges (1966) vi. 50 We played Russian Scandal in the train, which was very jolly. 1873C. M. Yonge Pillars of House IV. xxxviii. 126 Susie has been well lectured on Russian scandal! 1893― Girl's Little Bk. 17 Do not repeat it [sc. gossip]. You will probably make Russian scandal of it, and the next person will add to it. 1929H. G. Wells King who was King ii. 59 ‘We used to play a game called Russian scandal’... The screen shows a row of young people... The first whispers to the second, who whispers to the third, and so on. 1953‘P. Wentworth’ Ivory Dagger lxii. 209 There used to be a game called Russian scandal. Something was whispered from one to another, and you have no idea what it would come out like by the time even a few people had had the handling of it. 1960G. E. Evans Horse in Furrow xiii. 177 Stories passed from one to another are proverbially incorrect as ‘Russian scandal’.
1862M. B. Chesnut Diary 25 in C. V. Woodward M. Chesnut's Civil War (1981) 395 They had Russian tea, champagne, a samovar. 1884G. Meredith Let. 24 Mar. (1970) II. 732 Bid him arrive by half-past five, that the thirsty troop may be refreshed by Russian tea. 1930L. G. D. Acland Early Canterbury Runs v. 111 The publican offered to make him some ‘Russian tea’... ‘Russian tea’ turned out to be ordinary tea well laced with rum. 1952‘R. Crompton’ William & Tramp vii. 217 She said he had lemon in his tea 'stead of milk an' I know that's called Russian tea. 1975Times 1 May 15/3 There is Russian tea, a long leaf variety grown in the foothills of the Caucasian mountains. 1976Eastern Even. News (Norwich) 9 Dec. 8/1 Tins of Russian, Formosa or Jasmine tea are about 68p for half a pound.
3. Of or pertaining to, concerned with, the Russian language or literature.
1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIV. 567/1 The Russian letters. Ibid. 567/2 The Russian grammar above-mentioned. 1842Penny Cycl. XXII. 127 Some works..printed in the Russian character. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 117 Russian cases, cases of special lay for type used in composing that language.
Hence ˈRussian v., to force by Russian influence or pressure. nonce-wd.
1756H. Walpole Let. to Mann 25 Jan., The King of Prussia has been Russianed out of their [the French] alliance. |