Ю

Skirt-chaser, womaniser. From юбка (skirt) and the agent suffix -ник — literally “the skirt man”. Common synonym: бабник. Not quite a proper insult — more the word a woman uses about her husband with a weary sigh.

Эй, уважаемый товарищ юбочник, понял, для чего тебе надобно ознакомиться с порно-сайтами, подпитать мозг эротик-чтивом?

So, comrade skirt-chaser, you understood why you have to get familiar with porn sites, to nourish your brain with erotic readings?

(Москва — инструкция по применению, 10/2006)

To use, to utilize, to employ, to consume. Derived directly from the English verb to use, adapted into Russian with the Cyrillic root юз- and the standard Russian verbal suffix -ать. It emerged in the late 1980s and 1990s within the early computer subculture, tech spaces, and gaming communities. In modern everyday Russian and internet culture, it has become one of the most widespread slang verbs for using software, gadgets, slang, or products (я давно юзаю этот браузер — “I’ve been using this browser for a long time”). It can also appear in perfective forms like поюзать (to use for a bit / to try out) or заюзать (to completely use up / to wear out).

Бабуль знай свое место, юзайте МАС

Granny, know your place, use a Mac

(bash.org.ru, 03/2007)

User (computer slang). Pejorative name mixing the English user and Russian зверь (wild animal).

От нехер делать лaазаю на серваке по папкам юзверей.

Having bugger all to do I go through the user directories on the server.

(bash.org.ru, 08/2007)

Money, one rouble. Borrowed from Finnish yksi — “one”. Saint Petersburg being what it is: the city, built on formerly Finnish territory and long in close commercial contact with Finland, absorbed the word into its market slang. A quaint relic of the Petersburg street argot, one that smells faintly of the nineteenth century.

— Послушай, Снупи, ты извини, у тебя не найдется этак 15 юксов на месяц, а?

— Listen, Snoopy, I’m sorry, could you spare me 15 quid for a month, eh?

(Борис Гребенщиков, Лес — роман)

Dick, penis. A variant of елда and юлдак with a vaguely oriental ring; probably borrowed from a Turkic language, filtering into Russian slang via military and prison contact with Central Asia. Less common than хуй but more exotic — which is precisely why it gets used for comic effect.

Когда она дочитала, ее глаза стали большими, как юлда негра и она закричала: «пидарас! Извращенец!», тыкая в меня пальцем.

When she finished reading, her eyes became as big as a negro’s dick, and she shouted, “Faggot! Pervert!”, pointing her finger at me.

(Артур Морозов @ vkontakte.ru, 05/2011)

Dick, penis. Variant of елдак, itself a variant of елда. Both the suffix -ак and the root are Turkic in origin; same borrowing route as юлда, through military and prison circles. Essentially the same word.

Тогда Саша попросил чтобы я сел ему на спину лицом к его попе и попробовал всунуть ему этот юлдак (так он его всегда называл), что я и сделал.

Then Sasha asked that I sit on his back, facing his bum and try to shove in that John Thomas (that’s what he always called it), which I did.

(hrenn17 @ rsex.ru)

Shagger, lover, live-in partner. Criminal slang (блат) covering both meanings that life tends to blur together: the one-night stand and the long-term companion. Etymologically related to юлдаш and the variants of елда; has escaped the criminal milieu and turned up in women’s forums, where it means simply “my bloke”.

насикомoе: Задрыга-антилопа арканит юлдача!
Лана Банана: а переведите на русский, я пока не всё понимаю по фене
насикомoе: ой, я сама пока писала-искала аж вспотела :) перевожу-алчная женщина в возрасте хочет увести моего мужа-сожителя.

насикомoе: The backwoods antelope is trying to rope in the stud!
Лана Банана: Can you translate it into Russian? I don’t fully understand the slang yet.
насикомoе: Oh, I even broke a sweat while writing and searching for this :) Translation — a greedy older woman wants to steal my live-in partner.

(baginya.org, 03/2016)

To shag, to screw. Derived from юлдач — the shagger becomes his own verb, which has a certain logic to it. Circulates mainly in very informal registers: forums, online diaries, texts you don’t send your mother.

Юля рыдает из-за Серёжи, дебильного идиота, который целку Иру юлдачил.

Yulia is weeping because of Seryoga, that stupid idiot that screwed the virgin Ira.

(Какие проблемы? @ nevaforum.ru, 03/2007)

Catch-all term for Uzbeks and Central Asians generally. Юлдаш — meaning “comrade, companion” in Uzbek and several Turkic languages — is actually a very common first name in the region; it has taken the usual path from typical first name to ethnic nickname. Condescending or merely casual, depending on context. See ялдаш.

Русский — узбек поругается, пять минут прошло, говорит: «Юлдаш, закуривай», — уже все забыл!

A Russian and an Uzbek have a fight, five minutes pass, and he says: “Yuldash, light up” — everything’s already forgotten!

(К.М. Симонов, Так называемая личная жизнь, 1979)

To crack a joke, to try to be funny — with the slight implication that you’re not entirely sure it’ll land. The suffix -нуть says it all: a brief, one-off attempt, result pending. Formed from юмор (borrowed from English humour).

Бляяя… А я только хотел спросить, не предлагали-ли ещё огнемёт использовать. Типа, хотел юморнуть…

Blimey… I was just going to ask if they suggested using a flamethrower. Just kidding, you know…

(kot-obormot @ guns.ru, 07/2011)

Yank, American. Simply the spoken-aloud abbreviation US — ю + с — russified and turned into a noun. Less hostile than пиндос, more casual than америкос; came into fashion in the 2000s along with the boom in geopolitical forum arguments.

А что будем делать с рекордным наводнением? Его тоже бобры устроили. Или с ракетами юсов? С Катынью? Это вас Бог наказал, пшеки, хоть я ничего против вас не имею. Козлов только больше не быбирайте.

And what shall we do about the record flooding? It’s the work of the beavers. What about the US rockets? Or Katyń? God punished you, Polacks — I don’t have anything against you, though. You just keep electing knob heads.

(profi_photo @ liveinternet.ru, 05/2010)

American, of the United States. Derived from юс — same casual register, same vintage. Usually found before cultural or commercial products: юсовский ширпотреб (Yank tat), юсовская попса (American pop dreck).

Это потрясающий образчик юсовской популяризации классических произведений для тинэйджеров.

It’s a striking example of Yankee popular adaptations of classic works for teenagers.

(Sayek @ diary.ru, 06/2010)