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[http://users.livejournal.com/_viola/]

I came across this phrase in something I was reading: "словно камень на шее".
Can anyone tell me what exactly it means or how you'd express the same idea in English?

Also, what does "вась" mean?

Thanks!

Comments

[rottenshworz.livejournal.com]

камень на шее = problems
Вась = from the name Вася (эй, Вась!), or in case of "У него с ним всё вась-вась" meaning is unformal relations.
Usually this form is used speaking about corruption.

[the-waste.livejournal.com]

literally "словно камень на шее" means "like a stone (hanging) on the neck"
so it means problem/obstacle

[simonff.livejournal.com]

"Вась" is technically a vocative case (звательный падеж) of "Вася". Vocative case in modern Russian is almost gone otherwise.

[darth-blade.livejournal.com]

Are you sure that "вась" is not capitalized?

[mooze.livejournal.com]

Словно камень на шее - an expression used to describe a burden someone is suffering from or has to bear with...

2) If it's not a name (short for Vasya), then it should be used in the following format: вась-вась. That is an old expression indicating a high degree of personal relations (friends) mostly used in a negative sense (just like rottenshworz wrote above) to express disdain with someone's friendly relations with a third party. Hope it helps.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_viola/]

Thanks for the replies. That helped!