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[redneonred.livejournal.com]

Please somebody help me understand the use of these words in the following

Мы тебе столько лет служим, ты нам и водицы под пяточки не подлила...

The first part is fine, the second part is what I can't understand. Any helps would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

Comments

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

That is a line from a fairy tale and if I remember right it is the gate speaking to Баба Яга replying why it let the girl fly.
It means that the witch never as much as "oiled" them with water but the girl "нам маслица подлила" - oiled them with oil.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

Yet I couldn't tell you which part of the gate these mysterious "пяточки" that need oiling is, may be someone else knows this.

[nadyezhda.livejournal.com]

hinges?

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

it seems so (http://www.livejournal.com/community/learn_russian/361710.html?thread=5204974#t5204974)

[alamar.livejournal.com]

As far as I understand from http://www.ivalex.vistcom.ru/skaz10.htm , that's what gates said.

Ворота naturally don't speek, but in that case they mean their петли, which have never seen any care from Баба Яга but were смазаны by girl.

Accurate meaning of the word пяточки should be asked to door and gate specialists :) I guess which part of петель it is, but can't figure in english :)

[redneonred.livejournal.com]

thank you very much everyone. i think it was the пяточки that was throwing me off.

[nemica.livejournal.com]

I believe fairy tales have too many archaisms. Have no idea why people keep studying Russian by them. I guess reading some modern novels would be much easier as well as helpful in getting acquired with contemporary vocabulary.

[ashalynd.livejournal.com]

I think the fairy tale about Vasilissa the Beauty has more sense in it than the whole collection of Darya Dontsova's work, so I'd say these attempts are well justified in my opinion.

[nemica.livejournal.com]

Well if Darya Dontsova is the only modern writer coming to your mind... :) I can only agree with you - any fairy tale is better.

But actually there're dozens of decent Soviet and Russian writers.

[kehlen-crow.livejournal.com]

I think you don't want to know only "modern" vocabulary when studing a foreign language, this is why.
And the fairy tales help a lot if not to understand but at least to get acquainted with the other people's vision of the world.

So my choice is both modern books and fairy tales and whatever literature seems interesting.

[nemica.livejournal.com]

You're right, that's the best way.

[nbuwe.livejournal.com]

I'm not very familiar with the terminology, but I'd guess the translation for "пяточки" in this case would be "pivot", not "hinges".

Search for "Drehzapfen" on the following page to get the idea: http://www.adler-sa.fr/portailger.htm (sorry, it was easier to find the German one)

BTW, you can still find "пятовое устройство" in the context of shipping lock gates (kinda makes sense, you wouldn't use hinges for a shipping lock).

=)

[iriwe4ka.livejournal.com]

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