on the left

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

Hello,


I was reading a book that was describing informal economy in Russia and it used a phrase


buying "on the left"


"on the left" was in quotation marks and it's not an English expression, so I assume it's a Russian one. How would it sound in Russian? I can't find anything on my own.



Thank you again for your help.

Comments

[typographera.livejournal.com]

circumvent the law
smuggling

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

those are folksy Russian expressions? =)

[nic102.livejournal.com]

купить левый (товар) or продать (товар) налево

P.S. левый товар could be stolen or counterfeit.

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

thank you

[cassandraclue.livejournal.com]

налево
also used to describe cheating on your significant other :P

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

thank you

[mithrilian.livejournal.com]

You could be _selling_ something "on the left" (that's literal translation of "налево"). That means, you sell something that does not belong to you but you are in position to sell it (middleman?) and part of it you sell to someone not in the original contract. Say, it's several tonnes of oranges that you as a truck driver is supposed to transport from A to B. Somewhere on the way you sell a dozen kilos to someone and pocket the money.

Note, however, this expression is never used when describing a buyer, but is reserved for those who sell only.

Also, there is an expression "to walk to the left" (literally "гулять налево") which is used to describe a married person's infidelity. Again, only the married person, not his/her lover.

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your detailed explanation.

[racoonbear.livejournal.com]

"покупать левую продукцию"
It sounds a bit unusual, however it's possible, for example, in a context of buying fake and cheap source which assumed to be brand-name.

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

It was in English. I assume the writer took some liberties.

[acuzena.livejournal.com]

I agree with this comment. It means a fake product to buy or to sell - "левый товар, левак".

Правый и левый

[lion-casserole.livejournal.com]

.
Правый (Right) in Slavic languages also means "honest", "legal", "straight", etc ("правда" = "truth", "наше дело - правое" = "we are on the side of truth"). In this context "left" means "illegal".

Продать (пустить) налево - to sell or distribute against the legal distributor's contact
Купить слева - to purchase against the legal distributor's contract

There are other expressions - "купить/продать из-под полы" and "купить/продать из-под прилавка".

The first one means "to purchase/sale illegally", e.g. to bay a black market's item - a prohibited book, alcohol, drugs, or a gun from a private person (unregistered seller).

The second means "to sale/purchase against the trade rules", e.g. to hide some goods in the store from regular customers, to sell these goods to selected/chosen customers only (when by the law the merchant must sell an item to any person that is ready to pay for it).

Re: Правый и левый

[savageanomaly.livejournal.com]

Thank you.