показать кузькину мать

Russian

Etymology

  • Literally, "to show Kuzka's mother" (to someone). The proverbial Ку́зька (Kúzʹka) is no-one in particular. It may be a pejorative short name for Кузьма́ (Kuzʹmá, Kuzma, male name) or a dog's name. Possibly implying that little puppy Kuzka's mother is a big and vicious dog.
  • The possessive form ку́зькин (kúzʹkin) is normally in lower case because it is a set expression.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [pəkɐˈzatʲ ˈkusʲkʲɪnʊ ˈmatʲ]

Verb

показа́ть ку́зькину ма́ть (pokazátʹ kúzʹkinu mátʹ) pf (imperfective пока́зывать ку́зькину ма́ть)

  1. (derogatory) to teach someone a lesson
    «Мы вам пока́жем ку́зькину ма́ть
    “My vam pokážem kúzʹkinu mátʹ!”
    "We'll teach you a lesson!" (used by Nikita Khrushchov in 1959 addressed to Richard Nixon)

Conjugation

Synonyms

  • показа́ть, где ра́ки зиму́ют (pokazátʹ, gde ráki zimújut, literally to show where crayfish/yabbies spend a winter)
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