Today we’re carrying on learning Russian from a real comment on the internet:
У мое́й ба́бушки сто́лько исто́рий из жи́зни, что голливу́дские фи́льмы не́рвно ку́рят в сторо́нке!
(My grandma has so many life stories that Hollywood films have got nothing on her!)
Phrase breakdown
- не́рвно — nervously
- кури́ть — to smoke
- в — a preposition of location
- сторо́нке — a diminutive form of ‘сторона́’ (side)
A literal translation would be: ‘to smoke nervously off to the side’.
Origin
The exact origin of the expression is unclear, but it is believed to come from football, where a losing coach might step aside for a nervous cigarette while the match was still ongoing.
Meaning
So, what does ‘не́рвно кури́ть в сторо́нке’ actually mean?
It’s a colloquial expression. It means to be much worse than someone or something, to be far inferior in comparison.
It is often used with the names of famous people, brands, or well-known places to make the point stronger.
Examples
Here are a few real-life examples:
- Ты пе́ла про́сто потряса́юще! Селин Дион не́рвно ку́рит в сторо́нке! (You sang brilliantly — Céline Dion has got nothing on you!)
- Всего́ в ча́се езды́ от на́шего до́ма есть пляж с бе́лым песко́м и криста́льно чи́стой бирюзо́вой водо́й. Мальди́вы не́рвно ку́рят в сторо́нке! (There’s a beach with white sand and crystal-clear turquoise water just an hour from our house. The Maldives pale in comparison!)
From the media:
- ‘Игра́ престо́лов’ не́рвно ку́рит в сторо́нке: популя́рные телесериа́лы, на созда́ние кото́рых ушли́ со́тни миллио́нов до́лларов. (Game of Thrones pales in comparison: popular TV series that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to produce.)
Got a good example? Pop it in the comments!