IdiomFood & Drink
Russian
Russianдавать на чай (davat' na chay)
Meaning: To give a tip or small payment to a service worker.
Literally: To give for tea
Example: “В этом кафе принято давать на чай.” — In this café it's usual to leave a tip.
Origin: A tip given "for tea" was money for the servant, coachman or waiter to buy himself a glass of tea, the everyday drink of Russian taverns. The custom framed a payment for service as a small treat. French pourboire ("for drinking") and German Trinkgeld ("drink money") name tips the same way.
More Russian idioms
- наступить дважды на одни и те же грабли (nastupitʹ dvazhdy na odni i te zhe grabli) To repeat the same mistake or fall into the same trap a second time.
- ежовые рукавицы (ezhovye rukavitsy) Harsh, strict, or iron-fisted rule or discipline.
- козырная карта (kozyrnaya karta) A decisive advantage or secret resource held in reserve.
- оставаться в дураках (ostavat'sya v durakakh) To be tricked or made a fool of; to lose or come out the worse in a situation.
- в ус не дуть (v us ne dut') To show complete indifference or not to care at all.
- под башмаком (pod bashmakóm) Dominated or controlled by one's wife; henpecked.
Explore another collection: Untranslatable Words
Words that capture a feeling or idea English needs a whole sentence for.
- Beloruchka Someone who dodges dirty or hard work — a person whose hands stay conspicuously clean.
- Zapoi A bender running for days, in which a person drops out of ordinary life entirely.
- Toska A dull ache of the soul; a great longing with nothing in particular to long for.
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