Appendix:A Clockwork Orange

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This is a list of the Nadsat words and other fictional terms found in the book by Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange, along with their meanings in English and their lexical origins.

The Nadsat slang word is shown with its closest English meaning or meanings. Its Russian origin is shown in Cyrillic, with an approximate transliteration, if pronounced (very) differently from the Nadsat. The translation of the Russian word is also shown if it differs from the English meaning. Words of uncertain origin are marked with a '?', and words which are modified English slang (not of foreign origin) are marked with a '-'.

Contents: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Terms in A Clockwork Orange
Nadsat English Word origin

A[edit]

appy polly loggies apologies Highly exaggerated pronunciation of apologies – Burgess's homage to James Joyce's ALP
auto car Short for automobile; mirrors the usage in Russian: see авто (avto)

B[edit]

baboochka old woman бабушка (babuška, literally grandmother)
baddiwad bad Young child talk
banda band банда (banda, gang)
barry place prison From bars on windows in prisons.
bedways to bed
bezoomny mad, crazy безумный (bezumnyj)
biblio library библиотека (biblioteka)
bitva battle битва (bitva)
blub weep, cry English slang. Not exclusively Nadsat. From the verb form of the English word blubber, often used in a dismissive or insensitive manner, meaning to sob or weep noisily.
Bog God бог (bog) (pronounced /box/ (where x sounds like kh) or (in some dialects) /bog/)
bogman godman See section G below
boomaboom thunder Onomatopoeia
bolnoy sick больной (bolʹnoj)
bolshy big, great большой (bolʹšoj); больший (bolʹšij, larger). Cf bolshie
boohoo, boohoohoo to cry From the sound that one makes while crying. Not exclusively Nadsat.
boorjoyce bourgeois Burgess' pronunciation of "bourgeois". [1]
bootick boutique
brat, bratty brother брат (brat)
bratchny bastard брачный (bračnyj, matrimonial), — likely a shortened внебрачный (vnebračnyj, out-of-wedlock), even though stripping it of the prefix inverts the meaning
britva razor бритва (britva)
brooko belly брюхо (brjuxo)
brosay, brosat to throw бросай (brosaj, throw!, imperative), бросать (brosatʹ, to throw)
bruiseboys police officers, security guards
bugatties riches богатый (bogatyj).
bugatty rich богатый (bogatyj).

C[edit]

cables blood vessels, tendons?, veins
cal crap кал (kal, faeces), sometimes used as an invective as well
cancer cigarette Short for English slang cancer stick from the disease with which heavy smoking is most commonly associated
cantora office контора (kontora)
carman pocket карман (karman)
chai tea чай (čaj), not exclusively Nadsat.
charles, charlie chaplain A play on Charlie Chaplin. Not exclusively Nadsat.
chasha cup чашка (čaška); чаша (čaša, large bowl)
chasso guard часовой (časovoj)
cheena woman женщина (ženščina)
cheest to wash чистить (čistitʹ, to clean)
chelloveck person, man, fellow человек (čelovek, human, man)
chepooka nonsense чепуха (čepuxa)
choodessny wonderful чудесный (čudesnyj)
chumble to mumble Blend of chatter +‎ mumble
cine cinema, film French slang ciné
clockwork mechanically responsive (See notes)[2]
clop to knock хлопать (xlopatʹ, clap); German klopfen (to knock)
cluve beak клюв (kljuv)
collocoll bell колокол (kolokol)
crack to break up, smash
crark to howl Blend of crow +‎ bark
crast steal, rob, robbery красть (krastʹ, to steal)
creech to shout, scream кричать (kričatʹ)
cutter money From Cockney rhyming slang derived from bread-and-butter

D[edit]

dama lady дама (dama); cf Dame
decrep elder Short for "decrepit"
ded, dedoochka old man дед (ded), дедушка (deduška, grandfather), coll. "old man"
deng money деньги (denʹgi)
devotchka young woman девочка (devočka, girl)
dobby good добрый (dobryj, kind, good)
dook trace, ghost дух (dux, literally spirit); Romani dook (magic)
domy house дом (dom)
dorogoy dear, valuable, expensive дорогой (dorogoj)
dratsing fighting драться (dratʹsja, to fight)
drencrom drug Possibly adrenochrome
droog friend друг (drug, friend)
droogie friendly дружелюбно (druželjubno, friendly)
dung to defecate
dva two два (dva)

E[edit]

eegra game игра (igra)
eemya name имя (imja)
eggiweg egg Juvenile mutation of "egg"
em mother Derived from the first letter of "mother".
espresso rapido train "fast express" in Italian
eunuch jelly gutless coward

F[edit]

fag tire, exhaust English slang. Not exclusively Nadsat.
faggy/fagged tired, exhausted
fashed bothered, annoyed, tired Scots fash
filly to play or fool around with Dim. of "fiddle", cf filly (horse)
filmdrome cinema From δρόμος (drómos, course), meaning "place for doing films".
firegold strong drink ? "firewater"
fist to punch From Engl. fist, cf удар кулаком, БИТЬ кулаком
flatblock block of flats
flip wild From Eng. slang to flip out (to go mad/crazy)
forella trout, old lady форель (forelʹ), from German Forelle
fuzzy scratchy

G[edit]

gazetta newspaper газета (gazeta), cf gazette
glazz, glazzies, glazzballs Eye, eyes (also used to refer to nipples) глаз (glaz)
gloopy stupid глупый (glupyj)
glory hair
godman priest, chaplain
golly unit of money Rhyming slang, "lolly," or "polly"
goloss voice голос (golos)
goober lip губа (guba)
gooly to walk гулять (guljatʹ)
gorlo throat горло (gorlo)
govoreet speak говорить (govoritʹ)
grahzny dirty грязный (grjaznyj)
grazzy soiled грязь (grjazʹ, dirt), грязный (grjaznyj, dirty)
gromky loud громкий (gromkij)
groody breast грудь (grudʹ, breast), груди pl (grudi, breasts)
gruppa group группа (gruppa)
guff, guffaw laugh Guffaw
gulliver head голова (golova)
guttiwuts guts Children’s speech

H[edit]

hen-korm chickenfeed Engl. hen + корм (korm, noun, literally feed), but cf corn
horn to cry out
horrorshow good, well, wonderful, excellent хорошо (xorošo, well, good)
hound-and-horny corny Rhyming slang

I[edit]

in-out in-out, the old in and out sexual intercourse
interessovat to interest интересовать (interesovatʹ)
itty to go идти (idti, to go)

J[edit]

jammiwam jam Juvenile mutation of the word "jam"
jeezny life жизнь (žiznʹ)
juice tears -

K[edit]

kartoffel potatoes картофель (kartofelʹ), which itself is derived from German Kartoffel (potato)
kashl cough кашель (kašelʹ)
keeshkas guts кишка (kiška, gut)
kisa girl киса (kisa, literally kitty)
kleb bread хлеб (xleb)
klootch key ключ (ključ)
knives drugs
knopka button кнопка (knopka)
knopkavat buttoning кнопка (knopka) + -овать (-ovatʹ) (pronounced -avat) suffix used to form verb infinitive from the noun, cf. газ (gaz, gas) - colloquial газовать (gazovatʹ, to gas up)
kopat to 'dig' (appreciate) копать (kopatʹ, literally to dig)
korova cow корова (korova)
koshka, kot cat, tomcat кошка (koška), кот (kot)
koshtoom clothing костюм (kostjum, suit)
krovvy blood кровь (krovʹ)
kupet to buy купить (kupitʹ)

L[edit]

lapa paw лапа (lapa)
lewdies people люди (ljudi)
lighter old woman, crone Unknown, possibly "blighter" or "fire lighter"
litso face лицо (lico)
lomtick piece, bit ломтик (lomtik, slice)
luna moon луна (luna)
loveted caught ловить (lovitʹ, to catch)
lubbilubbing making love любить (ljubitʹ, to love), люблю (ljublju, (I) love)
luscious glory hair Rhyming slang, possibly "upper storey" (or, more likely, a reference to 'crowning glory')

M[edit]

malchick boy мальчик (malʹčik)
malenky little, tiny маленький (malenʹkij)
maskie mask маска (maska)
maslo butter масло (maslo)
merzky filthy мерзкий (merzkij, literally vile, disgusting)
messel thought, fancy мысль (myslʹ)
mesto place место (mesto)
mewler (or: mowler) to mew
millicents police From милиционер (milicioner, literally a militsiya officer) (милиция (milicija)), influenced by the given name Millicent. Cf militia
millicent-van police car, police van -
minoota minute минута (minuta)
molodoy young молодой (molodoj)
moloko milk молоко (moloko)
Moloko plus milk laced with drugs (See notes)[3]
moodge man муж (muž, husband), archaic, high-flown "man"
morder snout морда (morda)
mounch snack munch
munchy-wunching munching Juvenile mutation of the word "munching"
mozg brain мозг (mozg)

N[edit]

nachinat to begin начинать (načinatʹ)
nadmenny arrogant надменный (nadmennyj)
nadsat teenage From -надцать (-nadcatʹ, -teen), suffix; e.g., одиннадцать (odinnadcatʹ), двенадцать (dvenadcatʹ), тринадцать (trinadcatʹ), etc.
nagoy naked нагой (nagoj, nude), high-flown for "naked"
nazz fool назад (nazad, backward)
neezhnies underpants нижнее n (nižneje, lower, adjective); нижнее бельё (nižneje belʹjó, underwear)
nochy night/nocturnal ночь (nočʹ) ночной (nočnoj)
nogas feet, legs (also used in reference to cars) нога (noga)
nozh knife нож (nož)
nuking smelling нюхать (njuxatʹ, smell, sniff)

O[edit]

oddy knocky on one's own одинокий (odinokij, literally lonesome)
odin one один (odin)
okno window окно (okno)
oobivat to kill убивать (ubivatʹ)
ookadeet to leave уходить (uxoditʹ)
ooko ear ухо (uxo)
oomny brainy умный (umnyj, clever)
oozhassny terrible ужасный (užasnyj)
oozy chain узы (uzy) archaic, high-flown "shackles"
orange man, person Malay orang (man), whence orang utan (literally forest man), orang-pendek
osoosh to wipe осушать (osušatʹ, to dry)
otchkies eyeglasses очки (očki)

P[edit]

pan-handle erection
pantalonies pants, underwear
pee and em father and mother "pa and ma", "pater and mater"
peet to drink пить (pitʹ, pit)
pishcha food пища (pišča)
platch to cry плач (plač, noun), плачь (plačʹ, verb imperative)
platties clothes платье (platʹje)
pletcho shoulder плечо (plečo)
plenny prisoner пленный (plennyj, literally captive)
plesk splash плеск (plesk); plash
plosh to splash Onomatopoeia "kerplosh"; plash
plott body плоть (plotʹ, flesh)
podooshka pillow подушка (poduška)
poison person Phonetic approximation of person in a Cockney accent
pol sex пол (pol, gender)
polezny useful полезный (poleznyj)
polly in phrase "pretty polly" = money Rhyming slang for "lolly"
polyclef skeleton key French clef (key); Greek poly- (many)
pony to understand понимать (ponimatʹ, to understand)
poogly frightened испуганный (ispugannyj, frightened), пугливый (puglivyj, easily scared)
pooshka gun пушка (puška, literally cannon), slang "gun"
pop-disc a record, pop album
prestoopnik criminal преступник (prestupnik)
pretty polly money Rhyming slang for "lolly"
privodeet to lead somewhere приводить (privoditʹ)
prod to produce
ptitsa girl птица (ptica, bird), cf. chick (bird is a common slang in Britain for a (young) woman, but is not used in Russian in this sense)
punchipunching punching Juvenile mutation of "punching"
purplewurple purple, bruised -
pyahnitsa drunk пьяница (pʹjanica)

R[edit]

rabbit work работа (rabota)
rabbiter worker работник (rabotnik)
radosty joy радость (radostʹ, joy)
raskazz story рассказ (rasskaz)
rassoodock mind рассудок (rassudok)
raz time раз (raz, literally time), as in "one time, two times"
razdraz annoy/annoyed раздраж (razdraž, irritation)
razrez to rip, ripping разрез (razrez, a cut), разрезать (razrezatʹ, to cut) impf / pf
rookerful handful рука (ruka, hand)
rook, rooker hand руки pl (ruki)
rot mouth рот (rot)
rozz policeman rozzer (policeman) (Cockney rhyming slang)
rozz-shop police station -
rozz-van police car, police van -

S[edit]

sabog shoe сапог (sapog, boot), cf French sabot (shoe)
sakar sugar сахар (saxar), cf English saccharine
sammy generous "(Good) Samaritan" (Bible Story)
sarky sarcastic English slang, not exclusively Nadsat.
scoteena beast, cow скотина (skotina, cattle)
shaika gang шайка (šajka)
sharp female Cockney rhyming slang "sharp and blunt"
sharries buttocks шары pl (šary, spheres, marbles)
shest barrier шест (šest, pole)
shilarny desire желание (želanije, desire, wish)
shive slice Probably from shiv
shiyah neck Russian шея (šeja), Ukrainian шия (šyja)
shlem helmet шлем (šlem)
shlaga club, bat German Schläger (club, bat, literally hitter)
shlagnicked clubbed "shlaga" + -ник (-nik, Russian diminutive)
shlapa hat шляпа (šljapa)
shoom noise, siren шум (šum)
shoot fool шут (šut, clown, jester)
shop-crasting stealing from a cars and houses
shvat take схватить (sxvatitʹ, grab)
sicking vomiting -
sick up throw-up, vomit -
silver-like shiny
sinny film, cinema, movie theater Mutated spelling of "cine"
skazat to say сказать (skazatʹ)
skitebird shithead Dialect or slang for seagull, known for their loose bowels
skolliwoll school Juvenile mutation of the word "school"
skorry quick, quickly скорый (skoryj)
skriking scratching Blend of strike +‎ scratch
skvat to grab схватить (sxvatitʹ)
sladkvat sweetest сладкий (sladkij)
sladky sweet сладкий (sladkij)
sloochat to happen случаться (slučatʹsja)
sloosh, slooshy to hear, to listen слушать (slušatʹ, listen), слышать (slyšatʹ, hear)
slovo word слово (slovo)
smarting damaged, bruised -
smeck laugh смех (smex, laughter)
smot to look смотреть (smotretʹ)
sneety dream сниться (snitʹsja, to be seen in a dream)
snoutie tobacco From snout, Engl. prison slang for "tobacco" or "cigarette"
snuff it commit suicide, to die From the phrase used to put out a lit candle (to snuff it). Not exclusively Nadsat.
sobirat to pick up собирать (sobiratʹ)
sod to fornicate/bugger, fornicator/bugger Engl. slang; from sodomy, not exclusively nadsat.
sophistos sophisticated/beautiful people .
soomka old woman, old whore сумка (sumka, bag), as in the English slang for old woman
sooka whore сука (suka, literally bitch), as in the common slang for a whorish or unsavoury woman
soviet advice, order совет (sovet, literally a piece of advice)
spat, spatchka to sleep спать (spatʹ, to sleep), спячка (spjačka, hibernation)
splodge, splosh splash
spoogy terrified испуганный (ispugannyj)
Staja cell, State Jail Formed from the beginning of the words "STAte JAil"; cf German Stalag, English stalag. It is also the scholarly transliteration of стая (staja, literally flock (of birds, of wolves)).
Steaky Wake Beef Steak A childish pronunciation of the word steak.
starry ancient, old старый (staryj)
strack horror страх (strax, fear)
stoolies chairs стулья pl (stulʹja) (from стул (stul))
stripey hole prison From appearance of bars, or alternatively the striped uniforms once worn by prisoners.
synthemesc drug Possibly "synthetic mescaline"

T[edit]

tally waist талия (talija)
tashtook handkerchief From German Taschentuch (literally pocket-cloth)
tass cup From French tasse or German Tasse
this nochy tonight ночь (nočʹ, night)
tick-tocker heart From the sound of a heartbeat, often "ticker" in English slang.
ticklewickled grazed
timps drums From English timpani
tolchock punch, hit, smack, push, slap толчок (tolčok)
toofles slippers туфли (tufli, shoes)
tree three три (tri)

U[edit]

ultra-violence rape

V[edit]

vareet to cook up, to think, an idea варить (varitʹ, literally to cook by boiling)
vaysay washroom From French pronunciation of w.-c. (water closet)
veck person, man, fellow человек (čelovek, person, man)
vehina wine вино (vino)
vellocet drug Probably fabricated; '-cet' is a common ending of painkillers (e.g., percocet, ultracet). Possibly from speed (velocity), which is slang for the drug amphetamine or possibly suggested by the British motorcycle manufacturers Velocette.
venail ? (used as tolchocking and venailing) Actually "the nailing in" referring to the nailing of Christ as described in the Bible
veshch thing вещь (veščʹ)
viddy see видеть (videtʹ, to see)
vino wine (also used as blood) вино (vino)
voloss hair волос (volos, a hair); волосы pl (volosy, hair)
von smell вонь (vonʹ, stench)
vred to harm or damage вред (vred, harm), вредить (vreditʹ, to harm)

W[edit]

warbles songs, recordings From the English word warble (to sing). (As in the birds known as "warblers")
worldcast satellite TV or shortwave radio broadcast Blend of world +‎ broadcast

Y[edit]

yahma hole яма (jama)
yahoodies Jews From Arabic يهود pl (yahudi, Jews)/ from Hebrew( יהודי- yehudi) Jewish/Jew. Not exclusively Nadsat
yahzick tongue язык (jazyk)
yarbles, yarblockos testicles, possibly "Balls!" from Cockney яблоко (jabloko, apple) (The Russian word doesn't have this meaning, see яйца (jajca, literally eggs))
yeckate to drive ехать (jexatʹ, to go (by vehicle))

Z[edit]

zammechat remarkable замечательный (zamečatelʹnyj)
zasnoot sleep заснуть (zasnutʹ, to fall asleep)
zheena wife жена (žena)
zoobies teeth зубы pl (zuby)
zvonock bellpull, doorbell звонок (zvonok, doorbell)
zvook sound звук (zvuk)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Taken from the 1973 Caedmon audio LP, Anthony Burgess Reads A Clockwork Orange, and present only in Andrew Biswell's Restored Text edition of A Clockwork Orange.
  2. ^ The term "A Clockwork Orange" refers to a human who is mechanically responsive, as is the character of Alex in the story, after his series of trials and "modifications".
  3. ^ The drugs in question are drencrom (which possibly refers to adrenochrome), synthemesc (which possibly refers to synthetic mescaline, mescaline being extracted from peyote, a Mexican hallucinatory cactus used in rituals), or vellocet (-cet is a common ending for painkillers, and vello may refer to velocity). Burgess uses the concoction in A Clockwork Orange to make the protagonist Alex become increasingly violent near the beginning of the novel, although contrary to the film adaption the specific drug added to the milk is not named.

See also[edit]