As an addendum to this thread, the most fascinating part of Russia's hockey terminology is the story of our word for a penalty shot. It's "bullitt." And nobody knows where it came from.
First of all, Russians don't have special terms for penalty shots in other sports...
First of all, Russians don't have special terms for penalty shots in other sports...
In soccer, we often say "the eleven-meter shot", but most often just the word "penalty" is used, with the accent on the middle syllable which makes it sound Italian (and therefore awesome). In basketball, it's "penalty throws." So, why this strange term "bullitt" in hockey?..
There are three possible explanations, one better then the next. The most common one is that it's simply the mispronounced word "bullet", since it implies speed, directness and deadliness. But it makes no sense because the penalty shot is never compared to a bullet in English...
A more plausible explanation is that it comes from Latvian, since Latvians were the people who taught Soviets the Canadian version of ice hockey. Since many of them spoke little Russian and couldn't translate the term, they compared the shooter to a charging bull, or "bullitis"..
This version comes from the testimony of one of those Latvians who also claimed to have invented the term.
Of course, Russians had to come up with their own explanation, which is nuts but even more fun. According to the legendary Soviet coach Arkady Chernyshev...
Of course, Russians had to come up with their own explanation, which is nuts but even more fun. According to the legendary Soviet coach Arkady Chernyshev...
... it was named after William Bullitt, the first US Ambassador to the Soviet Union. For many Soviets of the era, his name became synonymous with the "global imperialism", so it was logical to name the harshest possible penalty in hockey after him.
You can't make Russia up, folks
You can't make Russia up, folks
Oh, and also, a wide open shot directly in front of the goalie has this term in Russian: "rasstrelyat vratarya", which directly translates as "gatekeeper is executed by a firing squad."
Basically, we Stalin the shit out of your sport, Canada.
Basically, we Stalin the shit out of your sport, Canada.
