- Fish fur
Fish fur ( _ru. рыбий мех) is a
Russian language ironic expression used to describe poor quality of coats and otherclothes worn for warmth. ["Random House Russian-English Dictionary of Idioms" (1995) ISBN 0679405801] In modern times it is also used forfake fur , especially of poor quality. The term traces back to aRussian proverb "A poor man'sfur coat is of fish fur." ( У бедняка шуба на рыбьем меху).The expression has often been used to describe the uniform of the
Soviet Army , [Steven J. Zaloga (1987) "Inside the Soviet Army Today" ISBN 0850457416 [http://books.google.com/books?id=BNvfNYW6yisC&pg=PA53&dq=%22fish+fur%22+-game+-feathers&sig=7chTRFN1-4XvuBuDjzrMQRB1NeU p. 53] ] . In particular, elements of winter uniform ("ushanka ",collar s,mitten s) of ordinarysoldier s and lower ranks were made ofwool pile, which has been a popular cheap material for civilian clothing as well.Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his "Gulag Archipelago " records the expression "Joseph Stalin 's fur" in the meaning of no fur of any kind, in reference to the dress ofGulag inmates, supposedly derived in an analogy with "fish fur". [Alexander Solzhenitsyn, "The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956", ISBN 0813332915 [http://books.google.com/books?id=p2d3dareyF4C&pg=PA534&dq=%22fish+fur%22+-game+-feathers&sig=i9hmkYhgElcNo4YAOturPOuifG8 p. 534] ]See also
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Fur-bearing trout References
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=8sfJb6nFFmUC&pg=PA118&dq=%22fish+fur%22+-game+-feathers&sig=bRRXRQ_4wja-xxamPT55esPJ8Ps]
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