3 ms·
Love the novel, don't get the joke at all
by darkerside 6y ago
Love the novel, don't get the joke at all
- 082349872349872 6y agoMaybe it would help if one is in the habit of buying footwear advertised as being "barnyard-acid resistant", known less euphemistically as shitkickers[1]. Bolkonsky and Bezukohov have both been raised respectably (are glad to say that they have never seen a spade) and prefer to sit out a dance than allow Rostova to be seen on the floor with anything other than an impeccably turned out gallant. Rzhevsky (who I forgot to mention is a cavalry lieutenant and presumably has been invited to the ball solely due to military rank and not social position) not only hasn't polished his boots, he hasn't even cleaned them before coming inside; not only doesn't mind dancing with Rostova with shit on his boots, he also implies that during their dance it will be flaking off all over onto the ballroom floor. [1] infra dig in urban areas: Blame it all on my roots I showed up in boots and on planets, but not in the asteroid belt: Ta desh na koming gut Mi kom ere but
- darkerside 6y agoI guess I did get it after all. Odd joke in that it boils down two complex characters into a very superficial difference (from my perspective, albeit likely a much more meaningful distinction to one more fluent in russian cultural tradition).