So it was imperative I check out a suspicion I had. What with also being impatient, I double-checked ‘besom’ on Wikipedia first, instead of trying to find a buried bookmark for a good dictionary site, which I know perfectly well is in my Netscape *somewhere*. Besides, I wondered how the bathhouse came into it all; although once I read a particular line in the Wiki article on ‘besom brooms’, I knew. (Never mind the trumpets, there are some places I just don’t wanna go.)

So the song, er, the translation says:
“You have left your besom in the bathhouse/…”

Whoever wrote Wiki’s stub on besom brooms included this:
(full stub link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Besom)
“…refers to besoms as a switch used in a women’s bath house, perhaps in some treatment of women’s backs.”

‘Some treatment of women’s *backs*’?!!::snorts, then falls over giggling, while apologizing for the rudeness:: Ok, whoever wrote this may know about Wicca…but alas, obviously never had reason to read up much on traditional saunas. Nor that it wasn’t only Finns who use them. There is a tradition of using of birch switches during a sauna, which I think I learned the first time I ever heard of them. (For expanded knowledge of saunas, I also have to be grateful for reading, many years ago, Leo Frankowski’s series of Conrad Stargard books. All hail SF, for the general increase in knowledge it can spread!)

To quote Wiki again, they used “…a bundle of birch twigs, to gently slap the skin and create further stimulation of the pores and cells.” (section of article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna#The_evolution_of_the_sauna) Aside from the health aspect of saunas, if you scan through the article down to the ancient traditions section, the original saunas had major social and spiritual associations. Kind of like a relative of the Native American sweatlodge ceremonies. Which might be why the bathhouse is making an appearance in the song? (I’m stretching, there.)

So - I surmise someone left her birch switch in the women’s sauna, for some pertinent-to-the-sentiment-of-the-song reason that escapes me. That Russian-English dictionary (or Boris, we’ll probably never know), had no clue as to the difference between a broom and a switch. In English, anyway.

Hee. That was fun. Thanks for a hilarious post *and* the opp to go a’researching. I’ll stop now. ]bg]

I’d say just about anything for Trekking XXL. I’d even sing the poorly translated Russian song for you.

Which reminds me, have you heard the quip about the inaccuracies of translation? The translators used the phrase “Out of sight, out of mind” translated it to Russian and back to English. It came back as “invisible maniac.” Ah idioms. Gotta love ‘em.

Speaking of love–love the pedicure, the bamboo socks, the picture of Shelley (probably my favorite one yet), and, as always, Icarus.

Not feeling the love for Netflix, because by the time the movies come I say to myself, “What was I thinking? Why did I rent this? Did I have too much Stoli?”

And last in this War and Peace-like tome, I’m assuming Stoux d’Ent is Wax Wings? No good translation and I can’t find my french/english dictionary.