Under the Fly: How to Say “Tipsy” in Russian

What does it mean to be “under the fly”? What do flies have to do with inebriation?

быть под мухой
to be under the fly = to be tipsy

I discovered this phrase recently when reading Chekhov’s short story “Overdoing It” (Russian: Пересолил, literally “he over-salted it”). Chekhov uses the variant с мухой (“with a fly”) to note that when a coach driver is a bit tipsy, the journey takes forever.

So, where did this unusual phrase come from? According to tradition, Peter the Great of Russia was eager to get more people to visit inns and decreed that every customer receive one free drink.

Innkeepers were, understandably, not very happy with this solution, so they started serving the mandatory free drink in a teeny tiny glass. People called these tiny glasses мухи or “flies”. And, with time, being “under the fly” or “with the fly” came to mean “tipsy.” Cool, right?

If you speak Russian, you can read more about this idiom on yandex.ru. Even if you don’t speak Russian, you can scroll down and look at photos of historical “flies”.

Did you like this expression? Do you know of other slang ways of saying someone is tipsy? Share in the comments!

And be sure to check out the rest of my language tidbits!

Background photo credit: Thank you to John Deitsch for this amazing photo of a fly! John is an undergrad studying entomology and biological sciences at Cornell University. You can follow him on Instagram at @deitsch_photography or check out his website for more nature-themed photos.