noun General Slang

Ptitsa

/ˈtiːtsə/ · noun · slang

Nadsat for a woman, literally 'bird' in Russian, echoing British slang 'bird'.

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Definitions

1

Used for women in general, sometimes older than a 'devotchka' (girl).

“The ptitsa would not open her door to strangers.”
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2

The double pun, Russian 'bird' plus British 'bird', is a hallmark of Burgess's bilingual wordplay.

“Ptitsa lands twice: it is bird in Russian and slang in English.”
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3

In Nadsat, a ptitsa is a woman or young woman. Source word: Russian 'ptitsa' (птица), literally 'bird', cleverly matching the British slang 'bird' for a woman.

“An old ptitsa with too many cats lives at the end of the lane.”
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Ptitsa In A Sentence

There was a ptitsa in the window watching the street.
He sweet-talked the ptitsa behind the counter.
The old ptitsa kept the door chained and bolted.

Origin & Usage

Coined by Burgess in A Clockwork Orange (1962) from the Russian 'ptitsa', 'bird', deliberately overlapping with British slang 'bird' for a woman, an example of the cross-language puns Burgess favoured.

Variants ptitsas
Tags #nadsat#clockwork-orange#fictional#literary#people

People Also Ask

What does ptitsa mean?

It is Nadsat for a woman; the Russian word literally means 'bird', echoing British slang 'bird'.

Why does ptitsa pun on the word bird?

Burgess chose it because Russian 'ptitsa' means bird, matching the British slang 'bird' for a woman.

How is ptitsa different from devotchka?

Ptitsa is a woman more generally, while devotchka leans toward a younger girl.

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