Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2025 May 10

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May 10

"Purdue" with a Russian accent?

A 1984 article in Sports Illustrated profiled Max Blank, a basketball player who was a Jewish immigrant from the Soviet Union (specifically Odessa, Ukraine). He was recruited by many colleges. The article said that his mother was "concerned when letters came from Purdue and Drake; both words have an unsavory meaning when pronounced with a Russian accent." I recognize that "Drake" could be pronounced like dreck / дрек / דרעק (meaning "crap"), but what Russian, Yiddish, or Ukrainian unsavory word does "Purdue" correspond to? -- Metropolitan90 (talk) 03:40, 10 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure if it's this, but there's пердун (perdún) which sounds somewhat similar and means "someone who farts". GalacticShoe (talk) 04:30, 10 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks, that seems like a plausible explanation. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 20:15, 10 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]