Fish fur (Russian: рыбий мех) is a Russian language ironic expression used to describe poor quality of coats and other clothes worn for warmth. In modern times it is also used for fake fur, especially of poor quality. The term traces back to a Russian proverb "A poor man's fur coat is of fish fur." ( У бедняка шуба на рыбьем меху).
The expression has often been used to describe the uniform of the Soviet Army,. In particular, elements of winter uniform (ushanka, collars, mittens) of ordinary soldiers and lower ranks were made of wool pile, which has been a popular cheap material for civilian clothing as well.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn in his Gulag Archipelago records the expression "Stalin's fur" in the meaning of no fur of any kind, in reference to the dress of Gulag inmates, supposedly derived in an analogy with "fish fur".
Famous quotes containing the words fish and/or fur:
“I love meetings with suits. I live for meetings with suits. I love them because I know they had a really boring week and I walk in there with my orange velvet leggings and drop popcorn in my cleavage and then fish it out and eat it. I like that. I know I’m entertaining them and I know that they know. Obviously, the best meetings are with suits that are intelligent, because then things are operating on a whole other level.”
—Madonna [Madonna Louise Ciccione] (b. 1959)
“You may say a cat uses good grammar. Well, a cat does—but you let a cat get excited once; you let a cat get to pulling fur with another cat on a shed, nights, and you’ll hear grammar that will give you the lockjaw. Ignorant people think it’s the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain’t so; it’s the sickening grammar they use.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)