Soviets Line Up Own Jargon for Their Customary Waiting Game

MOSCOW —  The culture that has grown up around lines includes an array of phrases and expressions tailored to the painful process of signing up, getting organized and waiting hours, weeks, months and years to make a purchase. Here are some of the more common ones:

“What are they giving?”--What are you standing in line for?

“To sign off”--To show up and have your name marked off to prove you’re still interested.

“To stand through”--To wait.

“A hundred-nik”--A group of 100 members of a line organized into a unit and policing each other. There are also “ten-niks.”

A “line-nik”--A member of a long line.

“Will you be standing?”--I’m going to step away for a few minutes, please keep my place.

“To note yourself down”--To have your name written onto a registered list of the line.

“An elder”--The leader of a self-organized group of people who take turns “signing off” for each other.