ILSA LINGO
ENGLISH: This page contains some of the multilingual terms and expressions used by ILSA folks during the good old days. Most of the language is clean. Occasional dirty words are reproduced here unedited, with historical accuracy in mind.
ROMANIAN: Această pagină conţine termeni si expresii folosite de ilsişti in deceniile trecute. Cu mici excepţii, limbajul nu este vulgar. Din motive de veridicitate istorică, limbajul este reprodus exact aşa cum a fost folosit.
A CĂCA STEAGUL
Romanian expression, better left untranslated, used to denote poor performance. Example of usage:
"Cum ai mers la suta?"
"Am căcat steagul"
A CĂLCA APA
Romanian for "Treading water".
A CÎŞTIGA LA MUSTAŢĂ
Romanian term used to describe a real close race. A photo finish.
A FI MORCOVIT (A AVEA MORCOVI)
Romanian expression meaning "To have the butterflies".
A MORCOVI PE CINEVA
To cause someone to have the butterflies, as in "L-am morcovit ceva de speriat".
A MURI
Romanian for "to die". Used when talking about swimmers whose physical resources were spent before the end of the race.
A SOMORAI? AZ JO!
An appreciative statement meaning "Somorai? He's good!". First used by Coach Stubi, then reused by Somorai's friends as a constant teaser.
A STA LA PESCUIALĂ
Romanian term for "cherrypicking" (the practice of not swimming back to play defense, in the hope of a change of ball possession and the scoring of an uncontested goal).
A ZSIDOK A KATOLIKUSOK ELLEN
Hungarian phrase meaning "The Jews against the Catholics". Often used by Coach Stubi when selecting teams for intra-squad scrimmages.
ABSTOSS
German water polo term describing the illegal act of using one's legs to push off of an opponent.
AI PICIOARE CA DE CĂPRIOARĂ: NU AŞA DE SUPLE, CI AŞA DE PĂROASE
Overheard from Markovici Laci. English translation: You've got deer-like legs: not as slender, but as hairy.
AJAGO
Hungarian for "hazing" or "initiation". Typically consisting of - but not necessarily limited to - slapping, pinching, and biting of a young athlete's buttocks.
AKI AZ ILSA VIZÉT ISSZA, AZ A SAJÁT, ÉS MÁS VIZÉT ISSZA VISSZA
A rather tasteless Hungarian phrase attributed to Donath Pista.
ÁLIGÁS
Hungarian term meaning "of or pertaining to Divizia A" (Romania's water polo major league)
ALLMÄCHTIGER GOTT
Frequently heard German expression meaning "Almighty God".
ALUNECARE CRAUL
Lovas Péter specialty, somewhat similar to the traditional Australian crawl, consisting of lots of kicking and not quite as much pulling.
ARANY CSAPAT
Hungarian for "Golden Team", also the nickname of ILSA's most successful water polo team ever. During the late 1940s and 1950s, the Arany Csapat was Romania's premiere water polo team, having won six national championship titles.
ASTĂZI JUCĂM TACTICA NOASTRĂ
Romanian phrase meaning "Today we'll employ our usual strategy", a hopelessly vague instruction frequently received from Coach Stubi before games.
ÁLLAPOTOS TEHÉN
Hungarian for "pregnant cow", an expression used to reprimand slow swimming players, as in "Csikili, te ugy mozogsz mint egy állapotos tehén".
ALIBIZNI
Hungarian word frequently used by Coach Stubi whenever players were not wholeheartedly involving themselves into the game.
AVANTAJ !
Yelled out by coaches and spectators in an attempt to invoke the advantage rule.
BAIE LIBERĂ
Occasional free time in the pool, at the end of a practice session.
BAFTĂ !
Romanian slang for "good luck", frequently heard before races.
BEGA USZO
Hungarian expression meaning Bega Swimmer. Typically addressed in a derogatory manner to people with unpolished swimming strokes (Bega is the river crossing the City of Timisoara).
BÉ-LIGÁS
Hungarian term meaning "pertaining to Divizia B" (second tier in Romania's water polo structure)
BICICLETA
Self-explanatory leg exercise, used by goalies in particular. Known in English as the "eggbeater".
BILETELE LA CONTROL VĂ ROG, CINE A MAI URCAT?
Cinteanu's straight-faced inquiry about new passengers, halfway through the water polo team's non-stop flight to Bucharest.
BLOCSTART
Romanian for "starting-block".
BOLTĂ
Romanian for "lob shot"
BOLTÁZNI
Hungarian slang for lob shot, derived from the Romanian "boltă".
BOMBĂ
A cannonball dive.
BOTEZ
Romanian for "hazing" or "initiation". Typically consisting of - but not necessarily limited to - slapping, pinching, and biting of a young athlete's buttocks.
BRAS SCUFUNDAT
Yet another Lovas Péter specialty, basically a bastardized version of the traditional breaststroke.
CAMPION LOCUL DOI
Nonsensical term coined by Kuhn Alexandru's mother, one of ILSA's most actively involved mothers ever.
CANTONAMENT
Romanian term for "swim camp". Usually lasting two weeks, away from home, and featuring three workouts a day, just before the national finals.
CAP
A ball game where you had to use your head, literally. Usually preceded by "Te fac un cap?" Played mostly on dry land, occasionally in the pool. Known as "fejes" in Hungarian.
CARNET DE ILSA
The club's ID booklet, also known as "legitimaţie".
CENTER
Hungarian term for hole-set or two-meter-man. Pronounced "tzenter".
CENTRU FIX
Romanian term for hole-set or two-meter-man.
CINTI, A KÁVÉ !
Hungarian expression of unknown origin and unclear meaning, used during games by some fans to entice Cinteanu to score.
CIORBĂ
Romanian for "soup". Used when the pool water was a bit too warm for swimming.
CIURUC
Romanian word reserved for bad swimmers.
CÎRCEL
Romanian for "muscle cramp".
COLŢU' LUNG
The side of the cage that is opposite of where the ball is located. "Far post" in English.
COLŢU' PRIN APĂ
A variation of the conventional water-tag game whereby all players had to negotiate pool corners through water only.
COLŢU' SCURT
The side of the cage that is directly adjacent to the player with the ball. "Near post" in English.
CONTRA-STIL
One's weakest stroke. Frequently used by Lovas Peter in practice sessions as a means of developing well-rounded swimmers.
CRAUL LA DUBLĂ RESPIRAŢIE
A variant of the traditional crawl, involving alternate breathing at both side. Frequently used in practice by Lovas Peter.
CSOKOLOM NÉNI, CSONT RÖMI VAN?
Hungarian phrase used by swimmers and water polo players alike to annoy female shop keepers.
DELFIN
Game played in one of the deep-end corners, where a swimmer would have to escape from the corner without being touched by a number of opponents.
DEPLASARE
A swimming meet or water polo game away from home.
DOI METRI !
Yelled out by coaches and spectators in an attempt to signal the referee that an opponent was in violation of the "two-meter" rule.
DOMNILOR
Meaning "Gentlemen" in Romanian, "Domnilor" was Lovas Péter's way to address his male swimmers, regardless of their age.
DOPPLER
A powerful shot directed at and deviated by the two-meter man, in an attempt to surprise the goalie.
DOUA MÎINI
Water polo term used when a player touched the ball with both hands at the same time.
DOUĂZECI ŞI UNU
Meaning "Twenty One" in Romanian, "Douazeci Şi Unu" was the name of the highly popular "shooters-vs-goalie" game, where shooters got a point whenever they scored, while the goalie got one for every save or miss. The shots were taken from five meters out. The game ended when either the goalie or the shooters reached 21 points.
DRISHI, TE UGY USZOL MINT A VILLÁM: NEM OLYAN GYORSAN, OLYAN GŐRBÉN
Overheard from Bernstein Ernö. English translation: "Drishi, you swim like lightning: not as fast, but as crooked".
DUNĂREA !
Shout of joy uttered by Radu Băncilă shortly after midnight, whenever the train approached Porţile de Fier, in order to awake his sleeping buddies.
EMBELE ES BELE EL BELE A DIRR BELE DURR BELE RA- RA- RA, KAJA - PIA, KAJA - PIA, HAM HAM HAM
Nonsensical Hungarian cheer used during the 1930's, 40's and 50's.
EMILY BRONTÉ - ÜVÖLTŐ SZELEK
Phrase uttered by a literate Somorai Péter while breaking wind. Üvöltő Szelek, meaning "howling winds", is Wuthering Heights' Hungarian title.
EZ NEM VIZILABDA, EZ KABARÉ
Hungarian phrase frequently used by Coach Stubi. Meaning: This is not water polo, this is a comedy show.
FEJES
Hungarian for a head-first dive. Also Hungarian for the game of Cap, see above.
FIU' MEU, INGINERU'
Expression frequently used by Iancu-Baci when referring to his college-educated son.
FLUTURE BRAS
A now-defunct stroke combining butterfly (arms) and breaststroke (legs). Assumed to be the old "papillon", a stroke that brought Lovas Peter his Romanian national champion title in the 1950s.
FRAŢILOR
Losely equivalent to the English "Hey Brothers". Extensively used at ILSA during the 1960s.
GÉPÉSZ
Hungarian word used by Pop Şerban and others when referring to low-class people.
GIULUMEA
Same as "Ciuruc". Expression brought to ILSA by Lovas Péter from his college years in Bucharest.
GÖRCS
Hungarian for "muscle cramp".
HABTO DI MUI
Expression used by shooters when goalies got hit in the face by the ball. Origin unknown, language unknown. May have something to do with "muie" (Romanian slang for face).
HASAS
Hungarian for "belly-flop".
ILSIST
A member of the ILSA community.
INTELECTUAL SPORTIV
Romanian expression properly describing most ILSA folks.
ÎNCHEIERE
Meaning "warm down" in Romanian, "încheiere" was used by Lovas Péter to announce the last few hundreds of meters in a practice session.
ÎNDEMNARE
Lovas Péter's frequent mispronunciation of the Romanian word "Îndemînare". A constant source of confusion within his team.
ÎNTOARCERE ROSTOGOLITĂ
Romanian for "flip turn".
JAJ DE BETEG VAGYOK
Self-deprecating Hungarian expression widely used in and around the pool.
JETZT KOMMEN DIE SCHOSCHONEN
German expression frequently used by Ladanyi Puki. Inspired by Karl May's writings.
KIEFER
A flip-turn or "întoarcere rostogolită". Named after the legendary Adolph Kiefer, American gold medalist in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
KUTYA USZÁS
Hungarian expression for the "dog paddle" swimming style. Loosely translated as "doggy-style swimming".
LÁB
Hungarian word meaning "foot". Used to describe a variation of the "doppler" shot, with the two-meter man using his foot, rather than hand or arm, to deflect the ball towards to cage.
LÁB MOSO
The Hungarian term for the gutter surrounding the pool, used to rinse one's feet before entering the water.
LÁB TENISZ
Soccer-style tennis, played on a clay court located right between the pool and the main building.
LÁBAS
Hungarian for a legs-first dive. The opposite of a "fejes"
LUAŢI LOCURILE
Romanian for "Get set"
MACKO
Hungarian for "Teddy-Bear". Used by some male ILSA athletes when spotting attractive females.
MAGA HALLO !
Sort of a "hey you", uttered rather timidly by ILSA's senior gatekeeper during the 1960s in an attempt to stop unauthorized entries (sadly, the gatekeeper's name has escaped our collective memories).
MAJMOT CSINÁLT BELŐLLED
"He made you look like a monkey" in Hungarian. Used by Coach Stubi when ILSA's defenders were badly beaten.
MESHUGENER
Often mispronounced Yiddish word meaning "crazy". Extensively used by catholic water polo players in the 60s.
MESTER
Hungarian for "master". Used by many to flatter Coach Stubi.
MI-A MIROSIT PICIOARELE
Romanian expression meaning "He smelled my feet". Used to describe a race won by more than a body's length.
MIGDALĂ
Lovas Péter specialty, consisting of sequential swims of 33-66-100-200-400-200-100-66-33 meters.
MINGEA! (also MINGEO!)
ILSA lingo for "Excuse us please, would you be so kind to throw our ball back into the pool, if you don't mind".
MINGEA SUB APA
Frequently heard water polo term meaning "ball under the water".
MINDHOGY AZ ÉN ANYÁM, INKÁB AZ Ő ANNYA SIRJON
ILSA battle cry before must-win games, typically against Progresul Bucuresti. Usually followed by an underwater kick-fest led by Cinteanu, Bernstein Erno & Roth Drishi.
NAŢIONALE
Short for Romanian National Finals, typically taking place in Bucharest.
NE DOBD A LABDÁT A ZWICKLIBE
Phrase used by Coach Stubi when the ball was passed to a teammate surrounded by opponents.
NINCS FÉK A KEZEMBEN
Hungarian for "My arms have no brakes". Used by Drishi Roth, who after shooting the ball over a defender, would follow-through with his shooting arm, hitting the defender in the face.
NU STAŢI LA SOARE
Lovas Peter's frequent instruction to his swimmers to stay out of the sun.
NYUGI !
Hungarian call for calm, somewhat similar to "Easy does it". Yelled out by water polo coaches and players during critical moments.
OM ÎN PLUS !
Yelled out by coaches and spectators to alert players of a "man-up" situation.
OVER
With a name derived from the English "overarm sidestroke", over is an unorthodox swimming style occasionally used during practice. The swimmer lies on the side, the top arm does an over the water recovery, the other arm follows with an underwater recovery, while the legs do flutter kicks.
PATRU METRI !
Yelled out by coaches and spectators in expectation of a penalty shot awarded against ILSA's opponent.
PENTRU PUBLIC, ARBITRU SI ADVERSAR, DE TREI ORI TRĂIASCĂ!
Yelled out loud by the water polo team captain in the pre-game huddle. Answered with "Trăiască, Trăiască, Trăiască" by the rest of the team.
PESCĂRUŞ
Ball game involving two opponents or two opposing teams occupying opposite sides of the pool, stationed either in the water or on the edge of the pool. The idea was to shoot the ball in order to hit the above-water portion of the opposite wall, while the opponents defended their wall. Game not played anywhere else, except at ILSA.
PICIOARE BRAS (also PICIOARE CRAUL, DELFIN, SPATE)
Frequent staple in Lovas Péter's workouts.
PLÉ POFA
Hungarian term used to describe the expression on the face of a player looking intensely in one direction, only to shoot or pass in a different one. Ladányi Puki specialty.
POFTIŢI IN VAGOANE !
Romanian for "all aboard". Yelled out loud by Cinteanu in various train stations many minutes before the actual departure.
POTYA GOL
Hungarian for "freak goal".
PŐCZI
Hungarian for "pop-shot".
PRINSA
Traditional water-tag game.
PRINSA DE LA TRAMBULINĂ
A variation of the conventional water-tag game involving the diving platform as well. Governed by the "Colţu' Prin Apă" rules.
PRINSA PE-AFARĂ
A highly dynamic variation of the traditional water-tag game, with players allowed to leave the water (without straying too far from the pool). Usually played at the shallow end, it involved lots of swimming, running, and diving.
RA-RA, TIMISOARA - ILSA
Hungarian cheer used during the 1930's, 40's and 50's.
RA-RA-RA, FLAMURA
Pregame cheer used by the players of the Flamura Rosie water polo team (temporary name of the ILSA club)
REGIONALE
Short for Campionatul Regiunii Banat.
RUGBY
A game consisting of a mixture of rugby and water polo, played at the shallow end of the pool. A point was awarded to the team that managed to carry the ball across the width of the pool, in spite of the other team's opposition.
S-A FĂCUT DE BAFTĂ
Romanian term used to describe one's poor performance in competition.
SCÎNDURĂ
Romanian for kick-board. ILSA's version was an oversized, all-wood, exceedingly heavy board, used for "picioare craul" and "picioare bras".
SCUZAŢI-MĂ UN MOMENT
The polite way of announcing an imminent act of urination performed without leaving the pool. Proper etiquette required the urinator to turn away from his teammates.
SEMPRE AVANTI
Italian battle cry used by Cinteanu and other players during the late 1950's and early 1960's.
SÎNTEM LA BĂRBAŢI
Legend has it that, while the train carrying the Arany Csapat (Golden Team) was in the Craiova railroad station, Coach Ravasz identified the station as "Barbati", instead of "Craiova". Being originally from Hungary, Coach Ravasz's command of the Romanian geography and language was lacking: "Barbati" means "Men's Room" in Romanian, of course.
SPĂLĂTORUL DE PICIOARE
The Romanian term for the gutter surrounding the pool, used to rinse one's feet before entering the water.
SPRELMĂ
Mispronunciation of the word "spermă", meaning sperm in Romanian.
SUEDEZĂ
Romanian word for "backhand shot".
SUPRA-ALIMENTAŢIE
Food and/or food coupons given to athletes to supplement their food intake.
SVÉD CSAVAR
Hungarian word for "backhand shot". Literally, the term means "Swedish Screw" (origin unknown).
SZÉPIÁZÁS
Invented and perfected by Szabo Feri (Recas), "szépiázás" is the art of producing turkey-like noises, accompanied by violent head shaking. The word "szépiázás", while apparently Hungarian, actually derives from "sepie", which is Romanian for squid, not turkey ... go figure ...
SZUHANEK ALADÁR, ÁNTRENOR FEDERÁL
One of Szuhanek Gyuri's nicknames, featuring a near-rhyme and a name, Aladár, that wasn't his. The last two words, although in Romanian, are pronounced with a Hungarian accent.
TE HÜLYE
Hungarian for "You stupid". Used by coaches and older players to express support for younger and less experienced athletes.
TE IDIÓTA
Hungarian for "You idiot". Used to positively reinforce a teammate after a bad move.
TIMPU' ARBITRU !
Yelled out by impatient coaches and spectators in an attempt to bring on the final whistle.
TOATĂ LUMEA AFARĂ, SCHIMBĂM APA
Iancu-Baci's "vacate the premises" call, signaling the draining of the pool (often on Sunday mornings, immediately after the water polo game)
TRAGE !
Yelled out by ILSA fans in order to make an opponent take a low-percentage shot in the belief that time was running out.
TRANDANEK
Word of unknown origin used to describe endless pump-faking, followed by a spinned lob shot, to the despair of the exhausted goalie (Lászlo Lina and Erno Bernstein specialty)
TROPA
Made-up Romanian word meaning "totally exhausted".
TU VEI FI WEISSMAN SORIN
Example of an instruction given just before a youth water polo game, when a swimmer would temporarily assume the identity of a water polo player in the expectation of superior output.
ŢA-ŢA-ŢA, VOINŢA
Pregame cheer used by the players of the Vointa water polo team.
ŢEAVA
Romanian term for the steam pipe used to heat the water in the swimming pool.
VAI CE BETEAG MIS
Self-deprecating Romanian expression widely used in and around the pool.
VILA ŞINCAI
An attractive villa located in Eforie Nord, right on the shores of Lake Techirghiol, used by SSE Timisoara to house its athletes during the annual post-season recreational camps.
VREAU SĂ VĂD SPUMĂ
Coach Stubi's call for more action in the pool. English translation: "I wanna see whitewater".
WO WARST SO LANG?
A question addressed to a teammate after only a momentary absence, meaning "Where have you been so long?" in German. Best when used with exuberance, in public places.