What is ‘popykhi’ and why would one run ‘in them’?

This word appears frequently in Russian literature. Characters are rushing somewhere in a hurry, hurriedly packing their belongings, tossing things into suitcases in no particular order, one thing on top of another. All of this happens in a rush – hastily and chaotically.

The most obvious explanation for the origin of the word is that it may have come from the verb ‘пыхтеть’ (‘pykhtet’ or ‘to puff’).

But, there’s a much more elegant version and for this one, we’ll have to take a peek… into the boudoir.

In Old Russia, ‘popykhi’ were supposedly a type of ruffled pantaloons worn both under petticoats and as pajamas. Since houses in Russia were mostly made of wood in the 16th–18th centuries and fires were quite common, it was not unusual to see someone running out of a burning house wearing nothing but their underwear. And that, supposedly, was what came to be called ‘бежать впопыхах’ (‘bezhat vpopykhakh’ or ‘to run in a hurry’).

Over time, the expression lost its literal connection to underwear and came to describe anything done or happening in great haste.