Did you know that Russian has ‘international’ curse words?

“Японский городовой.” (“Yaponskiy gorodovoy.”)

"Japanese policeman."

This is used to express extreme surprise at some sudden event.

Read about the origin of this expression here.

“Египетская сила!” (“Egipetskaya sila!”)

"Egyptian force!"

A phrase used to express shock, surprise, indignation – basically, any strong emotion, whether positive or negative. It's difficult to pinpoint its etymology. Perhaps, it all stems from the biblical plagues of Egypt, which God sent upon the country, because of the Pharaoh's refusal to allow the Jews to enter the Promised Land. It was brought into popular culture by a character of the TV show ‘The Voronins’, a Russian adaptation of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’, who used "Egyptian power" as a euphemism – a substitute for a phrase containing profanity.

“Испанский летчик.” (“Ispanskiy letchik.”)

"Spanish Pilot."

When ordinary events "grow" into stories of cosmic proportions in the narrator’s eyes, a skeptical listener might well respond with: "Yeah, right – and I'm a Spanish pilot!"

According to one account, the phrase originated during the Spanish Civil War, in which volunteers from the USSR also participated. The support was tacit, so Soviet pilots were often issued Spanish passports with new names. So, technically, they were Spanish pilots, of course, but not quite. Over time, the phrase came to be used when confronted with some gross exaggeration. Another way to say it is: "And I am the Pope!"

“Китайское предупреждение.” (“Kitayskoye preduprezhdeniye.”)

"Chinese warning."

And not just any warning, but the very last one! Or the 101st. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Chinese government sent notes of protest – warnings numbered one through to 101. The Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs also received them. These useless (and endless) final warnings became the stuff of jokes and then entered everyday speech. It’s used to describe a threat that exists only in words.

“Как фанера над Парижем.” (“Kak fanera nad Parizhem.”)

"Like plywood over Paris."

To fly like a piece of plywood over Paris means to fail, to suffer a fiasco. There are several anecdotal versions of the phrase’s origin. Supposedly, it arose from a combination of the name of the airship ‘Fallier’ and the French verb ‘flaner’ and even from caricatures of French President Armand Fallier. In reality, the idiom originated with the Russian aviator Ivan Zaikin. In 1910, the renowned athlete received his pilot's license in France and even set a record for flight duration – 54.5 minutes! In the mid-1970s movie about him, featuring a scene from an unsuccessful training flight in a ‘Farman IV’ airplane over Paris. Apparently, in the mind of viewers, all these "images" merged into a striking phrase that took on a life of its own.