скатертью дорога

Russian

Alternative forms

• ска́тертью доро́жка (skátertʹju doróžka)

Etymology

Literally, “let the road be like a tablecloth”.

Initially, the expression used as the literal wishes for a good and incidentless journey. A 'tablecloth-like road' means a smooth and clean road, while the quality of roads was usually poor in the Russian State. However eventually, скатертью дорога is almost completely lost its well-wishing message, getting closed by its meaning to the equivalent in English. Such a shift in the meaning was in particular noticed by Alexei N. Tolstoi at the beginning of the 20th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈskatʲɪrtʲjʊ dɐˈroɡə]

Interjection

ска́тертью доро́га! • (skátertʹju doróga!)

1. good riddance! (used to indicate that one welcomes the departure of someone or something)

Usage notes

There are similar expressions with a more sarcastic or ironic sense, like вперёд и с пе́сней (vperjód i s pésnej) (lit. “go forward singing a song”), флаг в ру́ки и бараба́н на ше́ю (flag v rúki i barabán na šéju) (lit. “have a flag in your hands and a drum over the neck”), с глаз доло́й, из се́рдца вон (s glaz dolój, iz sérdca von) (lit. “get out of the sight, go away from the heart”), etc.