Wordplay: We don't lose our pessimism [part #4]

     Left one is Gerard Terborch's (1617 -- 1681) 'Reading a Letter' painting from State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg. issued in 1960, Lera's text says 'Receipt from ZhEK-the-Ripper' [ZhEK is an abbreviation for Housing and Utility Management Unit, which monthly sends payment receipts for utilities, and pronounced similar to Jack the Ripper, obviously also referred ripping off in terms of tariffs and prices]. Right one is 'Spring', oil, canvas, 1935, by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878 -- 1939) from State Russian Museum, issued in 1988, dialog translates as: '--Do you have a hobby? --I like to spy on people. --And I like swimming. --I know'.

both received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

     Backsides have a slogan, sort of, 'We don't lose our pessimism' and orthographical reference on how hand nails should be called [in Russian feet and nail start with same three letters, so the sentence suggests to use three first letter from 'hand' for nails on hands]. I'm permanently amazed by amount of work on finding and cutting out from all the journals and magazines all the colourful letters and then assembling all those phrases! xD

backsides of postcards, received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

Wordplay: Let's go to the mole [part #3]

     Left postcard is vintage illustration by K. Rudakov for 'Thumbelina' fairy-tale by Hans Christian Andersen [his edited - no God references in Soviet times translations - fairy-tales are well-known here], issued in 1956, text on the back says: "Poor Thumbelina went up to the door just like any little beggar girl, and asked for a little bit of barleycorn, for she hadn't had anything whatever to eat for two days.". Lera's additions are: '--Let's go to the Mole. --To propose a marriage? --Are you dumb? He's blind, let's steal something from him.' Right postcard is Ed Tadiello illustration, seems printed in Saint-Raphael, France, text says: '--When we marry, Kolya, we'll have three kids. --How do you know? --They are at my mums' now'.

both received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

     The left wordplay changes the saying 'There is no a remedy against digging bar' [similar English saying is 'Don't bring the knife to a gunfight', means don't use weak methods against brute force] - but digging bar [='lom' in Russian] is replaced with 'Ohm' [the electrical resistance unit]. The right one parodies the counting-out rhyme for hiccups: 'Hiccups, hiccups, pass on to Fyodor, From Fyodor to Yakov, From Yakov to everyone else', but 'Anxiety, anxiety, pass on to Snoop Dog' [it rhymes in Russian!].

backsides of postcards received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

Wordplay: Marc Chagall, Taj Mahal [part #2]

     Left postcard is painting 'Smotriny' [Slavic wedding ceremony, part of the matchmaking], 1888, by N. V. Nevrev (1830 -- 1904) from State Tretyakov gallery; the guy says 'Sorry, darling, I was wrong' and girl replies with 'Okay, wait don't eat yet, I'll cook another one'. Right one is 'Motive without words', 1900, by V. E. Borisov-Musatov (1870 -- 1905), paper, watercolours, pastel, from State Tretyakov gallery; and the text in the bubbles is in English so you can read it =)

both received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

     The wordplay #1 is 'Dementia was growing stronger, paramnesia was still fighting', the first part of the phrase is used to say in ironic way when situation around is turning to absurd. Interesting that both words for the syndromes which are used in Russian for dementia and paramnesia in older age are not medically correct terms, and almost looked like folk reading of someone's diagnosis a century and half ago - because the word used for paramnesia is sclerosis which has completely different meaning in medicine. Second wordplay says 'Marc Chagall, Taj Mahal... So everybody were busy' based on that surname and second part of the name are verbs in Russian which mean 'walked' and 'waved'.

backsides of postcards, received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

Wordplay: Food for thought [part #1]

     There is a 'natural' series of postcards which I receive from Lera, mondschein or Leroo, - with Soviet postcards of famous paintings which are not from my wishlist exactly with added bubbles with text [those were issued in such large quantities by art galleries and museums, so it's not 'ruining of rare postcard'] and on the back it's usually a wordplay or joke phrase made with cutout letters from journals and magazines in a style of ransom note. Let me start with couple of postcards received couple days ago technically not openly by post, but in a registered package but with nice stamps with cancellations from main post office in Moscow [which is currently changed location, historical building of Central Post Office was in a dire state for years and now finally closed for renovation - our hopes that they will find and finally deliver all the correspondence which was lost there in the last half of 2025]. Lera is still traumatized as many postcrossers by post delivery situation which was last year [now it's all back normal], so that's the way to deliver cards, which doesn't take any of the awesomeness of her messages!

both received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

     Left postcard is V. N. Baksheyev's (1862 -- 1958) painting 'Unlucky wretches (At dinner)', 1901, from Kirov Regional Museum of Arts named after Gorky, printed in 1962 by Izogiz; the young man says: 'May I have chicory-based lavender latte with pecan milk with coconut', his mother answers: 'Don't you need to go to confession, possessed one'. Right postcard is a Gallant age illustration by Pierre Outin, the woman's bubbles says: 'Am I supposed to spread my legs for that?', men's: 'Huh, don't you have a vase at home?'

backsides of postcards, received from mondschein, Russia (direct swap)

     Left one is a rephrase for common saying 'There is still powder in the powder flasks' [equivalent of 'Still have some lead in the pencil', 'Still life in the old dog' - are classic ways to say you still have energy, vigor, and capacity, regardless of age] but in slightly obscene way 'There is still some f*cks to give in our f*ck-giving flasks'. Right one is asking 'Whether is the brain mush can be a food for thought?' [Russian saying is 'porridge in the head' when one's thoughts are in the muddle]