BrianHayden (asker) Jan 29, 2014:

Plus, apparently, they're called "lollipop sticks" in Britain...

Artyom Timeyev Jan 29, 2014:

I also never referred to them as 'щепки', Misha, neither heard them called that way. A щепка to me was something rugged, rough edged, not fit to be used with ice-cream. I believe Dovlatov's word choice might have been driven by a desire to enhance the sentiment of a waning day. Cooling-off sun, spiles of craft sticks floating atop puddles, used tickets peeking yellowish through the grass. Things broken, incomplete, "drawing to their exigent". Poetic license allows the use of words not typically chosen for the purpose.

Dmitry Pryshchepa Jan 29, 2014:

Definitely not "drops" - ice cream does not form chips or anything like that when melting. I live in Minsk, and my suggestion is "sticks" or "chipped/chewed sticks" - we used to chew these as children.

The Misha Jan 29, 2014:

Apparently, there's more usage nuances here than eye could see. Personally, I have never heard them referred to in Russian as "shchepki" - always as "palochki" - and my NYC-born and raised children never called them "ice cream sticks", let alone "popsicle sticks" - always craft sticks.

Artyom Timeyev Jan 29, 2014:

One other variety of ice-cream where "щепка" may be relevant is a kind served in paper cups. One is usually given a flat wooden stick to scoop the ice cream out of the cup. I'm not sure though whether such ice-cream was sold in Dovlatov's time.
http://otvet.mail.ru/question/8405876

BrianHayden (asker) Jan 29, 2014:

As far as I can tell, what we call a waffle cone is pretty much the same as a sugar cone, though the consistency and recipe is different. I think вафельный стаканчик and waffle cone might be false friends, since -- now that I think about it -- I think I've heard вафельный стаканчик used in McDonalds, but it was for a wafer cone.

BrianHayden (asker) Jan 29, 2014:

вафельный стаканчик = wafer cone
рожок = sugar cone (apparently both SPB and Mosc. usage?)
(сахарная) трубочка = sugar cone (SPB usage?)
щепка = popsicle stick (or stick from an ice cream-on-a-stick variety)

BrianHayden (asker) Jan 29, 2014:

After some research (about 20 seconds on Wikipedia), I've figured out that we're dealing with four terms here: 1) the waffle cone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eiswaffeln_2008_PD_1.JPG); 2) the sugar cone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sugar_cones.jpg); 3) the wafer cone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Strawberry_ice_cream_cone_... 4) popsicle sticks (which, somewhat strangely, is also what I would call the stick stuck into an эскимо or other ice cream-on-a-stick, which strictly speaking isn't a popsicle).

Alexander Kozhukhov Jan 29, 2014:

In my opinion, the author implies various parts - splinters, chips - of wooden sticks which are used for holding chocolate ice-cream. It's a common manner for kids to not throw them away immediately, but to continue to chew those sticks, lick them clean, break them into pieces, and finally dispose of. Once the ice-cream is done, the stick still have a smell of the ice-cream, and since kids always want more of the ice-cream, it's understood.

Tanami Jan 29, 2014:

? "вафельные стаканчики" are still in use, and ice cream cones (which is a different thing) are called "трубочки" or "рожки". I agree with those who say Dovlatov means "sticks" here, although it still sounds a bit weird to me as a native speaker of Russian (and a St.Pete resident, btw). Maybe it's a regionalism.

Yulia Savelieva Jan 29, 2014:

Important disclaimer "вафельные стаканчики" were in use many, many, many years ago, and they were not the same as ice cream cones - they were literally cups made from wafer, but not crunchy at all. Ice cream cones weren't around then.

Yulia Savelieva Jan 29, 2014:

Brian, yes, they are Eskimo (or popsicle) sticks, not ice cream cones. I don't know what ice cream cones are called in St Petersburg but in Ukraine they are called (вафельные) "стаканчики" (cups). Мороженое на палочке vs мороженое в стаканчике. BTW, it might sound confusing but you never say "мороженое на щепке"; however, after the ice cream is gone, the stick can be called either "палочка" or "щепка". )))

Vanda Nissen Jan 29, 2014:

sticks Brian, I think, Dovlatov means these sticks:
http://blog.fontanka.ru/posts/138652/
He just uses щепки, not палочки, probably because they looked like chips after being in a puddle. It is an occasional word.

BrianHayden (asker) Jan 29, 2014:

Navaeva, so these are the sticks that are stuck into ice cream that is in "bar" form? Sticks that you might find stuck into an Эскимо, for example, or a popsicle? These aren't ice cream cones, are they? Aren't those called рожки? By the way, one source tells me that рожок for ice cream cone is Moscow usage... can anyone tell me what the St. Petersburg word for it is?

Yulia Savelieva Jan 29, 2014:

Sorry, just can't resist citing this little gem :) by Alexander Archangelsky

Как-то в теплый вечер около кино
Я почти абстрактно скушал эскимо.
Бросил щепку наземь и часок-другой
Баловался гази-
рованной водой.
Запил кислым квасом и осоловел -
Очень много мыслей было в голове.
Думал беспрестанно о судьбе Европы.
Выпил два стакана, но уж без сиропа.

Yulia Savelieva Jan 29, 2014:

In Russian, the ice cream sticks are called "щепки" for some reason, even though they aren't really chips or splinters strictly speaking.

Sarah McDowell Jan 29, 2014:

Maybe he meant leftover small pieces of the cone or "drops of melted ice cream". It's an artistic rendering so it can be translated in a rather creative way.

I would imagine that if pieces of the ice cream fell into a pond they would melt and disappear rather quickly.