kalossinkuva

Finnish

Etymology

kalossin (“of a galosh”) +‎ kuva (“image”), connected with the phrasal verb antaa potkut (“to dismiss, axe, fire”) (literally "to give a kick, kick out"), which allegedly causes a "galosh print" on the dismissed person's bottom

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkɑlosːinˌkuʋɑ/,
• Rhymes: -uʋɑ
• Syllabification^(key): ka‧los‧sin‧ku‧va

Noun

kalossinkuva (colloquial)

1. (euphemistic) dismissal, axing (with takapuoleen; perseeseen (vulgar) etc. (“onto one's bottom”))

   N omistautui työlleen, mutta kun firma tuotti vähän tappiota, hän sai kylmästi kalossinkuvan takapuoleensa.

   N was devoted to his work but as soon as the firm produced a minor loss, he was coldly fired.

Declension

See also

• joutua kilometritehtaalle
• antaa potkut, saada potkut

Further reading

• “kalossinkuva”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-07-02