Dictionary

shashlik en · NOUN

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian шашлы́к (šašlýk), from Crimean Tatar şışlıq / шишлик (şişlik, “something to be cooked on a skewer”), ultimately from Turkic; compare Turkish şaşlık/ şişlik. Doublet of chislic.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A form of shish kebab, originally made of marinated lamb meat.
   • On the menu at the restaurant (open noon to 6pm; and from 8pm to 2am) are pelmeni and shashliki, as well as other Russian dishes – a live band strikes up after 9pm. 1996, Robert Strauss, Tamsin Turnbull, “[Around Lake Baikal - The North] Severobaikalsk”, in The Trans-Siberian Rail Guide, 4th edition, [London]: Compass Star Publications, →ISBN, →LCCN, section 6 (The Trans-Siberian – Route Description), page 245:
   • The pork shashliki which they had marinated in a large glass jar all day were speared onto long metal skewers, and these were placed over the fire, straddling the large stones. 1989 March, Kaylie Jones, “The Five-Year Plan”, in Quite the Other Way, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, →ISBN, page 323:
   • Beria hissed at his aides, who rushed out of the alcove and returned with an avalanche of waiters carrying trays filled with caviar, blinis, borscht, sour cream, shashliki, cucumber soup . . . 2004, Jerome Charyn, chapter 8, in The Green Lantern: A Romance of Stalinist Russia, New York, N.Y.: Thunder’s Mouth Press, →ISBN, part 3 (Marissa), page 113:
   • If you are determined to try something really Russian, go for the shashliki or kebabs at the top of the Old Arbat near the Prague Restaurant, or the Papsi kiosk by the picture of Checkhov on Tverskaya. 1995, Emily Hatchwell, Simon Calder, “[Russia: Moscow] Eating and Drinking”, in Russia & The Republics (Travellers Survival Kit), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Vacation Work, →ISBN, pages 67–68:
   • Some, having lighted a fire on the ground, cook (some) food, roast (some) shashliki. 1987, William R. Schmalstieg, “The Adverbal Genitive Case”, in A Lithuanian Historical Syntax, Columbus, Oh.: Slavica Publishers, Inc., published 1988, →ISBN, page 167:
   • You may well have heard of some of the national dishes of the Soviet Union, such as Borsch (beetroot soup), Bliny (pancakes), Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev and Shashliki (Georgian kebabs). 1989, Nuffield/Schools Council Russian Teachers’ Association, “Unit 8: Celebrations”, in Iskra 2, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire: Stanley Thornes, published 1990, →ISBN, page 146:
   • Everyone went to the Pump Room where the children would be entertained by the Nubian Slaves with flaming skewers of shashlik, while their parents talked to Irving Kupcinet, the Eiffel Tower of Chicago columnists. 1963, Jill Schary Zimmer, “Where the Summer People Go in Summer”, in With a Cast of Thousands: A Hollywood Childhood, New York, N.Y.: Stein and Day, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 159:
   • Shashliki are similar to kebabs. The meat is cooked on skewers over a barbecue. […] Shashliki is a meat dish, often made with chicken or lamb. 2007, Lynn Huggins-Cooper, “Food and drink”, in Travel Through Russia: Come on a Journey of Discovery, London: QED Publishing, →ISBN, page 19:
   • Before them is an elaborate presentation of shashliki in the shape of a dartboard. They slide the meat off with their teeth, then use the skewer for target practice. 2016 July, Irina Reyn, “Tanya”, in The Imperial Wife, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, →ISBN, page 127:
   • Valya and Tanya sat there in silence, menacingly eating shashliki some guy had cooked for them. 2004, Dominic Midgley, Chris Hutchins, quoting Tales of a Kremlin Digger by Elena Tregubova (quoting Boris Nemtsov), “Crude Expansion”, in Abramovich: The Billionaire from Nowhere, London: HarperCollinsPublishers, published 2006, →ISBN, page 85:
   • When they arrived, Masha and Natasha joined the other girls in the kitchen, and Pasha scurried Seth out into the great outdoors with the men to barbeque shashliki, a delicious Russian marinated meat. 2013, Kenneth Eade, chapter 22, in An Involuntary Spy, New York, N.Y.: Times Square Publishing, →ISBN, page 92:
   • Why you don’t make shashliki? You jyust^([sic]) soak in wine the meat— 2003, Kaylie Jones, “Daria”, in Speak Now, New York, N.Y.: Akashic Books, →ISBN, page 132:
   • On the corner there are three men standing behind flaming barbecues of shashlik kebabs. I ask for one, hand over my roubles and wait while it is cooked. The fat drips down onto the charcoal and orange flames dance up in the soft evening light. I am so tired that I sway slightly on my feet and I am afraid that the shashliki men will think I am drunk. 1996, Sophia Creswell, chapter 20, in Sam Golod, London: Sceptre, →ISBN, page 220:
   • Now, I should mention that all this was happening on 23 February, Defenders of the Fatherland Day (formerly Red Army Day, a big holiday for all the men), so the head of security was at home in Moscow, enjoying his holiday, maybe barbecuing shashliki. 2003 December, Jason Grant, “Hangin’ with the Russian Police”, in Infiltration: The Zine About Going Places You’re Not Supposed to Go, number 22, Toronto, Ont., →LCCN, page 12:
   • They swam and fished by day, they drank wine and grilled shashliki in the evenings, and sometimes they drove into Yalta to enjoy the night-life, but throughout it all Minka remained detached, like a convalescent. 1986, Richard Collins, chapter 27, in Minka, London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson, →ISBN, page 182:
   • Men entered the room bearing skewers of tikas—kebabs or shashliki, we would call them—spitted chunks of lamb that had been roasted with onions and other seasoning. 1958 May, Christopher Rand, “Journey Through the Khyber Pass”, in Ted Patrick, editor, Holiday, volume 23, number 5, Philadelphia, Pa.: The Curtis Publishing Company, →ISSN, page 158, column 2:
   • Somewhere we stopped by the roadside for shashliki. 2010, Liam O’Meara, “April Days 2005. Going Home”, in Meltdown Moments: Irish Volunteers in Belarus, Minsk: Technalohija, →ISBN, page 57:
   • No friends, no big parade with flags. Just us and I will make shashliki on the barbecue. 2009, Anna Blundy, chapter 21, in The Oligarch’s Wife, London: Preface, The Random House Group Limited, →ISBN, page 298:

Forms

Translations (48)

kk кәуап (skewered dish) · tt шашлык (skewered dish) · lt šašlykas (skewered dish) · uk шашли́к (skewered dish) · no sjasjlyk (skewered dish) · tr şaşlık (skewered dish) · pt chachlik (skewered dish) · fa شیشلیک (skewered dish) · bg шишче (skewered dish) · afb شيشليك (skewered dish) · et šašlõkk (skewered dish) · pt shashlik (skewered dish) · cmn 烤肉 (skewered dish) · fi saslik (skewered dish) · ka მწვადი (skewered dish) · es shashlik (skewered dish) · nog сислик (skewered dish) · ja シャシリク (skewered dish) · lv šašliks (skewered dish) · az şişlik (skewered dish) · cmn 串兒 /串儿 (skewered dish) · fi šašlik (skewered dish) · hu saslik (skewered dish) · fi saslikki (skewered dish) · ar شِيشْلِيك (skewered dish) · de Schaschlyk (skewered dish) · tt кәбап (skewered dish) · tt шешлек (skewered dish) · ko 샤실리크 (skewered dish) · pl szaszłyk (skewered dish) · eo ŝaŝliko (skewered dish) · it shashlik (skewered dish) · hy խորոված (skewered dish) · tr şişlik (skewered dish) · he שישליק (skewered dish) · be шашлы́к (skewered dish) · sv saschlik (skewered dish) · cmn 串燒 /串烧 (skewered dish) · ru шашлы́к (skewered dish) · nl sjasliek (skewered dish) · cs šašlik (skewered dish) · ru шиш-кеба́б (skewered dish) · tr şiş kebap (skewered dish) · fr chachlik (skewered dish) · el σασλίκ (skewered dish) · fr chachlyk (skewered dish) · de Schaschlik (skewered dish) · uz shashlik (skewered dish)