General
tolchock
What does tolchock mean?
As a verb, to tolchock is to hit, strike, or knock. Source word: Russian 'tolchok' (толчок), literally a 'push', 'shove', or 'jolt'.
"Alex tolchocks the old man in the street without warning."
Origin
Coined by Burgess in A Clockwork Orange (1962) from the Russian 'tolchok', a push or jolt. The softened euphemism for violence is part of how Nadsat insulates the reader from the narrator's acts.
Frequently asked questions
What does tolchock mean?
It is Nadsat for a blow or to hit, from the Russian 'tolchok', meaning a push or shove.
Why does Nadsat have so many violence words?
Burgess used unfamiliar terms like tolchock to blunt the horror of Alex's acts and distance the reader.
Is tolchock a noun or a verb?
Both. You can give someone a tolchock, or you can tolchock them.
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Vocabulary Flow — saved to your collection.
