What does the expression “(well) kneaded kalach” mean?
It is respectfully said of a person who is difficult to mislead or deceive: “Он тертый калач!” (“On terty kalach!”) or “He's a (well) kneaded kalach!” But, what does this have to do with baked goods?
It's all about… the recipe. In the old days in Russia, almost every town had its own recipe for kalach – a type of chimney cake. There was a kalach capital – Murom – where the famous kneaded ‘kalachs’ were first baked. Preparing this delicious pastry was not easy. The dough had to be rubbed and kneaded on ice for a long time: the longer it took, the better the kalach turned out. They even said: “не терт, не мят, не будет калач” or “if you don't rub and knead it, you won't have a kalach”.
So, they began to speak of a person who had seen a lot and who was hard to deceive as a “(well) kneaded kalach” – or “an old stager”. For example, in Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak's novel ‘Privalov's Millions’, lawyer Verevkin instructs his interlocutor: "As a well kneaded kalach, I can give you one golden advice: never pay attention to what they say about people behind their backs.”
An English equivalent would be: “He’s an old salt!”
