concept
"Физическая любовь" (physical love) pun
physical love pun
also: физическая любовь, physical love
The opening entry of Chekhov's mock-dictionary "A Glossary for Young Ladies": a diligent schoolgirl's fondness for the subject of physics (\emph{физика}) is redefined as \emph{физическая любовь}, "physical love" -- one of the sketch's cleanest puns, surviving translation intact since English "physical" carries the same double sense of the academic subject and bodily love.
Reading notes
- A Glossary for Young Ladies §1 physical love
The Russian pun is transparent in both languages: \emph{физика} (physics) yields \emph{физическая любовь} (physical love), playing on the double sense of "physical" as both the academic subject and the bodily kind of love -- one of the few jokes in this sketch that survives translation intact.