лёгок на помине

лёгок на помине  {turn of speech}

`l'iogok na po`minye

 {literally} ~volatile if/while mentioned.

 {informal} said when somebody appears suddenly while he is being (or has just been) thought of or talked about.

 {origin}

There are 2 versions:

1. From the Russian proverb "легок волк на помине" (~"talk of the wolf and it will appear"), related to an anciant superstition, forbidding to pronounce the name of the beast aloud. That is why there is no the word "wolf" in this turn of speech (it is only assumed).

2. Related to a ritual folklaw. When a man is buried, not only those who passed away were thought of but also those who are just away. If after such ritual the person returned soon, they said that he/she was "легок на помине".

Comp.: talk of the devil (and he is sure to appear).

А вот и сам виновник нашего спора пожаловал. Ничего не скажешь, лёгок на помине. — Here you are, the hero of our debates. There's nothing to be said — talk of the devil and he is sure to appear.

See also: