Foreign phraseological units and their meaning. Interstyle phraseological turns
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Speech is a way of communication between people. To achieve complete mutual understanding, to express one's thoughts more clearly and figuratively, many lexical techniques are used, in particular, phraseological units (phraseological unit, idiom) - stable turns of speech that have independent meaning and are characteristic of a particular language. Often, simple words are not enough to achieve a certain speech effect. Irony, bitterness, love, ridicule, your own attitude to what is happening - all this can be expressed in a much larger capacity, more precisely, more emotionally. We often use phraseological units in everyday speech, sometimes without even noticing - after all, some of them are simple, familiar, and familiar from childhood. Many of the phraseological units came to us from other languages, eras, fairy tales, legends.
It is not worth it
You shouldn't do it. The game is clearly not worth the candle.
Meaning... The effort expended does not pay off.
Origin... The phraseological expression is based on the card term, meaning that the bets in the game are so insignificant that even the winnings will be less than the funds spent on candles to illuminate the card table.
To the nodding analysis
Well, brother, you came late, to the most capricious analysis!
Meaning... To be late, to show up when it’s already over.
Origin... The saying arose in those days when in our frosty country people, coming to church in warm clothes and knowing that it was impossible to go inside with a hat, folded their three-ears and caps at the very entrance. At the end of the church service, going out, everyone took them apart. Only those who were clearly in no hurry to go to church came to the “nodding analysis”.
Like chickens in cabbage soup (get it)
And he ended up with this case, like chickens in the cabbage soup.
Meaning... Bad luck, unexpected misfortune.
Origin... A very common saying that we repeat all the time, sometimes without an idea of its true meaning. Let's start with the word "chickens". This word in Old Russian means "rooster". And there was no "cabbage soup" in this proverb before, and it was pronounced correctly: "I got caught like chickens", that is, I was plucked, "no luck." The word "pluck" was forgotten, and then people, willy-nilly, remade the expression "plucked" into cabbage soup. When she was born, it is not entirely clear: some people think that it was still under Dimitri the Pretender, when she was "snagged"; the Polish conquerors fell; others - that in the Patriotic War of 1812, when the Russian people forced the hordes of Napoleon to flee.
King for a day
I would not trust their generous promises they give right and left: caliphs for an hour.
Meaning... About a man who happened to be endowed with power for a short time.
Origin... In the Arabian fairy tale "A Waking Dream, or Caliph for an Hour" (collection "A Thousand and One Nights"), it is told how a young Baghdadian Abu-Shssan, not knowing that before him the Caliph G'run-al-Rashid, shares his cherished dream with him - at least for a day to become a caliph. Wanting to have fun, Harun-al-Rashid pours sleeping pills into Abu-Gassan's wine, orders the servants to transfer the young man to the palace and treat him like a caliph.
The joke succeeds. Upon awakening, Abu-1kssan believes that he is a Caliph, enjoys luxury and begins to give orders. In the evening, he again drinks wine with sleeping pills and wakes up already at home.
Scapegoat
I'm afraid you'll always be their scapegoat.
Meaning... The defendant for someone else's fault, for the mistakes of others, since the true culprit cannot be found or wants to evade responsibility.
Origin... The turnover goes back to the text of the Bible, to the description of the Hebrew rite of imposing the sins of the people (community) on a living goat. Such a rite was performed in the event of a desecration by the Jews of the sanctuary where the ark of the revelation was located. To atone for sins, a ram was burned and one goat was slaughtered "as a sin offering." All the sins and iniquities of the Jewish people were shifted onto the second goat: the priest put his hands on him as a sign that all the sins of the community were transferred to him, after which the goat was driven out into the desert. All those present at the ceremony were considered purified.
Lazarus to sing
Stop singing Lazarus, stop being poor.
Meaning... Begging, whining, exaggeratedly complaining about fate, trying to arouse the sympathy of others.
Origin... In tsarist Russia, everywhere in crowded places, crowds of beggars, cripples, blind men with guides gathered, begging, with all sorts of pitiful lamentations, for alms from passers-by. The blind especially often sang the song "About the rich man and Lazarus", composed based on one gospel story. Lazarus was poor and his brother was rich. Lazarus ate the remains of the rich man's food along with the dogs, but after death he went to heaven, while the rich man ended up in hell. This song was supposed to intimidate and conscience those from whom the beggars begged for money. Since not all beggars were really so unhappy, often their plaintive moans were feigned.
Crawl on the rampage
He promised to be careful, but you yourself are deliberately asking for trouble!
Meaning... Do something risky, run into trouble, do something dangerous, doomed to failure in advance.
Origin... Rojon is a pointed stake that was used when hunting for a bear. Hunting with a gob, the daredevils put out this sharp stake in front of them. The enraged beast climbed on the rampage and died.
Disservice
The incessant praise from your lips is a real disservice.
Meaning... Unsolicited help, a service that does more harm than good.
Origin... The primary source is IA Krylov's fable "The Hermit and the Bear". It tells how the Bear, wishing to help his friend, the Hermit, to swat the fly that sat on his forehead, killed the Hermit himself with it. But this expression is not in the fable: it took shape and entered folklore later.
Cast pearls before swine
In a letter to AA Bestuzhev (end of January 1825), AS Pushkin writes: "The first sign of an intelligent person is to know at first glance who you are dealing with, and not to throw beads in front of the Repetilovs and the like."
Meaning... Waste words talking to people who can't understand you.
Origin... In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ says: "Do not give holy things to dogs and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces" (Gospel of Matthew 7: b). In the Church Slavonic translation, the word "pearl" sounds like "beads". It is in this version that this biblical expression entered the Russian language.
You can't drive a goat
He looks down on everyone, you can't drive up to him even on a crooked goat.
Meaning... He is completely unapproachable, it is not clear how to contact him.
Origin... Amusing their high patrons, using for their amusement and gusli, and bells, dressing up in goat and bear skins, in the plumage of a crane, these "shpins" sometimes knew how to do good things.
It is possible that riding on goats or pigs was also included in their repertoire. Obviously, it was the buffoons who sometimes met with such a bad mood of a high-ranking person that "even the goat did not act on him."
Unlucky man
Nothing went well with him, and in general he was a bad man.
Meaning... Frivolous, careless, dissolute.
Origin... In the old days in Russia, the path was called not only the road, but also various positions at the court of the prince. The falconer's path is the one who knows the princely hunt, the hunter's path is hound hunting, the equestrian path - by carriages and horses. Boyars by hook or by crook tried to get the way from the prince - a position. And whoever did not succeed, they were scorned about those: a good-for-nothing person.
Put on the back burner
Now put it on the back burner, and then forget it altogether.
Meaning... To give the case a long reprieve, to delay its decision for a long time.
Origin... Perhaps this expression originated in Moscow Russia, three hundred years ago. Tsar Alexei, the father of Peter I, ordered in the village of Kolomenskoye in front of his palace to install a long box where everyone could put their complaint. Complaints fell, but it was very difficult to wait for a solution: months and years passed. The people renamed this "long" box "long".
It is possible that the expression, if not born, then was fixed in speech later, in the "presences" - institutions of the XIX century. The then officials, accepting various petitions, complaints and petitions, undoubtedly sorted them, putting them in different boxes. "Long" could be called the one where the most unhurried affairs were postponed. It is clear that the petitioners were afraid of such a box.
Retired goat drummer
I am no longer in office - a retired goat drummer.
Meaning... No one needed, no one respected person.
Origin... In the old days, trained bears were taken to fairs. They were accompanied by a dancer boy dressed as a goat and a drummer accompanying him to the dance. This was the "goat drummer". He was perceived as a worthless, frivolous person. And what if the goat is also "retired"?
Lead under the monastery
What have you done, what am I to do now, brought me under the monastery, and that's all.
Meaning... Put in a difficult, unpleasant situation, bring under punishment.
Origin... There are several versions of the origin of the turnover. Perhaps the turnover arose because people who had big troubles in life usually left for the monastery. According to another version, the expression is connected with the fact that the Russian guides brought the enemies under the walls of monasteries, which during the war turned into fortresses (to bring the blind under the monastery). Some believe that the expression is associated with the difficult life of women in tsarist Russia. Only strong relatives could save a woman from her husband's beating, gaining protection from the patriarch and the authorities. In this case, the wife “let her husband under the monastery” - he was exiled to the monastery “into humility” for six months or a year.
Add a pig
Well, he has a disgusting character: he put a pig on it and is happy!
Meaning... To secretly set up some nasty stuff, to play a dirty trick.
Origin... In all likelihood, this expression is due to the fact that some peoples, for religious reasons, do not eat pork. And if such a person was imperceptibly put pork meat in his food, then his faith was defiled.
Get in the gut
Small got into such a mess that at least shout the guard.
Meaning... Find yourself in a difficult, dangerous or unpleasant situation.
Origin... In dialects, BIND is a fish trap woven from branches. And, as in any trap, it is not pleasant to be in it.
Sour cabbage professor
He eternally teaches everyone. To me too, professor of sour cabbage soup!
Meaning... Unlucky, bad master.
Origin... Sour cabbage soup is a simple peasant food: water and sauerkraut. It was not difficult to prepare them. And if someone was called a master of sour cabbage soup, this meant that he was not good for anything worthwhile.
Beluga roar
For three days in a row she roared like a beluga.
Meaning... Scream or cry loudly.
Origin... "He is like a fish" - this has been known for a long time. And suddenly "beluga roar"? It turns out that we are not talking about a beluga, but about a beluga, as the polar dolphin is called. Here he really roars very loudly.
Breeding antimony
That's it, the conversation is over. I have no time here with you to breed antimony.
Meaning... Chatting, making empty talk. Observe unnecessary ceremony in a relationship.
Origin... From the Latin name for antimony (antimonium), which was used as a medicine and cosmetic product, having previously ground it and then dissolved it. Antimony does not dissolve well, so the process was very long and laborious. And while it was dissolving, the pharmacists talked endlessly.
Side burn
Why should I go to them? Nobody called me. It is called came - on the side of the heat!
Meaning... Everything accidental, extraneous, attached to something from the outside; superfluous, unnecessary
Origin... This expression is often distorted, saying "side-burn". In fact, it could be conveyed in the words: "lateral heat". Baking, or baking, for bakers - burnt pieces of dough that stick to the outside of bread products, that is, something unnecessary, unnecessary.
Kazan orphan
What are you standing on the threshold has grown like a Kazan orphan.
Meaning... So they say about a person who pretends to be unhappy, offended, helpless in order to pity someone.
Origin... This phraseologism arose after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. Mirza (Tatar princes), being subjects of the Russian tsar, tried to beg him all sorts of indulgences, complaining about their orphanhood and bitter fate.
Grated roll
Like a grated roll, I can give you some good advice.
Meaning... This is the name of an experienced person who is difficult to deceive.
Origin... There used to be such a kind of bread - "grated kalach". The dough for him was kneaded, kneaded, "rubbed" for a very long time, which made the roll unusually lush. And there was also a proverb - "do not rub, do not mint, there will be no rolls." That is, a person is taught by trials and troubles. The expression came from a proverb, and not from the name of bread.
Pip your tongue
What are you saying, a pip on your tongue!
Meaning... Expression of dissatisfaction with what has been said, an unkind wish to the one who says the wrong thing.
Origin... It is clear that this is a wish, and, moreover, not a very friendly one. But what is its significance? Pip is a small horny tubercle at the tip of the tongue in birds that helps them peck at food. The growth of such a tubercle can be a sign of illness. Hard pimples on the tongue in humans are called pips by analogy with these bird bumps. According to superstitious beliefs, the pip usually appears with deceitful people. Hence the unkind wish, designed to punish liars and deceivers. From these observations and superstitions, the incantatory formula was born: "Pip on your tongue!" Its main meaning was: "You are a liar: let you have a pip on your tongue!" Now the meaning of this spell has changed somewhat. "Pip your tongue!" - an ironic wish to the one who expressed an unkind thought, predicted an unpleasant one.
Sharpen the fringes
Why are you sitting around and sharpening your fringes?
Meaning... Gossip, useless chatter, gossip.
Origin... Lyas (balusters) are chiseled figured posts of the railing at the porch; only a true master could make such beauty. Probably, at first, "sharpening balusters" meant conducting an elegant, bizarre, ornate (like balusters) conversation. And by our time there were fewer and fewer craftsmen to conduct such a conversation. So this expression began to denote empty chatter. Another version brings the expression to the meaning of the Russian word balyasy - stories, Ukrainian balyas - noise, which go back directly to the common Slavic "to tell".
Pull the gimp
Now they are gone, he will pull the gimmick until we ourselves give up this venture.
Meaning... To procrastinate, to drag out any business, to speak monotonously and tediously.
Origin... Gimp - the finest gold, silver or copper thread, with which braids, aiguillettes and other decorations of officer's uniforms, as well as vestments of priests and simply rich costumes, were embroidered. It was made in a handicraft way, heating the metal and carefully pulling a thin wire with pliers. This process was extremely long, slow and painstaking, so that over time, the expression "pull the gimmick" began to refer to any protracted and monotonous business or conversation.
Face it in the dirt
Don’t let you down, don’t hit your face in the dirt in front of the guests.
Meaning... Blunder, disgrace.
Origin... To hit the mud with your face originally meant "to fall on the muddy ground." Such a fall was considered by the people especially shameful in fist fights - competitions of wrestlers when a weak opponent was thrown prone to the ground.
The devil on Easter cakes
What, go to him? Yes, this is the devil on Easter cakes.
Meaning... Very far away, somewhere in the wild.
Origin... Kulichiki is a distorted Finnish word "kuligi", "kulizhki", which has long been included in Russian speech. So in the north were called forest glades, meadows, swamps. Here, in the wooded part of the country, settlers of the distant past were constantly cutting down "kulizhki" in the forest - areas for plowing and mowing. In the old letters, the following formula is constantly encountered: "And all that land, as long as the ax walked and the scythe walked." The farmer often had to go to his field into the wilderness, to the most distant "coops", developed worse than those of the neighbors, where, according to the then ideas, in the swamps and windbreaks were found both devil, and devils, and all kinds of forest vermin. This is how ordinary words got their second, figurative meaning: very far, at the end of the world.
Fig leaf
She is a terrible pretender and lazy, hiding behind her imaginary disease, like a fig leaf.
Meaning... A plausible cover for unseemly deeds.
Origin... The expression goes back to the Old Testament myth of Adam and Eve, who, after the Fall, knew shame and girded themselves with fig leaves (fig tree): "(Genesis 3: 7). From the 16th to the end of the 18th century, European artists and sculptors had to cover the most revealing parts of the human body with a fig leaf in their works. This convention was a concession to the Christian Church, which considered the depiction of naked flesh to be sinful and obscene.
Filkin's certificate
What kind of filkin’s letter is that, can’t you plainly state your thoughts?
Meaning... Ignorant, illiterately drawn up document.
Metropolitan Philip could not reconcile himself to the revelry of the guardsmen. In his numerous letters to the tsar - letters - he tried to convince Grozny to abandon his policy of terror, to dissolve the oprichnina. The disobedient Metropolitan Tsyuzny contemptuously called Filka, and his letters were called phyla letters.
For bold denunciations of Grozny and his guardsmen, Metropolitan Philip was imprisoned in the Tver Monastery, where he was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov.
Grab stars from heaven
He is a man not without abilities, but there are not enough stars from heaven.
Meaning... Not to be distinguished by talents and outstanding abilities.
Origin... Phraseological expression associated, apparently, by association with the award stars of the military and officials as insignia.
Enough kondrashka
He was in heroic health, and suddenly there was enough kondrashka.
Meaning... Someone died suddenly, was suddenly paralyzed.
Origin... According to the assumption of the historian S.M. Solovyov, the expression is associated with the name of the leader of the Bulavin uprising on the Don in 1707, Ataman Kondraty Afanasyevich Bulavin (Kondrashka), who with a sudden raid destroyed the entire royal detachment led by the voivode Prince Dolgoruky.
Apple of discord
This ride is a real bone of contention, can't you give in, let him go.
Meaning... What gives rise to conflict is serious contradiction.
Origin... Peleus and Thetis, the parents of the Trojan War hero Achilles, forgot to invite the goddess of discord Eris to their wedding. Eris was very offended and secretly threw a golden apple on the table, at which the gods and mortals were feasting; it read: "The fairest." A dispute arose between three goddesses: the wife of Zeus, the Hero, Athena, the virgin, the goddess of wisdom, and the beautiful goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.
The young man Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, was elected judge among them. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite who bribed him; For this, Aphrodite made the wife of King Menelaus, the beautiful Helen, to fall in love with the young man. Leaving her husband, Elena left for Troy, and in order to avenge such an insult, the Greeks began a long-term war with the Trojans. As you can see, Eris' apple actually led to contention.
Pandora's Box
Well, now hold on, Pandora's box has opened.
Meaning... All that can serve as a source of disaster in case of negligence.
Origin... When the great titan Prometheus kidnapped the fire of the gods from Olympus and gave people the fire of the gods, Zeus punished the daredevil terribly, but it was too late. Possessing the divine flame, people ceased to obey the celestials, learned various sciences, got out of their miserable state. A little more - and they would have won themselves complete happiness.
Then Zeus decided to send punishment on them. God the blacksmith Hephaestus fashioned the beautiful woman Pandora out of earth and water. The rest of the gods gave her: some cunning, some courage, some extraordinary beauty. Then, having handed her a mysterious box, Zeus sent her to earth, forbidding her to open the box. Curious Pandora, barely entering the world, opened the lid. Immediately, all human calamities flew out from there and scattered across the universe. In fear, Pandora tried to close the lid again, but of all the misfortunes, only a deceptive hope remained in the box.
The Russian language is so mobile and flexible that it allows you to use many special speech techniques: proverbs, sayings, metaphors and much more. Separately, I would like to talk about what a phraseological unit is.
Phraseologisms are called phrases, the meaning of which is able to decorate speech, to give it a special emotional shade. Phraseological turnover is indivisible in meaning, that is, it has a common meaning of all the words included in it. Each word separately does not carry such informational load. It is better to consider examples with an explanation of phraseological units.
The horse did not roll
Ordinary speech would be dry and less emotional if there were no special lexical units in it - phraseological units... For example, you might say, "I am very angry." And you can say in this way: "I was angry as a dog." Absolutely different associative images are born in the mind of the listener. The brain perceives the image of an angry dog instantly, at the level of a reflex. Affected by life experience accumulated in the subconscious.
Or such an example of the phrase: "I have not yet started to do the work I have planned." It sounds much better: "I have not rolled my horse yet." For a foreigner to understand this is a sheer headache! What horse and why was it not lying around? And the Russian person instantly grasps the essence of the speaker's problem.
Phraseologism "One leg here - the other - there" very often used in speech. It is literally impossible for a person's legs to be in different places at the same time! But it means that the speaker is already on the way and rushing very fast and is about to be in the right place.
An interesting observation. Phraseological expressions sometimes reduce the severity of the perception of negative action and enhance the positive.
Whose authorship?
Many people think about origin of set expressions... The phraseological units have no authors. Or so, the authors are the people. In the process of life, the accumulation of experience, people apply their knowledge, transforming it into new forms.
The origin of vivid turns of speech is also associated with literary and historical facts. Everyone has an idea about the exploits of Hercules, and in particular about one of them - how quickly the strong man managed to clear the stables of King Augean. The hero showed resourcefulness, coped quickly with an exorbitantly difficult task. Completed the seemingly impossible! So it was customary among the people to say: "I will go to rake the Augean stables ..." Or: "What a fine fellow, I cleaned the Augean stables!"
In addition to the "rolling horse", an interesting turnover about "Buried dog"... Example: "So this is where the dog is buried!" This means that at last there was a solution to a problem or a question that haunted for a long time. The theme of the origin of winged expressions with this animal is very popular. Known stories of dogs, whose graves served as a kind of memory for their owners (were lost, and then found).
Everyone who deserves punishment is given the first number in Russian. It came from school when the students were flogged with rods. The punishment was effective and the student behaved well until the beginning of the next month of study (until the 1st day).
Let's go through the phraseological units
Introducing a small list of turns of speech for reference... They are most often used in relation to a specific person:
Phraseologisms in sentences
There is also many other catch phrases... It is interesting to look at examples.
- It's time to wash your hands. This proposal means that the moment has come to move away from the problem, to indicate that you are not involved in it.
- In life, he loved to "go with the flow." The hero is passive and lived according to the will of the circumstances, not resisting them in any way.
- I have a dime a dozen worries. There are many things to do.
- Relatives came to visit - “the seventh water on jelly”. Here the degree of kinship is very blurred, there is no way to figure out who - to whom and by whom.
- He got married on the principle “don't drink water from your face”. This is a sad story, here is an attempt to love the inner world of a person, implying that not everything is in order with the appearance.
- See you after Thursday rain. This sentence has a meaning: we will never see you, and it also shows a disdainful attitude towards a person.
- In his stories, he liked to "whip up the atmosphere." It speaks of a man who clearly exaggerates the complexities and horrors of events in his narratives, heating up the situation.
- We left home “eating too much”. The meaning of the phraseological unit: I had to return without earnings, profit or other result previously conceived.
The examples given show how brightly, briefly and succinctly phraseological units are able to characterize some situations. They also add shades of sound to speech, semantic accents. Origin may not matter. Moreover, the lexical meaning of phraseological units is integral, it is perceived as a short signal of an associative series stored in a person's memory.
About labor
Let's talk about phraseological units that mention work or profession... People have written a lot of sayings, fables and other lexical forms about work. Here are examples of phraseological units and their meanings.
Phraseologisms for children
Work and acquaintance with phraseological units starts already at school... Children are taught to understand fixed expressions and be able to explain them. Younger schoolchildren practice in the lessons of their native speech to build statements using phraseological phrases. Thus, they enrich the vocabulary and vocabulary of knowledge. Children learn to explain phraseological units with one short word or related phrase.
Phraseologisms are simple enough to understand and memorize, according to the age of primary school children. Let's consider some examples:
- mouth shut (shut up);
- keep your mouth shut (keep a secret);
- do not believe your ears (be surprised at what you hear);
- nodding off (falling asleep);
- lead by the nose (deceive);
- fly at breakneck speed (run fast) and others.
The use of phraseological units in primary school contributes to the development of "Sense of language", inherent in the Russian person. Forms imagery of thinking, the speed of creating thought forms. Aphorisms are drawn up from pictures or work with texts is in progress.
In Russian language lessons, students complete written assignments in which they replace phraseological units with one word (insert the missing word).
In literary reading lessons, they learn to compare the images of fairytale heroes with phraseological phrases. For example, Emelya - "lies and does not blow in the mustache".
Studying mathematics, they sort out stable phrases: “square head”, “two vershoks from a pot” and others.
In various fields of activity, areas of knowledge, life situations, phraseological expressions are applicable. The main thing is to understand their meaning.! A true connoisseur of the Russian language necessarily uses catchphrases in his speech, both for his own pleasure (he will create a picture), and for the "catchphrase".
Ecology of life: Often, simple words are not enough to achieve a certain speech effect. Irony, bitterness, love, mockery ...
Speech is a way of communication between people. To achieve complete mutual understanding, to express one's thoughts more clearly and figuratively, many lexical techniques are used, in particular, phraseological units (phraseological unit, idiom) - stable turns of speech that have independent meaning and are characteristic of a particular language.
Often, simple words are not enough to achieve a certain speech effect. Irony, bitterness, love, ridicule, your own attitude to what is happening - all this can be expressed in a much larger capacity, more precisely, more emotionally.
We often use phraseological units in everyday speech, sometimes without even noticing - after all, some of them are simple, familiar, and familiar from childhood. Many of the phraseological units came to us from other languages, eras, fairy tales, legends.
"The game is not worth the candle" and other catchphrases
Augean stables
Rake out these Augean stables first, and then you will go for a walk.
Meaning... A cluttered, dirty place where everything is in complete disarray.
Origin... He lived in ancient Elis, according to an ancient Greek legend, King Augeas, a passionate lover of horses: he kept three thousand horses in his stables. However, the stalls in which the horses were kept were not cleaned for thirty years, and they were overgrown with manure to the very roof.
Hercules was sent to the service of Augeas, whom the king instructed to cleanse the stables, which could not be done by anyone else.
Hercules was as cunning as he was powerful. He directed the waters of the river into the gates of the stables, and a stormy stream washed out all the dirt from there in a day.
The Greeks sang this feat along with the other eleven, and the expression "Augean stables" began to be applied to everything neglected, polluted to the last limit, and in general to denote a great disorder.
Arshin swallow
It stands as if an arshin has swallowed it.
Meaning... Staying unnaturally straight.
Origin... The Turkish word "arshin", meaning a measure of length of one cubit, has long become Russian. Until the revolution, Russian merchants and artisans constantly used arshins - wooden and metal rulers seventy-one centimeters long. Imagine what a person should look like who swallowed such a ruler, and you will understand why this expression is applied in relation to prim and arrogant people.
Belens overeat
In Pushkin's "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish," an old man indignant
shameless greed of his old woman, angrily tells her:
"What are you, woman, overeat henbane?"
Meaning... Behave absurdly, viciously, like a madman.
Origin... In the village, in the backyards and dumps, you can find tall bushes with dirty yellowish flowers in purple veins and an unpleasant odor. This is henbane - a very poisonous plant. Its seeds resemble poppy seeds, but the one who eats them becomes like a madman: delirious, rampant, and often dies.
Buridan donkey
He rushes about, cannot decide on anything, like a Buridan donkey.
Meaning... Extremely indecisive person, hesitating in the choice between equivalent solutions.
Origin... Philosophers of the late Middle Ages put forward a theory according to which the actions of living beings do not depend on their own will, "but exclusively on external reasons. The scientist Buridan (more precisely, Buridan), who lived in France in the XIV century, confirmed this idea with such an example. Take a hungry donkey and put on either side of his muzzle, at equal distances, there are two identical armfuls of hay. The donkey will have no reason to prefer one of them to the other: they are exactly the same. He will not be able to reach either the right or the left and will eventually die from hunger.
Let's go back to our rams
However, full of this, let's return to our rams.
Meaning... A call to the speaker not to be distracted from the main topic; a statement that his deviation from the topic of the conversation is over.
Origin... Let's return to our rams - a tracing paper from the French revenons a nos moutons from the farce "Lawyer Pierre Patlen" (c. 1470). With these words, the judge interrupts the speech of the rich clothier. Having opened a case against the shepherd who stole the sheep from him, the clothier, forgetting about his litigation, reproaches the shepherd's defender, the lawyer Patlen, who did not pay him for six cubits of cloth.
Versta Kolomenskaya
Everyone will immediately pay attention to such a verst of Kolomna as you.
Meaning... This is the name of a very tall person, a big man.
Origin... The summer residence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was located in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow. The road there was busy, wide and was considered the main one in the state. And when they erected huge milestones, which had never happened in Russia, the fame of this road increased even more. The savvy people did not fail to take advantage of the novelty and christened the lanky man the Kolomna verst. So they still say.
Lead by the nose
The smartest man, more than once or twice led the enemy by the nose.
Meaning... Cheat, mislead, make promises and not keep promises.
Origin... The expression was associated with fairground entertainment. The gypsies took the bears to the show by a ring threaded through their nose. And they made them, poor fellows, do different tricks, deceiving them with the promise of handouts.
Hair on end
Terror seized him: his eyes rolled out, his hair on end.
Meaning... So they say when a person is very scared.
Origin... Standing on end is standing at attention, at your fingertips. That is, when a person is scared, his hair seems to stand on tiptoe on his head.
That's where the dog is buried!
Ah, that's it! Now it is clear where the dog is buried.
Meaning... That's the point, that's the real reason.
Origin... There is a story: the Austrian warrior Sigismund Altenstein spent all the campaigns and battles with his beloved dog. Once, while traveling in the Netherlands, the dog even saved its owner from death. The grateful warrior solemnly buried his four-legged friend and erected a monument on his grave, which stood for more than two centuries - until the beginning of the 19th century.
Later, the dog monument could only be found by tourists with the help of local residents. At that time the saying "That's where the dog is buried!"
But there is an older and no less probable source of the proverb that has come down to us. When the Greeks decided to give the Persian king Xerxes a battle at sea, they put old men, women and children on ships in advance and transported them to the island of Salamis.
They say that a dog belonging to Xantippus, Pericles' father, did not want to part with its owner, jumped into the sea and swam, following the ship, to Salamis. Exhausted from fatigue, she immediately died.
According to the testimony of the ancient historian Plutarch, this dog was placed on the seashore of a film family - a dog monument, which was shown to curious for a very long time.
Some German linguists believe that this expression was created by treasure hunters who, out of fear of the evil spirits supposedly guarding every treasure, did not dare to directly mention the purpose of their searches and conditionally began to talk about a black dog, implying iodine by this trait and treasure.
Thus, according to this version, the expression "this is where the dog is buried" meant: "this is where the treasure is buried."
Pour in on the first number
For such things, they, of course, should be showered with the first number!
Meaning... Punish severely, scold someone
Origin... Well, something, but this expression is familiar to you ... And where did it just fall on your unfortunate head! Believe it or not, ... from the old school, where students were flogged every week, regardless of whether they were right or wrong. And if the mentor overdoes it, then such a flogging was enough for a long time, until the first day of the next month.
Rub glasses
Do not believe it, they rub glasses on you!
Meaning... To deceive someone, presenting the case in a distorted, incorrect, but beneficial light for the speaker.
Origin... We are not talking about glasses that serve to correct vision. There is another meaning of the word "glasses": red and black marks on playing cards. Since the existence of cards, there have been dishonest gamblers and cheaters in the world. They, in order to deceive a partner, indulged in all sorts of tricks. They were able, by the way, to imperceptibly “rub glasses” - to turn a seven into a six or a four into a five, on the move, during the game, pasting a “point” or covering it with a special white powder. It is clear that "rubbing glasses" began to mean "cheating", hence the special words were born: "eyewash", "eyewash" - a dodger who knows how to embellish his work, pass the bad off as very good.
Voice in the wilderness
Wasted labor, you will not convince them, your words are the voice of one crying in the wilderness.
Meaning... Denotes vain persuasion, calls that no one hears.
Origin... As the biblical legends tell, one of the Hebrew prophets called from the desert to the Israelites to prepare the way for God: to pave roads in the desert, to make the mountains go down, the valleys were filled, and the curvature and unevenness straightened. However, the calls of the hermit prophet remained "a voice crying in the wilderness" - they were not heard. The people did not want to serve their fierce and cruel god.
Goal like a falcon
Who says a good word to me? After all, I am an orphan around. Goal like a falcon.
Meaning... Very poor, beggar.
Origin... Many people think that we are talking about a bird. But she is neither poor nor rich. In fact, the "falcon" is an old military battering weapon. It was a completely smooth ("naked") cast iron bar, fixed on chains. Nothing extra!
Naked truth
This is the state of affairs, the naked truth without embellishment.
Meaning... Truth as it is, bluntly.
Origin... This expression is Latin: Nuda Veritas [nuda veritas]. It is taken from the 24th ode of the Roman poet Horace (65 - 8 BC). Ancient sculptors allegorically portrayed the truth (truth) in the form of a naked woman, which was supposed to symbolize the true state of affairs without silence and embellishment.
Grief onion
Do you know how to cook soup, woe is onion.
Meaning... A fool, an unlucky person.
Origin... The pungent volatile substances contained in abundance in the onion irritate the eyes, and the hostess sheds tears while she crumbles the onion for her cooking, although there is not the slightest grief. It is curious that tears caused by the action of irritating substances differ in chemical composition from sincere tears. There is more protein in fake tears (this is not surprising, because such tears are designed to neutralize caustic substances that have entered the eye), therefore fake tears are slightly cloudy. However, every person knows this fact intuitively: there is no faith in cloudy tears. And onion grief is not called grief, but transitory trouble. Most often, half-jokingly, half-bitterly, they turn to a child who has again learned something.
Two-faced Janus
She is deceitful, resourceful and hypocritical, a real two-faced Janus.
Meaning... Two-faced, hypocritical man
Origin... In Roman mythology, the god of all beginnings. He was depicted with two faces - a young man and an old man - looking in opposite directions. One face is turned to the future, the other to the past.
In the bag
All right, now you can sleep peacefully: it's in the bag.
Meaning... Everything is all right, everything ended well.
Origin... Sometimes the origin of this expression is explained by the fact that in the days of Ivan the Terrible, some court cases were decided by lot, and the lot was drawn from the judge's hat. However, the word "hat" did not come to us earlier than in the days of Boris Godunov, and even then it was applied only to foreign headdresses. It is unlikely that this rare word could get into a popular saying at the same time.
There is another explanation: _, much later, clerks and clerks, when examining court cases, used their hats to receive bribes.
If you helped me, - says the plaintiff to the clerk in a stinging poem. A. K. Tolstoy, - I'd put those, she-she, ten rubles into the hat. Joke? - Rash now, - said the clerk, substituting the cap. - Well, tka!
It is very possible that the question: "Well, how is my business?" - the clerks often answered with a sly wink: "It's in the bag." This is where the saying could be born.
Money doesn't smell
He took this money and did not frown, money does not smell.
Meaning... The availability of money is important, not the source of its origin.
Origin... To urgently replenish the treasury, the Roman emperor Vespasian introduced a tax on public urinals. However, Titus rebuked his father for this. Vespasian brought the money to his son's nose and asked if it smelled. He answered in the negative. Then the emperor said: "But they are from urine ..." On the basis of this episode, a catch phrase was formed.
Keep in a black body
Don't let her sleep in bed
By the light of the morning star
Keep a lazy woman in a black body
And don't take the bridle off her!
Meaning... Treat anyone harshly, harshly, forcing to work hard; harass someone.
Origin... The expression came from the Turkic expressions associated with horse breeding, meaning - moderately nourish, malnourished (kara kesek - meat without fat). The literal translation of these phrases is "black meat" (kara - black, kesek - meat). From the literal meaning of the expression, "keep in a black body" came about.
Bring to white heat
Disgusting guy, drives me to white heat.
Meaning... Anger to the limit, infuriate.
Origin... When a metal is heated during forging, it glows differently depending on the temperature: first with red light, then yellow and finally, dazzling white. At higher temperatures, the metal will melt and boil. Expression from the speech of blacksmiths.
Smoke yoke
In the tavern, the smoke stood like a rocker: songs, dances, shouts, fights.
Meaning... Noise, din, disorder, turmoil.
Origin... In old Russia, huts were often heated in a black way: the smoke did not go out through the chimney, but through a special window or door. And the weather was predicted by the shape of the smoke. There is a pillar of smoke - it will be clear, dragging - to the fog, rain, yoke - to the wind, bad weather, or even a storm.
Egyptian executions
What a punishment, just Egyptian executions!
Meaning... Calamities that bring torment, heavy punishment
Origin... Goes back to the biblical story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. For Pharaoh's refusal to release the Jews from captivity, the Lord subjected Egypt to terrible punishments - ten Egyptian executions. Blood instead of water. All the water in the Nile and other reservoirs and reservoirs turned into red, but remained transparent to the Jews. Execution by frogs. As Pharaoh was promised: “They will go out and enter into your house, and into your bedroom, and into your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens, and into your pastries. Toads filled the whole land of Egypt.
Invasion of midges. As a third punishment, hordes of midges fell upon Egypt, attacking the Egyptians, sticking to them, getting into their eyes, nose, ears.
Fly dogs. The country was flooded with sand flies, from which all animals, including domestic ones, began to rush at the Egyptians.
Cattle pestilence. All Egyptians had their livestock extinct; only the Jews were not affected by the attack. Ulcers and abscesses. The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to take a handful of oven soot and toss it up in front of Pharaoh. And the bodies of the Egyptians and their animals were covered with terrible ulcers and boils. Thunder, lightning and fiery hail. A storm began, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed and a hail of fire fell on Egypt. Locust plague. A strong wind blew, and after the wind hordes of locusts swooped down on Egypt, devouring all the greens, down to the last blade of grass on the land of Egypt.
Unusual darkness. The darkness that fell on Egypt was thick and dense, you could even touch it; and candles and torches could not dispel the darkness. Only the Jews had light.
Execution of the firstborn. After all the first-borns died in Egypt in one night (except for the Jews), Pharaoh surrendered and allowed the Jews to leave Egypt. Thus began the Exodus.
Iron curtain
We live like behind the iron curtain, no one comes to us, and we do not visit anyone.
Meaning... Obstacles, obstacles, complete political isolation of the country.
Origin... At the end of the 18th century. the iron curtain was lowered onto the stage to protect the audience in the event of a fire on it. At that time, open fires were used to illuminate the stage - candles and oil lamps.
This expression acquired a political connotation during the First World War. On December 23, 1919, Georges Clemenceau declared in the French Chamber of Deputies: "We wish to put an iron curtain around Bolshevism so as not to destroy civilized Europe in the future."
Yellow press
Where did you read all this? Do not trust the yellow press.
Meaning... Low-quality, deceitful, sensationalist-hungry print.
Origin... In 1895, the New York World began regularly publishing a series of comics called The Yellow Kid. Its main character, a boy in a yellow toe-length shirt, made funny comments on various events. In early 1896, another newspaper, the New York Morning Journal, lured away the comic strip's creator, artist Richard Outcoult. Both publications thrived on the publication of scandalous materials. A dispute erupted between competitors over the copyright for the "Yellow Baby". In the spring of 1896, New York Press editor Erwin Wardman, commenting on this litigation, contemptuously called both newspapers "yellow press."
Alive Smoking-room
A.S. Pushkin wrote an epigram against the critic M. Kachenovsky, which began with the words:
"How! Is the smoking-room journalist still alive? " It ended with wise advice:
“... How to extinguish a stinking speck? How to kill my smoking room? Give me advice. "
- "Yes ... spit on him."
Meaning... An exclamation at the mention of the ongoing activity of someone, his existence, despite difficult conditions.
Origin... There was an old Russian game: a lit splinter was passed from hand to hand, singing: "Alive, alive. Smoking room, alive, alive, not dead!"
Gradually, the words "smoking room is alive" began to be applied to certain figures and to various phenomena that, according to the logic of things, should have disappeared long ago, but, in spite of everything, continued to exist.
Behind seven seals
Well, of course, this is a secret for you with seven seals!
Meaning... Something beyond comprehension.
Origin... Goes back to the biblical turn of the "book with seven seals" - a symbol of secret knowledge inaccessible to the uninitiated until the seven seals are removed from it, Ш from the prophetic New Testament book "The Revelations of St. John the Evangelist ". “And I saw in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne a book written on the inside and outside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice: "Who is worthy to open this book and remove its seals?" And no one could, neither in heaven, nor on earth, nor underground, open this book and look into it. The Lamb who “was slain and redeemed us to God with his blood, unsealed the book. After the six seals were removed, the seal of God was put on the inhabitants of Israel, according to which they were mistaken for true followers of the Lord. After the opening of the seventh seal, the Lamb told John to eat the book: "... it will be bitter in your womb, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey" to tell about the future renewal of the whole world and dispel the fears of believers about the future of Christianity, to which Jews, pagans and false teachers are taking up arms on all sides. "
Nick down
And hack it on your nose: you will not be able to deceive me!
Meaning... Remember tightly, once and for all.
Origin... The word "nose" here does not mean the organ of smell at all. Oddly enough, it means "plaque", "tag for notes." In ancient times, illiterate people everywhere carried such sticks and boards with them and made all kinds of notes and notches on them. These tags were called noses.
The truth is in wine
And next to the neighboring tables sleepy lackeys stick out,
And the drunkards with the eyes of rabbits "In vino Veritas" scream.
Meaning... If you want to know exactly what a person thinks, treat him to wine.
Origin... This is the famous Latin expression: In vino Veritas. It is taken from the work "Natural History" by the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (1st century AD). where it is used in the meaning: what is on the mind of a sober person is on the tongue of a drunkard.
It is not worth it
You shouldn't do it. The game is clearly not worth the candle.
Meaning... The effort expended does not pay off.
Origin... The phraseological expression is based on the card term, meaning that the bets in the game are so insignificant that even the winnings will be less than the funds spent on candles to illuminate the card table.
To the nodding analysis
Well, brother, you came late, to the most capricious analysis!
Meaning... To be late, to show up when it’s already over.
Origin... The saying arose in those days when in our frosty country people, coming to church in warm clothes and knowing that it was impossible to go inside with a hat, folded their three-ears and caps at the very entrance. At the end of the church service, going out, everyone took them apart. Only those who were clearly in no hurry to go to church came to the “nodding analysis”.
Like chickens in cabbage soup (get it)
And he ended up with this case, like chickens in the cabbage soup.
Meaning... Bad luck, unexpected misfortune.
Origin... A very common saying that we repeat all the time, sometimes without an idea of its true meaning. Let's start with the word "chickens". This word in Old Russian means "rooster". And there was no "cabbage soup" in this proverb before, and it was pronounced correctly: "I got caught like chickens", that is, I was plucked, "no luck." The word "pluck" was forgotten, and then people, willy-nilly, remade the expression "plucked" into cabbage soup. When she was born, it is not entirely clear: some people think that it was still under Dimitri the Pretender, when she was "snagged"; the Polish conquerors fell; others - that in the Patriotic War of 1812, when the Russian people forced the hordes of Napoleon to flee.
King for a day
I would not trust their generous promises they give right and left: caliphs for an hour.
Meaning... About a man who happened to be endowed with power for a short time.
Origin... In the Arabian fairy tale "A Waking Dream, or Caliph for an Hour" (collection "A Thousand and One Nights"), it is told how a young Baghdadian Abu-Shssan, not knowing that before him the Caliph G'run-al-Rashid, shares his cherished dream with him - at least for a day to become a caliph. Wanting to have fun, Harun-al-Rashid pours sleeping pills into Abu-Gassan's wine, orders the servants to transfer the young man to the palace and treat him like a caliph.
The joke succeeds. Upon awakening, Abu-1kssan believes that he is a Caliph, enjoys luxury and begins to give orders. In the evening, he again drinks wine with sleeping pills and wakes up already at home.
Scapegoat
I'm afraid you'll always be their scapegoat.
Meaning... The defendant for someone else's fault, for the mistakes of others, since the true culprit cannot be found or wants to evade responsibility.
Origin... The turnover goes back to the text of the Bible, to the description of the Hebrew rite of imposing the sins of the people (community) on a living goat. Such a rite was performed in the event of a desecration by the Jews of the sanctuary where the ark of the revelation was located. To atone for sins, a ram was burned and one goat was slaughtered "as a sin offering." All the sins and iniquities of the Jewish people were shifted onto the second goat: the priest put his hands on him as a sign that all the sins of the community were transferred to him, after which the goat was driven out into the desert. All those present at the ceremony were considered purified.
Lazarus to sing
Stop singing Lazarus, stop being poor.
Meaning... Begging, whining, exaggeratedly complaining about fate, trying to arouse the sympathy of others.
Origin... In tsarist Russia, everywhere in crowded places, crowds of beggars, cripples, blind men with guides gathered, begging, with all sorts of pitiful lamentations, for alms from passers-by. The blind especially often sang the song "About the rich man and Lazarus", composed based on one gospel story. Lazarus was poor and his brother was rich. Lazarus ate the remains of the rich man's food along with the dogs, but after death he went to heaven, while the rich man ended up in hell. This song was supposed to intimidate and conscience those from whom the beggars begged for money. Since not all beggars were really so unhappy, often their plaintive moans were feigned.
Crawl on the rampage
He promised to be careful, but you yourself are deliberately asking for trouble!
Meaning... Do something risky, run into trouble, do something dangerous, doomed to failure in advance.
Origin... Rojon is a pointed stake that was used when hunting for a bear. Hunting with a gob, the daredevils put out this sharp stake in front of them. The enraged beast climbed on the rampage and died.
Disservice
The incessant praise from your lips is a real disservice.
Meaning... Unsolicited help, a service that does more harm than good.
Origin... The primary source is IA Krylov's fable "The Hermit and the Bear". It tells how the Bear, wishing to help his friend, the Hermit, to swat the fly that sat on his forehead, killed the Hermit himself with it. But this expression is not in the fable: it took shape and entered folklore later.
Cast pearls before swine
In a letter to A.A. Bestuzhev (end of January 1825) A.S. Pushkin writes:
“The first sign of an intelligent person is to know at a glance who you are dealing with,
and not to throw beads in front of the Repetilovs and the like. "
Meaning... Waste words talking to people who can't understand you.
Origin... In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ says: "Do not give holy things to dogs and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces" (Gospel of Matthew 7: b). In the Church Slavonic translation, the word "pearl" sounds like "beads". It is in this version that this biblical expression entered the Russian language.
You can't drive a goat
He looks down on everyone, you can't drive up to him even on a crooked goat.
Meaning... He is completely unapproachable, it is not clear how to contact him.
Origin... Amusing their high patrons, using for their amusement and gusli, and bells, dressing up in goat and bear skins, in the plumage of a crane, these "shpins" sometimes knew how to do good things.
It is possible that riding on goats or pigs was also included in their repertoire. Obviously, it was the buffoons who sometimes met with such a bad mood of a high-ranking person that "even the goat did not act on him."
Unlucky man
Nothing went well with him, and in general he was a bad man.
Meaning... Frivolous, careless, dissolute.
Origin... In the old days in Russia, the path was called not only the road, but also various positions at the court of the prince. The falconer's path is the one who knows the princely hunt, the hunter's path is hound hunting, the equestrian path - by carriages and horses. Boyars by hook or by crook tried to get the way from the prince - a position. And whoever did not succeed, they were scorned about those: a good-for-nothing person.
Put on the back burner
Now put it on the back burner, and then forget it altogether.
Meaning... To give the case a long reprieve, to delay its decision for a long time.
Origin... Perhaps this expression originated in Moscow Russia, three hundred years ago. Tsar Alexei, the father of Peter I, ordered in the village of Kolomenskoye in front of his palace to install a long box where everyone could put their complaint. Complaints fell, but it was very difficult to wait for a solution: months and years passed. The people renamed this "long" box "long".
It is possible that the expression, if not born, then was fixed in speech later, in the "presences" - institutions of the XIX century. The then officials, accepting various petitions, complaints and petitions, undoubtedly sorted them, putting them in different boxes. "Long" could be called the one where the most unhurried affairs were postponed. It is clear that the petitioners were afraid of such a box.
Retired goat drummer
I am no longer in office - a retired goat drummer.
Meaning... No one needed, no one respected person.
Origin... In the old days, trained bears were taken to fairs. They were accompanied by a dancer boy dressed as a goat and a drummer accompanying him to the dance. This was the "goat drummer". He was perceived as a worthless, frivolous person. And what if the goat is also "retired"?
Lead under the monastery
What have you done, what am I to do now, brought me under the monastery, and that's all.
Meaning... Put in a difficult, unpleasant situation, bring under punishment.
Origin... There are several versions of the origin of the turnover. Perhaps the turnover arose because people who had big troubles in life usually left for the monastery. According to another version, the expression is connected with the fact that the Russian guides brought the enemies under the walls of monasteries, which during the war turned into fortresses (to bring the blind under the monastery). Some believe that the expression is associated with the difficult life of women in tsarist Russia. Only strong relatives could save a woman from her husband's beating, gaining protection from the patriarch and the authorities. In this case, the wife “let her husband under the monastery” - he was exiled to the monastery “into humility” for six months or a year.
Add a pig
Well, he has a disgusting character: he put a pig on it and is happy!
Meaning... To secretly set up some nasty stuff, to play a dirty trick.
Origin... In all likelihood, this expression is due to the fact that some peoples, for religious reasons, do not eat pork. And if such a person was imperceptibly put pork meat in his food, then his faith was defiled.
Get in the gut
Small got into such a mess that at least shout the guard.
Meaning... Find yourself in a difficult, dangerous or unpleasant situation.
Origin... In dialects, BIND is a fish trap woven from branches. And, as in any trap, it is not pleasant to be in it.
Sour cabbage professor
He eternally teaches everyone. To me too, professor of sour cabbage soup!
Meaning... Unlucky, bad master.
Origin... Sour cabbage soup is a simple peasant food: water and sauerkraut. It was not difficult to prepare them. And if someone was called a master of sour cabbage soup, this meant that he was not good for anything worthwhile.
Beluga roar
For three days in a row she roared like a beluga.
Meaning... Scream or cry loudly.
Origin... "He is like a fish" - this has been known for a long time. And suddenly "beluga roar"? It turns out that we are not talking about a beluga, but about a beluga, as the polar dolphin is called. Here he really roars very loudly.
Breeding antimony
That's it, the conversation is over. I have no time here with you to breed antimony.
Meaning... Chatting, making empty talk. Observe unnecessary ceremony in a relationship.
Origin... From the Latin name for antimony (antimonium), which was used as a medicine and cosmetic product, having previously ground it and then dissolved it. Antimony does not dissolve well, so the process was very long and laborious. And while it was dissolving, the pharmacists talked endlessly.
Side burn
Why should I go to them? Nobody called me. It is called came - on the side of the heat!
Meaning... Everything accidental, extraneous, attached to something from the outside; superfluous, unnecessary
Origin... This expression is often distorted, saying "side-burn". In fact, it could be conveyed in the words: "lateral heat". Baking, or baking, for bakers - burnt pieces of dough that stick to the outside of bread products, that is, something unnecessary, unnecessary.
Kazan orphan
What are you standing on the threshold has grown like a Kazan orphan.
Meaning... So they say about a person who pretends to be unhappy, offended, helpless in order to pity someone.
Origin... This phraseologism arose after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. Mirza (Tatar princes), being subjects of the Russian tsar, tried to beg him all sorts of indulgences, complaining about their orphanhood and bitter fate.
Grated roll
Like a grated roll, I can give you some good advice.
Meaning... This is the name of an experienced person who is difficult to deceive.
Origin... There used to be such a kind of bread - "grated kalach". The dough for him was kneaded, kneaded, "rubbed" for a very long time, which made the roll unusually lush. And there was also a proverb - "do not rub, do not mint, there will be no rolls." That is, a person is taught by trials and troubles. The expression came from a proverb, and not from the name of bread.
Pip your tongue
What are you saying, a pip on your tongue!
Meaning... Expression of dissatisfaction with what has been said, an unkind wish to the one who says the wrong thing.
Origin... It is clear that this is a wish, and, moreover, not a very friendly one. But what is its significance? Pip is a small horny tubercle at the tip of the tongue in birds that helps them peck at food. The growth of such a tubercle can be a sign of illness. Hard pimples on the tongue in humans are called pips by analogy with these bird bumps. According to superstitious beliefs, the pip usually appears with deceitful people. Hence the unkind wish, designed to punish liars and deceivers. From these observations and superstitions, the incantatory formula was born: "Pip on your tongue!" Its main meaning was: "You are a liar: let you have a pip on your tongue!" Now the meaning of this spell has changed somewhat. "Pip your tongue!" - an ironic wish to the one who expressed an unkind thought, predicted an unpleasant one.
Sharpen the fringes
Why are you sitting around and sharpening your fringes?
Meaning... Gossip, useless chatter, gossip.
Origin... Lyas (balusters) are chiseled figured posts of the railing at the porch; only a true master could make such beauty. Probably, at first, "sharpening balusters" meant conducting an elegant, bizarre, ornate (like balusters) conversation. And by our time there were fewer and fewer craftsmen to conduct such a conversation. So this expression began to denote empty chatter. Another version brings the expression to the meaning of the Russian word balyasy - stories, Ukrainian balyas - noise, which go back directly to the common Slavic "to tell".
Pull the gimp
Now they are gone, he will pull the gimmick until we ourselves give up this venture.
Meaning... To procrastinate, to drag out any business, to speak monotonously and tediously.
Origin... Gimp - the finest gold, silver or copper thread, with which braids, aiguillettes and other decorations of officer's uniforms, as well as vestments of priests and simply rich costumes, were embroidered. It was made in a handicraft way, heating the metal and carefully pulling a thin wire with pliers. This process was extremely long, slow and painstaking, so that over time, the expression "pull the gimmick" began to refer to any protracted and monotonous business or conversation.
Face it in the dirt
Don’t let you down, don’t hit your face in the dirt in front of the guests.
Meaning... Blunder, disgrace.
Origin... To hit the mud with your face originally meant "to fall on the muddy ground." Such a fall was considered by the people especially shameful in fist fights - competitions of wrestlers when a weak opponent was thrown prone to the ground.
The devil on Easter cakes
What, go to him? Yes, this is the devil on Easter cakes.
Meaning... Very far away, somewhere in the wild.
Origin... Kulichiki is a distorted Finnish word "kuligi", "kulizhki", which has long been included in Russian speech. So in the north were called forest glades, meadows, swamps. Here, in the wooded part of the country, settlers of the distant past were constantly cutting down "kulizhki" in the forest - areas for plowing and mowing. In the old letters, the following formula is constantly encountered: "And all that land, as long as the ax walked and the scythe walked." The farmer often had to go to his field into the wilderness, to the most distant "coops", developed worse than those of the neighbors, where, according to the then ideas, in the swamps and windbreaks were found both devil, and devils, and all kinds of forest vermin. This is how ordinary words got their second, figurative meaning: very far, at the end of the world.
Fig leaf
She's a terrible pretender and lazy, hiding behind her imaginary disease
like a fig leaf.
Meaning... A plausible cover for unseemly deeds.
Origin... The expression goes back to the Old Testament myth of Adam and Eve, who, after the Fall, knew shame and girded themselves with fig leaves (fig tree): "(Genesis 3: 7). From the 16th to the end of the 18th century, European artists and sculptors had to cover the most revealing parts of the human body with a fig leaf in their works. This convention was a concession to the Christian Church, which considered the depiction of naked flesh to be sinful and obscene.
Filkin's certificate
What kind of filkin’s letter is that, can’t you plainly state your thoughts?
Meaning... Ignorant, illiterately drawn up document.
Origin... The author of the expression was Ivan the Terrible. To strengthen his power, which was impossible without weakening the princes, boyars and clergy, Ivan the Terrible introduced an oprichnina that terrified everyone.
Metropolitan Philip could not reconcile himself to the revelry of the guardsmen. In his numerous letters to the tsar - letters - he tried to convince Grozny to abandon his policy of terror, to dissolve the oprichnina. The disobedient Metropolitan Tsyuzny contemptuously called Filka, and his letters were called phyla letters.
For bold denunciations of Grozny and his guardsmen, Metropolitan Philip was imprisoned in the Tver Monastery, where he was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov.
Grab stars from heaven
He is a man not without abilities, but there are not enough stars from heaven.
Meaning... Not to be distinguished by talents and outstanding abilities.
Origin... Phraseological expression associated, apparently, by association with the award stars of the military and officials as insignia.
Enough kondrashka
He was in heroic health, and suddenly there was enough kondrashka.
Meaning... Someone died suddenly, was suddenly paralyzed.
Origin... According to the assumption of the historian S.M. Solovyov, the expression is associated with the name of the leader of the Bulavin uprising on the Don in 1707, Ataman Kondraty Afanasyevich Bulavin (Kondrashka), who with a sudden raid destroyed the entire royal detachment led by the voivode Prince Dolgoruky.
Apple of discord
This ride is a real bone of contention, can't you give in, let him go.
Meaning... What gives rise to conflict is serious contradiction.
Origin... Peleus and Thetis, the parents of the Trojan War hero Achilles, forgot to invite the goddess of discord Eris to their wedding. Eris was very offended and secretly threw a golden apple on the table, at which the gods and mortals were feasting; it read: "The fairest." A dispute arose between three goddesses: the wife of Zeus, the Hero, Athena, the virgin, the goddess of wisdom, and the beautiful goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.
The young man Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, was elected judge among them. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite who bribed him; For this, Aphrodite made the wife of King Menelaus, the beautiful Helen, to fall in love with the young man. Leaving her husband, Elena left for Troy, and in order to avenge such an insult, the Greeks began a long-term war with the Trojans. As you can see, Eris' apple actually led to contention.
Pandora's Box
Well, now hold on, Pandora's box has opened.
Meaning... All that can serve as a source of disaster in case of negligence.
Origin... When the great titan Prometheus kidnapped the fire of the gods from Olympus and gave people the fire of the gods, Zeus punished the daredevil terribly, but it was too late. Possessing the divine flame, people ceased to obey the celestials, learned various sciences, got out of their miserable state. A little more - and they would have won themselves complete happiness.
Then Zeus decided to send punishment on them. God the blacksmith Hephaestus fashioned the beautiful woman Pandora out of earth and water. The rest of the gods gave her: some cunning, some courage, some extraordinary beauty. Then, having handed her a mysterious box, Zeus sent her to earth, forbidding her to open the box. Curious Pandora, barely entering the world, opened the lid. Immediately, all human calamities flew out from there and scattered across the universe. In fear, Pandora tried to close the lid again, but of all the misfortunes, only a deceptive hope remained in the box. published. If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to the specialists and readers of our project .
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Phraseologisms are the national wealth of the language. They enliven speech, make it colorful. Stable turns are an expressive stylistic means. Without them, it is difficult to imagine a text rich in speech. They enliven and fill with images, the texts begin to live a new life.
In a work of fiction - the technique of characterizing a hero, creating a vivid character, spectacular pictures of reality on a par with metaphors, etc.
General concept of phraseological units
Phraseologism is a ready-made stable speech turnover with a single, holistic meaning. Stability refers to the relative constancy of the lexical (component) composition.
| Phraseologism | The meaning of phraseological units |
| hold a stone in your bosom | harbor grudge against someone |
| how to drink give | sure, no doubt |
| bring to white heat | to a state of severe irritation, anger |
| come to a dead end | get stuck |
| small fry | a person who has no power, influence |
| wash dirty linen in public | divulge family secrets |
| smoke the sky | live in idleness |
| like uncut dogs | lot |
| take the bull by the horns | get down to business with determination |
| rummage through the dirty laundry | take an interest in the details of someone's personal life |
| build castles in the air | come up with unrealizable plans |
| cover up the tracks | conceal evidence |
| take water in your mouth | stubbornly keep silent |
| unwashed | be disappointed |
| without hind legs | 1) be in exhaustion, extreme fatigue; 2) sleep a sound sleep |
| hold the tail with a pistol | try to appear cheerful, independent |
Stable phrases are studied by phraseology (Greek. phrasis- "expression", logos- "teaching"). All constant speech turns of the language are called "phraseology".
In a broad sense, phraseological units are proverbs and sayings, catchphrases - all holistic phrases or phrases.
Examples:
- And the chest just opened;
- all familiar faces;
- the tongue talks, but the head does not know;
- a husband loves a healthy wife, and a brother loves a rich sister;
- awful situation.
Phraseologism is a kind of linguistic unit. Outwardly, in structure, it is similar to phrases - it consists of two or more word components.
They differ in that the words in it lose their independent lexical meaning.
The meaning of the phraseological unit is not the sum of the values of the components, as in the free phrase - green + field = green field, but completely different - brew + porridge = "start a difficult and unpleasant business", sideways + crawl out = "do not pass without a trace, end badly." The meaning follows from a stable phrase and expresses one concept. It is one in meaning.
Phraseologisms have the property of impenetrability: a new component cannot be introduced into their structure. They are characterized by a stable sequence of words.
Other terms for defining phraseological units are an idiom (Greek. idioma- "special property"), phraseological unit, phraseme, stable phrase, phraseological turnover. In any language, phraseological units are individual, they need to be understood. They are not literally translated into another language.
Lexical meaning of phraseological units
Like words, phraseological units serve as names for actions, phenomena, states, objects, signs. Some of them combine expressive coloring with meaning.
Expressiveness is understood as the presence of an evaluative component, informational "redundancy" as opposed to a neutral word: tuck in tail, talk about lofty matters- ironic, from rags to riches, to clean up the porridge- disapprovingly, monkey labor, oily forehead- contemptuously, the smoking room is alive, eat the girls- jokingly.
Phraseologisms sound like free phrases. This phenomenon is defined as homonymy:
- give up while charging and give up in the meaning of “to lose the desire to do something”;
- cast a rod into the lake and cast a rod meaning "to hint at something."
Ideoms that have several meanings will be homonymous: close your eyes- to be close to the dying person in the last minutes of life; hide, keep silent about something; deliberately ignore, ignore something.
Phraseological units that are close in meaning are combined into synonymous series. Examples: "very fast" (run, run) - one leg here, the other there, with all legs, like a fire, with all your shoulder blades.
From stable turns of speech, you can also form pairs that are opposite in meaning (antonyms): a yellow chick - a shot sparrow, soul to soul - like a cat and a dog, lose his temper - pull himself together, bend his line - dance to someone else's tune.
The origin of phraseological units
Stable turns are not created spontaneously during oral communication, writing. These are ready-made lexical units with a known meaning. The study of phraseological units and their origin is engaged in etymology (section of linguistics).
Most of them came to the literary language from folklore: sealed with seven seals, rivers of milk, self-assembled tablecloth, good fellow, red maiden... Many turns are associated with ancient rituals, now forgotten.
Many phraseological units came from the vocabulary: hit the tone, play first violin- from musicians; the game is not worth the candle- from furriers, cut into a nut, without a hitch- from carpenters. Some phrasemes are associated with history: ice massacre, Monomakh's hat, throughout Ivanovskaya.
There are phrases associated with biblical stories, ancient mythology: carry your cross, Babylonian pandemonium, until the second coming,with or on a shield, Augean stables, Trojan horse.
Here are a couple of interesting phraseological units, the meaning of which is associated with their origin.
According to the ancient belief of the ancestors, a closed (circular) line, made with coal or a knife, and spoken with special words, acquired power and protected from evil spirits. The circle was also carried out through the air.
In Nikolai Gogol's story Viy, Khoma Brut escapes from the witch by drawing a circle around himself and saying a prayer. Russian soldiers outlined a circle over their heads with the end of their sword, believing that enemy strikes would not touch them, the conspirators. The expression “ headlong"- boldly, not afraid of anything.
Turnover " rub glasses"(To deceive someone) comes from the jargon of card swindlers and means a real action - rubbing extra glasses on the so-called powder cards. Using powder - "sticky", the player turned a six into a seven or eight, a two into a three. That is, he rubbed in the points necessary for the required amount (for example, 21 points).
The expression stuck in speech and served as the basis for the formation of nouns eyewash(cheating) and eyewear(deceiver).
Phraseological units appear now: issue to the mountain, new Russians, rich Buratino, cherche la femme, rush hour.
Rivers of milk - jelly banks Phraseologism - a means of attracting attention
Phraseological turns are well remembered. Ready and familiar to the reader, they facilitate perception. The use of antonymic (opposite in meaning) contextual combinations, figurative phrases, ambiguity attracts the attention of the audience.
The problem is that the administration of our enterprise selects and assigns personnel contrary to good traditions, which have long been told in folklore. According to these traditions, it is not recommended to let the goat into the garden, throw the pike into the river, and appoint the fox as the head of the chicken coop.
The use of phraseological phrases when writing content is appropriate in a colloquial style, as well as in an artistic and journalistic style. Here are some techniques for converting phraseological units:
- Literalization. The context of the turnover implies its perception in its direct meaning: If the audience is not laughing, I get upset, withdraw into myself and sit there..
- Rearranging or replacing individual words: Of two evils, I choose the one that I have not tried before. Learning is light, and ignorance is a pleasant twilight.
- Expansion of the phraseological unit structure: What a pity that you finally leave.
- Combining parts that are different in meaning: All people are brothers, but not all according to reason.
- Complete change in the meaning of the ideoma: There are brave people. I'm not a brave man; How could you call the weaker sex, which takes so much strength?
- Inserting a fleshing out definition: I am his personal king. He has no king in his head, so I have instead of a king.
Headings, built on the basis of phraseological units, arouse the reader's interest. Metaphoricity emotionally affects the audience: Water does not come alone, Push-up racing, Freedom on the left.
The news, presented as a word game with a steady turnover, sounds like a slogan: In the courtyard there is a pillar, at the pillar there is a gop.
You have probably heard more than once that some phrases are called phraseological units. And, we argue, we used such phrases ourselves many times. Let's check what you know about them. We guarantee we know more. And we will be happy to share information.
What is a phraseological unit?
Phraseologism- the turnover, which is freely reproduced in speech, has a holistic, stable and, often, figurative meaning. From the point of view of structure, it is constructed as a compositional or subordinate phrase (it is non-predicative or predicative).
In what case does a certain phrase become a phraseological unit? When each of its constituent parts loses its independence as a semantic unit. And together they form a phrase with a new, allegorical meaning and imagery.
Signs of phraseological units:
- stability;
- reproducibility;
- integrity of meaning;
- dismemberment of the composition;
- belonging to the nominative dictionary of the language.
Some of these features characterize the internal content of the phraseological turnover, some - the form.
How are phraseological units different from words?
First of all, with its pronounced stylistic coloring. Most of the common vocabulary words of the average person are neutral vocabulary. Phraseological units are characterized by the estimated value, emotional and expressive coloring, without which the realization of the meaning of phraseological units is impossible.
From the point of view of the style of the language, phraseological units can be divided into:
- neutral ( from time to time, little by little etc.);
- high style ( cornerstone, rest in the bose and etc.);
- colloquial and vernacular ( tablecloth road, catching crows etc.).
How do phraseological units differ from phraseological combinations, proverbs and sayings, catchphrases?
Phraseological units are capable (and actively carry out this) in composition to combine with words of free use (that is, all other words of the language, “non-phraseological units”).
How are phraseological units divided by origin:
- native russian- some free phrases were rethought in speech as metaphors and turned into phraseological units ( reel in fishing rods, fish in troubled waters, knead mud, spread wings, grated roll etc.);
- borrowing from Old Church Slavonic (hesitating nothing, like the apple of an eye, not of this world, a parable in the town, at the time of it, the holy of holies and etc.);
- stable phrases-terms that have turned into metaphors (lead to a common denominator= equalize, specific gravity= value, thicken the colors= greatly exaggerate, squaring the circle and etc.);
- accepted in everyday life persistent denominations that do not belong to any terminological system ( Indian summer, goat's leg etc.);
- winged words and expressions that came to us from Greek and Roman mythology (achilles heel, sword of damocles, tantalum flour, wash your hands etc.);
- winged words and expressions originally from the Bible and other religious texts ( manna from heaven, abomination of desolation etc.);
- catchphrases come from literature, which lost contact with the original source and entered the speech as phraseological units ( magician and wizard- comedy A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin "The Wedding of Krechinsky" (1855), between a rock and a hard place- F. Spielhagen's novel Between a Hammer and a Hard Place (1868), between Scylla and Charybdis- Homer, "Odyssey" (VIII century BC);
- idioms-tracing paper, that is, a literal translation of set expressions from other languages ( smash on the head- it. aufs Haupt schlagen, not at ease- fr. ne pas etre dans son assiette, time of the dog and the wolf- fr. l'heure entre chien et loup, literally: time after sunset, when it is difficult to distinguish a dog from a wolf).
Do not belong to phraseological units:
- phraseological combinations like pour contempt, pay attention, win, make a decision; wolfish appetite, maiden memory, bosom friend, sworn enemy, dog cold and the like. The words that make up these phrases retain the ability to sense and grammatically connect with another word. Phraseological combinations are classified as specific word combinations. And the phraseological units themselves are not phrases in the common sense of this definition. (* in fact, this is a rather controversial point of classification and in the future we will consider some of these expressions);
- stable phrases-terms ( exclamation mark, brain, chest, vertebral column, progressive paralysis) and compound names (such as red corner wall newspaper);
- constructions such as: in sight, for sight, under authority, if they cannot be compared with a literal prepositional-case combination of words (compare: On the nose= very soon and On the nose mole);
- catch phrases, proverbs and sayings ( Happy hours are not observed; Love has no age; Whoever comes to us with a sword will perish by the sword; Do not renounce your wallet and prison and others) - they differ from phraseological units in that they are combined in speech not with words, but with whole sentences (parts of sentences).
Lexico-grammatical classification
Phraseologisms can also be classified from a lexico-grammatical point of view:
- verbal- used in speech in the form of an imperfect and perfect form: take / take the bull by the horns, hang / hang the nose, iron / pet against the grain etc. A significant number of verbal phraseological units nevertheless stuck in the language in the form of only one type: perfect ( wave your hand, plug in your belt, kill two birds with one stone) or imperfect ( drive by the nose, smoke the sky, stand uphill(for someone)).
- registered- are implemented in nominal phrases ( Indian summer, dark forest, filkin's letter). In a sentence, they can play the role of a nominal predicate - they are used in I. p. or sometimes in T. p.
- adverbial- are realized in adverbial combinations ( in all shoulder blades, in all eyes, in one word, in a black body, so-so).
- adjective - characterized by the fact that for their interpretation, definitive (adjective) phrases are required ( skin and bones= very thin wet behind the ears= too young).
- verb-nominal predicative - are built on the model of a sentence and are implemented in verb-nominal phrases (in fact, sentences, where an indefinite pronoun acts as a subject (grammatical or logical)): eyes on the forehead climb who, and the flag in hand to whom.
Phraseologisms and idioms - is there a difference?
Do I need to distinguish between phraseological units and idioms? Idioms- these are speech turns that cannot be divided into component parts without losing the original meaning and the general meaning of which cannot be deduced from the meanings of the individual words that make up their composition. We can say that phraseological unit and idiom are related as genus and species. That is, a phraseological unit is a broader concept, a particular case of which is an idiom.
Idioms are curious because when literally translated into another language, their meaning is lost. An idiom gives a characteristic of phenomena that is logical for speakers of a certain language, but relies on definitions and metaphors that outside this language cannot be understood without additional interpretation. For example, in Russian we speak about heavy rain like a shower... The British in the same case say It’s raining cats and dogs). And, for example, Estonians will say about a heavy downpour like from a bean stalk.
We will say about something incomprehensible Chinese diploma, but for the Danes it is “ sounds like the name of a Russian city "... The German will say: "I only understood the" station ", Pole - "Thank you, everyone is healthy at home.", the Englishman will use "It's all Greek to me".
Or let's take the well-known Russian phraseological unit beat thumbs up(= to mess around, to do nonsense) - it cannot be translated into another language verbatim. Because the origin of the expression is associated with the phenomena of the past, which has no analogues in our time. "To beat the thumbs up" means to split the log into chocks for turning spoons and wooden utensils.
Phraseologisms, speech stamps and cliches
Do not confuse phraseological units with speech cliches and stamps. Phraseologisms are a product of language metaphorization. They enrich speech, make it more expressive and varied, and add imagery to the expression. Clichés and cliches, on the contrary, impoverish speech, reduce it to some kind of hackneyed formulas. Although phraseological units have a stable structure and are reproduced, as a rule, entirely, without changes and additions, they liberate thinking and give free rein to the imagination. But clichés and cliches make thinking and speech stereotyped, deprive them of their individuality and testify to the poverty of the speaker's imagination.
For example, the expressions black gold(= oil), people in white coats(= doctors), soul light- have long been no longer metaphors, but real cliches.
Common mistakes in the use of phraseological units
The incorrect use of phraseological units leads to the emergence of speech errors, sometimes just annoying, and sometimes even comical.
- The use of phraseological units in the wrong meaning. For example, if you literally understand or distort the meaning of a phraseological unit - In the forest, I always use repellents, so that mosquito nose will not undermine... The meaning of this phraseological unit is “you won’t find fault with anything,” in this case the phrase was understood too literally and therefore used incorrectly.
- Distortion of the phraseological unit form.
- Grammar Distortion - It Works down iv sleeves(right down I am sleeves). His stories to me imposed on the teeth(right imposed v teeth). It is also wrong to replace short forms of adjectives with full ones in phraseological units.
- Lexical distortion - Shut up for mine someone's belt(it is impossible to freely introduce new units into the phraseological unit). Live wide(right live on a wide leg - you cannot throw out words from phraseological units).
Modern phraseological units
Like any lexical units, phraseological units are born, exist for some time, and some of them sooner or later go out of active use. If we talk about the relevance of phraseological units, then they can be divided into:
- common;
- obsolete;
- outdated.
The system of phraseological units of the Russian language is not once and for all frozen and unchangeable. New phraseological units inevitably arise in response to the phenomena of modern life. Borrowed as cripples from other languages. And they enrich modern speech with new, relevant metaphors.
For example, here are a few relatively "fresh" phraseological units that have taken root in the Russian language relatively recently (mainly in the twentieth century):
On a living thread- to do something not too carefully, temporarily, with the expectation in the future to redo the work as it should, to do it without any extra effort. The origin of the phraseological unit is quite transparent: when seamstresses sew parts of a product together, they first sweep them with large stitches so that they just stick together. And then the details are sewn neatly and firmly.
Cloudless nature- a characteristic for a calm and calm person with a benevolent and balanced character, a person without any special flaws and not subject to mood swings. And it can also be used not only to describe a person, but also to characterize abstract phenomena (relationships between people, for example).
How to send two bytes- a characteristic for any action, which is completely easy to perform.
Speak different languages- not find mutual understanding.
Make lemonade from lemon- to be able to apply even the most unfavorable conditions and circumstances to your benefit and achieve success in this.
What are synonymous phraseological units for?
By the way, phraseological units can be both synonyms and antonyms with each other. Having understood what connections exist between different at first glance phraseological units, one can deeper comprehend their meanings. And also diversify the use of these expressions in speech. Sometimes synonymous phraseological units describe various degrees of manifestation of a phenomenon or its different, but similar aspects. Take a look at these examples of phraseological units:
- They also say about a person who means nothing to society and does not represent anything of himself. small fry, and the last spoke in the chariot, and low flying bird, and bump out of the blue.
- The antonyms for these phraseological units are turns: important bird, high flying bird, big shot.
Interpretation of phraseological units
We bring to your attention the interpretation and even the history of the origin of some phraseological units. They are included in the active stock of the modern Russian language. And, despite the fact that some are no longer just tens, but even a couple of hundred years old, they remain popular and are widely used in everyday speech and literature.
Augean stables- so they burn about a very dirty place, a neglected and untidy room, things scattered in a mess. Also applicable to disordered, disordered and neglected affairs.
Phraseologism comes from ancient Greek myths. One of the exploits of Hercules was cleaning the stables of King Elis Augeus, which had not been cleaned for 30 years.
Ariadne's thread- a wonderful way to find a way out of a predicament.
This turnover also came to us from ancient Greek myths. According to legend, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos Ariadne helped the Athenian hero Theseus get out of the minotaur's labyrinth, giving him a ball of thread so that he could return from the tangled corridors along the thread fixed at the entrance to the labyrinth. By the way, if one day you become interested in ancient literature, you will find out that later Ariadne probably regretted that she undertook to help Theseus.
Achilles' heel- the weakest and most vulnerable point, a secret weakness.
According to ancient Greek mythology, the hero Achilles was miraculously tempered from any danger. And only one heel remained humanly vulnerable. From a wound inflicted in the heel with an arrow, Achilles subsequently died.
a lamb in a piece of paper- bribe.
It is believed that the phraseological unit originated in the 18th century. At that time, there was a magazine called "Anything and everything", the editor of which was the Empress Catherine II. The monarch harshly criticized the bribery prevalent among officials. And she argued, they say, officials, hinting at a bribe, demand to bring them a "lamb in a piece of paper." The turnover was popular with the Russian writer M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who, as you know, often ridiculed the vices of contemporary society.
without a hitch, without a hitch- impeccably, without complications and problems, well and smoothly.
Hitch used to be called roughness, unevenness on the surface of a smoothly planed board.
sound the alarm- to draw everyone's attention to something of great public or personal importance, to something dangerous and disturbing.
Nabat - in the Middle Ages and earlier periods of history, to notify people about trouble (fire, invasion of enemies, etc.), an alarm signal was sounded by the sound of bells, less often drums were beaten.
good swearing(screaming) - screaming very loudly, at the top of the lungs.
Phraseologism has nothing to do with modern abusive vocabulary, i.e. checkmate. From Old Russian, good can be translated as strong, and mate - as a voice. Those. you should understand the expression literally only if you know what each of its parts separately means.
big boss- an important, respected and significant person in society.
In the old days, heavy loads on rivers were rafted using the pulling power of people (barge haulers). In the shoulder strap, the most experienced, physically strong and enduring person walked in front of everyone, who was called a bump in the jargon accepted in this environment.
shave forehead- send to military service, to the soldiers.
Before a new military service charter was adopted in 1874, recruits were recruited into the army (usually under duress) for a period of 25 years. While the recruitment lasted, all those fit for military service were shaved baldly.
Babel- confusion and hustle and bustle, disorder.
Biblical legends describe the construction of a grandiose tower up to the sky ("the pillar of creation"), which was started by the inhabitants of Ancient Babylon and in which many people from different lands took part. As a punishment for this insolence, God created many different languages, so that the builders stopped understanding each other and, in the end, could not complete the construction.
St. Bartholomew's night- mass beating, genocide and extermination.
On the night of August 24, 1572, in Paris, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day, Catholics staged a massacre of Protestant Huguenots. As a result, several thousand people were physically destroyed and injured (according to some estimates, up to 30 thousand).
Kolomenskaya verst- a characteristic for a person of very tall stature.
In the past, the distance on the roads was marked by milestones. This particular expression was born from the comparison of tall people with milestones on the way between Moscow and the village of Kolomenskoye (the summer residence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was located there).
hang dogs- accuse someone, condemn and blame, slander and blame someone else.
By "dog" I do not mean an animal, but an outdated name for thorns and thorns.
in all shoulder blades- very fast.
This turn was born to denote a very fast running of a horse, when it gallops "with all its front legs."
free Cossack- definition for a free and independent person.
In the Muscovite state of the XV-XVII centuries, this was the name for free people from the central regions of the country who fled to the periphery in order to escape from enslavement (i.e. turning into serfs).
newspaper duck- unverified, distorted or even from beginning to end false information in the media.
There are several versions of the origin of this phraseological unit. This is popular among journalists: in the past, newspapers used the letters NT ( non testatum= "Not tested" in Latin). But the fact is that the German word "duck" ( ente) is consonant with this abbreviation. This expression was born.
highlight of the program- the most important part of the performance, the best and most important number, something very important and significant.
The famous Eiffel Tower was built in Paris specifically for the World Exhibition (1889). To the contemporaries of those events, the tower resembled a nail. By the way, it was assumed that the tower would be dismantled 20 years after the exhibition. And only the development of radio broadcasting saved it from destruction - the tower began to be used as a tower for placing radio transmitters. And the expression has since stuck to denote something unusual, noticeable and significant.
pillars of Hercules(pillars) - the highest, extreme degree of something.
It was originally used to describe something very distant, practically "on the border of the world." So in ancient times they called two rocks located on the shores of the Strait of Gibraltar. In those days, people believed that the pillar rocks were installed there by the ancient Greek hero Hercules.
naked like a falcon- a characteristic for a very poor person.
Falcon - this was the name of the ancient battering weapon used during the siege. It looked like a perfectly smooth cast-iron block attached to chains.
sword of Damocles- constant threat, danger.
In ancient Greek myths, there was a story about a tyrant from Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder. He taught a lesson for envy of his position to one of his confidants named Damocles. At the feast, Damocles was seated in a place over which a sharp sword was suspended from a horse's hair. The sword symbolized the many dangers that constantly haunt a person of such a high position as Dionysius.
case burned out- i.e. anything completed successfully, satisfactorily.
The origin of this phraseological unit is associated with the peculiarities of judicial office work in the past. The defendant could not be charged with any charges if his court case was destroyed, for example, by fire. Wooden courts, along with all the archives, were often burned in the past. And there were also cases when court cases were destroyed on purpose, for a bribe to court officials.
reach the handle- to reach the extreme degree of humiliation, extreme poverty, finally sink and lose self-respect.
When ancient Russian bakers baked rolls, they gave them the shape of a padlock with a round bow. This form had a purely utilitarian purpose. It was convenient to hold the roll by the bow while eating. Apparently, they already guessed about the illness of dirty hands, so they disdained the handle of the roll. But it could be given to the beggars or thrown to a hungry dog. It was only possible to reach the point of eating the handle from the roll only in the most extreme case, in extreme need, or simply without caring at all about one's health and image in the eyes of others.
bosom friend- the closest and most reliable friend, soul mate.
Before Christianity came to Russia, it was believed that the human soul is in the throat, "behind the Adam's apple." After the adoption of Christianity, they began to believe that the soul is located in the chest. But the designation of the most trusted person, whom you can even entrust your own life and for whom you will regret it, has remained as a "bosom", that is, A "soulful" friend.
for lentil stew- to change their ideals or supporters out of selfish motives.
According to biblical tradition, Esau ceded the birthright to his brother Jacob for just a bowl of lentil stew.
golden mean- an intermediate position, behavior aimed at avoiding extremes and making risky decisions.
This is a tracing paper from the Latin dictum of the ancient Roman poet Horace “ aurea mediocritas ".
history with geography- a state when things took an unexpected turn, which no one expected.
Phraseologism was born from the outdated name of the school discipline - "history with geography."
and a no brainer- something that should be understood even by the most dull, self-evident.
There are two versions of the origin of this phraseological unit. It is also possible that they are both fair and one follows from the other. One by one, the turn went to the people after the poem by V. Mayakovsky, in which there were such lines: "It is clear even to a hedgehog / This Petya was a bourgeois." According to another, the expression stuck in boarding schools for gifted children that existed in Soviet times. The letters E, F and I were used to designate classes with students of the same year of study. And the students themselves were called "hedgehogs." In terms of their knowledge, they lagged behind students from grades A, B, C, D, D. Therefore, what is understandable to a “hedgehog” should have been all the more understandable for more “advanced” students.
not washing, so by rolling- not in one, so in another way to achieve the desired result.
This phraseological unit describes the ancient way of washing, adopted in the villages. The linen was rinsed by hand, and then, in the absence of such benefits of civilization as an iron at that time, they were “rolled away” with a special wooden rolling pin. After that, things became wrinkled, especially clean and even practically ironed.
last Chinese warning- empty threats that do not entail any decisive action.
This phraseological unit was born relatively recently. In the 1950s and 1960s, US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft frequently violated Chinese airspace. The Chinese authorities responded to any such violation of borders (and there were several hundred of them) with an official warning to the US leadership. But no decisive action was taken to stop the reconnaissance flights of the American pilots.
quietly- secretly and gradually do something, act on the sly.
Sapa (from it. zappa= "Hoe") - a ditch or a tunnel, imperceptibly dug towards the enemy's fortifications in order to catch him by surprise. In the past, in this way, they often dug under the walls of enemy fortresses, laying charges of gunpowder in the trenches. Exploding, the bombs destroyed the outer walls and opened the way for attackers to break through. By the way, the word "sapper" is of the same origin - that was the name of the people who left powder charges in glanders.
Conclusion
We hope that we were able to open at least a little bit for you the diverse and interesting world of phraseological units. If you continue this journey on your own, there are still many interesting discoveries ahead of you.
Phraseological turns change over time, new phenomena in life lead to the emergence of new phraseological units. If you know any interesting new phraseological units, tell us about it in the comments. We will definitely supplement this article with them and will not forget to thank those who will send us new phraseological units.
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