The origin of which expression is associated with activity. Russian expressions with an interesting origin story

IDIOMS

Winged words known to us since childhood. Indeed, who among us has not heard: “A healthy mind in a healthy body” or: “Appetite comes with eating”? And the more mature, well-read, more educated a person becomes, the richer his luggage of winged words. These are literary quotes. and historical phrases, and common word-images.

But there is also a problem here: flashing someone’s thought or a successful turn, people usually or embarrassedly make a reservation: “I don’t remember who said that ...”

But behind every word or statement is its author (a very specific person - a philosopher, poet, historical figure, etc.) or some specific source, for example, the Bible. This is what distinguishes winged words from stable ones. phraseological units(“shout all over Ivanovskaya”, “Kolomenskaya verst”, etc.), which are of anonymous or folklore origin.

And it is very interesting (besides useful) - to get exact answers to the following questions: Who said it? When? For what reason? And to find out what, in fact, the author had in mind?

And here interesting discoveries are possible.
No wonder that at one time the famous American satirist writer Ambrose Bierce joked: "A quote is an incorrect repetition of other people's words."

Indeed, isn't that what happens with many "classic" catchphrases? After all, if we turn to history, for example, the same expression"In a healthy body healthy mind", it turns out that the author of this phrase - the Roman satirist Juvenal - put into it a completely different meaning, or rather, directly opposite to that which is now considered generally accepted. In his 7th satire he wrote that“We must pray to the gods that the spirit be healthy in a healthy body ...”. The well-known Roman proverb, based on this Juvenal line, dotted the "i":"A healthy mind in a healthy body is a rare blessing."And then: how little do we see our contemporaries - very healthy young people of a certain type? And are they living embodiments of a healthy spirit? No, rather, directly according to Juvenal - exactly the opposite ... But this phrase entered Russian speech in a truncated, and therefore distorted form.

Alexander Nevskiy
"Whoever comes to us with a sword will die by the sword"

Neither the biography of the Grand Duke, nor other historical sources in any way confirm that Nevsky ever uttered these words. It turns out that the filmmakers, or rather, the screenwriter of S. Eisenstein's film "Alexander Nevsky", who invested famous expression in the mouth of the commander. However, the screenwriter in this case also borrowed the phrase - from the Gospel.

Maksim Gorky
"Born to crawl cannot fly"

Yes, this phrase is contained in the famous "Song of the Falcon". But much earlier, it is found in Chemnitzer's fable "The Man and the Cow." The fable tells how a man saddled a cow, and she fell helplessly under him.

Vladimir Lenin
"Religion is the opium of the people"

In fact, the author of this famous phrase is German writer Novalis, who lived in the second half of the 18th century. Lenin, like Marx, who wrote in one of his works that "religion is the opiate of the people", took the phrase out of context, and distorted its original meaning. The fact is that in the days of Novalis, opium was not considered a drug. Moreover, it was considered useful, it was a popular pain reliever and was sold in pharmacies without a prescription. So what Novalis meant was that religion is a means of alleviating mental pain for the people.

Joseph Stalin
"No person - no problem"

There is no recorded evidence that Stalin ever said so. The author of this expression is the writer Anatoly Rybakov, who used it in his novel Children of the Arbat. In Rybakov's work, Stalin utters this phrase in connection with the execution of military experts in Tsaritsyn. “Death solves all problems. There is no person, and there is no problem, ”says Joseph Vissarionovich in the novel. Subsequently, in the “Roman-Memories”, Rybakov wrote that he “perhaps he heard this phrase from someone, perhaps he himself came up with it.”

Winged words - figurative and stable phraseological units that have entered the vocabulary and have become widespread due to their expressiveness. The sources of popular expressions can be myths, folklore, literature or other sources. Winged expressions are used by us every day, but the very origin of these words has been forgotten. It's time to remember the history of popular expressions.

REAL TRUTH

"Get out, steppe! God will judge the truth
Look, the executioner is twisting the loops behind you,
In a good blow, he cuts the bones with a long one,
A dashing flayer and a huge strongman "
Yuri Galkin Capture of Moscow by Tokhtamysh

Here is an excellent example of an expression, the original meaning of which (now it means: the absolute truth, absolute truth) can only be established by the historian of language. The modern meaning of the word does not cause any negative associations, but its etymology is far from harmless.

The “genuine truth” is the one that in Ancient Rus' was snatched from a defendant locking himself during interrogation, beating him with “longs” - special long whips. The words spoken during the beating were considered "under the longs", which literally means "the truth told under the longs".

And since the information obtained from the suspect through torture was once considered the most reliable, the word “genuine” acquired the meaning in which we all know and use it now. It goes without saying that this expression arose in the language of clerks and court clerks: the defendants themselves knew very well that a person exhausted by torture can confess to what he is not guilty of; far from always the "genuine truth" was the truth.

WASH THE BONES

The expression to wash the bones has been known to everyone since childhood and is interesting because it is perhaps one of the most ancient idioms of the Russian language.

In this case, we are talking about a forgotten rite of reburial. It is rooted in time Kievan Rus. Then there was a great many pagan rites that have not survived to our times.

There was then a ceremony that was carried out after the burial of the deceased, or rather after the passage of several years from that moment (the exact number is unknown, there are several versions).

It was carried out in the following way. The grave was dug up and the remains were rescued from there. The ceremony was attended only by relatives. Relatives rescued the remains and cleaned the bones from the remnants of other tissues. During this, they praised the deceased, spoke only good things about him, remembered the good deeds he had done - this part of the ceremony was mandatory. After the bones were “washed” (in the direct and figurative meanings of the word), the remains were buried again, again only relatives were present at the burial. It was believed that in the process of washing the bones, the spirit of the deceased became beneficial for relatives and found peace.

So it turns out that in Kievan Rus the expression "to break the bones" meant "to speak good words about the deceased."
The whole, so to speak, irony of this expression lies in the fact that in our time it has acquired a negative character. Although in some way it has not lost its significance, namely, that the discussion of a person takes place in his absence.
This expression lost its original meaning during the time of the propaganda of Orthodoxy, when pagan rites were perceived as unbelief in Christ.

However, at all times, neighbors and acquaintances preferred not to wait so long and washed the bones of people who were still alive.

FROM THE SAND IS ALREADY ROLLING UP
They say about old people - sand pours out of it. Where did this expression come from? It turned out that it comes from the 18th century, the time of womanizers and tight-fitting pantaloons.

If you find it challenging modern fashion- take a look at the Venetian Renaissance costume, with legs of different colors (and one of them is striped). In contrast to the recent Middle Ages with its prohibitions and strict norms, the Renaissance fashion was called upon to sing of the triumphant Man in the fullness of earthly life - carnal life!

First of all, the Renaissance triumph of the flesh is the triumph of carnal love, which was not slow to reflect men's fashion: tight-fitting pants with a codpiece appeared - a special “pouch” for “ manhood". To say that attention was paid to this detail of clothing is to say nothing; Let us recall how the same F. Rabelais describes the codpiece of Gargantua: “on the codpiece itself there were the same cuts as on the pants, as well as lush puffs of the same blue damask silk. Looking at the skillful gold embroidery, at the intricate, jewelry work, weaving, decorated with real diamonds, rubies, turquoise, emeralds and Persian pearls, you would surely compare the codpiece with a lovely cornucopia ... "
If F. Rabelais exaggerates, then I assure you - not by much: the codpieces were really luxurious!

The codpiece was sewn from such expensive fabrics as velvet and silk, embroidered with gold threads and decorated with pearls. The men of that time competed with each other, attracting and enticing admiring female attention.

Here is just one problem: all this splendor is good when there is something to “fill” it with ... and if “dignity” is no longer at its best, how does it always happen in the declining years? Then the dangling codpiece - even if it is decorated with diamonds - will only cause condescending smiles!

The old womanizers also did not want to miss this great opportunity, and in order to seem more, so to speak, “I have hoo” and “I still do as well as I can,” they put additional sandbags in their codpieces. But, for example, in a dance or with another strong movement, and perhaps even after some time of use, such a bag could easily tear, leaving behind its owner a path of spilled sand. Following such a poor fellow, the phrase sounded: “sand is already pouring out of him, but he still can’t calm down,” which has become fundamental to today's familiar expression..

DOWN IN THE DOWN
Usually this turnover is used with the words stand, stop, and it means "to stand motionless, frozen in place from horror or surprise." By origin, it is an abbreviated form of the expression dug into the ground.

The terrible punishment of burying living people for any serious crime up to their shoulders in the ground existed in Russia until Peter I. Most often, women who encroached on the life of their husband were subjected to such punishment.

"BIG BOSS"

The heaviest and most important place in the strap of barge haulers - the place of the first barge hauler. He initiates, he directs the others. Therefore, this place was occupied by the strongest person. This man in a burlatsky strap was called a “bump”. This has evolved into the expression "big shot" to refer to an important person.
Although compared to the main burlak, the importance of officials is greatly exaggerated:

CASE - TOBACCO
In this case, we are not talking about the dangers of smoking, but about great depth.
Barge haulers tied a pouch of tobacco to their necks and, when the water reached this level, they warned their comrades: "Under tobacco."

SHAPED LOOK.

This expression is rooted in the time of Tsar Peter the Great. Among the entrepreneurs who received factories from Peter "to encourage abilities and useful activity" was Ivan Zatrapeznikov, who launched production at the Yaroslavl textile manufactory, which quickly adopted his colorful surname as a "brand".

The factory produced a matter called "stripe", or "stripe", popularly called "mesh", "mesh". This very coarse and low-quality cloth made of hemp (hemp fiber) was suitable for upholstery of mattresses, sewing dressing gowns and bloomers.

Similar to Dutch teak (material for pillows), the shawl was variegated or blue-striped and had several more names, depending on the type of weaving - “chasing”, “tangled”, “tight”, “starling”, “pillowcase”.
It was from this shabby that they sewed clothes. This fabric was bought only by poor people who could not buy something better for themselves. And the appearance of such poor people was appropriate. Since then, if a person is dressed sloppily, they say about him that he has a shabby appearance.
Saltykov-Shchedrin in Poshekhonskaya Starina writes: “[hay girls] were poorly fed, dressed in shabby clothes and given little sleep, exhausting them with almost continuous work.”

FILL ON THE FIRST NUMBER

Officially, the method of investigation with the help of whips was also banned in 1801.

But as an educational measure, flogging in the school walls was used for a long time. The expression to pour on the first day is a consequence of an unspoken rule: if the mentor showed special zeal, and the student got especially hard, he could be released from further vices in the current month until the first day of the next.

There is another catchphrase associated with school corporal punishment.
REGISTER IGICA.

Izhitsa is the name of the last letter of the Church Slavonic alphabet. Traces of flogging on famous places negligent students strongly looked like this letter. So to prescribe Izhitsu - "teach a lesson, punish", it's easier to "flog".

SOAP OPERA.
This is how we used to call TV shows. But what does this expression mean?

In 1932, the opera "Betty and Bob" was a huge success in the United States, with a simple love story. Its sponsors were manufacturers of soap and detergents. And later, in order to clarify what kind of opera they were talking about, they talked about the “soap opera”, meaning this particular one.

OLD FUCK
Remember how many times we have heard this expression. Now it sounds ironic and a little insulting, but in the past it was often said to men of middle age and older. Ever wondered why?

It's all about bullshit, really. Yes, yes, in the vegetable that we still grow in our gardens. Young horseradish is usually smooth, white, but it does not have that strength and vivacity, as in the old, two or three years old. Try to rub the old horseradish. Tears will pour in a stream for a long time and plentifully.

So, saying to a man “you old fuck”, they did not insult him, but only emphasized the causticity, strength and experience gained over the years

CHASE FOR A LONG RUBLE
In the 13th century, the monetary and weight unit in Rus' was the hryvnia, divided into 4 parts ("ruble").
A particularly weighty remnant of the ingot was called the "long ruble". These words are associated with the expression about big and easy earnings "chasing a long ruble"

GET ON YOUR NOSE.
If you think about it, the meaning of this expression seems cruel - you must admit that it is not very pleasant to imagine an ax next to your own nose. In fact, everything is not so sad. In this expression, the word "nose" has nothing to do with the organ of smell. "Nose" was called a commemorative plaque or tag for records.

In the Middle Ages, wooden sticks were used as IOUs. This was due to the fact that debtors and creditors did not know how to write. For example, in Ancient Rus', if a peasant took 2 bags of flour from a neighbor, he cut a stick and made 2 cuts on it. Then, the debtor had to split the wand into 2 longitudinal parts and give one part to the neighbor, and keep the second one as proof of recognition of the debt. At the time of calculation, both halves were folded, while the notches should have coincided. Such sticks in Rus' were also called "nose" and were always carried with them for memory. Hence the expression "to chop on one's nose."

In England, the same notched tags were used to record and collect taxes until the 17th century.

BLUE STOCKING
The expression "blue stocking" was mockingly and contemptuously called women who were completely absorbed in bookish, scientific interests. It originated in England and is rooted in the second half of XVIII century. Initially, it did not have such a disparaging meaning, which it later received.

Then it meant a circle of intellectuals who met with Lady Elizabeth Montagu (Montagu) for discussions about literature and science. The scientist Benjamin Stellingfleet (1702 - 1771) was the soul of the circle, but he neglected fashion, and although etiquette prescribed the wearing of black silk stockings, he wore blue woolen stockings with a dark dress (which was casual at that time).

If he missed a meeting for any reason, they would say: “We can’t live without blue stockings, today the conversation without blue stockings is going badly!” So, the nickname bluestocking (bluestocking) was first assigned to a man, not a woman.

There is another version: the Dutch admiral Boskaven (1711 - 1761), while in England, called the circle where Stellingfleet appeared, the blue stocking society. The expression “blue stocking” came to Russia, most likely from France; there, women who were more interested in science, literature than housekeeping, were called “bas bleu” by the philistine masses.

INTERESTING TRUTH
This expression has a slightly different meaning than "true truth" - it is not just the truth, but a hidden secret, the truth hidden from everyone. And they got this ins and outs in an even more cruel and sophisticated way than flogging - the interrogated were driven under the nails of needles, nails or wooden wedges.
Interestingly, many mistakenly often write "underground". Such, they say, is a deeply hidden truth that is hidden not only under clothes, but also under nudity. This, of course, is a delusion. At the root of the word is still nails.
Vladimir Dal in the dictionary entry for the word “genuine” also touches upon the origin of the word “insiders” (under the nail): “the true truth, the true, during torture, this is given a different meaning: if you don’t say genuine, you’ll say the ins and outs.”

This method of investigation was banned in Russia in 1801.
The European set of medieval detectives consisted of as many as 77 such tools, after which a person turned into a cripple. And torture was abolished in "civilized" countries later than in Russia.

INFORMER FIRST WHIP
In Russia, the testimony of the accused was also checked for “authenticity”, the informer got the first whip: in many disputes, the witness was hung next to the suspect who denied everything and beaten both in turn until one of them confesses to lying.

Hence the expression "the first whip to the scammer." Such a method of investigation gave some guarantee against slander and perjury.

SHARPEN YOUR FACES
To idle talk, to engage in useless chatter.

Lasy (balusters) are chiseled curly posts of railings at the porch; could only make such beauty real master. At first, "sharpening balusters" meant having an elegant, whimsical, ornate (like balusters) conversation.
And the craftsmen to conduct such a conversation by our time became less and less. So this expression began to denote empty chatter.

REACH THE HANDLE

In ancient Rus', kalachi was baked in the shape of a castle with a round bow. The townspeople often did not eat kalachi, holding it right by the handle and, for reasons of hygiene, did not eat the bow itself, but gave it to beggars or dogs. They said about those who did not disdain her: they reached the handle.

TRIN-GRASS

We do not care,
We do not care,
Let us be afraid of the wolf and the owl.
We have a case
At the worst hour
We are magical
We mow the tryn-grass.
("Song about hares")

Everything is indifferent, nothing matters.

The mysterious "tryn-grass" is not some kind of herbal medicine, so as not to worry. At first it was called "tyn-grass". Tyn is a fence, i.e. "fence grass", useless, indifferent weed to everyone.

MASTER (PROFESSOR) OF sour cabbage soup

Sour cabbage soup is a simple peasant food: some water and sauerkraut.

It wasn't hard to prepare them. And if anyone was called a master sour cabbage soup, which meant that he was not good for anything worthwhile.

ROAR BELUGA

"Mute as a fish" - you have known this for a long time. And suddenly "roar beluga"?

It turns out that we are not talking about a beluga here, but a beluga whale, as the polar dolphin is called. He really roars very loudly

SCAPEGOAT
This is the name of a person who is blamed for someone else's fault.

The history of this expression is as follows: the ancient Jews had a rite of absolution. The priest laid both hands on the head of a live goat, thereby, as it were, shifting the sins of the whole people onto him. After that, the goat was driven out into the wilderness.
Many, many years have passed, and the rite no longer exists, but the expression lives on ...

KOLOMENSKOYA VERSTA

So they call a person of very tall stature, a tall man.
In the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow, there was a summer residence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The road there was busy, wide and was considered the main one in the state. And when they put up huge milestones, the likes of which have never happened in Russia, the glory of this road increased even more.

The savvy people did not fail to take advantage of the novelty and dubbed the lanky man Kolomna verst. It still says so...

GOAL LIKE A FALCON

Terribly poor, beggar.

Everyone thinks that we are talking about a falcon. But she is neither poor nor rich. And why then not an eagle or a crow.
In fact, the "falcon" is an old military battering ram. It was a completely smooth ("bare") cast-iron ingot, mounted on chains. Nothing extra!

GET INTO THE BIND
This means getting into a difficult, dangerous or unpleasant situation.

This expression comes from Ancient Rus'. In those days, in the villages they often fished, setting up a kind of snares - traps woven from vines and branches. These traps were called bindings. And, as in any trap, being in it is an unpleasant business.

WRITTEN ON THE FOREWORD
This expression appeared during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. She issued a written order to stigmatize criminals. The brand was put on the forehead, "so that he could be distinguished from the righteous."

Looking at such a person, they said that all his evil thoughts were written on his forehead, meaning the stigma.
With the act of branding, the expressions are also associated - To brand with shame (contempt).

GUARANTEE
This expression was formed in the 11th century in Rus', when the entire community, subject to any tax, was responsible to the authorities for its payment, regardless of whether anyone evaded paying their share.

Over time, this expression began to appear in a different capacity, with a touch of disapproval.
Now they usually say this in a situation where violators of the law cover each other (mutual responsibility) out of fear of accomplices, court, punishment.

DIFFERENT PERSON
The winged expression “non-lucky person” today is a characteristic of soft-bodied, insecure, doubting people who get into unpleasant stories, avoid responsibility for their actions and create difficulties for others. This is a generalized modern description of "unlucky people."

And in the old days in Rus', “the way” was called a profitable position at the court of a prince. The falconer's path is the management of princely hunting, the trapping path is dog hunting, the equestrian path is carriages and horses ... The boyars, by hook or by crook, tried to get a “way” from the prince - a position. And about those who did not succeed, they spoke with disdain: an unlucky person.

After some time, bad luck ceased to be associated with positions, turning into a characteristic of a person’s personality.

KNOW BY LOOK
There was a time when the words "know by heart", "check by heart" were understood almost literally: the expression arose from the custom of checking the authenticity of gold coins with a bite.

You bite the coin with your teeth, and if there is no dent left on it, then it is genuine. Fake, counterfeit coin inside is hollow or cast from soft tin, lead; on such a product, the “tooth” of a person immediately left a mark.

STUPIDITY
E that expression appeared thanks to the gentlemen-gymnasium students.

The fact is that the word "moros", translated from Greek, just means "stupidity". That's how the teachers said to negligent students, if they started to carry nonsense out of ignorance of the lesson, "you are bringing a frost." Then the words were rearranged, and it turned out that out of ignorance, the gymnasium students "froze stupidity."

TO ALL IVANOVSKY
That is, “with all my might; very loud".

In the 16th century, royal decrees in Moscow were announced on Ivanovskaya Square, noisy and crowded, therefore, in order to be heard, the clerks read the decrees very loudly, shouting at the top of Ivanovo.

THERE IS NOTHING BEHIND THE SOUL.
In ancient times, it was believed that the soul of a person was placed in a recess, which is located between the collarbones, such a dimple on the neck. It was also a custom to hide money here, so that if necessary, you could quickly and safely get it.
But since the poor people had no money, there was nothing to hide. That is why they say that the poor man has nothing for his soul.

BEAT BUCKLES.

In ancient times, handicraftsmen made cups, bowls, spoons and other utensils from wood. And in order to cut a spoon, it was necessary to chip off a small chock from a log. It was just this wooden chock that was called the baklusha.

The students were entrusted with harvesting buckwheat, as it was a simple matter, one might say, trifling, not requiring special skills and abilities. To cook such wooden chocks was called “beating the buckets”. And since this work was easy, negligent students tried to stretch it out longer.

But there is another interpretation of the origin of this expression.Originating from the time of Slavic beliefs.

When a child was born in the community that the sorcerer took care of, he, as a rule, took birth as a doctor or was present at them. At the same time, the magician always noticed the day and time of the baby's birth. After that, the sorcerer went into the forest at night and chose a tree in bloom. No, this does not mean a flowering tree, but a tree that has reached the peak of its development, is at the top of its strength and has powerful energy, from which it glows, “blooms”. The priest performed the ritual, asking the gods and the tree itself for permission, and cut it down. Then he always planted several young seedlings in place of the sawn tree.

From the trunk and branches of this tree, the sorcerer cut logs and, choosing a favorable time, began to beat them into small buckwheat. The buckets were made specially of different sizes, because in the future they were to become toys, tools, weapon handles, staffs, talismans, dishes, in a word, everything that the child had to use throughout his life. The sorcerer handed the buckwheat to the father of the child, and he himself made everything necessary. All things made from this tree or with parts from it brought good luck to the child, gave strength and protected from disasters. They were a powerful amulet throughout life.

And since during the adoption of Christianity by Russia, the church tried in every possible way to discredit the Magi and belittle their significance, expression and acquired a sharply negative meaning, like a worthless occupation, a pastime for idlers.

HORN
During the reign of the emperor Komnenos Andronicus (ancient Byzantium), the following rule was in use: those husbands with whose wives the emperor had a love affair were allowed to hunt in the emperor's menagerie, where he kept many exotic animals. And I must say this privilege was then in great demand.

So, the gates of the houses where such families lived were decorated with deer antlers - "a sign of special honor."

THIS IS WHERE THE DOG IS BURIED
It is in this true reason, the essence of the matter, the main thing

This phrase was born among treasure hunters. They believed that the treasure was guarded by the so-called evil spirits, and in conversation they tried to avoid direct mention of the purpose of their search, and therefore they talked about some kind of black dog or dog, conventionally calling the treasure that way.

Therefore, the expression "that's where the dog is buried" literally means "that's where the treasure is." Later it acquired a broader meaning and is now used in the sense of "this is the essence of the matter."

LYING LIKE A GRAY GELTING
Telling lies without being embarrassed

In the 19th century, an officer, a German named von Sivers-Mehring, served in one of the regiments of the Russian army. He liked to tell stories to officers - funny stories and fables. The expression "lies like Sievers-Mering", understandable only to the colleagues of this dreamer, the soldiers remade in their own way. And then it went for a walk around Russia, acquiring new fantasies and finally losing its origins.
There were sayings among the people: “lazy as gray gelding”, “Stupid as a gray gelding”, “nonsense of a gray mare”, although it is clear that the horse breed has nothing to do with this.

RUBBING GLASSES
To deceive someone by presenting something in a wrong, distorted, but desirable light for oneself

Many people think that we are talking about glasses for vision, but this is not so.
As long as there is a game of cards in the world, so many cheaters have existed - dishonest players. Among other tricks, they were able to discreetly “rub glasses” - turn a seven into a six or a four into a five, smearing or gluing the “point” with a special white powder right during the game.

So the expression "rub points", which means "cheat" appeared. This is where the words “fraud”, “fraudster” come from - a trickster who knows how to embellish his work, pass off bad for good.

TAKE COFFEE

In Russia, coffee, tea, chocolate were called drinks, and alcohol was called drinks. Coffee was considered a satisfying, nutritious liquid. Therefore, under Peter I, when the nobility began to consume coffee en masse, they never said that they drink coffee - they always “ate”, “bite off” it.

GRIND WATER IN A MORTAR
Each of us must have heard this saying at least once. Actually, these phrases became sayings at a time when Christianity was being planted in Rus'. The priests ironically used them to put their competitors in an awkward, unfavorable light - the sorcerers and magicians, who often spent their time doing just such activities. The servants of the Church could not understand the true meaning of these actions, and they did not really try, presenting the affairs of the Magi as a useless occupation and an aimless pastime. Therefore, the emphasis was placed on the fact that, they say, “the sorcerers only sit back and put obstacles in the work of others, and we, the servants of God, work day and night for the glory of God.” What was the true meaning of these expressions? Why did the Magi waste time and energy on such seemingly useless activities? This is what we now find out.

Since ancient pagan times, water has been whispered in anticipation of miracles. With a minus sign - if you talk bad, purely positive - if you wish good. But suddenly someone blurted out something over the source? Especially when he slipped or dropped the jug. But water remembers everything! And priests with shamans invented a way to remove from liquids not necessary information.

According to the beliefs of the Slavic priests, water, passing through the earth or falling from a height, breaks and loses the information that it previously carried. She is truly pure in every way. The sorcerer collected water from seven sources, poured it into a mortar and began to crush. For what? So that all the information remaining in the water is broken and the water is finally cleared. In this form, she could absorb any information that the sorcerer wished to put into her.

WRITTEN WITH A PITCH ON THE WATER
After pounding water in a mortar, the sorcerer proceeded to the second stage of the sacrament - he wrote on the water with a pitchfork.

The pitchforks in the ritual were by no means traditional pitchforks and not a fork, but a triglav - carved from the wood of one of sacred trees stick in the form of a triangular fork. This tool symbolized the trinity of the worlds - Navi, Reveal and Rule.

It should be borne in mind that the troika in Slavic mythology was magic number and a threefold increase in something gave a triple strength.

Depicting runes on the surface of the water, the magician, as it were, programmed the water in the right way - for a certain person, family, village, and sometimes the whole city. The sorcerer laid down a program of help, forgiveness, recovery, protection from troubles and diseases, and the like. According to ancient myths, such water had miraculous powers. The sorcerer, after the end of the ceremony, took water and carried it to the one for whom he prepared it, or walked around the entire settlement, adding a little to the barrel at each house. Thus, all the water in the barrel acquired the desired beneficial properties.

MONEY DOES NOT SMELL
The frequently used phrase "money does not smell" comes from ancient Rome.

This expression was born as a commentary on the dialogue set out by the Roman historian Suetonius (who lived about 2000 years ago), once held between the Roman emperor Titus Flavius ​​Vespasian and his eldest son Titus.

The Roman treasury urgently needed money (including for the construction of the Colosseum, which the emperor started), but the usual income was not enough. Then Vespasian decided to impose a tax on public urinals, arranged in Rome. Upon learning of this, the son of the emperor began to reproach his father for such a decision.
Emperor Vespasian brought the first money from the new tax to Titus' nose and asked if it smelled. The son replied in the negative. Then the emperor remarked: “But they are from urine ...”

RETURN TO HOMELAND
The popular expression "to return to the native Penates" is more correctly pronounced differently: "to return to the native Penates."

What does "penates" mean and why do they "return" to them?

It turns out that the ancient Romans believed in the existence of kind, cozy gods who lived in every house and guarded it; they were, as it were, good-natured, dear brownies, and each family usually had images of two keepers next to the hearth. They were called "Penates", they were very revered, they treated them to food from their table, and when they moved to a foreign land, they tried to take their small images with them.

Therefore, penates have become a symbol of home, homeland. “Return to your penates” means: to return to your native roof.

ALL ROADS LEAD TO ROME
It turns out that for the first time stone pillars were erected on Roman roads with indications of distances on them. This happened at the direction of Gaius Gracchus in the 12th year. BC. According to Plutarch, he measured all the roads of Rome and set up stone pillars to show distances.

Later, a rule appeared on the roads every 10 stages (1800 m) to install signs indicating the distance to Rome and the nearest settlement, the name of the ruler and the year that built the road, they installed special signs indicating settlements, distances to the object, turns.

Distance markers were stone pillars with a diameter of 0.4-1.0 m and a height of 1.25-3 m.

The Roman Empire was great, but on every road there was a sign showing the distance to Rome. It turned out that all roads lead to Rome.

AFTER THE RAIN ON THURSDAY
Rusichi - honored among their gods the main god - the god of thunder and lightning Perun. Thursday was dedicated to him from the days of the week (it is interesting that among the Romans Thursday was also dedicated to the Latin Perun - Jupiter; a trace of this has been preserved to this day in the French word "jedi" - Thursday - from the Latin "Jovis dies" - the day of Jupiter, and in German - "Donnerstag" - "day of thunder").

Prayers were offered to Perun for rain in a drought; it was believed that he should be especially willing to fulfill requests on "his day" - Thursday. And since these prayers often remained in vain, the saying “After the rain on Thursday” began to apply to everything unrealizable,which is not known when it will be fulfilled.

POT CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK
In Rus', there was often a drought. Crop failure and famine were considered heavenly punishment for human transgressions. In those days they said that human sins are so great that God does not heed people's prayers.

How to get God's mercy? And believers came to the following opinion. Since God does not hear people, you need to force the cattle to turn to him with the same request.

When the threat of drought became apparent, the shepherds stopped grazing their flocks. Hungry and unkempt sheep and cows roared and bleated to God's mercy. Moreover, not only poor, but also wealthy peasants stopped driving cattle to pastures.
It was then that the proverb “Whose cow would moo, and yours would be silent” was born and was addressed to those whose bins were full even in the crop.

PUT YOUR TEETH ON THE SHELF
This is not about real teeth, but about the teeth of tools - saws, rakes, pitchforks. If there is no work, then the tools of labor can be put away on the shelf and starve.

DO NOT WASH SO RIDING
Where did this expression come from? What can be achieved either by washing or by rolling? (moreover, in is pronounced by katania, with an emphasis on the first syllable).

Professional laundresses, at the beginning of the last century, used to wash clothes in addition to the trough and soap with a couple of almost forgotten devices. These were a “rolling pin” or “skating rink” - a round piece of wood, similar to the one that is rolled out dough, and a “ruble” - a curved corrugated board with a handle, with which you can give the rolling pin a rotational movement, “roll” it along with the one that is wound on it with a towel, sheet or tablecloth.

Washed linen was often no longer ironed, but rolled out with a rolling pin until it was completely smooth. The adept laundresses knew that well-rolled linen had a great, fresh look, even if the wash was not entirely brilliant. Therefore, having sinned sometimes in washing, they achieved the desired impression in a different way, they knew how to "take not by washing, but by rolling."

Okay, but why "skating" and not "skating"? Because, obviously, this proverb was born in those areas of our homeland, in the dialect of which this word had just such an accent that is not commonly used in the literary language. A learned dialectologist, if you ask him a question, will probably be able to tell you what these areas could be. The literary language adopted a ready-made proverb along with a purely folk form given to it by the people, with a folk accent; this happens often.

LAST CHINESE WARNING
In the 1950s and 1960s, American aircraft often violated Chinese airspace for the purpose of reconnaissance. The Chinese authorities recorded every violation and each time sent a "warning" to the United States through diplomatic channels, although no real action followed, and such warnings were counted by the hundreds.
This policy was the reason for the expression "the last chinese warning”, meaning threats without consequences.

GOOF
Prosak used to be a special machine for weaving ropes and ropes. He twisted the strands so much that when clothes, hair, beards got into him, a person, at least, could not free himself. And in the worst case, it cost a serious injury or even life.

It was from such cases that the expression “get into a mess” came about, which today means to be in an awkward position.

SILENT SPAOY
The word sape means "hoe" in French.
In the 16th-19th centuries, the term "sapa" meant a way to open a trench, ditch or tunnel to approach the fortifications. Gunpowder bombs were sometimes planted in the tunnels to the castle walls, and the specialists trained to do this were called sappers.

And from the covert digging of tunnels came the expression "quiet glanders", which today is used to denote cautious and inconspicuous actions.

HANG DOGS
When a person is blamed, accused of something, you can hear the expression: "They hang dogs on him." At first glance, this phrase is absolutely illogical. However, it is not associated with an animal at all, but with a different meaning of the word "dog" - burdock, thorn - now almost never used.

The historian S. M. Solovyov in his "Notes" spoke of prof. P. M. Leontiev, classic, friend of M. N. Katkov: “Tension was Leontiev’s distinctive quality: he would cling to something - he would not lag behind; a dog (‘burdock’) is the best likeness for him” (p. 131).

And in times of superstition, our ancestors considered burdock an excellent means of fighting against enemies. The dog, that is, the burdock, was told everything that they thought about the enemy. They wished him all sorts of trouble. Then thorns were attached to the enemy's dress. In general, they hung dogs - they caused damage. The direct meaning of the phrase has been erased. But the sediment remained.

CASE BURNED OUT

Previously, if a court case disappeared, then a person could not be legally charged. Cases often burned down: either from a fire in the wooden buildings of the courts, or from deliberate arson for a bribe. In such cases, the defendants said: "The case burned out."
Today, this expression is used when we talk about the successful completion of a major undertaking.

EXIT IN ENGLISH
When someone leaves without saying goodbye, we use the expression "left in English." Although in the original this idiom was invented by the British themselves, but it sounded like ‘to take French leave’ (“leave in French”).

It appeared during the Seven Years' War in the 18th century as a mockery of French soldiers who arbitrarily left the location of the unit. Then the French copied this expression, but in relation to the British, and in this form it was fixed in the Russian language.

AND NO LONGER
The source of the expression "And it's clear to a hedgehog" is Mayakovsky's poem "It's clear even to a hedgehog - / This Petya was a bourgeois."

It became widespread first in the Strugatsky story "The Land of Crimson Clouds", and then in Soviet boarding schools for gifted children. They recruited teenagers who had two years left to study (grades A, B, C, D, E) or one year (grades E, F, I).
The students of the one-year stream were called “hedgehogs”. When they came to the boarding school, two-year students were already ahead of them in a non-standard program, so at the beginning of the school year, the expression "no brainer" was very relevant.

THE HEAD OF THE PROGRAM
The opening of the Eiffel Tower, which looked like a nail, was timed to coincide with the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, which caused a sensation. Since then, the expression "highlight of the program" has entered the language.

FAIL
To fail means: to fail, to fail on the way to the goal. However, the word "fiasco" in Italian means a large two-liter bottle. How could such a strange combination of words have been created and how did it acquire its modern meaning?

There is an explanation for this. It was born from the unsuccessful attempt of the famous Italian comedian Bianconelli to play a cheerful pantomime in front of the public with a large bottle in his hand. After his failure, the words "fiasco of Bianconelli" took on the meaning of an actor's failure, and then the very word "fiasco" began to mean failure.

WHY BEGINNERS ARE CALLED "GUTTIES"
The term comes from mountaineering.
Experienced climbers call a teapot a beginner who has made his first ascent to the top of the mountain. As a rule, such people do not first of all perform the necessary actions to set up the camp, but pose for photographers, resting one hand on their side, while the other is set aside, leaning on an ice ax, a ski pole, etc., which makes their silhouette strongly reminiscent of a teapot.

PLAY SPIKES
In the village, this game captured entire families. The main thing is that it did not require any investment. He took straws, poured a bunch and with a stick you take out one at a time so that the others do not disturb. It looks like Tetris in reverse.

Then this occupation required the same money. Brisk entrepreneurs began to produce sets of sticks and special hooks for pulling. And later, the sets began to be made up of tiny figures: teapots, ladders, horses. Even the royal family had such a toy.
And it is not clear after that how this expression became synonymous with a stupid, useless occupation. And fine motor skills.

ON YOU GOD THAT WE ARE NOT GOOD
Many say "God is on you, that we are not good" but this is a distortion of the correct version of the proverb
"on you, wretched, that we are not good"
wretched - wretched, i.e. beggar, cripple, crippled; unfortunate, poor, a person who begs for alms

When people gave something to the poor, naturally, they gave away old, worthless things that were just right for the poor.

TAKE OUT OF LASH FROM PUBLIC
Disclose quarrels, squabbles that occur between loved ones

The origin of the expression is associated with wedding customs in Russian peasant houses. The day after the wedding, the daughter-in-law had two tasks to complete: fetch water and sweep the floors. The collected garbage could not be taken out of the hut, it was burned in the stove, since it was believed that any thing of a person living in this house, even as tiny as dust, could be used for witchcraft against him. Subsequently, this expression received a broader meaning - "do not disclose home secrets."

ALIVE, SMOKER!

Something that seemed to have disappeared long ago, but, despite everything, continues to exist.

The origin of the expression is associated with the game "Smoking Room", popular in the 18th century in Russia at gatherings on winter evenings. The players sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying "Alive, alive, Smoking room, not dead, thin legs, short soul ...". The one whose torch went out, began to smoke, smoke, lost. Later, this game was replaced by the game "Burn, burn brightly so that it does not go out."

LIVE WITH A WIDE LEG
Live lavishly, richly, with grandeur and generosity

This expression arose in the Middle Ages thanks to the English king Henry II Plantagenet. An ugly growth grew on the big toe of the king's right foot, as a result of which the monarch was forced to wear long shoes with upturned toes. Noble rich people, imitating him, also began to wear huge shoes. To prevent such boots from falling off their feet, fashionistas had to stuff them with hay. Ordinary citizens were allowed to wear shoes with a toe no longer than 15 centimeters.

In Russia, the expression "to live in a big way" took root in the middle of the 19th century, when an article on this topic was placed in the Literary Gazette. Prior to that, in the Russian language there were expressions: “on a grand hand”, “on a master's hand”, “to live on a light foot”, etc.

BREW PORRIDGE, DISCOVER PORRIDGE
Create an unexpectedly difficult and unpleasant situation with your actions, and then extricate yourself from it

In the old days, when potatoes were not yet known in Rus', porridge was the main daily dish in peasant families. Therefore, it is clear why many phraseological turns are associated with porridge: “you can’t cook porridge with him” they talked about a person with whom it was impossible to do a common business, “I ate little porridge” - young and inexperienced. The porridge was prepared quickly, it did not require much skill. If the porridge turned out to be tasteless, it still had to be eaten (disentangled).

“He made a mess” - they talked about a person who, without thinking and not calculating the consequences, created difficult situation for yourself and those around you. In order to unravel this situation, it was necessary to "disentangle the mess" - that is, to make great efforts to correct the situation.

TALK TEETH
Distract the interlocutor with extraneous conversations from the essence of the problem

People have had toothache at all times. Some went to doctors, others to healers, who had their own methods of treatment with the help of herbs, conspiracies and spells. It happened that after such a visit, the pain in the tooth subsided, and the person was satisfied. Over time, the expression "to speak teeth" began to mean "to mislead, to deceive."

BURY TALENT IN THE GROUND

Destroy your abilities, do not let them develop

The word "talent" originally meant the weight of the metal, then the name of the currency.
The expression arose from the gospel parable about how one man, before leaving for a foreign country, instructed the slaves to guard the estate, while giving everyone money according to his strength: five talents to one slave, two to the second, and one to the third. The first two slaves gave the money to the usurer at interest, and the third buried his talent in the ground. When the master returned and demanded an account from them, the slaves who gave the money to the usurer returned him twice as much, and the master praised them. The third brought one talent and confessed that he had no profit. The owner realized that in front of him was a lazy person, and kicked him out.

Later, the word "talent" became synonymous with the outstanding abilities of a person in any field, and the expression "bury talent in the ground" is used in the sense of "not using existing abilities."

IT IS NOT WORTH IT
Effort spent on something is not justified in any way.

The origin of this expression is related to the game of cards. In past centuries, when there was no electricity yet, players brought candles with them or paid the owner for them. Sometimes the player's winnings were so small that they did not cover the cost of burned candles. Then the expression "the game is not worth the candle" appeared.

Later, it acquired a wider meaning, and it is used when talking about a business, the costs of which exceed the expected income from it. If the business promises big profits, they say: "the game is worth the candle."
A synonym for "the game is not worth the candle" is the expression: "sheepskin is not worth the candle."

CHESTNUTS FROM FIRE TO DRAG
Doing very difficult work, the results of which are enjoyed by others

The expression is taken from the fable "The Monkey and the Cat" by the French fabulist La Fontaine. It tells how a cunning monkey saw chestnuts baking on charcoal in an oven. Not wanting to burn her paws, she played on the pride of a cat sleeping near the stove, calling him a coward. The cat, indignant at such an insult, began to drag the chestnuts out of the fire, and the monkey picked them up, peeled them and ate them. During this occupation, the cat did not notice how the servant approached. The monkey ran away, and the cat was punished.

Despite the fact that such a delicacy as roasted chestnuts is not common in Russia, the expression “to carry chestnuts from the fire” has taken root and means “at the risk of doing hard work for someone.”

CROCODILE TEARSFake tears, fake regret
The expression came from an ancient belief that the Nile crocodiles, distinguished by their bloodthirstiness and deceit, shed tears before swallowing their prey. The mention of such cases is also found in some ancient Russian literary monuments.

The secret of the origin of crocodile tears was unraveled by Swedish scientists, who found that crocodiles remove excess salts from the body through special glands located near the eyes.
Although the mistake of our ancestors was revealed by science, the belief and the expression associated with it lives on among the people and is applied to people who shed feigned tears and express hypocritical compassion.

BACK TO OUR RAMS

A call to stick to the main topic of conversation

This expression was first used in a French book of the 15th century. In one of the stories, there was a lawsuit filed by a rich cloth maker against a shepherd who stole
he has sheep. The poor shepherd was defended by the lawyer Patlen. The clothier, forgetting the essence of his lawsuit, began to reproach the lawyer for not paying him for six cubits of cloth. The judge interrupted the clothmaker's speech with the words: "Let's go back to our rams," thus returning the trial in the right direction.
The expression has become winged and refers to those who are excessively distracted from the main topic of speech.

TO CONTRIBUTE
Take part in any business, contributing your share

In ancient Greece, one of the coins was called a mite. It was made of a thin petal of metal and had the smallest dignity. One of the gospel parables tells about a poor widow who, during donations in the temple, placed in a sacrificial bowl next to rich gifts noble people two mites is his only wealth. At present, the expression "to contribute" means to make your own, albeit small, feasible contribution to the common cause.

LEAD BY THE NOSE
deceive, deceive

In not so ancient times, gypsies with bears walked around the villages and staged various performances. They led the bears on a leash tied to a nose ring. Such a ring made it possible to keep the bears in obedience and forced them to perform the necessary tricks. During the performances, the gypsies performed various tricks, cleverly deceiving the audience. Over time, the expression began to be applied in a broader sense - "to mislead someone."

SIROTA KAZAN

So they say about a person who pretends to be unhappy, offended, helpless in order to pity someone. But why is the orphan "Kazan"? It turns out that this phraseological unit arose after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. Mirzas (Tatar princes), being subjects of the Russian Tsar, tried to beg him for all sorts of indulgences, complaining about their orphanhood and bitter fate.

BLUE BLOOD
Spanish The Royal Family and the nobility were proud that, unlike the common people, they trace their ancestry to the West Goths and never mixed with the Moors who penetrated into Spain from Africa. Unlike the dark-skinned commoners, blue veins stood out on the pale skin of the upper class, and therefore they called themselves sangre azul, which means "blue blood". Hence, this expression for the designation of the aristocracy penetrated into many European languages, including Russian.

NEWSPAPER DUCK
“One scientist, having bought 20 ducks, immediately ordered to cut one of them into small pieces, with which he fed the rest of the birds. A few minutes later, he did the same with the other duck, and so on, until there was one left, which, in this way, devoured 19 of her friends. This note was published in the newspaper by the Belgian humorist Cornelissen to mock the gullibility of the public. Since then, according to one version, false news is called "newspaper ducks."

SEVEN FRIDAYS IN THE WEEK
Previously, Friday was a free day from work, and, as a result, a market day. On Friday, when they received the goods, they promised to give back the money due for it on the next market day. Since then, to refer to people who do not keep their promises, they say: "He has seven Fridays in the week."

AND THE OLD WOMAN HAPPENS.
Means A: Anything can happen in life.
Where : the word "prorukha" comes from the old Russian "porukh". Means "harm, destruction, spoilage." In this expression - "rape". Translated into modern language means: "and the old woman can be raped."

LANGUAGE WILL BRING TO Kyiv.
Means : by asking people, you can get anywhere.
Where : the history of this good expression is gloomy. In 999, a resident of Kyiv, Nikita Shchekomyaka, got lost in the Russian steppe and was captured by the Polovtsy. When asked where he was from, Nikita replied that he was from Kyiv, and began to describe this majestic city in all colors. After such a story, the Polovtsian Khan Nunchak hooked Nikita by the tongue to the tail of his horse, and the Polovtsy went to rob Kyiv. So Nikita got home with the help of his tongue.

PIP ON YOUR TOUCH

A small horny tubercle on the tip of the tongue in birds, which helps them peck food, is called a pip. The growth of such a tubercle can be a sign of illness. Hard pimples on the human tongue are called pips by analogy with these bird tubercles. According to superstitious ideas, the pip usually appears in deceitful people. Hence the unkind wish "pip on your tongue."

COME TO THE HAT DISCUSSION

According to tradition, men in Rus' took off their hats at the entrance to the church and folded them at the entrance, and at the end of the service they took them back. The one who was late came already to the hat analysis, and since then this expression has been fixed in the meaning of "to come somewhere too late, when everything is already over." And the expression "cap acquaintance", meaning a superficial and cursory acquaintance with someone, is also associated with an old custom. When acquaintances or friends met, they raised their hats as a sign of greeting, and only friends shook hands..

"GO TO THE MOUNTAIN"

At the beginning of the 19th century, it was popular among the people card game"slide", somewhat reminiscent of poker. When a player began to bet, forcing partners to fold, they said about him that he was "going uphill." Later, this expression penetrated into everyday speech and is now used to refer to a person who is steadily increasing his position and achieving success.

IN THE BAG

In the old days, the messengers who delivered the mail sewed very important papers, or "deeds" under the lining of their caps or hats, so as not to attract the attention of robbers. This is where the expression "It's in the bag" comes from.

BE ALERT
The fact is that in ancient times this expression was written separately and through “and”: on chiku. In Russian dialects, the meaning of the word chik is fight, crush or ride, vanity.
That is, to live on a chiku meant to be on a high road, in a busy place. As a rule, this was said about inns at the crossroads, from where one could expect good and bad guests, bad and good events. Of course, in this position, one had to be on the alert - that is, ready for anything, including any unpleasant surprise.
If you look even further into history, then you can find information about the original meaning of this expression - to be at the crossroads of forest paths, waiting for the beast.
In modern Russian, the phraseological unit "to be on the alert" has not departed too far from its original meaning - to be ready, on the alert, try not to be taken by surprise.

PULL THE WOOL OVER SOMEONE'S EYES
The popular expression "splurge" appeared in the 16th century. Currently, it is used in the sense of "creating a false impression of one's capabilities." However, the original meaning is different: during fisticuffs, dishonest fighters took with them bags of sand, which they threw into the eyes of their opponents. In 1726, this technique was banned by a special decree.

WORK OFF THE SLEEVES
In ancient Rus', rich people wore outerwear with very long sleeves. Only the right hand was usually threaded into the sleeve - collecting it in many assemblies, the left sleeve was lowered along the body to the ground. It is clear that it was impossible to engage in physical labor in such clothes. Thanks to this, the expression "working slipshod" arose, which means doing work carelessly, without diligence, somehow.
There is also an expression opposite in meaning: "to work with rolled up sleeves", that is, diligently, with full dedication.
GRATED KALAC
In the old days there really was such a kind of bread - "grated kalach". The dough for it was kneaded, kneaded, "rubbed" for a very long time, which made the kalach unusually lush. And there was also a proverb - "do not grate, do not mint, there will be no kalach." That is, a person is taught by trials and tribulations. The expression comes from this proverb.

TO PASS WITH THE RED THREAD

By order of the English Admiralty, since 1776, in the production of ropes for the navy, a red thread must be woven into them so that it cannot be removed even from a small piece of rope. Apparently, this measure was intended to reduce the theft of ropes. This is where the expression "pass like a red thread" about the author's main idea throughout the entire literary work comes from, and Goethe was the first to use it in the novel "Kindred Natures".

WHIPPING BOY

Whipping boys in England and others European countries 15-18 centuries called boys who were brought up with princes and received corporal punishment for the faults of the prince. The effectiveness of this method was no worse than the direct flogging of the culprit, since the prince did not have the opportunity to play with other children, except for the boy, with whom he had a strong emotional connection.

TUTELKA TO TUTELKA

Tyutelka is a diminutive of the dialectal tyutya ("hit, hit"), the name of an exact hit with an ax in the same place during carpentry work. Today, to denote high accuracy, the expression "tutelka in tyutelka" is used.

RETIRED GOAT DRUMMER.

In the old days, at fairs, along with trained bears, a dancer boy dressed as a goat and a drummer played a melody for him. A “retired goat drummer” is a worthless, frivolous person who cannot be relied upon.

BREAK A LEG.

This expression arose among hunters who believed that to wish directly more prey in the form of animals (“fluff”) and birds (“feathers”) means jinxing the whole hunt. Therefore, they admonished each other with the words “no fluff, no feather”, as if saying: “Let not a single animal fall into your snares and traps, and your arrows not injure a single bird.” To which the hunter, in order not to jinx it, replied: “To hell!” It was believed that evil spirits would thus be satisfied with unkind wishes and would not intrigue during the hunt itself.

TONGUE IS WELL SUSPENDED

Now we are talking about a person who knows how to speak very well, beautifully and convincingly. And I must say that this is a very difficult task. Oratory, as you know, is taught. But not everyone finds it easy and simple.

So where did this expression come from? Indeed, it does not depend on the language how beautifully we speak.

The point is this. We have all seen the bells and listened to their ringing. Agree that this is a very beautiful sound. And the secret of this sound, as it turned out, depends on the language of the bell. This is the name of the rod that was used to hit the dome. This is an important part of the bell itself, without which we would never have heard those beautiful bell overflows.

The sound of the bell itself depends very much on the quality of this language. And only the most skilled craftsmen owned the secret of making bells. And this knowledge was passed on under great secrecy from father to son.

ALL ON OINTMENT

This expression came from carriers. They were obliged to ensure that the carts were lubricated in time, so that they did not creak, and that nothing was frayed or broken along the way. And when the merchant asked the carriers if everything was ready for further way, they answered "everything is on the ointment", that is, the carts are ready for the road.

AND ENDS INTO THE WATER

This expression has its deep roots in the time of Ivan the Terrible. During his atrocities, people were killed indiscriminately, without trial or investigation. Sometimes it took on such a scale that even Tsar Ivan the Terrible himself was perplexed. At the same time, so that fewer people knew about his atrocities, the corpses of people were thrown into the river at night. The current carried the bodies away from the crime scene.

So, ends in the water, meant to remove the traces of crimes, so that no one knew anything.

KNOCK OFF THE PANTALYK
Knock down pantalik "- another catch phrase that came to us from Greece, though not from literature, but from geography. Pantalik is a distorted name for Mount Pantelik in Attica with a stalactite cave and many grottoes, in which it was easy to go astray and lose direction.The phraseologism has acquired the same meaning - to confuse, confuse.

RUN Rush

Puffs in Rus' was called a kind of underwear, something like pantaloons. If people run around in their underwear, then something out of the ordinary has happened - for example, a house fire, or some other misfortune. In such cases, people forget about decency and run away in what they were, in a hurry and fuss. Hence the expression "run in a hurry" - in a hurry.

FUCK YOU

Kulichki in Rus' were called forest glades or islands in a swamp. The people believed that evil spirits like to settle there. And since such places are often located deep in the forest, far from human habitations, “in the middle of nowhere” has come to mean: very far away.

PLACES NOT SO REMOTE

Before the revolution in Russia, there were two categories of links. The first - "to remote places of Siberia", for malicious violators of the law. The second "to not so remote places of Siberia" is a milder measure of punishment. For some reason, it was the second type of link that turned from an official term into a kind of synonym for the words "prison" and "colony".

EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY

At times medieval Rus' the townspeople settled together, based on their occupation: there were streets of butchers, potters, sewing masters. They lived quite apart, but for the holidays, which each street had its own, people were invited from the surrounding areas. Everyone invited knew: today he was a guest, but soon there would be a holiday on his street.

INSIDE OUT

Shivorot - a luxurious embroidered collar, which the nobles wore during the time of Ivan the Terrible as one of the signs of dignity. If the boyar fell into disgrace, he was subjected to a shameful punishment: they put him on a thin mare with his back forward, in clothes turned inside out, that is, the collar was inside out. Since then, this expression has come to mean something done wrong, on the contrary.

GO TO THE LIGHT

An expression associated with the tradition of hospitality - in the small towns of pre-revolutionary Russia it was customary to invite guests by placing a tall candle in the window. If you can see a light burning on the windowsill from the street, then the owners of the house will be glad to see guests. Now this expression means “to come to visit without an invitation”, and then it was the candle fire that served as an invitation.

1. During the time of Ivan the Terrible in Rus', one of the signs of the dignity of a nobleman was an embroidered collar, which was called a collar. If any boyar was subjected to royal anger and disgrace, he was usually put on a skinny nag with his back forward, after turning his clothes inside out. Since then, the expression “topsy-turvy” has been fixed in the meaning of “on the contrary, wrong.”

2. When a person is lucky, they say that he was born in a shirt. The word "shirt" in this expression appeared not so long ago, but earlier it was pronounced as "to be born in a shirt", and it had a purely practical sense. The fact is that the shirt was called not only clothes, but also the amniotic sac in which the child is during pregnancy. Sometimes during childbirth this bubble does not burst, and the child is born in it, which, according to superstitious ideas, promises him happiness and luck in life.

3. The phrase “We all came out of Gogol's overcoat", which is used to express humanistic traditions Russian literature. Often the authorship of this expression is attributed to Dostoevsky, but in fact the first to say it was the French critic Eugene Vogue, who talked about the origins of Dostoevsky's work. Fyodor Mikhailovich himself quoted this quote in a conversation with another French writer, who understood it as the writer's own words and published them in this light in his work.

4. In the 1950s and 1960s, American aircraft often violated Chinese airspace for the purpose of reconnaissance. The Chinese authorities recorded every violation and each time sent a "warning" to the United States through diplomatic channels, although no real action followed, and such warnings were counted by the hundreds. This policy has given rise to the expression "the last Chinese warning", meaning threats without consequences.

5. The expression "Balzac's age" arose after the release of Balzac's novel "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman" and is permissible in relation to women not older than 40 years.

6. The expression "A healthy mind in a healthy body" was originally taken from the satire of the Roman writer Juvenal and sounded like this: "We must pray to the gods that a healthy spirit be in a healthy body." It is believed that this line is based on the well-known proverb in ancient Rome: “A healthy mind in a healthy body is a rare occurrence.”

7. The Swedes themselves call the buffet table a snack or a sandwich.

8. A term denoting in Swedish Swedish wall, translated as "frame with crossbars."

9. The expression “Chinese letter” corresponds to the English idiom It is Greek to me’. There are similar expressions in other languages, often with different standards of difficulty. For example, the German expression refers to Spanish, Romanian to Turkish, Turkish to French, and Chinese to bird language.

10. The phrase "Elementary, Watson!", which we used to associate with Sherlock Holmes, never occurs in the original Conan Doyle books.

11. Tsarina Elizaveta Petrovna in 1746 ordered the foreheads of criminals to be branded. Many popular expressions originate from here: “it is written on the forehead”, “to brand with shame” and “a burnt criminal”.

12. Tyutelka is a diminutive of the dialectal tyutya (“hit, hit” - the name of an exact hit with an ax in the same place during carpentry work. Today, the expression “tyutelka in a tyutelka” is used to denote high accuracy).

The most experienced and strong hauler, walking in the strap first, was called a bump. This has evolved into the expression "big shot" to refer to an important person.

13. Previously, Friday was a free day from work, and, as a result, a market day. On Friday, when they received the goods, they promised to give back the money due for it on the next market day. Since then, to refer to people who do not keep their promises, they say: "He has seven Fridays in the week."

14. Previously, in addition to part of the face, the nose was called a tag that they carried with them and on which they put notches to record work, debts, etc. Thanks to this, the expression "hack on the nose" arose. In another sense, a bribe, an offering, was called a nose. The expression "to stay with the nose" meant to leave with an unaccepted offering, without an agreement.

15. The possessive adjective "sharashkina" was formed from the dialect sharan ("trash, squalor, crook"). The expression "sharashkin office" at first meant literally "an institution, an organization of swindlers, deceivers", and today it is used to refer to a simply undignified office.

16. After the discovery by ancient doctors of the nerves in the human body, they named them by their resemblance to the strings of musical instruments with the same word nervus. Hence the expression for irritating actions "play on the nerves."

17. In French, “asiet” is both a plate and a mood, a state. Presumably, the erroneous translation of the French expression caused the appearance of the phraseological unit "not at ease".

18. According to Christian custom, a priest confessed a person who did not have long to live, communed and censed with incense. As a result, the expression "breathes its last" has become fixed to refer to a sickly person or a barely working device.

19. Ancient Jews from the time of King David to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. the dead were buried in temporary crypts or simply indentations in the rock, the entrance to which was closed with a large stone. A year later, the relatives had to dig up the remains of the deceased and wash the preserved bones with clean water for reburial in a permanent grave. Today, the expression "wash the bones" means an analysis of a person's character.

20. According to the gospel legend, Pontius Pilate, forced to agree to the execution of Jesus, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said: "I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One." From here came the expressions for the removal of responsibility "I wash my hands."

21. According to the Hebrew rite, on the day of the remission of sins, the high priest put his hands on the goat's head and thereby laid on him the sins of the whole people. This is where the expression “scapegoat” comes from.

22. Once a young doctor, invited to a hopelessly ill Russian boy, allowed him to eat whatever he wanted. The boy ate pork with cabbage and, to the surprise of others, began to recover. After this incident, the doctor prescribed pork with cabbage to a sick German boy, but he, having eaten, died the next day. According to one version, it is this story that underlies the appearance of the expression "what is good for a Russian, then death for a German."

23. A small horny tubercle on the tip of the tongue in birds, which helps them peck food, is called a pip. The growth of such a tubercle can be a sign of illness. Hard pimples on the human tongue are called pips by analogy with these bird tubercles. According to superstitious ideas, the pip usually appears in deceitful people. Hence the unkind wish "pip on your tongue."

24. When the son of the Roman emperor Vespasian reproached him for introducing a tax on public latrines, the emperor showed him the money received from this tax and asked if they smelled. Having received a negative answer, Vespasian said: "But they are from urine." This is where the expression "money doesn't smell" comes from.

When the Apostle Thomas was told about the resurrection of the crucified Christ, he declared: “Unless I see on His hands the wounds from the nails, and put my finger into His wounds, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” Today, any person who is difficult to convince of anything is called "Unbelieving Thomas."

25. The opening of the Eiffel Tower, which looked like a nail, was timed to coincide with the 1889 World Exhibition in Paris, which made a sensation. Since then, the expression "highlight of the program" has entered the language.

26. The expression "after rain on Thursday" arose out of distrust of Perun, the Slavic god of thunder and lightning, whose day was Thursday. Prayers to him often did not reach the goal, so they began to say about the unrealizable that this would happen after a rain on Thursday.

27. The expression “Whoever enters us with a sword will die by the sword” does not belong to Alexander Nevsky. Its author is the screenwriter of the film of the same name Pavlenko, who remade the phrase from the Gospel: "Those who take the sword will die by the sword."

28. The expression "The game is not worth the candle" came from the speech of gamblers who spoke like this about a very small gain that does not pay off the cost of candles that burned out during the game.

29. During the rise of the Moscow principality, a large tribute was levied from other cities. Cities sent petitioners to Moscow with complaints of injustice. The king sometimes severely punished complainers to intimidate others. Hence, according to one version, the expression “Moscow does not believe in tears” came from.

30. Koltsov's 1924 feuilleton told of a major scam uncovered in the transfer of a concession to exploit oil in California. The most senior US officials were involved in the scam. Here the expression "The case smells of kerosene" was first used.

31. In the old days, it was believed that the soul of a person is placed in a recess between the collarbones, a dimple on the neck. In the same place on the chest was the custom to keep money. Therefore, they say about a poor person that he "has nothing behind his soul."

32. In the old days, chocks of blanks for wooden utensils chipped off from a log were called baklushas. Their manufacture was considered easy, not requiring effort and skill. Now we use the expression "Beat the thumbs" to refer to idleness.

33. In the old days, village women, after washing, “rolled” the laundry with the help of a special rolling pin. Well-rolled linen turned out to be wrung out, ironed and clean, even if the washing was not of very high quality. Today, to indicate the achievement of the goal in any way, the expression "Not by washing, so by rolling" is used.

34. In the old days, the messengers who delivered the mail sewed very important papers or “deeds” under the lining of their caps or hats so as not to attract the attention of robbers. This is where the expression "It's in the bag" comes from.

35. In a medieval French comedy, a rich clothier sues a shepherd who stole his sheep. During the meeting, the clothier forgets about the shepherd and showers reproaches on his lawyer, who did not pay him for six cubits of cloth. The judge interrupts the speech with the words: "Let's return to our sheep", which have become winged.

36. In ancient Greece, there was a small coin lepta. IN gospel parable the poor widow donates her last two mites for the construction of the temple. From the parable came the expression "Do your bit."

In the 17th century, by order of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the distances between Moscow and the royal summer residence in the village of Kolomenskoye were re-measured and very high milestones were installed. Since then, tall and thin people have been called the "Kolomenskaya verst."

37. In the 13th century, the hryvnia was the monetary and weight unit in Rus', divided into 4 parts (“ruble”). A particularly weighty remnant of the ingot was called the "long ruble". These words are connected with the expression about big and easy earnings “Chasing a long ruble”.

38. The most famous quote from the movie "Star Wars" - "May the Force be with you" - in English sounds like "May the Force be with you." This pun can also be understood as “May the 4th be with you” (“May 4th with you”). That is why Star Wars Day is celebrated by Star Wars fans on May 4th.

39. In the expression "Pandora's box", the word "box" appeared as a result of a mistranslation of the Greek word πίθος. In fact, the ancient Greeks called pithos a large clay vessel buried in the ground, in which they stored grain, wine, oil, or buried people, so it is more appropriate to call Pandora's box Pandora's cup. By the way, it was in the pithos, and not in the barrel, that the philosopher Diogenes of Sinop lived, since the ancient Greeks did not know how to make barrels.

40. The term " yellow press originated in the United States at the end of the 19th century. By this time, two newspapers, the New York World and the New York Journal, had gained great popularity, which relied not on ordinary news coverage, but on presenting sensations to readers and emotional presentation of the material. In 1895, the New York World began publishing comic strips by Richard Autkalt, full of satire and scathing political commentary, featuring a boy in a yellow shirt as the protagonist. A year later, Autkalt was lured to the New York Journal, and now both newspapers began to publish similar comics. That is why journalists of more serious publications called such newspapers yellow.

41. In famous song from Stevenson's Treasure Island, it says, "Fifteen men for a dead man's chest. Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! It is logical to assume that “Yo-ho-ho” is the laughter of pirates, but this is not so. Such an exclamation was used by English sailors when they needed to simultaneously make efforts in some kind of work - in Russian it corresponds to the phrase "One, two, they took it!".

42. The word "pasto" used to be called a brush or palm. There was also a greeting expression “Give me a spank!”, Which was later reduced by one letter and transformed into “Give me five!”. The shortened phrase supposedly gained particular popularity due to the similar English idioms "High five!" and "Give me five!".

43. Previously, in order for all the children in a group photo to look into the lens, photographers said: “Look here! The bird is about to fly!" This bird was quite real at the beginning of the era of mass photography - though not alive, but brass. In those days, cameras were far from perfect, and in order to get a good picture, people had to freeze in one position for several seconds. To attract the attention of restless children, the photographer's assistant at the right time raised a brilliant "bird", which, moreover, already knew how to make trills.

44. When a person is blamed, accused of something, one can hear the expression: "They hang dogs on him." At first glance, this phrase is absolutely illogical. However, it is not associated with an animal at all, but with a different meaning of the word "dog" - burdock, thorn - now almost never used.

45. The most famous weapon of the Indians is the tomahawk, which they knew how to throw and use in close combat. In addition, ritual tomahawks served as a symbol of war and peace - it is from the Indians that the expression “bury the hatchet” comes from. Having learned these customs, the Europeans crossed this weapon with another symbol - the peace pipe. To do this, the handle of the tomahawk was made hollow, turning it into a mouthpiece, and the cup of the pipe was on the other side of the blade. Such gifts were in great demand by the Indian chiefs, whose support the colonists wanted to enlist.

46. ​​In the operetta "Wedding in Malinovka" one of the characters jokingly distorted the name of the two-step dance, calling it "To that steppe." From here, the expression “To the wrong steppe” has spread among the people, meaning “to go in the wrong direction” or “to speak inappropriately.”

47. In the African dialects of the Portuguese language, there is a direct analogue of the Russian idiom “to kill a worm” - “mata-bicho” (“mata-bisho”), which means “first breakfast”. The word "mata" is translated as "kill", and "bicho" - "worm".

48. The expression “crimson ringing”, which refers to the melodic singing of bells, has nothing to do with either the robin bird or the raspberry, but comes from the name of the Belgian city of Mechelen (or Malin in French transcription). It is this city that is considered the European center of bell casting and music. The first Russian carillon (a musical instrument for playing a melody on several bells), ordered by Peter I in Flanders, corresponded to the Mechelen standard.

49. The popular expression "to return to the native Penates", which means returning to one's home, to the hearth, is more correct to pronounce in a different way: "to return to the native Penates." The fact is that the Penates are the Roman guardian gods. hearth, and each family usually had images of two Penates next to the hearth.

50. An analogue of the Russian expression "white crow" in many European languages ​​is the idiom "black sheep". Although if we call a white crow just an exceptional member of society, then by calling a person a black sheep, Europeans also hint at the undesirability of finding such a member in society. In this sense, the idiom approaches another Russian expression - "black sheep".

51. The word sape in French means "hoe". In the 16th-19th centuries, the term "sapa" meant a way to open a trench, ditch or tunnel to approach the fortifications. Gunpowder bombs were sometimes planted in the tunnels to the castle walls, and the specialists trained to do this were called sappers. And from the covert digging of tunnels came the expression "quiet glanders", which today is used to denote cautious and inconspicuous actions.

52. In English language there is a sentence that is used to demonstrate a possible lexical ambiguity: ‘James while John had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher’. Despite the seeming nonsense, it is grammatically correct if the necessary punctuation marks are placed: ‘James, while John had had “had”, had had “had had”; "had had" had had a better effect on the teacher'. You can translate it into Russian like this: “While John used ‘had’, James used ‘had had’; the teacher preferred ‘had had’.”

53. The expression “to grind water in a mortar”, which means doing a useless thing, has a very ancient origin - it was used by ancient authors, for example, Lucian. And in medieval monasteries, it had a literal character: the guilty monks were forced to crush the water as a punishment.

54. The Queen of France, Marie Antoinette, is credited with the phrase “If they have no bread, let them eat cakes!”, Which she allegedly uttered when she learned that the peasants were starving. But for the first time this phrase was recorded by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, when Marie Antoinette was still a child. Apparently, some other queen or princess said it, but who exactly, there is no definite answer. In addition, the original phrase does not mention cakes, but brioches - sweet rolls from sweet dough with added oil.

55. Where did the expressions “hat acquaintance” and “come to a hat analysis” come from?

56. According to tradition, men in Rus' took off their hats at the entrance to the church and folded them at the entrance, and at the end of the service they took them back. The one who was late came already to the hat analysis, and since then this expression has been fixed in the meaning of "to come somewhere too late, when everything is already over." And the expression "cap acquaintance", meaning a superficial and cursory acquaintance with someone, is also associated with an old custom. When acquaintances or friends met, they raised their hats as a sign of greeting, and only friends shook hands.

57. Where did the expression “the case burned out” come from?

Previously, if a court case disappeared, then a person could not be legally charged. Cases often burned down: either from a fire in the wooden buildings of the courts, or from deliberate arson for a bribe. In such cases, the defendants said: "The case burned out." Today, this expression is used when we talk about the successful completion of a major undertaking.

58. Where did the expression "leave in English" come from?

When someone leaves without saying goodbye, we use the expression "left in English." Although in the original this idiom was invented by the British themselves, but it sounded like ‘to take French leave’ (“leave in French”). It appeared during the Seven Years' War in the 18th century as a mockery of French soldiers who arbitrarily left the location of the unit. Then the French copied this expression, but in relation to the British, and in this form it was fixed in the Russian language.

59. Where did the expression "get into a mess" come from?

Prosak used to be a special machine for weaving ropes and ropes. It had a complex structure and twisted strands so strongly that getting clothes, hair, beard into it could cost a person life. It was from such cases that the expression “get into a mess” came about, which today means to be in an awkward position.

60. Where did the expression "go uphill" come from?

At the beginning of the 19th century, the “hill” card game, somewhat reminiscent of poker, was popular among the people. When a player began to bet, forcing partners to fold, they said about him that he was "going uphill." Later, this expression penetrated into everyday speech and is now used to refer to a person who is steadily increasing his position and achieving success.

61. The earlier in catholic church did devil's advocates do?

Until 1983, there was a special position in the Catholic Church - the devil's advocate. The work of this man was to collect all possible arguments against the canonization of the next righteous candidate. In contrast to the devil's advocate, there was another position - the protector of God, whose functions were opposite. IN modern language The term "devil's advocate" is often used to refer to people who advocate a position they themselves do not hold.

62. What science was an exception to Socrates' "I know that I know nothing"?

“I know that I know nothing” is a well-known saying of Socrates. In addition to him, Plato recorded another Socratic phrase: “I always say that I know nothing, except perhaps one very small science - erotica (the science of love). And in it I am terribly strong.

63. Where did the expression "roar like a beluga" come from?

The silent beluga fish has nothing to do with the expression "beluga roar", which means screaming loudly and strongly, crying. Previously, the beluga was called not only fish, but also the polar dolphin, which today is known to us as the beluga whale and is distinguished by a loud roar.

64. Why is it said about aristocrats that they have blue blood?

The Spanish royal family and nobility prided themselves on the fact that, unlike the common people, they traced their ancestry to the West Goths and never mixed with the Moors who entered Spain from Africa. Unlike the dark-skinned commoners, blue veins stood out on the pale skin of the upper class, and therefore they called themselves sangre azul, which means "blue blood". Hence, this expression for the designation of the aristocracy penetrated into many European languages, including Russian.

65. Where did the expression "bosom friend" come from?

The old expression "pour over the Adam's apple" meant "get drunk", "drink alcohol." Hence the phraseological unit “bosom friend” was formed, which today is used to refer to a very close friend.

66. Where did the expression "reach the handle" come from?

In ancient Rus', kalachi was baked in the shape of a castle with a round bow. Citizens often bought kalachi and ate them right on the street, holding this bow, or handle. For reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not used for food, but was given to the poor or thrown to be eaten by dogs. According to one version, they said about those who did not disdain to eat it: it reached the handle. And today the expression “to reach the handle” means to completely sink, to lose human appearance.

67. Where did the expression “spread with thought over the tree” come from?

In the first edition of "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" dated 1800, one can find the lines: "Boyan the prophetic, if someone wanted to compose a song, spread his thought along the tree, like a gray wolf along the ground, like a gray eagle under the clouds." A strange combination of “thought on the tree” allowed the researchers of the text to assume that the original was “mysyu on the tree” (translated from Old Russian, “mys” is a squirrel). Either the poet wrote "with a thought, like a thought on a tree," and the scribe omitted unnecessary, in his opinion, words. However, the winged expression was fixed precisely as “to spread the thought over the tree”, which means to go into unnecessary details, to be distracted from the main idea.

68. Why did the village old-timer from "Eugene Onegin" crush the flies?

In "Eugene Onegin" you can find the lines: "He settled in that peace // Where the village old-timer // Scolded for forty years with the housekeeper, // He looked out the window and crushed flies." The word "fly" is used here not in its direct meaning, but as a metaphor for alcohol. Another metaphor of a drunk person is also known - “under the fly”, where the word fly is used in the same sense.

69. Where did the expression "give good" come from?

In the pre-revolutionary alphabet, the letter D was called "good". The flag corresponding to this letter in the code of signals of the navy has the meaning "yes, I agree, I allow." This is what led to the emergence of the expression "give good." The expression "Customs gives the go-ahead" derived from it first appeared in the film "White Sun of the Desert".

70. The most experienced and strong hauler, walking in the strap first, was called a bump. This has evolved into the expression "big shot" to refer to an important person.

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talking literary language, a catch phrase (phrase) is a stable phraseological unit that appeared from any literary sources(for example: the phrase "Appetite comes with eating" belongs to the French writer Francois Rabelais (c. 1494 - 1553), who first used it in the novel "Gargantua", part 1, ch. 5.). Or the source of the appearance of popular expressions are some historical events, phrases of famous historical figures, if these words are very expressive and memorable, then they receive the status of a popular expression (for example: the exclamation "Japanese policeman!" appeared at the end of the 19th century after the incident , which happened to Tsarevich Nicholas - the future Tsar Nicholas II during his trip to Japan.In the Japanese town of Otsu, a local policeman, outraged that the Europeans were having fun too loudly, rushed at the Tsarevich and hit him on the head with a scabbard of a saber.) Many catchphrases have long been lost a direct connection with the source and adapted to modern times by changing their meaning. Therefore, having learned the origin and original meaning of this or that winged expression, one can be very surprised (for example: the word "sharomyzhnik" appeared in Russian after the war of 1812, and came from "sher a mi" (in French - "dear friend") ). The modern meaning of this word, as you understand, is very far from the original.

To view the history of a catchphrase or expression, click on it. To close the history of a phrase, click on it again.

A car is not a luxury, but a means of transportation.

Ilya Ilf., "The Golden Calf" (phrase of a beardless man)

Appetite comes with eating.

An expression from the novel by Francois Rabelais (c. 1494 - 1553) "Gargantua", part 1, ch.5

White crow.

This expression, as a designation of a rare, exceptional person, is given in the 7th satire of the Roman poet Juvenal (mid-I.c. - after 127 AD): “Rock gives kingdoms to slaves, delivers triumphs to captives. there are crows."

Beat the buckets.

For a long time handicraftsmen have been making spoons, cups and other utensils from wood. To cut a spoon, it was necessary to chip off a chock - a baklusha - from a log. Apprentices were entrusted with preparing buckwheat: it was an easy, trifling matter that did not require special skills. Cooking such chocks was called "baklushi to beat." From here, from the mockery of the masters over the auxiliary workers - "bottlenecks", this expression came from

Be alert.

In ancient times, this expression was written separately and through "and": on chiku. In Russian dialects, the meaning of the word chik is fight, crush or ride, vanity. That is, to live on a chiku meant to be on a high road, in a busy place. As a rule, this was said about inns at the crossroads, from where one could expect good and bad guests, bad and good events. Of course, in this position, one had to be on the alert - that is, ready for anything, including any unpleasant surprise. If you look even further into history, then you can find information about the original meaning of this expression - to be at the crossroads of forest paths, waiting for the beast. In modern Russian, the phraseological unit "to be on the alert" has not departed too far from its original meaning - to be ready, on the alert, try not to be taken by surprise.

The paper does not turn red.

This phrase belongs to Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero)

Time heals everything.

The expression goes back to the "Confession" of Augustine (354-430). Similar to it is already found in antiquity, in the Greek writer Menander (c. 343 - c. 291 BC): "Time is the doctor of all inevitable evils."

Time is money.

Aphorism from the work of the American scientist and politician Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) "Advice to a Young Merchant" (1748). An expression similar in thought is already found in the Greek philosopher Theophrastus (c. 372-287 BC): "Time is a costly waste."

Time works for us.

In 1866 in England, in the House of Commons, under the influence of the growth of the labor movement, Lord Russell's liberal cabinet put forward a bill for the reform of the suffrage. During the debate, W. Gladstone (1809-1898), the future prime minister, defending the political rights of the workers, exclaimed to the conservatives: "You cannot fight against the future. Time works for us." Last phrase, which has become winged in Russian speech, is not a completely accurate translation. The original words of Gladstone: "Time is on our side", that is, "Time is on our side."

All roads lead to Rome.

Medieval saying included in our literary speech, probably from the fable of Lafontaine (1621-1695) "Arbitrator, brother of mercy and hermit".

Written with a pitchfork on the water.

To contribute.

In ancient Greece, there was a small coin lepta. In the gospel parable, a poor widow donates her last two mites for the construction of the temple. From the parable came the expression "to contribute."

Lead by the nose.

To deceive, promising and not fulfilling the promise. This expression was associated with fairground entertainment. The gypsies led the bears by wearing a nose ring. And they forced them, the poor fellows, to do various tricks, deceiving them with the promise of handouts.

Pour in the first number.

In a pre-revolutionary school, students were flogged every week, regardless of who was right and who was wrong. And if the “mentor” overdoes it, then such a spanking was enough for a long time, until the first day of the next month.

Rub glasses.

This is not about glasses that are used to correct vision. There is another meaning of the word "glasses": red and black marks on playing cards. There is even a gambling card game, so called - "point". Since the cards exist, there have been dishonest players, cheaters in the world. They, in order to deceive a partner, indulged in all sorts of tricks. They were able, among other things, to quietly "rub glasses" - to turn a seven into a six or a four into a five, on the go, during the game, sticking a "point" or covering it with a special white powder. And the expression "rubbing glasses" began to mean "cheating", hence other words were born: "fraud", "fraudster" - a trickster who knows how to embellish his work, pass off bad as very good.

Newspaper duck.

It turns out that the expression "newspaper duck" arose for the first time in Germany, in late XVII century. It was there that under the newspaper articles, which set out sensational, but doubtful, not entirely reliable information, it was customary to put two letters: N. T. - initial letters Latin words "non testatur", which means "not tested". This abbreviation is read, this abbreviation is “en-te”. And in German "ente" (Ente) - duck. By the way, more than a quarter of a century ago, in the American city of Trenton, a kind of special bureau was established to fix works falling under the heading “newspaper duck”. This bureau even published a monthly magazine in which the most sensational, extravagant journalistic ducks were reprinted ...

Gallop across Europe.

The aphorism "galloping across Europe" is A. Zharov's remark about shortening the stay of a group of Soviet journalists in Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Where do crayfish hibernate?

Where do crayfish hibernate? Fishermen know: for the winter they climb into holes dug by them in underwater shores, under stones, sunken snags. Threateningly putting out their sharp fighting claws, crayfish sleep like that until spring. Isn't that why we remember about the wintering of crayfish, bearing in mind the difficulties that a person can get into? The place where they hibernate is really very uncomfortable - both dark and cold.

Blue blood.

Why do they say about aristocrats that they have blue blood? The Spanish royal family and nobility prided themselves on the fact that, unlike the common people, they traced their ancestry to the West Goths and never mixed with the Moors who entered Spain from Africa. Unlike the dark-skinned commoners, blue veins stood out in the pale skin of the upper class, and therefore they called themselves sangre azul, which means "blue blood". Hence, this expression for the designation of the aristocracy penetrated into many European languages, including Russian.

Goal like a falcon.

In the bag.

In the old days, the messengers who delivered the mail sewed very important papers, or "deeds" under the lining of their caps or hats, so as not to attract the attention of robbers. This is where the expression "in the bag" comes from.

Get to the handle.

The phraseological expression "to reach the handle", meaning "to go down, lose human appearance" was coined in Ancient Rus'. Its origin is very entertaining and is directly related to kalach. Kalach is a wheat bread baked in the shape of a castle with a round bow. The townspeople often ate kalachi right on the street, holding this very round bow. For reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not used for food, but was given to beggars or dogs. About those who did not disdain to eat it, they said "reached the handle."

The case is tobacco.

In this case, we are talking about great depth. Barge haulers tied a pouch of tobacco to their necks and, when the water reached this level, they warned their comrades: "Under the tobacco."

Long box.

Under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, a long box for petitions hung in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow.

Uncle Sam (Himself).

That's what the US is called. There is an explanation that this name came from the nickname that a certain Samuel Wilson, a native of New York, who settled in the late 18th century, received. in Troy, on the Hudson River; locals they called him "Uncle Sam" (according to another transcription - Sam). During the second Anglo-American war (1812-1814), Wilson, who was very popular, served as a food inspector in the army supply authorities. On boxes of food sent to the army, Wilson put the letters U.S. i.e. United States-United States. The Americans deciphered these letters as Uncle Sam - "Uncle Sam". However latest research this interpretation, as anecdotal, is denied.

If the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed goes to the mountain

There are various explanations about the origin of this expression. It is believed, for example, that it goes back to one of the anecdotal stories associated with Khoja Nasreddin, a beloved hero of Middle Eastern folklore. Once, when he pretended to be a saint, he was asked by what miracle he could prove it. Nasreddin replied that he told the palm tree to come closer to him and it would obey. When the miracle failed, Nasreddin went to the tree with the words: "Prophets and saints are devoid of arrogance.. If the palm tree does not come to me, I go to it." this story is in an Arabic collection, presumably dated to 1631. Another story is in the notes of the famous traveler Marco Polo (1254-1324), the first edition of which in Latin was published without indicating the place and year; presumably: Venice or Rome, 1484. Marco Polo tells that a certain Baghdad shoemaker undertook to prove to Caliph Al-Muetasim the advantages Christian faith and allegedly performed a miracle: the mountain, at his call, moved towards him. The researcher believes that the European version of this Eastern legend replaced the palm tree with a mountain due to the Christian tradition, which claims that faith moves mountains (I Epistle to the Corinthians, 13.2). Finally, there is a well-known Turkish proverb - possible source this expression: "Mountain, mountain, wander; if the mountain does not wander, let the saint wander." The circulation of this proverb is traced back to the 17th century. Finally, already in 1597, the English philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in his "Moral and Political Essays", in the essay "On Courage" says that Mohammed promised the people to move the mountain by force, and when he failed, he said: "Well! since the mountain does not want to go to Mohammed, Mohammed will go to her."

Written with a pitchfork on the water.

In the expression "it is written with a pitchfork on the water," the pitchfork means old name circles on the water.

There is life in the old dog yet.

Quote from N. V. Gogol's story "Taras Bulba" (1842), ch. 9: "There is still gunpowder in the powder flasks? Hasn't the Cossack strength weakened? Are the Cossacks bending?" - "There is still, father, gunpowder in the powder flasks. The Cossack strength has not yet weakened; the Cossacks are not bending yet!"

Yellow press

This expression, used in the sense of base, deceitful, greedy for all kinds of cheap sensationalism, arose in the United States. In 1985, American graphic artist Richard Outcault placed a series of frivolous drawings with humorous text in a number of issues of the New York newspaper "The World"; among the drawings was a child in a yellow shirt, to whom various amusing statements were attributed. Soon another American newspaper - "New-York Journal" - began to print a series of similar drawings. A dispute arose between the two newspapers over the primacy of this " yellow boy". In 1896, Erwin Wardman, editor of the New-York Press, published an article in this magazine in which he contemptuously called both competing newspapers "yellow press". Since then, this expression has become winged.

Life is a struggle

The expression goes back to ancient authors. Euripides in the tragedy "The Petitioners": "Our life is a struggle." In the letters of Seneca: "To live is to fight." Voltaire in the tragedy "Fanaticism, or the Prophet Mohammed" puts into the mouth of Mohammed the phrase: "Life is a struggle."

Bosom friend.

The old expression "to pour over the Adam's apple" meant "to get drunk", "to drink alcohol". Hence the phraseological unit "bosom friend" was formed, which today is used to refer to a very close friend.

Nick down

In this expression, the word "nose" has nothing to do with the organ of smell. "Nose" was a commemorative wooden plaque. In the distant past, illiterate people always carried with them such boards and sticks, with the help of which all kinds of notes or notches were made as a keepsake. Here the word "nose" is what "wear" (from the verb "wear")

shabby look

The expression shabby appearance appeared under Peter I and has nothing to do with the meal. Zatrapeznikov is the surname of a merchant whose factory produced very coarse and low-quality fabric. Since then, they say about a sloppyly dressed person that he has a shabby appearance.

Hot spot.

The expression arose from the "mortuary" prayer: "Rest the soul of your servant in a place of light, in a place of greenery, in a place of peace"; here, as in the Bible (Psalm 22), "hot spot" means: a pleasant, calm, abundant place for everyone. But more often this expression is used ironically, in the opposite sense; especially often in the meaning: a place of drunkenness and debauchery.

Knowledge is power

Expression of the English materialist philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in Moral and Political Essays, 2, 11 (1597)

Golden youth

So they call the rich aristocratic youth, winding money, burning through life. Initially, this was the nickname of the Parisian counter-revolutionary youth, grouped after 9 Thermidor (1794) around Freron (1754-1802), one of the leaders of the Thermidorian reaction. Led by Freron, the "golden youth" persecuted the last Montagnards. In his journal "Orateur du peuple" on 30 Jan. 1795 Freron says that the nickname "golden youth" originated in Jacobin circles. The French novelist François Xavier Pages (1745-1802) introduced him to the 2nd part of the Secret History of the French Revolution, published in early 1797. Then it was forgotten, but after 1824, thanks to historical works Mignet, Thiers, Thibodeau and Prudhomme are back in wide circulation.

Go uphill.

The expression to go uphill entered the common colloquial speech of the intelligentsia in the first thirds of XIX V. from gambling slang: the card game “hill” was popular among the people, somewhat reminiscent of poker. When a player began to bet, forcing partners to fold, they said about him that he was "going uphill." Later, this expression penetrated into everyday speech and is now used to refer to a person who is steadily increasing his position and achieving success.

I'm going to you.

According to the chronicle, Prince Svyatoslav, not wanting to take advantage of an unexpected attack, always declared war in advance, ordering the enemy to say: "I'm going to attack you." That is, on you (N. M. Karamzin, History of the Russian State, St. Petersburg. 1842, vol. I, p. 104).

Massacre of the innocents

The expression arose from the gospel legend about the killing of all babies in Bethlehem at the command of the Jewish king Herod, after he learned from the Magi about the birth of Jesus, who they called the king of the Jews (Matt., 2, 1-5 and 16). Used as a definition of child abuse, as well as when jokingly talking about the strict measures applied to them.

And there is a hole in the old woman

Now this phrase means that even an experienced person is mistaken. The word "prorukha" comes from the old Russian "porukh" - trouble, own oversight, mistake

Search a woman

This expression is used (often in French: "Cherchez la femme") when they want to say that a woman is the culprit of an event, disaster, crime. It became winged thanks to the novel by Alexandre Dumas père (1802-1870) The Mohicans of Paris, which he remade into a drama of the same name (1864). These words in "The Mohicans of Paris" (in the novel, part III, ch. 10 and 11, in the play - d. 2, 16) are a favorite saying of a Parisian police official. Dumas used an expression that was actually used by the famous French police officer Gabriel de Sartine (1729-1801). The idea behind this expression is not new. The earliest version of it is found in the Roman poet Juvenal (c. 43-113 AD); in the 6th satire, he says that "there is hardly a lawsuit in which a woman would not be the cause of the quarrel." In Richardson's (1689-1761) novel "Charles Grandison" (1753), in letter 24 we read: "There is a woman behind these intrigues." In the 2nd chapter of the novel by I. S. Turgenev "Rudin" (1855), the misogynist Pigasov asks about any misfortune: What is her name?

Like a squirrel in a wheel

An expression from the fable of I. A. Krylov "Squirrel" (1833 You look at another businessman: Busy, rushing about, everyone marvels at him: He seems to be torn from the skin, Yes, but everything does not move forward, Like a squirrel in a wheel. This expression is used in Meaning: to constantly fuss, to bother with no visible results; to be very busy.

When cancer on the mountain whistles

The meaning of the phraseological unit "when the cancer whistles on the mountain (and the fish sings)" - means "it is not known when; in an indefinite future time; never." Such a formula of the impossible, in fact, is an ironically-joking saying. Comparing with this phraseological unit other expressions that have a similar meaning: Russian - for Turkish Easter; into Russian bayram; after the carrot spell; after the rain on Thursday; on Monday after Wednesday; for that summer, not for this; for the year when the devil dies; when the devil is baptized; when the bald ones curl up (when the bald head curls up); when the magpie turns white; when the pigs walk from the field; when the gelding becomes moribund; when the rooster lays the egg; English - when the moon turns into green cheese; when pigs fly and one day under a blue moon, French - when chickens have teeth, German - when dogs bark their tails, Kazakh - when a camel's tail reaches the ground, Kyrgyz - when a donkey's tail touches the ground, Bulgarian - when a pig in yellow slippers climbs a pear , it can be seen that the figurative meaning of such structures is realized as a result of a violation of the "logical" compatibility of components.

It is written with a pitchfork on the water

In the expression "it is written with a pitchfork on the water," the pitchfork refers to the ancient name of the circles on the water.

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On the history of the ancient world

"Carve the Sea". The king of the Persians, Xerxes, went to war against Greece in the 5th century BC. e. and ordered the construction of a bridge across the strait between Asia and Europe for the crossing of his troops. The storm destroyed the bridge. The enraged ruler ordered the builders to be executed and the sea to be whipped with chains. The expression is used in relation to those people who, in a blind rage, are trying to take out their anger on something beyond their control.

"Penelope's Cloth". Penelope is the wife from Homer's poem of the same name. She waited twenty years for her husband. She promised to her numerous admirers that she would marry as soon as the veil was woven. But every night she unraveled everything she had done during the day. Today, the expression is used in the sense of clever cunning. "Penelope's work" refers to an endless work, the results of which are destroyed as they move forward.

"Sink into oblivion". Summer was the name of the underground river of Hell, which separated the living world from the realm of the dead. The waters of the river bore oblivion. "Sink into oblivion" means "disappear from memory, subject to oblivion."

"Barrel of Danaid". According to Greek tradition, King Danae had 50 beautiful daughters. He was against their marriage and ordered them to kill their husbands. The gods were angry at this atrocity and sentenced the daughters to such a punishment: deep underground to fill a bottomless barrel with water. Now it is a symbol of aimless endless work.

"Achieve the climax." It means to achieve the highest measure of prosperity, the power of power, glory. Apogee is a Greek word: "apo" - "far", "gay" - "land". Literally - "far from the earth."

"Raise to the shield." In Rome, choosing a commander, they raised him high on a shield above the heads of the soldiers. Today it means "exalt merits, greatly praise a person."

"Hannibal's Oath" As a nine-year-old boy, Hannibal, the future outstanding Carthaginian commander, vowed to fight Rome forever. He kept his vow. It is used in the meaning of the oath of allegiance that a person gives and devotes his whole life to this noble cause,

"And you, Vrut!" He took part in the assassination of Caesar in the Senate closest friend- Brutus. Caesar allegedly uttered this phrase when he saw him among his assassins. Used as a symbol of betrayal.

Geese saved Rome. The Gauls attacked Rome at night. Under the cover of darkness, they silently crossed the fortifications. But the geese who were in the temple heard the noise and cackled. The Romans woke up and repelled the attack of the Gallic tribes. It is used when secondary events are given extraordinary importance.

"Cross the Rubicon". Caesar, returning to Rome with a victory, stood for a long time at the border river Rubicon. Her passage and return to Rome meant that he began a struggle for power. After some thought, Caesar made up his mind and crossed the Rubicon. Used when taken important decision and there is no escape route. Synonym: "The die is cast!", "Burn the ships."

"Pyrrhic". The king of Ephesus, Pyrrhus, defeated the Romans at the cost of huge losses. After the battle, he allegedly exclaimed, "One more victory like this and I won't have an army left!" It is used in the sense of "to achieve something at the cost of huge sacrifices."

On the history of the Middle Ages

"Walking to Canossa". The 11th-century German emperor, who opposed the pope, was excommunicated. He had to beg for a petition, kneeling in front of Canossa, where the pope was in the castle. It is used in case of humiliated begging for something.

"Paris is worth a mass"(lunch). These words were allegedly said by Henry of Bourbon, the leader of the Huguenots, when in 1593 he renounced his faith and converted to Catholicism. This move secured him the French throne. He entered it under the name of Henry IV. It is used in the meaning of "compromise for the sake of profit, for selfish purposes."

"Drop the glove." The expression has gone since the days of medieval chivalry. Calling on, the knight threw a glove to the enemy. The one who raised the glove accepted the challenge. Now it is used in the meaning of "to challenge, contest."

"If the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed goes to the mountain." Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was considered "the prophet of Allah on earth." According to legend, he, wanting to prove that he has extraordinary power, ordered the mountain to come closer. But the mountain didn't budge. Then he approached her himself. It is used in the sense of the need to obey the one whom he wanted to force to obey him.

On the history of Russia

"Put it on the back burner." In Russian government huts, petitions submitted were folded into long lari. These cases lay unresolved for years. It is used when a decision is postponed indefinitely.

"Real Truth". During the interrogation, the defendant was beaten with a whip, which was called a dlinnik. It was believed that from pain a person would tell the whole truth.

"Sharpen fringes." Lyasy, or balusters, - this is how the carved wooden decorations on the pillars holding the porch were called in Rus'. Cutting balusters was considered an easy task, not requiring special attention.

Therefore, the worker could simultaneously conduct extraneous conversations. It is used in the sense of an empty pastime.

"Scream at the top of Ivanovo." In the Moscow Kremlin, near the bell tower of Ivan the Great was Ivanovskaya Square. On it, all important sovereign decrees were publicly announced to the people. It is used in the sense of condemnation when a person speaks too loudly.

"Work in a slipshod manner." The clothes of the Russian boyars were such that the sleeves went down very low, almost to the knees. It was absolutely impossible to work in such clothes. It means "to work badly, carelessly."

"Pull the red tape". A very thin thread was pulled from copper wire - red tape. The work was slow and laborious. It is used in the meaning of "to do slowly, to play for time." The thread was sometimes called "gimp". Therefore, the synonym is "pull the gimp".

"Beat the buckets." To make a wooden spoon or a cup, demand to chip off a chock - a baklusha. It was an easy job, it was entrusted to apprentices. It didn't require any special skills. It is used in the meaning of "to do an empty, useless thing, to engage in nonsense."

"Nick down". The nose is a commemorative plaque, a tag for records. They carried it with them and made notches as a keepsake. Means "to remember for a long time."

"Stay with the nose." The petitioner in Tsarist Russia, when applying to an institution or court, brought an offering to expedite the consideration of cases. If his “gift” was not accepted, then he went back with his offering, or nose, that is, with what he brought. It means "to leave with nothing, to achieve nothing."

"Red thread". The expression entered the speech of several peoples from the language of English sailors late XVII I century. Since 1776, by order of the Admiralty, a red thread was woven into all the ropes of the English navy along the entire length of the rope. It was possible to pull it out only by destroying the rope itself. The British naval rope was recognizable everywhere. It is used in the meaning of the very essence, a constant sign.

"Tarabar letter". A letter written in a special, secret way was used in secret correspondence of the 12th-13th centuries. In the 19th century, officials used the gibberish letter, and at a later time - the Old Believers. Means "to speak a language not intelligible to most"

"Saryn, fuck off! Call when capturing ships. Saryn is a bareness - Kichka is the front of the ship. While robbing the rich, the robbers on the Volga and other rivers did not touch the poor. Means "to step aside, to hide, not to interfere."

Summing up, awarding the winners.

: History is not a teacher, but a warden, magistra vitae: she does not teach anything, but only punishes for ignorance of the lessons.

Vasily Klyuchevsky:

History teaches even those who do not learn. She teaches them a lesson for ignorance and neglect.

Jorge Luis Borges:

May be, The World History just a story of a few metaphors.

Cervantes:

History is the treasury of our deeds, a witness to the past, an example and lesson for the present, a warning for the future.

Sergey Myrdin:

How often history is rewritten by people who did not take notes in her lessons.

Sergey Myrdin:

Do not turn the history of your people into a plaintive book.

Andrey Makarevich:

History starts repeating itself from the moment it dies last person who remembers how things really were.

Wilhelm Schwebel:

History is a description of the fight of human genomes for dominance.

Wilhelm Schwebel:

The history of mankind is the history of evil on earth.

Aldous Leonard Huxley:

History is like a meat pate: it is better not to look at how it is prepared.

Henry Ward Beecher:

Not noble deeds of people, but deeds that ended in success - that's what history is in a hurry to capture.

Sergei Lozunko:

History is the science of winners.

Etienne Rey:

Historical truth consists of the silence of the dead.

Thucydides:

History is philosophy in examples.

Ebner-Eschenbach:

All historical laws have their statute of limitations.

Lion Feuchtwanger:

Two things are glorified by historians of all countries and peoples - success and dignity. Readers are full of successful and worthy deeds - little is said about reasonable deeds, and reason has not yet been glorified by any historian.