What do catchphrases mean? Whatever happens will be nice

We use ancient sayings and various catchphrases in everyday life, sometimes without even knowing the history of the origin of such catchphrases. We all know the meanings of many of these phrases from childhood and use these expressions appropriately; they came to us unnoticed and became entrenched in our culture for centuries. Where did these phrases and expressions come from?

But every folk wisdom has its own story, nothing appears out of nowhere. Well, it will be very interesting for you to find out where these catchphrases and expressions, proverbs and sayings came from!

Read also our material Russian folk superstitions, about the history of the origin of popular signs and superstitions - very interesting!

Where did the expressions come from?

bosom friend

“Pour over your Adam’s apple” is a rather ancient expression; in ancient times it literally meant “to get drunk”, “to drink a lot of alcohol.” The phraseological unit “bosom friend”, formed since then, is used to this day and means the closest friend.

Money doesn't smell

The roots of this expression should be sought in Ancient Rome. The son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian once reproached his father for introducing a tax on public toilets. Vespasian showed his son the money received into the treasury from this tax and asked him if the money smelled. The son sniffed and gave a negative answer.

Washing the bones

The expression dates back to ancient times. Some peoples believed that an unrepentant damned sinner, after his death, emerges from the grave and turns into a ghoul or vampire and destroys everyone who gets in his way. And in order to remove the spell, it is necessary to dig up the remains of the dead person from the grave and wash the bones of the deceased with clean water. Now the expression “washing the bones” means nothing more than dirty gossip about a person, a pseudo-analysis of his character and behavior.

Breathing on its last legs

Christian custom required that the dying were confessed by priests before death, and also that they received communion and burned incense. The expression stuck. Now they say about sick people or poorly functioning devices and equipment: “they are dying.”

Play on your nerves

In ancient times, after doctors discovered the existence of nervous tissue (nerves) in the body, based on their resemblance to the strings of musical instruments, they called nervous tissue in Latin with the word strings: nervus. From that moment on, an expression came about that means annoying actions - “playing on your nerves.”

vulgarity

The word “vulgarity” is originally Russian, the root of which is derived from the verb “went”. Until the 17th century, this word was used in a good, decent meaning. It meant traditional, familiar in the everyday life of people, that is, something that is done according to custom and happened, that is, WENT from time immemorial. However, the coming reforms of the Russian Tsar Peter I with their innovations distorted this word, it lost its former respect and began to mean: “uncultured, backward, simple-minded,” etc.

Augean stables

There is a legend according to which King Augeis was an avid horse breeder; there were 3,000 horses in the king’s stables. For some reason, no one cleaned the stables for 30 years. Hercules was entrusted with cleaning these stables. He directed the bed of the Althea River into the stables, and the flow of water washed away all the dirt from the stables. Since then, this expression has been applied to polluting something to the extreme.

Scum

The remaining liquid that remained at the bottom along with sediment was previously called scum. All sorts of rabble often hung around taverns and taverns, drinking the cloudy remains of alcohol in glasses behind other visitors, very soon the term scum passed on to them.

Blue blood

The royal family, as well as the nobility of Spain, were proud that they were leading their
ancestry from the West Goths, as opposed to the common people, and they never mixed with the Moors, who entered Spain from Africa. Blue veins stood out clearly on the pale skin of the indigenous Spaniards, which is why they proudly called themselves “blue blood.” Over time, this expression began to denote a sign of aristocracy and passed on to many nations, including ours.

Reach the handle

In Rus', rolls of bread were always baked with a handle, so that it was convenient to carry the rolls. The handle was then broken off and thrown away for hygiene purposes. The broken handles were picked up and eaten by beggars and dogs. The expression means to become extremely poor, to go down, to become impoverished.

Scapegoat

The ancient Jewish rite consisted of the fact that on the day of remission of sins, the high priest laid his hands on the head of a goat, as if laying all the sins of the people on it. Hence the expression “scapegoat.”

It is not worth it

In the old days, before the invention of electricity, gamblers gathered to play in the evenings by candlelight. Sometimes the bets made and the winner's winnings were negligible, so much so that even the candles that burned during the game did not pay for it. This is how this expression appeared.

Add the first number

In the old days, students were often flogged at school, sometimes even without any misconduct on their part, simply as a preventive measure. The mentor could show diligence in educational work and sometimes the students suffered greatly. Such students could be released from whipping until the first day of the next month.

Beat your head

In the old days, logs cut off from logs were called baklushas. These were the blanks for wooden utensils. Making wooden utensils did not require any special skills or effort. This matter was considered very easy. From that time on, it became a custom to “knuckle down” (do nothing).

If we don't wash, we'll just ride

In the old days, women in villages literally “rolled” their laundry after washing using a special rolling pin. Thus, well-rolled linen turned out to be wrung out, ironed and, moreover, clean (even in cases of poor quality washing). Nowadays we say “by washing, by skiing,” which means achieving a cherished goal by any means.

In the bag

In the old days, messengers who delivered mail to recipients sewed very valuable important papers, or “deeds,” into the lining of their caps or hats, in order to thus hide important documents from prying eyes and not attract the attention of robbers. This is where the expression “it’s in the bag,” which is still popular to this day, comes from.

Let's go back to our sheep

In a French comedy from the Middle Ages, a rich clothier sued a shepherd who stole his sheep. During the court hearing, the clothier forgot about the shepherd and switched to his lawyer, who, as it turned out, did not pay him for six cubits of cloth. The judge, seeing that the clothier had drifted into the wrong direction, interrupted him with the words: “Let's go back to our sheep.” Since then, the expression has become popular.

To contribute

In Ancient Greece there was a mite (small coin) in circulation. In the Gospel parable, a poor widow donated her last two mites for the construction of the temple. Hence the expression “do your bit.”

Versta Kolomenskaya

In the 17th century, by order of the then reigning Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the distance between Moscow and the royal summer residence in the village of Kolomenskoye was measured, as a result of which very high milestones were installed. Since then, it has become a custom to call very tall and thin people “Verst Kolomenskaya”.

Chasing a long ruble

In the 13th century in Rus', the monetary and weight unit was the hryvnia, which was divided into 4 parts (“ruble”). Heavier than the others, the remainder of the ingot was called the “long ruble.” The expression “chasing a long ruble” means easy and good income.

Newspaper ducks

The Belgian humorist Cornelissen published a note in the newspaper about how one scientist bought 20 ducks, chopped one of them and fed it to the other 19 ducks. A little later, he did the same with the second, third, fourth, etc. As a result, he was left with one and only duck, which ate all 19 of its friends. The note was posted with the aim of mocking the gullibility of readers. Since then, it has become a custom to call false news nothing more than “newspaper ducks.”

Laundering of money

The origins of the expression go to America, at the beginning of the 20th century. Al Capone found it difficult to spend his ill-gotten gains because he was constantly under the watchful eye of the intelligence services. In order to be able to safely spend this money and not get caught by the police, Capone created a huge network of laundries that had very low prices. Therefore, it was difficult for the police to track the actual number of clients; it became possible to write down absolutely any income of laundries. This is where the now popular expression “money laundering” comes from. The number of laundries since that time has remained huge, the prices for their services are still low, so in the USA it is customary to wash clothes not at home, but in laundries.

Orphan Kazan

As soon as Ivan the Terrible took Kazan, he decided to bind the local aristocracy to himself. To do this, he rewarded high-ranking officials of Kazan who voluntarily came to him. Many of the Tatars, wanting to receive good, rich gifts, pretended to be seriously affected by the war.

Inside out

Where did this popular expression come from, which is used when a person has dressed or done something incorrectly? During the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Rus', an embroidered collar was a sign of the dignity of one or another nobleman, and this collar was called “shivorot”. If such a worthy boyar or nobleman in any way angered the tsar or was subjected to royal disgrace, he was, according to custom, seated backwards on a skinny nag, having first turned his clothes inside out. Since then, the expression “topsy-turvy” has been established, which means “on the contrary, wrong.”

From under the stick

The expression “under the stick” takes its roots from circus acts in which trainers force animals to jump over a stick. This phraseological turn has been used since the 19th century. It means that a person is forced to work, forced to do some action or behavior that he really does not want to do. This phraseological image is associated with the opposition “will - captivity.” This metaphor likens a person to an animal or a slave who is forced to do something or work under pain of physical punishment.

One teaspoon per hour

This catchphrase appeared in quite distant times thanks to pharmacists. In those difficult times, pharmacists themselves prepared mixtures, medicinal ointments and infusions for many diseases. According to the rules that have existed since then, each bottle of the medicinal mixture must contain instructions (recipe) for the use of this medicine. Back then they measured things not in drops, as they mostly do now, but in teaspoons. For example, 1 teaspoon per glass of water. In those days, such medications had to be taken strictly by the hour, and treatment usually lasted quite a long time. Hence the meaning of this catchphrase. Now the expression “a teaspoon per hour” means a long and slow process of some action with time intervals, on a very small scale.

Goof

To get into trouble means to be in an awkward position. Prosak is an ancient medieval special rope machine for weaving ropes and twisting ropes. It had a very complex design and twisted the strands so strongly that clothing, hair or beard getting caught in its mechanism could even cost a person his life. This expression originally even had a specific meaning, literally - “accidentally falling into twisted ropes.”

Typically, this expression implies being embarrassed, going nuts, getting into an unpleasant situation, disgracing yourself in some way, getting into a puddle, screwing up, as they say these days, losing face in the dirt.

Freebies and for free

Where did the word "freebie" come from?

Our ancestors called a freebie the top of a boot. Typically, the bottom of the boot (the head) wore out much faster than the top of the muffler. Therefore, to save money, enterprising “cold shoemakers” sewed a new head to the boot. Such updated boots, one might say - sewn on “for free” - were much cheaper than their new counterparts.

Nick down

The expression “hack on the nose” came to us from ancient times. Previously, among our ancestors, the term “nose” meant writing boards that were used as ancient notepads - all kinds of notes were made on them, or it would be more correct to say even notches for memory. It was from those times that the expression “hack on the nose” appeared. If they borrowed money, they wrote the debt on such tablets and gave it to the creditor as promissory notes. And if the debt was not repaid, the creditor was “left with his nose,” that is, with a simple tablet instead of the borrowed money.

Prince on a white horse

The expression of modern princesses about the expectations of a “prince on a white horse” originated in medieval Europe. At that time, royalty rode beautiful white horses in honor of special holidays, and the most highly respected knights rode horses of the same color in tournaments. From that time on, the expression about princes on white horses came about, because a stately white horse was considered a symbol of greatness, as well as beauty and glory.

Far away

Where is this located? In ancient Slavic fairy tales, this expression of distance “far away lands” occurs very often. It means that the object is very far away. The roots of the expression go back to the times of Kievan Rus. At that time there were decimal and nine numeral systems. So, according to the nine-fold system, which was based on the number 9, the maximum scale for the standards of a fairy tale, which increases everything threefold, the number distant was taken, that is, three times nine. This is where this expression comes from...

I'm coming at you

What does the expression “I’m coming to you” mean? This expression has been known since the times of Kievan Rus. The Grand Duke and Bright Warrior Svyatoslav, before a military campaign, always sent the warning message “I’m coming at you!” to enemy lands, which meant an attack, an attack - I’m coming at you. During the times of Kievan Rus, our ancestors called “you” specifically to their enemies, and not to honor strangers and older people.

It was a matter of honor to warn the enemy about an attack. The code of military honor and the ancient traditions of the Slavic-Aryans also included a prohibition to shoot or attack with weapons an unarmed or unequally powerful enemy. The Code of Military Honor was strictly adhered to by those who respected themselves and their ancestors, including Grand Duke Svyatoslav.

There is nothing behind the soul

In the old days, our ancestors believed that the human soul was located in the dimple in the neck between the collarbones.
According to custom, money was kept in the same place on the chest. Therefore, they said and still say about the poor man that he “has nothing behind his soul.”

Sewn with white threads

This phraseological unit comes from tailoring roots. In order to see how to sew the parts when sewing, they are first hastily sewn together with white threads, so to speak, a rough or test version, so that later all the parts can be carefully sewn together. Hence the meaning of the expression: a hastily assembled case or work, that is, “on the rough side,” may imply negligence and deception in the case. Often used in legal vernacular when an investigator is working on a case.

Seven spans in the forehead

By the way, this expression does not speak of a person’s very high intelligence, as we usually believe. This is an expression about age. Yes Yes. A span is an ancient Russian measure of length, which is equal to 17.78 cm in terms of centimeters (the international unit of measurement of length). 7 spans in the forehead is a person’s height, it is equal to 124 cm, usually children grew to this mark by the age of 7. At this time, the children were given names and began to be taught (boys - a male craft, girls - a female one). Until this age, children were usually not distinguished by gender and they wore the same clothes. By the way, until the age of 7 they usually didn’t have names, they were simply called “child”.

In search of Eldorado

El Dorado (translated from Spanish as El Dorado means “golden”) is a mythical country in South America that is rich in gold and precious stones. The conquistadors of the 16th century were looking for her. In a figurative sense, “Eldorado” is often called a place where you can quickly get rich.

Karachun has arrived

There are popular expressions that not everyone can understand: “Karachun came,” “Karachun grabbed.” Meaning: someone, someone suddenly died, died or was killed... Karachun (or Chernobog) in ancient Slavic mythology of pagan times is the underground god of death and frost, moreover, he is not at all a good spirit, but on the contrary - evil. By the way, his celebration falls on the winter solstice (December 21-22).

About the dead it's either good or nothing

The implication is that the dead are spoken of either well or not at all. This expression has come down to the present day in a rather seriously modified form from the depths of centuries. In ancient times this expression sounded like this: “Either good things are said about the dead, or nothing but the truth.”. This is a fairly well-known saying of the ancient Greek politician and poet Chilon from Sparta (VI century BC), and the historian Diogenes Laertius (III century AD) tells about it in his essay “The Life, Teaching and Opinions of Illustrious Philosophers” . Thus, the truncated expression has lost its original meaning over time and is now perceived in a completely different way.

Exasperate

You can often hear in colloquial speech how someone drives someone to the point of insanity. The meaning of the expression is to stir up strong emotions, to bring someone into a state of extreme irritation or even complete loss of self-control. Where and how did this turn of phrase come from? It's simple. When a metal is gradually heated, it becomes red, but when it is further heated to a very high temperature, the metal becomes white. Heat it up, that is, warm it up. Heating is essentially very intense heating, hence the expression.

All roads lead to Rome

During the Roman Empire (27 BC - 476 AD), Rome tried to expand its territories through military conquest. Cities, bridges, and roads were actively built for better communication between the provinces of the empire and the capital (for the collection of taxes, the arrival of couriers and ambassadors, the rapid arrival of legions to suppress riots). The Romans were the first to build roads and, naturally, construction was carried out from Rome, from the capital of the Empire. Modern scientists say that the main routes were built precisely on ancient ancient Roman roads that are thousands of years old.

Woman of Balzac's age

How old are women of Balzac's age? Honore de Balzac, a famous French writer of the 19th century, wrote the novel “A Woman of Thirty,” which became quite popular. Therefore, “Balzac age”, “Balzac woman” or “Balzac heroine” is a woman of 30-40 years old who has already learned life wisdom and worldly experience. By the way, the novel is very interesting, like other novels by Honore de Balzac.

Achilles' heel

The mythology of Ancient Greece tells us about the legendary and greatest hero Achilles, the son of the sea goddess Thetis and the mere mortal Peleus. In order for Achilles to become invulnerable and strong like the gods, his mother bathed him in the waters of the sacred river Styx, but since she held her son by the heel so as not to drop him, it was this part of Achilles’ body that remained vulnerable. The Trojan Paris hit Achilles in the heel with an arrow, causing the hero to die...

Modern anatomy calls the tendon above the calcaneus in humans “Achilles.” Since ancient times, the very expression “Achilles’ heel” has meant a person’s weak and vulnerable spot.

Dot all the I's

Where did this rather popular expression come from? Probably from the Middle Ages, from the copyists of books in those days.

Around the 11th century, a dot appears over the letter i in the texts of Western European manuscripts (before that, the letter was written without a dot). When writing letters in words together in italics (without separating the letters from each other), the line could get lost among other letters and the text would become difficult to read. In order to more clearly designate this letter and make texts easier to read, a dot was introduced over the letter i. And the dots were placed after the text on the page had already been written. Now the expression means: to clarify, to bring the matter to an end.

By the way, this saying has a continuation and completely sounds like this: “Dot the i’s and cross the t’s.” But the second part didn’t catch on with us.

Winged words are stable figurative combinations that came into speech use from various sources: folklore, scientific works, sayings of prominent figures, names of famous events. They constantly appear, but later they may be forgotten or remain forever.

Some popular expressions have survived thousands of years. Examples can be cited from antiquity, where only specialists know the authors. Few people can say that the phrase “there is no dispute about taste” is a quote from a speech by Cicero.

The emergence of popular words

The expression “winged words” first appeared in the poems of Homer. As a term it has passed into many languages. The first collection of catchphrases was published in the 19th century in Germany. It subsequently went through many editions.

Because of their stability and reproducibility, catchwords belong to phraseology, but their author’s origin allowed them to take their special place among other means of speech. When words are rearranged, the phraseological structure is destroyed and the general meaning is lost. There is also no meaning in every single word taken from the expression. It is the given combination that makes them special.

Catchphrases and expressions accumulate and remain thanks to the development of civilization. They remain in cultural memory only thanks to writing.

Wise phrases were always written down and preserved for posterity.

Catchphrases and aphorisms

A good aphorism briefly and figuratively conveys to us the reasons for many phenomena in life and at the same time gives moral advice. It is an exquisite piece of literature summed up in one sentence. It is no coincidence that Chekhov said that brevity is the sister of talent.

The aphorisms of ancient philosophers, which survived thousands of years, explained much that had not yet been discovered by science. The meaning of these catchphrases has remained the same and civilization has managed to preserve them.

Moreover, science has confirmed the truth of most of them.

Not all aphorisms are catchphrases. Numerous examples can be given, and many of the aphorisms lead into the world of illusions and abstractions. And catchphrases are lively and more reflective of the realities of life. Therefore, they are especially important when they just appear, vividly and figuratively reflecting today's events and phenomena.

Catchphrases from works

The works of Pushkin, Krylov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov are a treasure trove of popular expressions. Their repetition does not always produce the desired effect. But they need to be known and applied in accordance with the situation:

“It didn’t work out that way, to put it mildly,
When the decision moment is missed.
It's not in vain that we learn from mistakes,
And croaking with cheese in its beak is cool!”

The evolution of catchphrases transforms them and brings them closer to modern realities: “Now the impression cannot be erased,” “Your common sense is not suitable for this life.”

They can be created in the process of translations and adaptation to our society.

There are 61 catchphrases in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The writer deliberately created a pun and play on words: “Frailty, your name is woman.” The expression was obtained based on the violation of linearity. If it had been built in the usual way, no one would have paid attention to it. He uses puns, inversions and other techniques so masterfully that special meaning and irony emerge from sets of words.

Ilf and Petrova are recognizable and frequently used catchphrases in the media. Examples are from the works “The Golden Calf” and “The Twelve Chairs,” which include the names of the characters and sayings.

Catchphrases in the works of Ilf and Petrov have long become speech cliches, ready-made standards. This is a wide field for the creativity of writers, journalists and just amateurs. It is important not just to deftly insert the desired phrase, but to present it from a new perspective, from a different angle. You must not only know popular expressions and words, but also be able to use them, creating something of your own.

Catchphrases enrich the text, strengthen the argument and attract the attention of readers.

Catchphrases in comedies

Comic effects create catchphrases from comedies. Griboyedov’s work is especially saturated with them, where the title “Woe from Wit” already sets the whole tone. It remains relevant to this day, when many minds cannot break through the mass of misunderstanding, and new ideas are considered completely unnecessary and dangerous for society. For some comedy heroes, an alternative to intelligence is iron discipline (“Learning won’t make me faint” - Skalozub), for others it simply brings harm (“Learning is a plague...” - Famusov). In this comedy it is not known whether to laugh or cry?

Cinema is the source of catchphrases

In Soviet times, cinema was one of the most widespread sources from which catchphrases and expressions poured out as if from them and were immediately picked up by the people, for example, after the release of Gaidai’s films. They have become so popular that many people don’t even remember which character said them. Some of Gaidai’s comedies entered our lives and became popular:

• “Everything has already been stolen before us”;
• “Thank you, I’ll stand on foot...”;
• “Better train on cats”;
• “We are strangers at this celebration of life.”

Conclusion

There are sayings of classics of literature, philosophers, famous people. These are mostly catchphrases. Examples can be found in collections published continuously since the 19th century. Winged expressions remain in the memory of peoples and are multiplied thanks to writing and the development of culture.

Top most famous catchphrases

Who are the judges?
Quote from A. S. Griboedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” (1824), d.2, yavl.5, words by Chatsky:
Who are the judges? - For the antiquity of years
Their enmity towards a free life is irreconcilable,
Judgments are drawn from forgotten newspapers
The times of the Ochakovskys and the conquest of Crimea.

Balzac age
The expression arose after the publication of the novel by the French writer Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) “A Woman of Thirty” (1831); used as a characteristic of women aged 30-40 years.

Without a rudder and without sails
Quote from M. Yu. Lermnotov’s poem “The Demon” (1842), part 1:
On the air ocean
Without a rudder and without sails
Quietly floating in the fog -
Choirs of slender luminaries.

White crow
This expression, as a designation of a rare person, sharply different from the rest, is given in the 7th satire of the Roman poet Juvenal (mid-1st century - after 127 AD):
Fate gives kingdoms to slaves and brings triumphs to captives.
However, such a lucky person is rarer than a black sheep.

Adopt greyhound puppies
It arose from the comedy of N.V. Gogol's "The Inspector General", d. 1, yavl. 1, words by Lyapin-Tyapkin: “There are different sins. I tell everyone openly that I take bribes, but with what bribes? With greyhound puppies. This is a completely different matter.”

Throwing a stone
The expression “throwing a stone” at someone in the sense of “accusing” arose from the Gospel (John 8:7); Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, who, tempting him, brought to him a woman caught in adultery: “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (in ancient Judea there was a penalty - stoning).

Paper endures everything (Paper does not turn red)
The expression goes back to the Roman writer and orator Cicero (106 - 43 BC); in his letters “To Friends” there is an expression: “Epistola non erubescit” - “A letter does not blush,” that is, in writing one can express thoughts that one is embarrassed to express orally.

To be or not to be - that is the question
The beginning of Hamlet's monologue in Shakespeare's tragedy of the same name, translated by N.A. Polevoy (1837).

You cannot harness a horse and a tremulous doe to one cart
Quote from the poem by A.S. Pushkin "Poltava" (1829).

The great, powerful, truthful and free Russian language
Quote from a prose poem by I.S. Turgenev "Russian language" (1882).

Let's go back to our sheep
With these words in the farce “Lawyer Pierre Patlen” (c. 1470), the first of a series of anonymous farces about the lawyer Patlin, the judge interrupts the speech of a wealthy clothier. Having initiated a case against the shepherd who stole his sheep, the clothier, forgetting about his litigation, showers reproaches on the shepherd's defender, lawyer Patlen, who did not pay him for six cubits of cloth.

Wolf in sheep's clothing
The expression originated from the Gospel: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

In borrowed plumes
It arose from a fable by I.A. Krylov "The Crow" (1825).

Time is money
An aphorism from the work of the American scientist and politician Franklin (1706-1790) “Advice to a Young Merchant” (1748).

I carry everything I have with me
The expression originated from an ancient Greek legend. When the Persian king Cyrus occupied the city of Priene in Ionia, the inhabitants abandoned it, taking with them the most valuable of their possessions. Only Biant, one of the “seven wise men”, a native of Priene, left empty-handed. In response to the perplexed questions of his fellow citizens, he answered, referring to spiritual values: “I carry everything I own with me.” This expression is often used in the Latin formulation due to Cicero: Omnia mea mecum porto.

Everything flows, everything changes
This expression, defining the constant variability of all things, sets out the essence of the teachings of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus from Ephesus (c. 530-470 BC)

Was there a boy?
One of the episodes of M. Gorky’s novel “The Life of Klim Samgin” tells about the boy Klim skating with other children. Boris Varavka and Varya Somova fall into the wormwood. Klim hands Boris the end of his gymnasium belt, but, feeling that he too is being pulled into the water, he lets go of the belt. Children are drowning. When the search for the drowned begins, Klim is struck by “someone’s serious, incredulous question: “Was there a boy, maybe there wasn’t a boy.” The last phrase became popular as a figurative expression of extreme doubt about something.

Twenty two misfortunes
This is how in A.P. Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” (1903) they call the clerk Epikhodov, with whom some comic misfortune happens every day. The expression is applied to people with whom some misfortune constantly happens.

Twenty-three years and nothing has been done for immortality
Words of Don Carlos from F. Schiller's drama "Don Carlos, Infant of Spain" (1782), d.2, yavl. 2.

Two-Faced Janus
In Roman mythology, Janus - the god of time, as well as every beginning and end, entrances and exits (janua - door) - was depicted with two faces facing in opposite directions: young - forward, to the future, old - back, to the past. The resulting expression “two-faced Janus” or simply “Janus” means: a two-faced person.

The work of helping drowning people is the work of the drowning people themselves
In the novel by I. Ilf and E. Petrov “The Twelve Chairs” (1927), in chapter 34, a poster with such a slogan is mentioned, hung in the club at the evening of the Water Rescue Society.

Money doesn't smell
The expression arose from the words of the Roman emperor (69 - 79 AD) Vespasian, said by him, as Suetonius reports in his biography, on the following occasion. When Vespasian's son Titus reproached his father for introducing a tax on public latrines, Vespasian brought the first money received from this tax to his nose and asked if it smelled. To Titus's negative answer, Vespasian said: "And yet they are made of urine."

Domostroy
"Domostroy" is a monument of Russian literature of the 16th century, which is a set of everyday rules and moral teachings. The husband, according to Domostroy, is the head of the family, the master of the wife, and Domostroy indicates in detail in what cases he must beat his wife, etc. Hence the word “domostroy” means: a conservative way of family life, a morality that affirms the slave position of women.

Draconian measures
This is the name given to the excessively harsh laws named after Dragon, the first legislator of the Athenian Republic (7th century BC). Among the punishments determined by its laws, the death penalty allegedly occupied a prominent place, which punished, for example, such an offense as theft of vegetables. There was a legend that these laws were written in blood (Plutarch, Solon). In literary speech, the expression “draconian laws”, “draconian measures, punishments” became stronger in the meaning of harsh, cruel laws.

Eat to live, not live to eat
The aphorism belongs to Socrates (469-399 BC), and was often quoted by ancient writers.

Yellow press
In 1895, American graphic artist Richard Outcault published 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 picture of a child in a yellow shirt, to whom various funny sayings were attributed. Soon another newspaper, the New York Journal, began publishing a series of similar drawings. A dispute arose between these two newspapers over the right of primacy to the "yellow boy". In 1896, Erwin Wardman, editor of the New York Press, published an article in his magazine in which he contemptuously called both competing newspapers "yellow press." Since then, the expression has become popular.

Finest hour
An expression by Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) from the preface to his collection of historical short stories, Humanity's Finest Hours (1927). Zweig explains that he called historical moments sidereal hours “because, like eternal stars, they invariably shine in the night of oblivion and decay.”

Knowledge is power
Expression of the English philosopher Francis Bacon in Moral and Political Essays (1597).

Golden mean
An expression from the 2nd book of odes of the Roman poet Horace: “aurea mediocritas”.

And it’s boring, and sad, and there’s no one to give a hand to
Quote from the poem by M. Yu. Lermontov “Both boring and sad” (1840).

And you Brute?
In Shakespeare's tragedy "Julius Caesar" (d. 3, iv. 1), with these words the dying Caesar addresses Brutus, who was among the conspirators who attacked him in the Senate. Historians consider this phrase legendary. Marcus Junius Brutus, whom Caesar considered his supporter, became the head of the conspiracy against him and was one of those involved in his assassination in 44 BC.

Choose the lesser of two evils
An expression found in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, in the form: “The lesser of evils must be chosen.” Cicero (in his essay “On Duties”) says: “One should not only choose the least of evils, but also extract from them themselves what can be good in them.”

Making an elephant out of a molehill
The expression is one of the ancient ones. It is quoted by the Greek writer Lucian (3rd century AD), who ends his satirical “Praise of the Fly” like this: “But I interrupt my speech, although I could say a lot more, lest anyone think that I “As the proverb goes, I make a mountain out of a molehill.”

Highlight
The expression is used in the meaning: something that gives a special taste, attractiveness to something (a dish, a story, a person, etc.). It arose from a popular proverb: “Kvass is not expensive, the zest in kvass is expensive”; became popular after the appearance of L. N. Tolstoy’s drama “The Living Corpse” (1912). The hero of the drama, Protasov, talking about his family life, says: “My wife was an ideal woman... But what can I tell you? There was no zest - you know, the zest in kvass? - there was no game in our life. And I had to forget myself . And without the game you won’t forget..."

Capital to acquire and innocence to maintain
An expression popularized by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin ("Letters to Auntie", letter 10, 1882; "Children of Moscow", "Little things in life", 1877, "Mon Repos Shelter").

Scapegoat
A biblical expression that arose from a description of the special ritual that existed among the ancient Jews of transferring the sins of the entire people onto a living goat; on the day of absolution, the high priest laid both hands on the head of a living goat as a sign of transferring the sins of the Jewish people to it, after which the goat was driven into the desert. The expression is used in the sense: a person who is constantly being blamed for someone else, who is responsible for others.

a swan song
The expression is used to mean: the last manifestation of talent. Based on the belief that swans sing before death, it arose in ancient times. Evidence of this is found in one of Aesop’s fables (6th century BC): “They say that swans sing before they die.”

Summer. Sink into oblivion
In Greek mythology, Lethe is the river of oblivion in Hades, the underworld; upon arrival in the underworld, the souls of the dead drank water from it and forgot their entire past life.

Flying Dutchman
A Dutch legend has preserved the story of a sailor who vowed, in a strong storm, to round the cape that blocked his path, even if it took him forever. Because of his pride, he was doomed to forever rush on a ship on a raging sea, never landing on the shore. This legend obviously arose in the age of great discoveries. It is possible that its historical basis was the expedition of Vasco da Gama (1469-1524), who rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. In the 17th century this legend was associated with several Dutch captains, which is reflected in its name.

Seize the day
The expression apparently goes back to Horace (“carpe diem” - “seize the day”, “take advantage of the day”).

The lion's share
The expression goes back to the fable of the ancient Greek fabulist Aesop "The Lion, the Fox and the Donkey", the plot of which - the division of prey among the animals - was later used by Phaedrus, La Fontaine and other fabulists.

The Moor has done his job, the Moor can leave
Quote from the drama by F. Schiller (1759 - 1805) “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” (1783). This phrase (d.3, iv.4) is uttered by the Moor, who turned out to be unnecessary after he helped Count Fisco organize a rebellion of the Republicans against the tyrant of Genoa, Doge Doria. This phrase has become a saying characterizing a cynical attitude towards a person whose services are no longer needed.

Manna from heaven
According to the Bible, manna is the food that God sent to the Jews every morning from heaven when they walked through the desert to the promised land (Exodus 16, 14-16 and 31).

Disservice
The expression arose from I. A. Krylov’s fable “The Hermit and the Bear” (1808).

Honeymoon
The idea that the happiness of the first stage of marriage quickly gives way to the bitterness of disappointment, figuratively expressed in eastern folklore, was used by Voltaire for his philosophical novel “Zadig, or Fate” (1747), in the 3rd chapter of which he writes: “Zadig experienced that The first month of marriage, as described in the book of Zend, is the honeymoon, and the second is the wormwood month."

Between a rock and a hard place
Title of the novel (1868) by Friedrich Spielhagen (1829-1911). It is used to characterize the difficult situation of someone when dangers and troubles threaten from two sides.

Maecenas
The wealthy Roman patrician Gaius Cilnius Maecenas (between 74 and 64 - 8 BC) widely patronized artists and poets. Horace, Virgil, Propertius glorified him in their poems. Martial (40 - 102 AD) in one of his epigrams says: “If Flaccus were Patrons, there would be no shortage of Maroons,” that is, Virgilius (Vergilius Maro). Thanks to the poems of these poets, his name became a household name for the wealthy patron of the arts and sciences.

Your gift is not dear to me, your love is dear to me
An expression from the Russian folk song “On the Pavement Street”:
Oh, my darling is good,
Chernobrov soul, handsome,
He brought me a gift,
Dear gift,
A gold ring from the hand.
Your gift is not dear to me, -
Your love is dear.
I don't want to wear a ring
I want to love my friend like that.

Young people love us everywhere
Quote from “Song of the Motherland” in the film “Circus” (1936), text by V. I. Lebedev-Kumach, music by I. O. Dunaevsky.

Milk rivers, jelly banks
An expression from a Russian folk tale.

Silent means consent
Expression of Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) in one of his messages, included in canon law (a set of decrees of church authority). This expression goes back to Sophocles (496-406 BC), in whose tragedy “The Trachinian Women” it is said: “Don’t you understand that by silence you agree with the accuser?”

Torments of Tantalus
In Greek mythology, Tantalus, the king of Phrygia (also called the king of Lydia), was the favorite of the gods, who often invited him to their feasts. But, proud of his position, he offended the gods, for which he was severely punished. According to Homer ("Odyssey"), his punishment was that, cast into Tartarus (hell), he forever experiences the unbearable pangs of thirst and hunger; he stands up to his neck in water, but the water recedes from him as soon as he bows his head to drink; branches with luxurious fruits hang over him, but as soon as he stretches out his hands to them, the branches deviate. This is where the expression “torment of Tantalus” arose, meaning: unbearable torment due to the inability to achieve the desired goal, despite its proximity.

We are lazy and not curious
Quote from “Travel to Arzrum” (1836) by A. S. Pushkin, ch. 2.

We cannot wait for favors from nature; taking them from her is our task
The expression belongs to the biologist-geneticist breeder I.V. Michurin (1855-1935), who in practice, on a large scale, showed the ability to change the hereditary forms of organisms, adapting them to human needs.

On the seventh sky
The expression, meaning the highest degree of joy and happiness, goes back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC), who in his essay “On Heaven” explains the structure of the firmament. He believed that the sky consists of seven motionless crystal spheres on which the stars and planets are established. The seven heavens are mentioned in various places in the Quran: for example, it is said that the Quran itself was brought by an angel from the seventh heaven.

Our regiment has arrived
An expression from the ancient “game” song “And we sowed millet”; used in the meaning: there have been more people like us (in some respect).

Don't throw pearls before swine
An expression from the Gospel: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls (Church Slavic beads) before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces” (Matt. 7:6). Used to mean: do not waste words with people who cannot understand or appreciate them.

Without further ado
An expression from A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy “Boris Godunov” (1831), scene “Night. Cell in the Miracle Monastery”, words of the chronicler Pimen:
Describe without further ado,
All that you will witness in life.


I don't want to study, I want to get married
Words by Mitrofanushka from D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor” (1783), no. 3, yavl. 7.

The sky is in diamonds
An expression from A. P. Chekhov’s play “Uncle Vanya” (1897). In the 4th act, Sonya, consoling the tired Uncle Vanya, exhausted by life, says: “We will rest! We will hear the angels, we will see the whole sky in diamonds, we will see how all earthly evil, all our suffering will drown in the mercy that will fill the whole world, and our life will become quiet, gentle, sweet, like a caress.”

Regardless of faces
Expression from the Bible. The idea of ​​acting without partiality, without subservience to superiors is expressed in many places in the Old and New Testaments (Deuteronomy 1:17; Matt. 22:16; Mark 12:14, etc.), although in slightly different words. It is possible that the expression “regardless of persons” is a translation of the phrase “Ohne Ansehen der Person”, common in German speech, which is a quote from Luther’s translation of the Gospel (First Epistle of Peter, 1, 17).

No one will embrace the immensity
Aphorism from “Fruits of Thoughts” by Kozma Prutkov (1854).

Nothing is new [eternal] under the moon
Quote from N. M. Karamzin’s poem “Experienced Solomon’s Wisdom, or Selected Thoughts from Ecclesiastes” (1797):
There's nothing new under the sun:
What is, has been, will forever be.
And before, blood flowed like a river,
And before, a man cried...
This poem is an imitation of Ecclesiastes, one of the books that make up the Bible.

New is well forgotten old
In 1824, the memoirs of milliner Marie Antoinette Mademoiselle Bertin were published in France, in which she said these words about the queen’s old dress that she had updated (in reality, her memoirs are fake - their author is Jacques Pesce). This idea was perceived as new only because it had been well forgotten. Already Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) said that “there is no new custom that is not old.” This quote from Chaucer was popularized by Walter Scott's book The Folk Songs of Southern Scotland.

O times! oh morals!
An expression that Cicero (106-43 BC) often used in his speeches, for example, in his first speech against Catiline. It is also quoted in Latin: “O tempora! o mores!”

About the dead it's either good or nothing
The expression often quoted in Latin: "De mortuis nil nisi bene" or "De mortuis aut bene aut nihil", apparently goes back to the work of Diogenes Laertius (3rd century AD): "Life, teaching and opinions famous philosophers", which contains the saying of one of the "seven wise men" - Chilon (VI century BC): "Do not slander the dead."

Oh holy simplicity!
This expression is attributed to the leader of the Czech national movement, Jan Hus (1369-1415). Sentenced by a church council as a heretic to be burned, he allegedly uttered these words at the stake when he saw that some old woman (according to another version, a peasant woman) in simple-minded religious zeal threw the brushwood she had brought into the fire. However, Hus's biographers, based on reports of eyewitnesses to his death, deny the fact that he uttered this phrase. The church writer Turanius Rufinus (c. 345-410), in his continuation of Eusebius's History of the Church, reports that the expression “holy simplicity” was uttered at the first Council of Nicaea (325) by one of the theologians. This expression is often used in Latin: “O sancta simplicitas!”

Formed
In L.N. Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina", part 1, chapter 2 (1875), the valet uses this word to encourage his master, Stepan Arkadyevich, who is upset by a quarrel with his wife. This word, used in the sense of “everything will be settled,” which became popular after the appearance of Tolstoy’s novel, was probably heard by him somewhere. He used it in one of his letters to his wife back in 1866, convincing her not to worry about various everyday troubles. His wife repeated his words in a response letter: “Probably, all this will work out.”

Window to Europe
Expression from A. S. Pushkin’s poem “The Bronze Horseman”, Introduction (1834):
On the shore of desert waves
He stood there, full of great thoughts,
And I looked into the distance...
And he thought:
From here we will threaten the Swede.
The city will be founded here
To spite an arrogant neighbor.
Nature destined us here
Open a window to Europe...
This expression, as Pushkin himself indicated in the notes to the poem, goes back to the Italian writer Algarotti (1712-1764), who in his “Letters about Russia” said: “Petersburg is the window through which Russia looks at Europe.”

An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth
An expression from the Bible, the formula for the law of retribution: “A fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: as he has done damage to a man’s body, so must he do it” (Leviticus, 24, 20; about the same - Exodus, 21, 24; Deuteronomy 19, 21).

All that's left are the horns and legs
A not entirely accurate quote from a song by an unknown author, “The Little Gray Goat,” which has appeared in songbooks since 1855.

From great to funny one step
This phrase was often repeated by Napoleon during his flight from Russia in December 1812 to his ambassador in Warsaw, de Pradt, who spoke about it in the book “History of the Embassy to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw” (1816). Its primary source is the expression of the French writer Jean-François Marmontel (1723-1799) in the fifth volume of his works (1787): “In general, the funny comes into contact with the great.”

Oh, you are heavy, Monomakh’s hat!
Quote from A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy “Boris Godunov”, scene “The Royal Chambers” (1831), monologue of Boris (Monomakh in Greek is a martial artist; a nickname that was associated with the names of some Byzantine emperors. In ancient Russia, this nickname was assigned to the Grand Duke Vladimir (beginning of the 12th century), from whom the Moscow kings traced their origin. Monomakh's cap is the crown with which the Moscow kings were crowned kings, a symbol of royal power). The above quote characterizes a difficult situation.

Panic fear
Originated from the Greek myths about Pan, the god of forests and fields. According to myths, Pan brings sudden and unaccountable terror to people, especially to travelers in remote and secluded places, as well as to troops who flee from this. This is where the word “panic” comes from.

Feast in Time of Plague
The name of the dramatic scenes of A. S. Pushkin (1832), the basis for which was a scene from the poems of the English poet John Wilson “Plague City” (1816). Used in the meaning: feast, cheerful, carefree life during some public disaster.

Plato is my friend but the truth is dearer
The Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his essay “Phaedo” attributes to Socrates the words “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” Aristotle, in his work “Nicomachean Ethics,” polemicizing with Plato and referring to him, writes: “Even though friends and truth are dear to me, duty commands me to give preference to truth.” Luther (1483-1546) says: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth should be preferred” (“On the Enslaved Will,” 1525). The expression “Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas” - “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”, was formulated by Cervantes in the 2nd part, ch. 51 novels "Don Quixote" (1615).

The fruits of enlightenment
The title of L. N. Tolstoy's comedy (1891).

Dancing to someone else's tune
The expression is used to mean: to act not according to one’s own will, but according to the will of another. Goes back to the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC), who in the 1st book of his “History” says: when the Persian king Cyrus conquered the Medes, the Greeks of Asia Minor, whom he had previously tried in vain to win over to his side, expressed their readiness obey him, but under certain conditions. Then Cyrus told them the following fable: “One flute player, seeing fish in the sea, began to play the flute, expecting that they would come to him on land. Having been deceived in his hope, he took a net, threw it in and pulled out a lot of fish. Seeing how the fish fighting in the nets, he told them: “Stop dancing; when I played the flute, you did not want to go out and dance." This fable is attributed to Aesop (VI century BC).

Success is never blamed
These words are attributed to Catherine II, who allegedly expressed herself this way when A.V. Suvorov was put on trial by military court for the assault on Turtukai in 1773, undertaken by him contrary to the orders of Field Marshal Rumyantsev. However, the story about Suvorov’s arbitrary actions and about putting him on trial is refuted by serious researchers.

Know yourself
According to the legend reported by Plato in the dialogue “Protagoras”, the seven sages of ancient Greece (Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobulus, Myson and Chilo), having come together in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, wrote: “Know yourself.” The idea of ​​knowing oneself was explained and disseminated by Socrates. This expression is often used in its Latin form: nosce te ipsum.

After us there might be a flood
This phrase is attributed to the French king Louis XV, but memoirists claim that it belongs to the favorite of this king, the Marquise of Pompadour (1721-1764). She said it in 1757 to console the king, dejected by the defeat of the French troops at Rosbach. It is possible that this phrase is an echo of a verse by an unknown Greek poet, which was often quoted by Cicero and Seneca: “After my death, let the world perish in fire.”

Potemkin villages
In 1783, on the initiative of the statesman of the times of Catherine II, Prince G. A. Potemkin (1739-1791), Crimea was annexed to Russia, included in Novorossiya. Contemporaries said that Potemkin, in order to show Catherine the prosperity of the new territory (during her trip to the south in 1787), erected villages on the empress’s path that were entirely decorations, and set up festively dressed people to meet her, who had been brought from afar, but presented themselves as local residents, showed grain warehouses in which sacks were filled with sand instead of flour, drove the same herd of cattle from one place to another at night, planted parks in Kremenchug and other cities, and planting was carried out for several days, so that the plantings died after Catherine's passage, etc.

Delay is like death
In 1711, before the Prussian campaign, Peter I sent a letter to the newly established Senate. Thanks to the senators for their activities, he demanded that they continue not to delay in making the necessary orders, “before the lapse of time is like death, irrevocable.” Peter's words gained popularity in a more concise form: “Delay is like death.”

Go all out
Large bells in ancient Rus' were called "heavy". The nature of the bell ringing, i.e. when and which bells should be rung was determined by the “Typikon” - the church charter, in which the expression “strike at full speed” meant: ring all the bells at once. This is where the expression “go all out” arose, which is used to mean: to go astray from the correct path in life, to begin uncontrollably indulging in carousing, debauchery, extravagance, etc.

Spreading cranberry
The expression is used as a humorous designation for nonsense reports about Russia and Russians, belonging to ill-informed foreigners, in general - anything implausible, revealing complete unfamiliarity with the subject. Oral tradition considers the source of this expression to be the description of a journey through Russia by Alexandre Dumas father (1803-1870). Meanwhile, in the books describing his travels around Russia, no gross distortions in the depiction of Russian nature, Russian morals and customs are found. In "Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language" ed. D. N. Ushakova reports that the expression “came from a description of Russia, in which a superficial French author sat under the shadow of a majestic cranberry tree.” It can be assumed that the expression “spreading cranberry” is of parodic origin and arose from a Russian author, ridiculing the truly anecdotal descriptions of Russian life found in some ill-informed French authors.

Get itchy, shoulder! Swing your hand!
Quote from A.V. Koltsov’s poem “Mower” (1835).

Rare bird
This expression (Latin rara avis) meaning “rare creature” is first found in the satires of Roman poets, for example, in Juvenal (mid-1st century - after 127 AD): “A rare bird on earth, sort of like black Swan".

Born to crawl cannot fly
Quote from "Song of the Falcon" by M. Gorky.

Hands off!
Expresses the requirement of non-interference in the affairs of someone or something, maintaining the inviolability of something. This expression as a political slogan was first used by the English minister William Gladstone (1809-1898) to address Austria, which occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in the fall of 1878.

Stigma in fluff
An expression from I. A. Krylov’s fable “The Fox and the Marmot” (1813). The Fox complains to the Woodchuck that she is suffering in vain and, slandered, was exiled for bribes:
- You know, I was the judge of the chicken coop,
I lost my health and peace in my affairs,
In my labors I didn’t finish eating a bite,
Didn't get enough sleep at night:
And for that I fell into anger;
And everything is based on slander. Well, just think about it:
Who will be right in the world if he listens to slander?
Should I take bribes? Am I going to get mad?
Well, have you seen, I'll go after you,
So that I am involved in this sin?
Think, remember carefully...
- No, Kumushka; I have often seen
That your stigma is covered in fluff.
This expression is used to mean: to be involved in something criminal, unseemly.

From the ship to the ball
Expression from “Eugene Onegin” by A. S. Pushkin, chapter 8, stanza 13 (1832):
And travel for him,
Like everyone else in the world, I'm tired of it,
He returned and hit
Like Chatsky, from the ship to the ball.
This expression characterizes an unexpected, sharp change in situation or circumstances.

With sweetheart paradise and in a hut
Quote from the poem by N. M. Ibragimov (1778-1818) “Russian Song” (“In the evening the maiden is beautiful...”):
Don't look for me, rich man:
You are not dear to my soul.
What do I care about your chambers?
With my dear one, heaven and in the hut!
First published in 1815, this poem gained great popularity and became a folk song.

With feeling, with sense, with arrangement
Quote from A. S. Griboedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit” (1824), d.2, yavl.1.

Blue stocking
The expression, denoting a contemptuous name for women who are completely absorbed in bookish, scientific interests, arose in England in the 80s of the 18th century. and did not have the disparaging meaning that it received later. Initially, it denoted a circle of people of both sexes who gathered at Lady Montagu's for conversations on literary and scientific topics. The soul of the conversations was the scientist Benjamin Stellingfleet (1702-1771), who, disdaining fashion, wore blue stockings with dark clothes. When for some reason he did not appear in the circle, they repeated: “We cannot live without blue stockings, today the conversation is going badly - there are no blue stockings!” Thus, for the first time, this nickname was given to a man, not a woman. The expression especially spread when Byron used it in his satire of Lady Montague's circle, "The Blues."

Blue bird
A play by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949), staged at the Moscow Art Theater on September 30, 1908. The plot of this play is the adventures of the children of a poor woodcutter in search of the Blue Bird. According to Oak in the play, the Bluebird is "the secret of things and happiness." “If a person finds the Blue Bird, he will know everything, see everything” (words of the Cat).

A mixture of French and Nizhny Novgorod languages
Quote from A. S. Griboedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit.”

Combine business with pleasure
An expression from “The Art of Poetry” by Horace, who says about the poet: “He is worthy of all approval who combines the pleasant with the useful.”

Happy hours don't watch
Quote from A. S. Griboyedov’s comedy “Woe from Wit”, no. 1, yavl. 4, words by Sophia.

Wash your hands
Used to mean: to avoid responsibility for something. It arose from the Gospel: Pilate washed his hands before the crowd, giving Jesus to them for execution, and said: “I am not guilty of the blood of this righteous man” (Matt. 27:24). The ritual washing of hands, which serves as evidence of the non-involvement of the person washing in anything, is described in the Bible (Deuteronomy 21:6-7).

Weak spot
It arose from the myth about the only vulnerable spot on the hero’s body: Achilles’ heel, a spot on Siegfried’s back, etc. Used in the meaning: the weak side of a person, deeds.

Fortune. Wheel of Fortune
Fortuna is the goddess of blind chance, happiness and misfortune in Roman mythology. She was depicted blindfolded, standing on a ball or wheel (emphasizing her constant variability), and holding a steering wheel in one hand and a cornucopia in the other. The rudder indicated that fortune controls a person's destiny.

He who laughs last laughs best
The expression belongs to the French writer Jean-Pierre Florian (1755-1794), who used it in the fable “Two Peasants and a Cloud.”

End justifies the means
The idea of ​​this expression, which is the basis of Jesuit morality, was borrowed by them from the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679).

Man is a wolf to man
An expression from the “Donkey Comedy” by the ancient Roman writer Plautus (c. 254-184 BC).

Q.E.D
This formula ends every mathematical reasoning of the great Greek mathematician Euclid (3rd century BC).

What we have, we don’t keep, having lost it, we cry
The name of the vaudeville (1844) by S. Solovyov

The language of native aspens
Expression from an epigram (1884) by I. S. Turgenev to N. H. Ketcher (1809-1886), translator of Shakespeare; His translations are distinguished by their exceptional closeness to the original, which often harms poetry:
Here is another luminary of the world!
Catcher, friend of sparkling wines;
He performed Shakespeare for us
In the language of native aspens.
This expression is used ironically to refer to rough translations from foreign languages ​​into Russian.

12 popular expressions, the meaning of which is not known to everyone

Catchphrases help to express thoughts more accurately and give speech a more emotional coloring. They allow you to express more emotions in a few short but precise words and convey your personal attitude to what is happening.

AiF.ru resembles the meanings of some Russian phraseological units.

Quietly

Borrowed into the French language, the word turned into the French “sap” and received the meaning of “earthwork, trench and underground work,” from which the word “sapper” also arose.

In Russian, the word “sapa” and the expression “silent sapa” meant work that was carried out with extreme caution, without noise, in order to get close to the enemy unnoticed, in complete secrecy.

After widespread dissemination, the expression acquired the meaning: carefully, in deep secrecy and slowly (for example, “So he quietly drags all the food from the kitchen!”).

Can't see anything

According to one version, the word “zga” comes from the name of a part of a horse’s harness - a ring in the upper part of the arch, into which the reins were inserted so as not to dangle. When the coachman needed to unharness the horse, and it was so dark that this ring (zgi) was not visible, they said that “there is no sign of it.”

According to another version, the word “zga” comes from the Old Russian “s’tga” - “road, path, path.” In this case, the meaning of the expression is interpreted as “so dark that you can’t even see the road or path.” Today the expression “nothing is visible”, “nothing is visible” means “nothing is visible”, “impenetrable darkness”.

The blind leads the blind, but both do not see. (last)

“Darkness hangs over the earth: you can’t see it...” ( Anton Chekhov,"Mirror")

Dance from the stove

Vasily Alekseevich Sleptsov. 1870 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Published in St. Petersburg, 1903

The expression “dance from the stove” first appeared in a novel by a 19th-century Russian writer Vasily Sleptsova"Good man". The book was published in 1871. There is an episode in it when the main character Seryozha Terebenev remembers how he was taught to dance, but he could not do the steps required from the dance teacher. There is a phrase in the book:

- Oh, what are you, brother! - the father says reproachfully. - Well, go back to the stove, start over.

In Russian, this expression began to be used when speaking about people for whom the habit of acting according to a fixed script replaces knowledge. A person can perform certain actions only “from the stove”, from the very beginning, from the simplest and most familiar action:

“When he (the architect) was commissioned to plan, he usually drew the hall and the hotel first; just as in the old days college girls could only dance from the stove, so his artistic idea could only originate and develop from the hall to the living room.” ( Anton Chekhov,"My life").

Shabby look

Clothes were made from shabby clothes mainly by poor people who could not buy themselves something better. And such poor people looked appropriate. Since then, if a person is dressed sloppily, they say about him that he looks shabby:

“The hay girls were poorly fed, dressed in shabby clothes and given little sleep, exhausting them with almost continuous work.” ( Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, “Poshekhon antiquity”)

Sharpen the laces

To sharpen your lasses means to talk idle talk, to engage in useless chatter. Lyasy (balusters) are turned, figured posts of railings at the porch.

At first, “sharpening balusters” meant conducting an elegant, fancy, ornate (like balusters) conversation. However, there were few people skilled in conducting such a conversation, and over time the expression began to mean idle chatter:

“They used to sit in a circle, some on a bench, some simply on the ground, each with some kind of task, a spinning wheel, a comb or bobbins, and they would go and go sharpen their laces and tell tales about another, old time.” ( Dmitry Grigorovich, "Village").

Lies like a gray gelding

To lie like a gray gelding means to tell tales without being embarrassed at all. In the 19th century, an officer served in one of the regiments of the Russian army, a German by the name of von Sievers-Mehring. He loved to tell funny stories and tall tales to the officers. The expression “lies like Sivers-Mehring” was understandable only to his colleagues. However, they began to use it throughout Russia, completely forgetting about the origins. Sayings have appeared among the people: “lazy as a gray gelding”, “stupid as a gray gelding”, although the horse breed has nothing to do with this.

Bullshit

There is also a version that the expression “bullshit” comes from the name of one scientist - Brad Steve Cobile, who once wrote a very stupid article. His name, consonant with the words “bullshit,” was correlated with scientific nonsense.

According to another version, “bullshit” is an expression denoting a stupid statement or thought; appeared due to the beliefs of the Slavs that the gray horse (gray with an admixture of another color) was the most stupid animal. There was a sign according to which if you dream of a gray mare, then in reality the dreamer will be deceived.

Androns are traveling

“Androns are coming” means nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, complete nonsense.

In Russian, this phrase is used in response to someone who tells a lie, puts on inappropriate airs and brags about himself. In the 1840s, on the territory of almost all of Russia, andres (andron) meant a cart, various kinds of carts.

“And you don’t have to scold my house! - Am I scolding?.. Cross yourself, Petrovnushka, the androns are coming! ( Pavel Zarubin, “Dark and bright sides of Russian life”)

Live as a Biryuk

The expression “to live like a pearl” means to be a hermit and a closed person. In the southern regions of Russia, a wolf is called a biryuk. The wolf has long been considered a dangerous animal for the economy. The peasants perfectly studied his habits and habits and often remembered them when speaking about the person. “Oh, you’ve grown old, brother! - Dunyashka said regretfully. “It’s become kind of gray, like biryuk.” ( Mikhail Sholokhov, "Quiet Don")

Mikhail Golubovich in the film "Biryuk". 1977

Play spillikins

Spillikins are various small household items that were used during the ancient game. Its meaning was to pull out one toy after another from a pile of toys with your fingers or a special hook, without touching or scattering the rest. The one who moves the adjacent spilliyule passes the move to the next player. The game continues until the whole pile is cleared. By the beginning of the twentieth century, spillikins had become one of the most popular games in the country and were very common not only among children, but also among adults.

In a figurative sense, the expression “to play tricks” means to engage in trifles, nonsense, leaving aside the main and important things:

“After all, I came to the workshop to work, and not to sit idly by and play with spillikins.” ( Mikhail Novorussky"Notes of a Shlisselburger")

Pies with kittens

In Rus' they never ate cats, except in times of severe famine. During long-term sieges of cities, their inhabitants, having exhausted all food supplies, used domestic animals for food, cats were the last to go.

Thus, this expression means a catastrophic state of affairs. Usually the proverb is abbreviated and said: “These are the pies,” in other words, “those are the things.”

Leave unsalted with a slurp

Illustration for the fairy tale “Shemyakin Court”. Copper engraving, first half of the 18th century. Reproduction. Photo: RIA Novosti / Balabanov

In Rus' in the old days, salt was an expensive product. It had to be transported from afar off-road; taxes on salt were very high. When visiting, the owner salted the food himself, with his own hand. Sometimes, expressing his respect to especially dear guests, he even added salt to the food, and sometimes those who sat at the far end of the table did not get any salt at all. Hence the expression “to leave unsalted”:

“And the more she spoke, and the more sincerely she smiled, the stronger the confidence became in me that I would leave her with a slurp.” ( Anton Chekhov"Lights")

“The fox let go of his prey and went away, slurping unsalted.” ( Alexey Tolstoy"The Fox and the Rooster")

Shemyakin court

The expression “Shemyakin court” is used when they want to emphasize the injustice of any opinion, judgment or assessment. Shemyaka - a real historical figure, Galician Prince Dimitry Shemyaka, famous for his cruelty, deceit and unrighteous deeds. He became famous for his tireless, persistent struggle with the great Prince Vasily the Dark, his cousin, for the Moscow throne. Today, when they want to point out the bias or injustice of some judgment, they say: “Is this criticism? Some kind of Shemyakin court.”

Phraseology is a branch of the science of language that studies stable combinations of words. Phraseologism is a stable combination of words, or a stable expression. Used to name objects, signs, actions. It is an expression that arose once, became popular and became entrenched in people's speech. The expression is endowed with imagery and may have a figurative meaning. Over time, an expression can take on a broad meaning in everyday life, partially including the original meaning or completely excluding it.

The phraseological unit as a whole has lexical meaning. The words included in a phraseological unit individually do not convey the meaning of the entire expression. Phraseologisms can be synonymous (at the end of the world, where the raven did not bring bones) and antonymous (raise to heaven - trample into the dirt). A phraseological unit in a sentence is one member of the sentence. Phraseologisms reflect a person and his activities: work (golden hands, playing the fool), relationships in society (bosom friend, putting a spoke in the wheels), personal qualities (turning up his nose, sour face), etc. Phraseologisms make a statement expressive and create imagery. Set expressions are used in works of art, journalism, and everyday speech. Set expressions are also called idioms. There are many idioms in other languages ​​- English, Japanese, Chinese, French.

To clearly see the use of phraseological units, refer to their list or on the page below.