Russian phraseological units and their meaning. Phraseological units and their origin. Expressions with elements

Ecology of life: Often, to achieve some speech effect simple words is not enough. Irony, bitterness, love, mockery...

Speech is a way of communication between people. In order to achieve complete mutual understanding, to express one's thoughts more clearly and figuratively, many lexical techniques are used, in particular, phraseological units (phraseological unit, idiom) - stable turns of speech that have an independent meaning and are characteristic of a particular language.

Often, to achieve some kind of speech effect, simple words are not enough. Irony, bitterness, love, mockery, one's own attitude to what is happening - all this can be expressed much more capaciously, more precisely, more emotionally.

We often use phraseological units in everyday speech, sometimes without even noticing - after all, some of them are simple, familiar, and familiar from childhood. Many of the phraseological units came to us from other languages, eras, fairy tales, legends.

"The game is not worth the candle" and other popular expressions

Augean stables

Rake first these Augean stables, and then you will go for a walk.

Meaning. A cluttered, polluted place where everything is in complete disarray.

Origin. He lived in ancient Elis, according to an ancient Greek legend, King Augius, a passionate lover of horses: he kept three thousand horses in his stables. However, the stalls in which the horses were kept had not been cleaned for thirty years, and they were overgrown with manure up to the roof.

Hercules was sent to the service of Avgius, to whom the king instructed to clean the stables, which no one else could do.

Hercules was as cunning as he was powerful. He directed the waters of the river through the gates of the stables, and a stormy stream washed out all the dirt from there in a day.

The Greeks sang this feat along with the other eleven, and the expression "Augean stables" began to apply to everything neglected, polluted to the last limit, and in general to denote a great mess.

Arshin swallow

It stands as if the arshin swallowed.

Meaning. Stay unnaturally straight.

Origin. The Turkish word "arshin", meaning a measure of length of one cubit, has long become Russian. Until the revolution, Russian merchants and artisans constantly used arshins - wooden and metal rulers seventy-one centimeters long. Imagine how a person who swallowed such a ruler should look like, and you will understand why this expression is used in relation to stiff and arrogant people.

henbane overeat

In Pushkin's "The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish" an old man, indignant

with the shameless greed of his old woman, angrily says to her:

“What are you, woman, overeating with henbane?”

Meaning. Act absurdly, viciously, like crazy.

Origin. In the countryside, in the backyards and dumps, you can find tall bushes with dirty yellowish, purple-veined flowers and an unpleasant smell. This is henbane - a very poisonous plant. Its seeds resemble poppies, but the one who eats them becomes like a madman: he raves, rages, and often dies.

Buridan's donkey

He rushes about, cannot decide on anything, like Buridan's donkey.

Meaning. An extremely indecisive person, hesitating in the choice between equivalent decisions.

Origin. Philosophers late Middle Ages put forward a theory according to which the actions of living beings do not depend on their own will, "but solely on external causes. The scientist Buridan (more precisely, Buridan), who lived in France in the 14th century, confirmed this idea with such an example. Let's take a hungry donkey and put it on both sides from his muzzle, at equal distances, are two identical bundles of hay. The donkey will have no reason to prefer one of them over the other: they are exactly alike. He will not be able to reach out either to the right or to the left, and in the end he will die of hunger.

Back to our sheep

However, enough about this, let's get back to our sheep.

Meaning. A call to the speaker not to digress from the main topic; a statement that his digression from the topic of conversation is over.

Origin. Let's return to our rams - tracing paper from the French revenons a nos moutons from the farce "Lawyer Pierre Patlin" (c. 1470). With these words, the judge interrupts the rich clothier's speech. Having initiated a case against the shepherd who stole the sheep from him, the clothier, forgetting about his lawsuit, showers reproaches on the shepherd's defender, Patlen's lawyer, who did not pay him for six cubits of cloth.

Versta Kolomna

At such a verst of Kolomna as you, everyone will immediately pay attention.

Meaning. So they call a person of very tall stature, a tall man.

Origin. 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 the Kolomna verst. That's what they still say.

lead by the nose

The smartest man, more than once or twice led the enemy by the nose.

Meaning. To deceive, mislead, promise and not fulfill the promise.

Origin. The expression was associated with fairground entertainment. Gypsies took bears to the show for a ring threaded through their noses. And they forced them, poor fellows, to do various tricks, deceiving them with the promise of handouts.

Hair on end

Horror seized him: his eyes popped out, his hair stood on end.

Meaning. So they say when a person is very scared.

Origin. “Stand on end” is to stand at attention, on your fingertips. That is, when a person is frightened, his hair stands on tiptoe on his head.

That's where the dog is buried!

Ah, that's it! Now it is clear where the dog is buried.

Meaning. That's the thing, that's the real reason.

Origin. There is a story: the Austrian warrior Sigismund Altensteig spent all campaigns and battles with his beloved dog. Once, while traveling in the Netherlands, the dog even saved his owner from death. The grateful warrior solemnly buried his four-legged friend and erected a monument on his grave, which stood for more than two centuries - until early XIX century.

Later, the dog monument could be found by tourists only with the help of local residents. At that time, the saying "That's where the dog is buried!" Was born, which now has the meaning: "I found what I was looking for", "got to the bottom of the matter."

But there is an older and no less likely source of the proverb that has come down to us. When the Greeks decided to give the Persian king Xerxes a battle at sea, they put old men, women and children on ships in advance and transported them to the island of Salamis.

They say that the dog that belonged to Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, did not want to part with his master, jumped into the sea and swam, following the ship, reached Salamis. Exhausted from fatigue, she immediately died.

According to the historian of antiquity Plutarch, this dog was placed on the seashore with a kinosema - a canine monument, which was shown to the curious for a very long time.

Some German linguists believe that this expression was created by treasure hunters, who, out of fear of the evil spirit that allegedly guarded every treasure, did not dare to directly mention the purpose of their search and conditionally began to talk about a black dog, meaning the trait and the treasure.

Thus, according to this version, the expression "this is where the dog is buried" meant: "this is where the treasure is buried."

Pour in the first number

For such deeds, of course, they should be poured on the first number!

Meaning. Severely punish, scold someone

Origin. Something, but this expression is familiar to you ... And where did it just fall on your unfortunate head! Believe it or not, but... from the old school, where students were flogged every week, regardless of whether they were right or wrong. And if the mentor overdoes it, then such a spanking was enough for a long time, until the first day of the next month.

rub glasses

Do not believe it, they rub glasses on you!

Meaning. To deceive someone by presenting the matter in a distorted, incorrect, but favorable light for the speaker.

Origin. We are not talking about glasses that are used to correct vision. There is another meaning of the word "glasses": red and black marks on playing cards. Ever since there were cards, there have been dishonest players, cheaters in the world. They, in order to deceive a partner, indulged in all sorts of tricks. By the way, they were able to quietly “rub glasses” - turn a seven into a six or a four into a five, on the go, during the game, gluing a “point” or covering it with a special white powder. It is clear that “rubbing glasses” began to mean “cheating”, hence the special words were born: “fraud”, “fraudster” - a trickster who knows how to embellish his work, pass off bad as very good.

Voice in the wilderness

Wasted labor, you won't convince them, your words are the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Meaning. Denotes vain persuasion, calls that no one heeds.

Origin. As biblical legends convey, one of the Hebrew prophets called out from the desert to the Israelites to prepare the way for God: to lay roads in the desert, to make the mountains go down, the valleys to be filled, and the curvature and unevenness to straighten. However, the calls of the prophet-hermit remained "a voice crying in the wilderness" - they were not heard. The people did not want to serve their fierce and cruel god.

Goal like a falcon

Who will say a kind word to me? After all, I'm an orphan. Goal like a falcon.

Meaning. Very poor, beggar.

Origin. Many people think that we are talking about a bird. But she is neither poor nor rich. In fact, the “falcon” is an old military wall-beating weapon. It was a completely smooth (“bare”) cast-iron ingot, mounted on chains. Nothing extra!

Naked truth

This is the state of affairs, the naked truth without embellishment.

Meaning. Truth as it is, no bluff.

Origin. This expression is Latin: Nuda Veritas [nuda veritas]. It is taken from the 24th ode of the Roman poet Horace (65 - 8 BC). Ancient sculptors allegorically depicted the truth (truth) in the form of a naked woman, which was supposed to symbolize the true state of affairs without silence or embellishment.

Woe onion

Do you know how to cook soup, onion woe.

Meaning. Idiot, unlucky person.

Origin. The caustic volatile substances contained in the onion in abundance irritate the eyes, and the hostess, while she crushes the onion for her cooking, sheds tears, although there is not the slightest grief. It is curious that tears caused by the action of irritating substances differ in chemical composition from sincere tears. There is more protein in fake tears (this is not surprising, because such tears are designed to neutralize caustic substances that have entered the eye), so fake tears are slightly cloudy. However, every person knows this fact intuitively: there is no faith in muddy tears. And onion grief is not called grief, but a transitory nuisance. Most often, half-jokingly, half-sorrowful, they turn to a child who has again done something wrong.

Two-faced Janus

She is deceitful, quirky and hypocritical, a real two-faced Janus.

Meaning. Two-faced, hypocritical person

Origin. In Roman mythology, the god of all beginnings. He was depicted with two faces - a young man and an old man - looking in opposite directions. One face is turned to the future, the other to the past.

In the bag

Well, everything, now you can sleep peacefully: it's in the bag.

Meaning. It's all right, everything ended well.

Origin. Sometimes the origin of this expression is explained by the fact that in the days of Ivan the Terrible, some court cases were decided by lot, and the lot was drawn from the judge's hat. However, the word "hat" came to us no earlier than in the days of Boris Godunov, and even then it was applied only to foreign headdresses. It is unlikely that this rare word could get into a folk saying at the same time.

There is another explanation: _, much later, clerks and clerks, sorting out court cases, used their hats to receive bribes.

If only you could help me, - the plaintiff says to the deacu in a caustic poem. A. K. Tolstoy, - I would have poured those, she-she, ten rubles into a hat. Joke? "Rash now," said the deacon, holding up his cap. - Come on!

It is very possible that the question: “Well, how am I doing?” - the clerks often answered with a sly wink: "It's in the bag." This is where the proverb could come from.

Money doesn't smell

He took this money and did not wince, the money does not smell.

Meaning. It is the availability of money that is important, not the source of its origin.

Origin. To urgently replenish the treasury, the Roman emperor Vespasian introduced a tax on public urinals. However, Titus reproached his father for this. Vespasian held the money to his son's nose and asked if it smelled. He answered in the negative. Then the emperor said: “But they are from urine ...” On the basis of this episode, a catchphrase developed.

Keep in a black body

Don't let her sleep in bed

By the light of the morning star

Keep a lazy man in a black body

And don't take the reins off her!

Meaning. to be harsh, to be strict with someone, making you work hard; oppress someone.

Origin. The expression comes from the Turkic expressions associated with horse breeding, meaning - moderately nourish, undernourish (kara kesek - meat without fat). The literal translation of these phrases is "black meat" (kara - black, kesek - meat). From the literal meaning of the expression came "keep in a black body."

Bring to white heat

Vile type, brings me to white heat.

Meaning. To piss off to the limit, to bring to madness.

Origin. When the metal is heated during forging, it glows differently depending on the temperature: first red, then yellow, and finally dazzling white. With more high temperature the metal will melt and boil. An expression from the speech of blacksmiths.

smoke rocker

In the tavern, smoke stood like a yoke: songs, dances, screams, fights.

Meaning. Noise, noise, confusion, turmoil.

Origin. In old Rus', the huts were often heated in black: the smoke did not escape through the chimney, but through a special window or door. And the shape of the smoke predicted the weather. There is a column of smoke - it will be clear, dragged - to fog, rain, rocker - to the wind, bad weather, and even a storm.

Egyptian executions

What kind of punishment is this, just Egyptian executions!

Meaning. Calamities that bring torment, heavy punishment

Origin. It goes back to the biblical story about the exodus of the Jews from Egypt. For Pharaoh's refusal to release the Jews from captivity, the Lord subjected Egypt to terrible punishments - ten Egyptian plagues. Blood instead of water. All the water in the Nile, other reservoirs and containers turned into red, but remained transparent to the Jews. Execution by frogs. As Pharaoh was promised: “They will go out and enter into your house, and into your bedroom, and onto your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneaders. Frogs filled the whole land of Egypt.

Midge invasion. As a third punishment, hordes of midges fell upon Egypt, which attacked the Egyptians, stuck around them, climbed into their eyes, nose, ears.

Dog flies. The country was flooded with dog flies, from which all animals, including domestic ones, began to throw themselves at the Egyptians.

Sea of ​​cattle. All the Egyptians lost their livestock, the attack did not affect only the Jews. Ulcers and boils. The Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to take a handful of furnace black and throw it up in front of Pharaoh. And the bodies of the Egyptians and animals were covered with their terrible sores and boils. Thunder, lightning and fiery hail. A storm began, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and fiery hail fell on Egypt. Locust invasion. A strong wind blew, and behind the wind hordes of locusts flew into Egypt, devouring all the greenery down to the last blade of grass on the land of Egypt.

Unusual darkness. The darkness that fell on Egypt was thick and dense, you could even touch it; and candles and torches could not dispel the darkness. Only the Jews had light.

Execution of the firstborn. After all the first-born in Egypt (with the exception of the Jews) died in one night, the pharaoh surrendered and allowed the Jews to leave Egypt. Thus began the Exodus.

Iron curtain

We live like behind an iron curtain, no one comes to us, and we don't visit anyone.

Meaning. Barriers, obstacles, complete political isolation of the country.

Origin. IN late XVIII V. an iron curtain was lowered onto the theater stage to protect the audience in the event of a fire on it. At that time, open fire was used to illuminate the stage - candles and oil lamps.

This expression acquired political overtones during the First World War. On December 23, 1919, Georges Clemenceau declared in the French Chamber of Deputies: "We want to put an iron curtain around Bolshevism so as not to destroy civilized Europe in the future."

Yellow press

Where did you read all this? Do not trust the yellow press.

Meaning. Base, deceitful, greedy for cheap sensations press.

Origin. In 1895, the New York World newspaper began to publish a series of comic strips called "The Yellow Kid" on a regular basis. Its main character, a boy in a toe-length yellow shirt, made funny comments on various events. In early 1896, another newspaper, the New York Morning Journal, poached the creator of the comic book, artist Richard Outcolt. Both publications thrived on the publication of scandalous material. A dispute flared up between competitors over the copyright to the "Yellow Baby". In the spring of 1896, the editor of the New York Press, Erwin Wardman, commenting on this lawsuit, contemptuously called both newspapers "yellow press."

Alive Smoking Room

A. S. Pushkin wrote an epigram to the critic M. Kachenovsky, which began with the words:

"How! Is Kurilka a journalist still alive? It ended with wise advice:

“... How to put out a smelly splinter? How to kill my Smoking room? Give me advice.

- "Yes ... spit on him."

Meaning. An exclamation at the mention of the ongoing activity of someone, his existence, despite difficult conditions.

Origin. There was an old Russian game: a lit splinter was passed from hand to hand, singing: “The Smoking Room is alive, alive, alive, not dead! ..” The one whose splinter went out, began to smoke, smoke, lost.

Gradually, the words “Kurilka is alive” began to be applied to various figures and to various phenomena that, logically, should have disappeared long ago, but, despite everything, continued to exist.

Behind seven seals

Well, of course, because this is a secret for you with seven seals!

Meaning. Something beyond understanding.

Origin. It goes back to the biblical turnover “a book with seven seals” - a symbol of secret knowledge that is inaccessible to the uninitiated until seven seals are removed from it, III from the prophetic New Testament book “Revelations of St. John the Evangelist". “And I saw in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne a book written inside and out, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice: “Who is worthy to open this book and break its seals?” And no one in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, could open this book and look into it. The Lamb, who “was slain and redeemed us to God with his blood, opened the seals from the book. After the removal of six seals, the seal of God was placed on the inhabitants of Israel, according to which they were accepted as true followers of the Lord. After the opening of the seventh seal, the Lamb told John to eat the book: "... it will be bitter in your womb, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey" in order to tell about the future renewal of the whole world and dispel the fears of believers about the future of Christianity, on which Jews, Gentiles and false teachers are on all sides.

Nick down

And cut it on your nose: you will not be able to deceive me!

Meaning. Remember firmly, firmly, once and for all.

Origin. The word "nose" here does not mean the organ of smell. Oddly enough, it means "commemorative plaque", "record tag". In ancient times, illiterate people carried such sticks and tablets with them everywhere and made all kinds of notes and notches on them. These tags were called noses.

Truth in wine

And next to the neighboring tables Sleepy lackeys stick out,

And drunkards with rabbit eyes shout "In vino Veritas".

Meaning. If you want to know exactly what a person thinks, treat him to wine.

Origin. This is the famous Latin expression: In vino Veritas (in wine veritas). It is taken from the work "Natural History" by the Roman scientist Pliny the Elder (1st century AD). where it is used in the sense: what is on the sober mind, then the drunk on the tongue.

It is not worth it

You shouldn't do it. The game is clearly not worth the candle.

Meaning. The effort you put in is not worth it.

Origin. The phraseological expression is based on a card term, which means that the stakes in the game are so insignificant that even the winnings will be less than the funds spent on candles to illuminate the card table.

To the hat analysis

Well, brother, you came late, to the most hat analysis!

Meaning. Be late, show up when it's all over.

Origin. The saying arose in those days when in our frosty country people, coming to church in warm clothes and knowing that it was impossible to go inside in a hat, folded their three-pieces and caps at the very entrance. At the end of the church service, leaving, everyone took them apart. “To the hat analysis” came only those who were clearly in no hurry to go to church.

Like chickens in cabbage soup (get in)

And he got with this case, like chickens in cabbage soup.

Meaning. Bad luck, unexpected misfortune.

Origin. A very common saying that we repeat all the time, sometimes having no idea about its true meaning. Let's start with the word chicken. This word in old Russian means "rooster". And there was no “schey” in this proverb before, and it was pronounced correctly: “I got into a pluck like chickens,” that is, I was plucked, “bad luck.” The word "pluck" was forgotten, and then people willy-nilly changed the expression "pluck" into cabbage soup. When she was born is not entirely clear: some think that even under Dimitry the Pretender, when “to pluck”; hit the Polish conquerors; others - what's in Patriotic War 1812, when the Russian people forced Napoleon's hordes to flee.

King for a day

I would not trust their generous promises, which they distribute right and left: caliphs for an hour.

Meaning. About a man who happened to be endowed with power for a short time.

Origin. In the Arabic tale “A dream, or Caliph for an hour” (collection “A Thousand and One Nights”), it is told how the young Baghdadian Abu-Shssan, not knowing that Caliph Grun-al-Rashid is in front of him, shares with him his cherished dream - at least for a day to become caliph. Wanting to have some fun, Haroun al-Rashid puts sleeping pills in Abu-Ghassan's wine, orders the servants to take the young man to the palace and treat him like a caliph.

The joke succeeds. Waking up, Abu-1kssan believes that he is a caliph, enjoys luxury and begins to give orders. In the evening, he again drinks wine with sleeping pills and wakes up already at home.

Scapegoat

I fear you will forever be their scapegoat.

Meaning. The defendant for someone else's guilt, for the mistakes of others, because the true culprit cannot be found or wants to evade responsibility.

Origin. The turnover goes back to the text of the Bible, to the description of the Hebrew rite of laying the sins of the people (community) on a live goat. Such a rite was performed in case of desecration by the Jews of the sanctuary where the ark of revelation was located. In atonement for sins, a ram was burned and one goat was slaughtered "as a sin offering." All the sins and iniquities of the Jewish people were transferred to the second goat: the clergyman laid his hands on him as a sign that all the sins of the community were transferred to him, after which the goat was expelled into the wilderness. All those present at the ceremony were considered cleansed.

Lazarus sing

Stop singing Lazarus, stop being ashamed.

Meaning. Begging, whining, exaggeratedly complaining about fate, trying to arouse the sympathy of others.

Origin. In tsarist Russia, crowds of beggars, cripples, blind men with guides gathered everywhere in crowded places, begging, with all sorts of miserable lamentations, alms from passers-by. At the same time, the blind especially often sang the song “About the Rich and Lazarus”, composed according to one gospel story. Lazarus was poor, but his brother was rich. Lazarus ate the remnants of the rich man's food along with the dogs, but after death he went to heaven, while the rich man ended up in hell. This song was supposed to frighten and conscience those from whom the beggars begged for money. Since not all beggars were actually so unfortunate, their plaintive moans were often feigned.

Climb on the rampage

He promised to be careful, but he deliberately climbs on the rampage!

Meaning. Do something risky, run into trouble, do something dangerous, doomed to failure in advance.

Origin. Rozhon - a pointed stake that was used when hunting a bear. Hunting with a goad, the daredevils put this sharp stake in front of them. The enraged beast climbed on the rampage and died.

Disservice

The incessant praise from your lips is a real disservice.

Meaning. Unsolicited help, a service that does more harm than good.

Origin. The primary source is the fable of I. A. Krylov “The Hermit and the Bear”. It tells how the Bear, wanting to help his friend the Hermit to swat a fly that sat on his forehead, killed the Hermit himself along with it. But this expression is not in the fable: it took shape and entered folklore later.

Cast pearls before swine

In a letter to A. A. Bestuzhev (end of January 1825), A. S. Pushkin writes:

“The first sign of a smart person is to know at a glance who you are dealing with,

and not throw pearls in front of the Repetilovs and the like.

Meaning. Wasting words talking to people who can't understand you.

Origin. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ says: “Do not give anything holy to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample it under their feet and, turning, tear you to pieces” (Gospel of Matthew, 7: b). In the Church Slavonic translation, the word "pearl" sounds like "beads". It was in this version that this biblical expression entered the Russian language.

You can't ride a goat

He looks down on everyone, you can’t drive up to him even on a crooked goat.

Meaning. He is completely unapproachable, it is not clear how to address him.

Origin. Amusing their high patrons, using both the harp and bells for their fun, dressing up in goat and bear skins, in the plumage of a crane, these “spies” sometimes knew how to do good deeds.

It is possible that their repertoire included riding goats or pigs. Obviously, it was the buffoons who sometimes met with such a bad mood of a high-ranking person that "even a goat did not act on him."

unlucky person

Nothing went right with him, and in general he was a good-for-nothing person.

Meaning. Frivolous, careless, dissolute.

Origin. In the old days in Rus', not only the road was called the way, but also various positions at the prince's court. The falconer's path is in charge 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 to those who did not succeed, they spoke of those with disdain: an unlucky person.

Shelving

Now put it aside in a long box, and then completely forget.

Meaning. Give the case a long delay, delay its decision for a long time.

Origin. Perhaps this expression originated in Muscovite Rus', three hundred years ago. Tsar Alexei, father of Peter I, ordered in the village of Kolomenskoye in front of his palace to install a long box where anyone could put their complaint. Complaints fell, but it was very difficult to wait for a decision: months and years passed. The people renamed this "long" box to "long".

It is possible that the expression, if not born, was fixed in speech later, in “presences” - institutions of the 19th century. The then officials, accepting various petitions, complaints and petitions, undoubtedly sorted them, putting them in different boxes. "Long" could be called the one where the most unhurried things were put off. It is clear that the applicants were afraid of such a box.

Retired goat drummer

I am now out of office - a retired goat drummer.

Meaning. No one needs, no one respected person.

Origin. In the old days, trained bears were taken to fairs. They were accompanied by a dancer boy dressed up as a goat, and a drummer accompanying his dance. This was the "goat drummer". He was perceived as a worthless, frivolous person. And if the goat is also “retired”?

Bring under the monastery

What have you done, what am I to do now, led me to the monastery, and nothing more.

Meaning. Put in a difficult, unpleasant situation, bring under punishment.

Origin. There are several versions of the origin of the turnover. Perhaps the turnover arose because people who had big troubles in life usually left for the monastery. According to another version, the expression is connected with the fact that Russian guides brought enemies under the walls of monasteries, which during the war turned into fortresses (bring a blind man under a monastery). Some believe that the expression is associated with the hard life of women in Tsarist Russia. Only strong relatives could save a woman from her husband's beatings, having achieved protection from the patriarch and the authorities. In this case, the wife "brought her husband to the monastery" - he was exiled to the monastery "in humility" for six months or a year.

put a pig

Well, he has a vile character: he planted a pig and is satisfied!

Meaning. Secretly set up some filth, play a dirty trick.

Origin. In all likelihood, this expression is due to the fact that some peoples do not eat pork for religious reasons. And if such a person was imperceptibly put pork meat in his food, then his faith was defiled by this.

Get into a bind

The small one got into such a bind that even the guards shout.

Meaning. Get into a difficult, dangerous or unpleasant situation.

Origin. In dialects, BINDING is a fish trap woven from branches. And, as in any trap, being in it is an unpleasant business.

Professor of sour cabbage soup

He is always teaching everyone. Me too, professor of sour cabbage soup!

Meaning. Unlucky, bad master.

Origin. Sour cabbage soup is a simple peasant food: some water and sauerkraut. It wasn't hard to prepare them. And if someone was called a master of sour cabbage soup, it meant that he was not good for anything worthwhile.

Beluga roar

For three days in a row she roared like a beluga.

Meaning. Shout or cry loudly.

Origin. "Mute like a fish" - this has been known for a long time. And suddenly "roar beluga"? It turns out that we are not talking about a beluga here, but about a beluga whale, as the polar dolphin is called. He really roars very loudly.

Breed antimony

All conversation is over. I have no time to raise antimony here with you.

Meaning. To chat, to carry on empty talk. Observe unnecessary ceremonies in a relationship.

Origin. From the Latin name of antimony (antimonium), which was used as a medicinal and cosmetic agent, after grinding it and then dissolving it. Antimony is poorly soluble, so the process was very long and laborious. And while it was dissolving, the pharmacists had endless conversations.

The side of the bake

Why would I go to them? Nobody called me. It's called came - on the side of the bake!

Meaning. Everything accidental, extraneous, adhering to something from the outside; superfluous, unnecessary

Origin. This expression is often distorted by pronouncing "side-baked". In fact, it could also be conveyed by the words: “side baking”. Baking, or baking, bakers have burnt pieces of dough that stick to the outside of bread products, that is, something unnecessary, superfluous.

Orphan Kazan

Why are you standing, rooted to the threshold, like an orphan from Kazan.

Meaning. So they say about a person who pretends to be unhappy, offended, helpless in order to pity someone.

Origin. 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.

Grated roll

As a grated kalach, I can give you good advice.

Meaning. This is the name of an experienced person who is difficult to deceive.

Origin. There used to be such a kind of bread - “grated kalach”. The dough for 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 came from a proverb, and not from the name of bread.

Pip on your tongue

What are you saying, pip on your tongue!

Meaning. An expression of dissatisfaction with what was said, an unkind wish to someone who says something that is not what should be said.

Origin. It is clear that this is a wish, and not a very friendly one at that. But what is its meaning? A pip is a small, horny bump on the tip of a bird's tongue that helps them peck at food. The growth of such a tubercle can be a sign of illness. Hard pimples on the tongue of a person are called pips by analogy with these bird tubercles. According to superstitious ideas, a pip usually appears in deceitful people. Hence the unkind wish, designed to punish liars and deceivers. From these observations and superstitions, the incantation formula was born: “Pip on your tongue!” Its main meaning was: "You are a liar: let a pip appear on your tongue!" Now the meaning of this spell has changed somewhat. "Pip on your tongue!" - an ironic wish to someone who expressed an unkind thought, predicted an unpleasant one.

Sharpen laces

Why are you sitting idle and whetting your hair?

Meaning. To idle talk, engage in useless chatter, gossip.

Origin. Lasy (balusters) are chiseled curly posts of railings at the porch; only a real master could make such beauty. Probably, at first, “sharpening balusters” meant having an elegant, bizarre, 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. Another version raises the expression to the meaning of the Russian word balyas - stories, Ukrainian balyas - noise, which go directly to the common Slavic "tell".

pull the gimp

Now they are gone, he will pull the rigmarole until we give up this idea ourselves.

Meaning. To procrastinate, to drag out any business, to speak monotonously and tediously.

Origin. Gimp - the thinnest gold, silver or copper thread, which was used to embroider galloons, aiguillettes and other decorations of officer uniforms, as well as chasubles of priests and simply rich costumes. It was made in a handicraft way, heating the metal and carefully pulling out a thin wire with tongs. This process was extremely long, slow and painstaking, so that over time the expression "pull the gimp" began to refer to any protracted and monotonous business or conversation.

Hit the face in the dirt

You don’t let me down, don’t lose face in front of the guests.

Meaning. Embarrass, shame.

Origin. To hit the face in the dirt originally meant "to fall on the dirty ground." Such a fall was considered by the people to be especially shameful in fisticuffs - competitions of wrestlers, when a weak opponent was knocked over prone to the ground.

In the middle of nowhere

What, go to him? Yes, this is in the middle of nowhere.

Meaning. Very far, somewhere in the wilderness.

Origin. Kulichiki is a distorted Finnish word "kuligi", "kulizhki", which has long been included in Russian speech. So in the north were called forest clearings, meadows, swamps. Here, in the wooded part of the country, the settlers of the distant past were always cutting down “kulizhki” in the forest - areas for plowing and mowing. In old letters, the following formula is constantly found: "And all that land, as long as the ax walked and the scythe walked." The farmer often had to go to his field in the wilderness, to the farthest "sandbags", developed worse than the neighbors, where, according to the then ideas, goblin, and devils, and all kinds of forest evil spirits were found in swamps and windbreaks. So they got the usual words their second, figurative meaning: very far, at the end of the world.

fig leaf

She is a terrible pretender and lazy, hiding behind her imaginary illness,

like a fig leaf.

Meaning. A plausible cover for unseemly deeds.

Origin. The expression goes back to the Old Testament myth about Adam and Eve, who, after the fall, knew shame and girded themselves with fig tree (fig tree) leaves: “And their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves belts » (Genesis, 3:7). From the 16th to the end of the 18th century, European artists and sculptors had to cover up the most explicit parts in their works. human body fig leaf. This convention was a concession to the Christian church, which considered the depiction of naked flesh sinful and obscene.

Filkin's letter

What kind of filkin's letter is this, can't you really state your thoughts?

Meaning. Ignorant, illiterate document.

Origin. The author of the expression was Ivan the Terrible. To strengthen his power, which was impossible without weakening the princes, boyars and clergy, Ivan the Terrible introduced the oprichnina, which terrified everyone.

Metropolitan Philip could not come to terms with the revelry of the guardsmen. In his numerous letters to the tsar - letters - he sought to convince Grozny to abandon his policy of terror, to dissolve the oprichnina. The disobedient Metropolitan Tsyuzny contemptuously called Filka, and his letters - Filkin's letters.

For the bold denunciations of Grozny and his guardsmen, Metropolitan Philip was imprisoned in the Tver Monastery, where Malyuta Skuratov strangled him.

Grab the stars from the sky

He is a man not without abilities, but there are not enough stars from heaven.

Meaning. Do not differ in talents and outstanding abilities.

Origin. Phraseological expression, apparently associated by association with the award stars of the military and officials as insignia.

Enough kondrashka

He was a heroic health, and suddenly kondrashka was enough.

Meaning. Someone suddenly died, was suddenly paralyzed.

Origin. According to the assumption of the historian S. M. Solovyov, the expression is associated with the name of the leader of the Bulavinsky uprising on the Don in 1707, ataman Kondraty Afanasyevich Bulavin (Kondrashka), who exterminated the entire royal detachment led by the voivode Prince Dolgoruky with a sudden raid.

Apple of discord

This trip is a real bone of contention, can't you give in, let him go.

Meaning. That which gives rise to conflict, serious contradictions.

Origin. Peleus and Thetis, the parents of Achilles, the hero of the Trojan War, forgot to invite the goddess of discord, Eris, to their wedding. Eris was very offended and secretly threw a golden apple on the table, at which the gods and mortals were feasting; on it was written: "To the most beautiful." A dispute arose between the three goddesses: the wife of Zeus Hera, Athena - the maiden, the goddess of wisdom, and the beautiful goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite.

The young man Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, was chosen as a judge between them. Paris gave the apple to Aphrodite who bribed him; For this, Aphrodite forced the wife of King Menelaus, the beautiful Helen, to fall in love with the young man. Leaving her husband, Elena went to Troy, and in order to avenge such an insult, the Greeks began a long-term war with the Trojans. As you can see, the apple of Eris actually led to discord.

Pandora's Box

Well, now hold on, Pandora's box has opened.

Meaning. All that can serve as a source of disaster if not careful.

Origin. When the great titan Prometheus stole the fire of the gods from Olympus and gave people the fire of the gods, Zeus terribly punished the daredevil, but it was too late. Possessing the divine flame, people ceased to obey the celestials, learned various sciences, and got out of their miserable state. A little more - and they would have won complete happiness for themselves.

Then Zeus decided to send punishment on them. The blacksmith god Hephaestus fashioned the beautiful woman Pandora from earth and water. The rest of the gods gave her: who is cunning, who is courage, who is extraordinary beauty. Then, handing her a mysterious box, Zeus sent her to earth, forbidding her to open the box. Curious Pandora, barely having come into the world, slightly opened the lid. Immediately all human disasters flew out from there and scattered throughout the universe. Pandora, in fear, tried to close the lid again, but in the box of all misfortunes, only a deceptive hope remained. published . If you have any questions on this topic, ask them to specialists and readers of our project .

Phraseologism is a stable expression. This article contains some theory and many examples of phraseological units with explanations.

Signs of phraseological units

• There is a finite list of phraseological units
  Phraseologisms are already in the language, there are many of them. Their list can be replenished with the development of the language, but it is already set in advance. For example:

  dead hour
  I've been waiting for you for an hour already.

  dead hour is a well-known phrase in Russian, and there are a finite number of these phrases. All of them can be found in the dictionary of phraseological units.

• Sustainability
  In a phraseological unit, it is impossible to change words - to reformulate a phraseological unit. The whole point of phraseological units is that they are used as they are, although they sound incomprehensible.

  White crow
  By the class he was a black sheep

  Can't say white jackdaw, it will no longer be a phraseological unit.

• Has a portable meaning
  

  Climb the wall
  Become extremely irritated, furious.

  It is clear that this phraseological unit has nothing to do with the wall. The meaning is always portable.

• Consist of two or more words
  There are no single-word phraseological units, it is always at least a couple of words. For example:

  No misters"
  He is with the computer on "you".

  There are two words here - pronoun and conjunction.

• IN parsing emphasized as a single member of the sentence

  Beat the thumbs
  I've been thumping all day

  In this sentence, the predicate - beat the buckets, and not just the word beat.
  Bill bucks- an indivisible construction, it is synonymous messed around.

Examples of phraseological units

Book and literary

Augean stables

We use this expression when we want to talk about extreme neglect, pollution.
The expression came from legends and myths Ancient Greece. Augeus is a king, and cleaning his stables is one of the 12 Labors of Hercules.

Balzac age

Age of women over 40 years.
This expression comes from the novels of Balzac, in which the main characters are older women. True, in his novels, women are about 30, and now the age has shifted.

Sisyphean labor

Pointless useless work.
The expression comes from the legends of ancient Greece. Sisyphus was punished by the gods and was forced to drag a stone up the mountain for years, which was sure to fall down again. Now painful useless labor is called Sisyphus.

Knot in the eye

So they talk about the chalk shortcoming of another, which they pay attention to, and at the same time they do not see their own major shortcoming. The expression came from the Bible, here is the full quote:
“Why are you looking at the speck in your brother’s eye, but you don’t feel the beam in your eye? .. Hypocrite! first take the log out of your eye, then you will see how to take the speck out of your brother's eye."

Other phraseological units

Seventh water on jelly
He is my seventh water on jelly.

A very distant relationship.

Powder brains
Don't bullshit me.

Deceive.

Peel off like sticky
Don't go there, they'll rip you off like hell.

Cheat with money.

The sea bay has nothing to do with it. From the bay-floundering means "to act unexpectedly, thoughtlessly." Phraseologism is formed from the verbs "flop" and "flounder" and is associated with the image of a person who accidentally fell into the water and was forced to splash helplessly in it. The situation is so-so, so try to act deliberately, and not out of the blue.

2. Procrustean bed

You wouldn't want to be in it. Procrustes is a hero of ancient Greek myths and a robber who caught travelers and subjected them to a kind of torture. He put people on his bed and checked whether it fit them in length. If a person turned out to be shorter, then Procrustes stretched out his legs, if longer, he chopped off. It is noteworthy that the bed was not enough for the robber himself, for which he later paid.

The expression "Procrustean bed" is used when they try to fit some phenomenon to the given standards, deliberately distorting it.

3. Kisey young lady

Who is the "young lady" should be clear, and "muslin" means "dressed in a dress made of muslin, thin cotton fabric." This elegant but impractical outfit was popular at the end of the 18th century, but then it went out of fashion and turned into a symbol of unfitness, affectation, effeminacy and even stupidity.

4. Enough kondrashka

Kondrashka is not a friendly neighbor, but a euphemism for a stroke or apoplexy. The expression means the same as "suddenly died." It is believed that the disease was not called by its name, so as not to accidentally call it on itself: superstitious people believed that it worked. Sometimes the kondrashka is replaced with a more honorary Kondraty.

5. On a zugunder

If someone threatens to take you to the zugunder, run. Because it means "to punish" or "to prosecute." Phraseologism came from the German language and refers to approximately the 17th-19th centuries, when arrested soldiers were sentenced to one hundred blows with flexible lashes, or gauntlets. "Zu hundert" - in German means "to a hundred."

6. Containers-bars-rastabars

The expression has nothing to do with rastaman bars or containers in which products are packed. It means "talk in vain." Phraseologism originated from the verbs "chatter" and "clatter", meaning "talk, idle talk", and is most often used in conjunction with the verb "breed". Bred containers-bars-rastabars in the bar.

7. Sum

The opportunists and chameleons of all Rus' were called that way. Initially, the phrase meant a bag hanging on an animal. In order for the load to be evenly distributed, the bag was divided into two parts and thrown over, thrown over the saddle. Subsequently, the word "peremёtny" acquired a negative meaning: they said so about a person without principles, who occupies the most advantageous position.

8. Breed turuses on wheels

Panties have nothing to do with it. Turusa on wheels - a wooden siege tower covered with skins. These were used by the ancient Romans. Warriors were planted inside it so that they moved the structure to the enemy’s fortress wall. Contemporaries of Alexander Pushkin did not believe that such towers could exist, so they said about everything incredible “to breed turuses on wheels”, meaning “to talk nonsense”.

9. Lazarus sing

A very unworthy occupation. Lazarus is called a flattering beggar, and the expression itself means "complaining about your fate, pretending to be unhappy." It came from the gospel parable of the rich man and the poor Lazarus. According to her, Lazarus lay at the gate of the rich man, while he feasted and led a wild life. After death, the beggar went to heaven, and the rich man went to hell. The rich man suffered in hell from the heat and wanted Lazarus to give him water. But God refused him, saying that the rich man had already enjoyed life enough.

10. Throw pearls in front of pigs

Sounds like interesting game, but no. This phraseologism also came to us from the Gospel and is used in relation to a person who is not able or does not want to understand someone's thoughts and feelings. The original text was: “Do not give holy things to dogs and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample it under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.” In other words, don't waste your resources for those who will never appreciate it.

11. No belmes

A very useful expression if you are a teacher or a boss. It means "to know and not understand anything" and is translated from Tatar as "he does not know." At first, in Rus', an ignoramus was called a belmes, and then the people noticed a sound similarity between the words "demon" and "belmes" and began to use the latter in the sense of "not a damn thing" and "does not understand a damn thing."

12. Sleep in a Bose

This expression means "to die, to pass away", but now it is more often used with an ironic connotation of "cease to exist". It came from the Church Slavonic language and was used in funeral prayers. The expression "to rest in God" literally means "to sleep in God", that is, to give one's soul to God. But you can use it in relation to, for example, closed projects and companies.

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There are many stable phrases and phrases in the Russian language, the meaning of which cannot be understood purely from a linguistic point of view. Russian phraseological units or idioms introduce foreigners into a stupor, and a considerable part of modern youth. Meanwhile, they make speech more vivid, expressive, incredibly expand the possibilities of the Russian language and the range of emotions. human communication. No less interesting is the history of their origin, both firmly established in our everyday life, and the most unusual and rare, thanks to which the Russian language, for all its complexity and richness, would be much poorer and more boring.

The origins of the phraseologism lie in antiquity, when salt in Rus' was very expensive due to the difficulties of its delivery from the mining regions. In the absence of good roads and a fair weight of the product, it was difficult to expect cheap deliveries. When guests came to the house, the owner himself salted their food, paying more attention to dear guests who sat at the table closer to him. It happened that food was even salted as a sign of special respect. Those who, due to their low social status, sat at the other end of the table, sometimes got little salt and did not get it at all. This is where the expression “leave from somewhere unsalted slurping” came from, i.e. deprived, not getting what they expected.

play spillikins

The modern game "Tower" or "Jenga" had an ancient Russian analogue - a game in which the role of bricks was played by various small objects, which in the old days were called spillikins. The purpose of the fun was to alternately pull out the spillikins from the common heap one by one until the whole structure collapsed. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the game was very popular and gradually began to personify a useless, empty activity, nonsense, on which time is spent instead of useful things. The expression has this meaning even today.

"Lying like a gray gelding"

The meaning of this phraseological unit is clear without explanation, but its origin has not been unequivocally determined. There are at least two versions of why it was this pet, and it was the gray suit that was awarded the title of a harmless reputation as a liar. And it is not a fact that one of them is exact, since both are reduced to a certain speech error in the memory of the Russian people. According to the first one, voiced by the linguist V. Dahl, the word “lying” originally sounded like “rushing”. The fact that geldings are distinguished by special strength and endurance is a well-known fact. But it is unlikely that the gray suit somehow stands out with these qualities against the background of others.

According to the second version, the popular expression remained in memory of the Russian "Munchausen" - a great liar named Sievers-Mering of noble rank, who served in the tsarist army 150 years ago. All the soldiers and officers knew about his tendency to invent fables, so the expression was often used when convicting someone of a lie.

However, this version is also defeated if we remember that the gray gelding (or mare) is also mentioned as a stable expression for other reasons (nonsense of a gray mare, lazy or stupid, op like a gray gelding, etc.). And the researchers still have no explanation for this interesting fact.

Roll a barrel (at someone)

In ancient times, fish was one of the main food products. Although they spoke in Rus' about “soup and porridge,” but meat soup was expensive, and you can’t really work on empty ones. Therefore, they were often boiled on fish, and in another form it often appeared on the village table.

Fish often had to be transported from the places of its especially rich fishing - from the lower reaches of the Volga and other large reservoirs. They carried it in large barrels, which, when unloaded, rolled down the ladder and, if handled carelessly, could easily cripple a person. Therefore, the first rule when unloading was not to roll the barrel when there was a person in its path. Interesting fact: this phraseologism was actually born on the social bottom of society, and to this day it is considered vulgar and unacceptable for use in cultural conversation, although its meaning does not carry vulgarity or vulgarity. “Roll a barrel” - attack a person, threaten him, accuse him of something with the implication that he actually did nothing wrong.

Breaking bad (let go)

Temple belfries (bell towers) in the old days usually hung a lot of different bells from small ringing bells to colossal colossus, the weight of which reached tens of tons. To strike such a bell, remarkable strength was needed, since its “tongue” weighed a lot. In church statutes, they were called "heavy", i.e. modern "heavy".

They beat them not only on major holidays, but also in case of emergencies, such as fires and other disasters. "To hit all the hard" meant to beat all the heavy (loud) bells so that the sound would spread further and announce the importance of the event. In this case, the people had to give up everything, regardless of occupation, run to help or save themselves and act, regardless of anything and regardless of anything subjective. The expression is used to this day, retaining only part of the meaning - to perform actions that are not consistent with the usual rules. However, in this case, we are no longer talking about help and salvation, but revelry and debauchery.

Hot spot

Another phraseological phrase from the old church vocabulary that has lost its meaning, and this time it is exactly the opposite. At the mention of cereals, we imagine a place where people indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, however, the original meaning of this expression was not figurative and referred to the place where cereals grow, i.e. bread, well-fed, and therefore cheerful. The request to put to rest in “a green and peaceful (calm) place” is contained in prayers for the dead. The current value is due to the fact that in Rus', in the absence of grapes, intoxicating drinks were made mainly from cereals. Therefore, the "evil" place in oral folklore turned into a "drunk" one.

"Silent glanders"

The meaning of a phraseological unit is to do something inconspicuously, secretly, to achieve the desired inconspicuously for others, as a rule, something that they do not approve of and often comes to the detriment or detriment of others. Eg, on the sly you can get what you want from your superiors, regardless of corporate ethics. Or drag the most Tasty food while no one has sat down at the table yet. The modified word "sapa" comes from the Italian "zappa", meaning something like our sapper shovel, i.e. small shovel for earthworks. It was convenient for her to dig or dig a secret passage.

Before getting into the Russian language, "tsappa" passed into French in the form of a modified borrowing "sap" (earthworks in order to create a hidden tunnel, sap). By the way, the well-known word "sapper" came from him. In our language, this word itself and the corresponding phrase " quiet glanders' acquired the same meaning. To make the approach to the enemy imperceptible, secret, to approach on the sly.

Subsequently, the expression acquired a wide semantic application and turned into a phraseological unit.

"Sit in a puddle"

Another variant of a phraseological unit is to sit in a galosh (galosh). It means to be disgraced, to be in an absurd position, to be defeated in a dispute, putting forward easily refutable arguments. The origin of this unusual phraseologism is associated with ancient folk wall-to-wall fights, held as fun, games. The battles took place in the field, where mud and puddles often kneaded underfoot. If a person fell, then he not only lost, but also found himself in a very ridiculous position - lying in a puddle. And since in ancient times the puddle was called a little differently, kaluga, the name of the shoe for overcoming this obstacle came from this name - galosh (it has an equal spelling with the “galosh” variant, depending on the local dialect).

Therefore, in Russian folklore, another popular expression has also become fixed - “sit in a galosh”.

"The sand is falling"

The expression implies old age, a derisive indication of age, often inappropriate behavior. According to one version, its roots go back to medieval Europe, where such a detail of clothing as a codpiece came into fashion, i.e. a bag in which a man's dignity was invested. The detail was not just noticeable, it was decorated in every possible way and flaunted. And in order to make the economy look more solid, men often put fake sandbags into the codpiece. Elderly womanizers especially sinned with this in order to demonstrate that they were still “hoo”. But due to the prescription of use or due to careless movement, the bags sometimes torn, and then a path of sand stretched behind the owner of a luxurious codpiece, which caused laughter among the courtiers.

According to another version, Russian soldiers had to wear the same bags in the same place, but for a different purpose, under Peter, who ordered them to wear narrow, as in Europe, and terribly uncomfortable for them unusual pants (to reduce pressure on causal places ). The bags quickly wore out, torn and scattered sand.

There is also a third version, which explains why phraseological units are applied with the same success in relation to women and why it has received such a late distribution. We are talking about stones and sand in the genitourinary system, which are most often formed with age and often come out spontaneously.

Put in a long box

The meaning of the expression is simple - to postpone something for a long or indefinite period, not to rush to resolve the issue. But it has an interesting origin. In the village of Kolomenskoye, during the reign of Alexei, who was the father of Peter the Great, a special box was installed for complaints to the sovereign, which anyone could put there. The people tried, wrote, waited, but the consideration of issues had to wait for months, or even years. For this, the petitioners aptly nicknamed the box long or long. Subsequently, the expression was fixed thanks to special boxes in the "presences", where complaints and petitions were laid out in different boxes by the officials themselves for sorting. Among them was one that was intended for folding unhurried affairs, and it was called "long".

"Disservice"

So they say about unsolicited help, from which more negative consequences are obtained than benefits. The origin is connected with the fable "The Hermit and the Bear" by the famous fabulist Krylov. In it, the Bear, out of good intentions, slapped a fly on the forehead of the Stranger, with whom he became friends. But he did not calculate the strength and killed him. There is no catch phrase in the text of the fable; it was formed later on its basis and firmly entered Russian folklore.

"Not by washing, so by skating"

Phraseologism, the meaning of which comes down to excessive perseverance, the desire of a person to achieve what he wants in any way and find other ways to achieve it if previous attempts have failed. The origin of the expression refers to the old way of ironing clothes with a roll using two wooden bars. Linen was wound on one of them, and the resulting bundle was rolled on a flat surface with the other. When washing clothes, women knew that the results of not quite high-quality washing could be visually improved if the item was carefully ironed.

"7 Fridays in a week"

Phraseologism, as relevant as ever at the present time. Friday was the trading day. If the money was not immediately paid for the goods on the market day, then the payment deadline came on the following Friday. People who failed to pay due dates, and especially those who reminded debtors of their debts too often, were said to have Friday every day. The expression stuck to those who change their minds too often. In addition, this day in Rus' was considered a day off, a market day. Subsequently, they began to talk like that about loafers, who have every day, like Friday, a day off.

"Japanese policeman!"

By uttering this phrase, many simply disguise an obscene expression that is ready to escape from their lips. In fact, we are talking about a small scandal that took place during the journey of Tsarevich Nicholas in Japan. The youth laughed loudly and had fun, which did not please the stiff guardian of order, who, without thinking twice and without wasting words, simply hit the future emperor on the head with a saber. Fortunately, she was in a sheath, and the incident had no physical consequences, however, it received a serious response in Russia. The outrage was caused by the fact that instead of restoring proper order, the Japanese policeman rushes at unarmed young people just because they laugh out loud. The expression has taken root perfectly as a euphemism - a shy replacement of an indecent word with a completely cultural expression.

Phraseologisms

Phraseologisms are called stable combinations of words, turns of speech such as: “beat the buckets”, “hang your nose”, “ask a brainwasher” ... The turn of speech, which is called a phraseological unit, is indivisible in meaning, that is, its meaning does not add up from the meanings of its constituent words. It works only as a whole, a lexical unit.

Phraseologisms are winged expressions that do not have an author.

The meaning of phraseological units is to give emotional coloring to the expression, to strengthen its meaning.

Many phraseological units are easily replaced by one word:

headlong - quickly,

close at hand.

Often a direct expression turns into a figurative one, expanding the shades of its meaning.

Bursting at the seams - from the speech of the tailor has acquired a wider meaning - to decline.

To confuse - from the speech of railway workers it has passed into common use in the sense of confusing.

Examples of phraseological units and their meanings

Buckwheat beat - mess around

Henbane overeat - go berserk (applied to people who do stupid things

After rain on Thursday - never

Anika the warrior is a braggart, brave only in words, away from danger

Set a brain wash (bath) - lather your neck, head - strongly scold

White crow - a person who stands out sharply from environment one quality or another

Biryuk to live - to be gloomy, not to communicate with anyone

Throw down a glove - challenge someone to an argument, competition (although no one throws gloves)

wolf in sheepskin- evil people pretending to be kind, who hide under the guise of meekness

Soar in the clouds - blissfully dream, fantasize about what

The soul has gone to the heels - a man who has become cowardly, frightened

Don't feel sorry for your belly - donate your life

Hack on the nose - remember firmly

To make an elephant out of a fly - to turn a small fact into a whole event

On a silver platter - get what you want with honor, without much effort

On the edge of the earth - somewhere very far away

In the seventh heaven - to be in complete delight, in a state of supreme bliss

You can’t see a single thing - it’s so dark that you can’t see the paths, paths

Rush headlong - act recklessly, with desperate determination

Eat a pound of salt - get to know each other well

Good riddance - go away, we can do without you

Roll up your sleeves - work hot, diligently

Phraseologisms with the word "WATER"

A storm in a teacup - big worries over an insignificant occasion

It is written with a pitchfork on the water - it is not yet known how it will be, the outcome is not clear, by analogy: "grandmother said in two"

Do not spill water - great friends, about strong friendship

Carry water in a sieve - waste time, do useless business Similarly: crush water in a mortar

He took water in his mouth - he is silent and does not want to answer

To carry water (on someone) - to burden with hard work, taking advantage of his complaisant nature

Bring to clean water - expose dark deeds, convict of lies

Get out of the water dry - go unpunished, without bad consequences

Money is like water - meaning the ease with which it is spent

Blowing into the water, getting burned in milk - being overly cautious, remembering past mistakes

As if he looked into the water - as if he knew in advance, foresaw, accurately predicted events

How he sank into the water - disappeared, without a trace, disappeared without a trace

As if lowered into water - sad, sad

Like water through your fingers - one who easily escapes persecution

Like two drops of water - very similar, indistinguishable

If you don’t know the ford, then don’t go into the water - a warning not to take hasty actions

Like a fish in water - feel confident, very well oriented, good at something,

Like water off a duck's back - nothing to a man

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then - a lot of time has passed

Carry water in a sieve - waste time

The seventh water on jelly is a very distant relationship

Hide the ends in the water - hide the traces of the crime

Quieter than water, lower than grass - behave modestly, imperceptibly

Crush water in a mortar - do a useless thing.

Phraseologisms with the word "NOS"

It is interesting that in phraseological units the word nose practically does not reveal its main meaning in any way. The nose is the organ of smell, however, in stable phrases, the nose is associated primarily with the idea of ​​something small, short. Remember the fairy tale about Kolobok? When the Fox needed Gingerbread Man to get within her reach, to get closer, she asks him to sit on her nose. However, the word nose does not always mean the organ of smell. He also has other meanings. Muttering under his breath - grumbling, grumbling, mumbling indistinctly.

Lead by the nose - this phrase came to us from Central Asia. Visitors are often surprised how small children manage to cope with huge camels. The animal obediently follows the child leading it by the rope. The fact is that the rope is threaded through the ring located in the camel's nose. Here you already want it, you don’t want it - but you have to obey! Rings were also put into the noses of bulls to make their temper more docile. If a person deceives someone or does not fulfill the promise, then they also say about him that he "leads by the nose."

Turn up your nose - unjustifiably proud of something, boast.

Hack on the nose - Hack on the nose means: remember firmly, once and for all. It seems to many that this was said not without cruelty: it is not very pleasant if you are offered to make a notch on your own face. Useless fear. The word nose here does not mean the organ of smell at all, but just a commemorative plaque, a tag for records. In ancient times, illiterate people always carried such boards with them and made all kinds of notes on them with notches, cuts. These tags were called noses.

Nodding off - falling asleep.

Curious Varvara's nose was torn off at the market - do not interfere in your own business.

On the nose - so they say about something that is about to come.

Do not poke your nose into other people's business - in this way they want to show that a person is too, inappropriately curious, interferes in what he should not.

Nose to nose - on the contrary, close.

Keep your nose downwind - in the glorious days of the sailing fleet, movement by sea completely depended on the direction of the wind, on the weather. Calm, calm - and the sails nick, more like a rag. A contrary wind is blowing in the bow of the ship - you no longer have to think about sailing, but already about throwing all the anchors, that is, “anchoring” and removing all the sails so that the air current does not throw the ship ashore. In order to go to sea, a fair wind was required, which inflated the sails and directed the ship forward into the sea. The sailors' vocabulary associated with this received figurativeness and entered our literary language. Now "to keep your nose to the wind" - in a figurative sense, means to adapt to any circumstances. “Drop anchor”, “anchor”, - stop in motion, settle somewhere; “Sit by the sea and wait for the weather” - an inactive expectation of change; "In full sail" - to move towards the intended goal at full speed, as quickly as possible; Wishing a “fair wind” to someone means wishing him good luck.

Hang your nose or Hang your nose - if suddenly a person is depressed or just sad, it happens about him, they say that he seemed to “hang his nose”, and they can also add: “a fifth”. Quinta, translated from Latin, it means: "fifth". Musicians, or more precisely, violinists, so call the violin's first string in terms of tonality (the highest). While playing, the violinist usually supports his instrument with his chin and his nose almost touches this string closest to him. The expression "hang your nose on the fifth", improved in the circle of musicians, has entered the literature.

Stay with the nose - without what he expected.

Under the very nose - close.

Showing your nose - teasing someone by putting your thumb to your nose and waving the others.

WITH gulkin's nose- very little (a bun is a dove, the dove's beak is small).

Poke your nose into other people's affairs - be interested in other people's affairs.

To leave with a nose - the roots of the expression "to leave with a nose" are lost in the distant past. In ancient times, bribery was very common in Rus'. Neither in institutions nor in court could a positive decision be achieved without an offering, a gift. Of course, these gifts, hidden by the petitioner somewhere under the floor, were not called the word "bribe". They were politely called "bringing" or "nose". If the manager, judge or clerk took the "nose", then one could be sure that the case would be favorably resolved. In case of refusal (and this could happen if the gift seemed small to the official or if the offering from the opposite side had already been accepted), the petitioner left with his “nose” on his way. In this case, there was no hope for success. Since then, the words “go away with a nose” have come to mean “to fail, to fail, to lose, to stumble, having achieved nothing.

Wipe your nose - if you managed to surpass someone, then they say that they wiped his nose.

Bury your nose - immerse yourself completely in some kind of activity.

Full, drunk and nose in tobacco - means a satisfied and contented person with everything.

Phraseologisms with the word "MOUTH, LIPS"

The word mouth is included in a number of phraseological units, the meanings of which are associated with the process of speaking. Food enters the human body through the mouth - a number of stable expressions in one way or another indicate this function of the mouth. There are not many phraseological units with the word lip.

You can’t take it in your mouth - they say if the food is cooked tasteless.

Guba is not a fool - they say about a person who knows how to choose the best.

Shutting someone's mouth means preventing them from speaking.

Porridge in the mouth - the person speaks indistinctly.

There was no poppy dew in the mouth, which means that the person has not eaten for a long time and needs to be fed urgently.

The milk on the lips has not dried up - they say if they want to show that someone else is young and inexperienced.

To take water in your mouth is to shut up yourself.

Pout your lips - take offense.

Open your mouth - freeze in amazement before something that struck the imagination.

The mouth is full of trouble - they say, if there are so many things to do that you don’t have time to cope with them.

A wide open mouth is a sign of surprise.

Phraseological units with the word "HAND"

To be at hand - to be available, to be in close proximity

Warm your hands - use the position

Hold in hands - do not give free rein, keep in strict obedience

Like a hand removed - quickly disappeared, passed

Wear on your hands - give a special location, attention, appreciate, pamper

Tirelessly - work hard

Tuck under the arm - accidentally be nearby

Get under a hot hand - run into a bad mood

The hand does not rise - it is in no way possible to perform an action due to an internal prohibition

Hand in hand - hand in hand, together, together

Hand washes hand - people connected by common interests protect each other

Hands do not reach - there is no strength and time to do something

Hands itch - about a great desire to do something

At hand - very close, very close

Grab with both hands - gladly agree with some proposal

Rake heat with the wrong hands - enjoy the fruits of someone else's work

Golden hands - about the one who skillfully, skillfully does everything, copes with any work

Phraseologisms with the word "HEAD"

The wind in the head is an unreliable person.

It flew out of my head - I forgot.

My head is spinning - too many things to do, responsibilities, information.

Giving your head to cut off - promise.

Like snow on the head - unexpectedly.

To fool - to deceive, divert from the essence of the matter.

Do not take off your head - be responsible for your actions.

Examine from head to toe - everything, carefully, carefully.

Head over heels - risky.

They don’t pat on the head - they scold.

From a sick head to a healthy one - shift the blame onto another.

Upside down - vice versa.

To break one's head over a task is to think hard.

Breaking my head - very quickly.

Phraseologisms with the word "EAR"

The word ear is included in phraseological units, one way or another connected with hearing. Harsh words act primarily on the ears. In many stable expressions, the word ears means rather than the organ of hearing, but only its outer part. I wonder if you can see your ears? Using a mirror in this case is not allowed!

Keep your eyes open - a person is tensely waiting for danger. Vostry is the old form of the word acute.

Perk up your ears - listen carefully. The dog's ears are pointed and the dog's ears stick up when listening. This is where phraseology came from.

You can’t see how your ears are - they say about a person who will never get what he wants.

Immerse yourself in something up to your ears - they say to a person if he is completely absorbed in any occupation. You can also be deeply in debt - if there are a lot of debts.

Blushed to the ears - they say when a person is very embarrassed.

Hang your ears - so they say about a person who listens to someone too trustingly.

To listen with all ears means to listen carefully.

Listen with half an ear or listen with the corner of your ear - listen without much attention.

Ears wither - it is disgusting to listen to anything to the utmost.

Ears hurt - they say when something is unpleasant to listen to.

Phraseologisms with the word "TOOTH"

With the word tooth in Russian, there is quite a large number of stable expressions. Among them, a group of phraseological units is noticeable, in which teeth act as a kind of weapon of defense or attack, a threat. The word tooth is also used in phraseological units denoting various deplorable states of a person.

To be in the teeth - to impose, to bother.

Armed to the teeth - they talk about a person who is dangerous to attack, because he can give a worthy rebuff.

Speak teeth - divert attention.

Tooth for tooth - quarreling (a tendency to swear), unyielding, "how it comes around, it will respond."

A tooth does not fall on a tooth - they say if someone is cold from extreme cold or from trembling, excitement, fear.

To give a tooth - to mock, to ridicule someone.

There is a tooth - to drive, to cramp.

Show your teeth - mock.

Eat teeth - gain experience.

Scratch your teeth - talk nonsense, nothing.

On a tooth to try - to learn, to try directly.

Something is too tough for anyone - it is difficult to bite off, beyond the power, beyond the abilities.

There is nothing to put on the tooth - they say when there is nothing to eat.

Not in the tooth with a foot - absolutely nothing (not to know, not to understand, etc.).

Look someone in the mouth - find out everything about a person.

Raise on the teeth - mock.

Showing your teeth means demonstrating your evil nature, the desire to be at enmity, to threaten someone.

Put your teeth on the shelf - starve when there is no food left in the house.

Speak through teeth - barely open your mouth, reluctantly.

Grit your teeth - do not lose heart, do not despair, start the fight.

To sharpen or have a grudge against someone - to be spiteful, to seek to cause harm.

Phraseologisms with the word "CHEST, BACK"

The words chest and back are included in oppositely colored phraseological units. However, there are positively colored phraseological units with the word back.

Stand up or stand with your chest for someone - rise to the defense, steadfastly defend.

To ride on someone's back - to achieve your goals, using someone in your own interests.

Bend your back - work, or bow.

Hump ​​your back - work.

Ride on someone's back - use someone for some of their own purposes.

Behind someone (to do something) - so that he does not see, does not know, secretly from someone.

Put your hands behind your back - cross them behind.

On your own back (to experience, to learn something) - from your own bitter experience, as a result of troubles, difficulties, hardships that you yourself had to endure.

A knife in the back or a stab in the back is a treacherous, treacherous act, a blow.

Turn your back - leave, leave to the mercy of fate, stop communicating with anyone.

Pave the way with your chest - to achieve a good position in life, achieves everything with hard work, overcomes all the difficulties that have fallen to him.

Hiding behind someone else's back - shifting your duties or responsibilities to someone.

To work without straightening your back is diligently, diligently, a lot and hard. They can praise an approximately working person.

Straighten your back - gain self-confidence, cheer up.

Show your back - leave, run away.

To stand behind someone's back - secretly, covertly lead someone.

Phraseologisms with the word "LANGUAGE"

Language is another word often found in phraseological units, since language is extremely important for a person, it is with him that the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe ability to speak and communicate is associated. The idea of ​​speaking (or, conversely, silence) can be traced in one way or another in many phraseological units with the word language.

To run with your tongue out is very fast.

Keep your mouth shut - be silent, do not say too much; be careful in your statements.

Long tongue - they say if a person is a talker and likes to tell other people's secrets.

Like a cow licked with her tongue - about something that quickly and disappeared without a trace.

Find a common language - reach mutual understanding.

To step on the tongue - to silence.

Hanging your tongue on your shoulder is very tired.

Get on the tongue - become the subject of gossip.

Bite your tongue - shut up, refrain from speaking.

Untie the tongue - encourage someone to talk; give someone the opportunity to speak.

To dissolve the tongue - without restraining oneself, losing control over oneself, to speak out, to say too much.

Pip on your tongue - an angry wish to an evil talker.

To pull the tongue - to say something that is not entirely appropriate for the situation.

To shorten the tongue - to silence someone, not to let insolence speak, superfluous.

Scratch your tongue (scratch your tongue) - talk in vain, chatter, idle talk.

Scratch tongues - gossip, slander.

The devil pulled the tongue - an unnecessary word breaks off the tongue.

Boneless tongue - they say if a person is talkative.

The tongue is tangled - you can not clearly say anything.

Tongue stuck to the larynx - suddenly shut up, stop talking.

Swallow the tongue - shut up, stop talking (about the reluctance to speak to anyone).

The language is well suspended - they talk about a person who speaks freely, fluently.

Phraseologisms with the word "LITTLE"

Nearly, almost

Small spool, but expensive - value is not determined by size

Mal mala is smaller - one is smaller than the other (about children)

The bird is small, but the nail is sharp - insignificant in position, but inspires fear or admiration for its qualities

A small dog until old age is a puppy - a person of small stature always seems younger than his age, does not make a solid impression

You never know what - 1. anything, anything 2. not essential, not important 3. excitement, but suddenly ...

Little by little - slowly, little by little

Slowly - slowly

From young to old - all ages

Small (drink) - a little, a small portion

Play small - make a small bet (in games)

From an early age - from childhood

The smallest part is the smallest part of something.

The correct and appropriate use of phraseological units gives speech a special expressiveness, accuracy and imagery.