In the whole world, phraseological units. Phraseologisms

The Russian language is so mobile and flexible that it allows you to use many special speech techniques: proverbs, sayings, metaphors and much more. Separately, I would like to talk about what a phraseological unit is.

Phraseologisms are phrases whose meaning can embellish speech and give it a special emotional connotation. A phraseological phrase is indivisible in meaning, that is, it has a common meaning of all the words included in it. Each word separately does not carry such an information load. It is better to consider examples with an explanation of phraseological units.

In contact with

The horse didn't lie

Ordinary speech would be dry and less emotional if there were no special lexical units in it - phraseological units. For example, you could say, “I felt really angry.” Or you can say it this way: “I was as angry as a dog.” The listener has completely different associative images in his mind. The brain perceives the image of an angry dog ​​instantly, at the level of a reflex. Life experience accumulated in the subconscious takes its toll.

Or this example of a phrase: “I have not yet started doing the intended work.” It sounds much better: “I haven’t had a horse lying around yet.” For a foreigner to understand this is a real headache! What kind of horse and why didn’t he lie down? And a Russian person instantly grasps the essence of the speaker’s problem.

Phraseologism "one foot here - the other - there" very often used in speech. It is literally impossible for a person's feet to be in different places at the same time! But it means that the speaker is already on the way and is rushing very quickly and is about to arrive at the right place.

Interesting observation. Phraseological phrases sometimes reduce the severity of perception of a negative action and enhance the positive.

Whose authorship?

Many people think about origin of set expressions. Phraseologisms have no authors. Or so, the authors are the people. In the process of life and accumulation of experience, people apply their knowledge, transforming it into new forms.

The origin of vivid figures of speech is also associated with literary and historical facts. Everyone has an idea about the exploits of Hercules, and in particular about one of them - how quickly the strong man was able to clear the stables of King Augeas. The hero showed resourcefulness and quickly dealt with an extremely difficult task. He accomplished the seemingly impossible! So it was customary for the people to say: “I’ll go clean up the Augean stables...” Or: “What a good fellow, he cleaned the Augean stables!”

In addition to the “lying horse”, an interesting phrase is about "buried dog". Example: “So that’s where the dog is buried!” This means that a solution has finally been found to a problem or issue that has been nagging for a long time. The topic of the origin of popular expressions with this animal is very popular. There are stories of dogs whose graves served as a kind of memory for their owners (they were lost, and then found).

In Russian speech, everyone who deserves punishment is “poured on the first day.” This came from a school where students were caned. The punishment was effective and the student behaved well until the start of the next month of school (until the 1st).

Let's go through phraseological units

Introducing a small list of figures of speech for reference. They are most often used in relation to a specific person:

Phraseologisms in sentences

There is also many other catchphrases. It's interesting to look at examples.

1. It's time to wash your hands of it. This sentence means that the time has come to step away from the problem, to indicate your non-involvement in it.
2. In life, he liked to “go with the flow.” The hero is passive and lived according to the will of circumstances, without resisting them in any way.
3. My worries are a dime a dozen. There is a lot to do.
4. Relatives came to visit - “the seventh water on jelly.” Here the degree of relationship is very blurred, there is no way to figure out who belongs to whom and by whom.
5. He got married according to the principle “don’t drink water off your face.” This is a sad story, here is an attempt to love the inner world of a person, implying that not everything is in order with his appearance.
6. See you "after the rain on Thursday." This sentence has the meaning: we will never see each other, and it also shows a disdainful attitude towards the person.
7. In his stories he liked to “build up the atmosphere.” Here we are talking about a person who clearly exaggerates the complexity and horror of events in his narratives, heating up the situation.
8. We left home “without a sip.” The meaning of the phraseological unit: I had to return without earnings, profit or any other result previously planned.

The given examples show how vividly, briefly and succinctly phraseological units can characterize some situations. They also add nuances of sound and semantic accents to speech. Origin may not matter. Moreover, the lexical meaning of phraseological units is integral and is perceived as a short signal of an associative series stored in human memory.

About labor

Let's talk about phraseological units that mention job or profession. People have written a lot of sayings, fables and other lexical forms about work. Let us give examples of phraseological units and their meanings.

Phraseologisms for children

Work and acquaintance with phraseological units starts already at school. Children are taught to understand set expressions and be able to explain them. In their native speech lessons, younger schoolchildren practice constructing statements using phraseological units. In this way, they enrich their vocabulary and vocabulary knowledge. Children learn to explain phraseological units with one short word or related phrase.

Phraseologisms are quite simple to understand and memorize, according to the age of primary school children. Let's look at examples:

• shut your mouth (shut up);
• keep your mouth shut (keep a secret);
• not to believe your ears (to be surprised by what you hear);
• nod off (fall asleep);
• lead by the nose (deceive);
• fly headlong (run quickly) and others.

The use of phraseological units in elementary school contributes to their development "sense of language", inherent in the Russian person. Forms imaginative thinking, the speed of creating thought forms. Aphorisms are compiled from pictures or work is done with texts.

In Russian language lessons, students complete written assignments in which they replace phraseological units with one word (insert the missing word).

In literary reading lessons, they learn to compare images of fairy-tale characters with phraseological phrases. For example, Emelya - “lies and doesn’t blow a breath”.

When studying mathematics, they analyze stable phrases: “square head”, “two inches from the pot” and others.

Phraseological units are applicable in various fields of activity, areas of knowledge, and life situations. The main thing is to understand their meaning! A true connoisseur of the Russian language will definitely use catchphrases in his speech, both for his own pleasure (he will create a picture) and for a “cunning catchphrase.”

A phraseological unit is a stable expression. This article contains a little 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 predetermined. For example:

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

  Lost hour is a well-known phrase in the Russian language, and there are a finite number of these phrases. They can all be found in the dictionary of phraseological units.

• Sustainability
  In a phraseological unit, you cannot change words - reformulate the phraseological unit. The whole point of phraseological units is that they are used as they are, although they sound incomprehensible.

  White crow
  He was the black sheep of the class

  You can't tell white jackdaw, it will no longer be a phraseological unit.

• Has a figurative 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 figurative.

• Consist of two or more words
  There are no one-word phraseological units; they are always at least a couple of words. For example:

  No misters"
  He's on first name terms with the computer.

  There are two words here – a pronoun and a conjunction.

• In syntactic analysis it is emphasized as a single member of the sentence

  Beat your head
  I've been kicking ass all day

  In this sentence the predicate is “beat”, and not just the word “beat”.
  He was kicking ass– an indivisible construction, it is synonymous idle.

Examples of phraseological units

Book and literary

Augean stables

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

Balzac age

The women are over 40 years old.
This expression comes from Balzac's novels, in which the main characters are older women. True, in his novels the women are about 30, but now the age has shifted.

Sisyphus's work

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

Mote in the eye

This is how they talk about the minor shortcoming of another, which they pay attention to, and at the same time they do not see their own major shortcoming. The expression comes from the Bible, here is the full quote:
“Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but don’t feel the beam in your own eye?.. You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your own Eye, then you will see how to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Other phraseological units

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

Very distantly related.

Powder brains
Don't fool me.

Deceive.

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

Cheat with money.

Phraseologisms(from Greek phrasis + logos - expression, figure of speech) - These are stable, reproducible expressive complexes that have a holistic meaning and perform a single syntactic function. They give speech special expressiveness, emphasizing the national specificity and originality of the language. Without them, a person’s speech is colorless and often does not convey what he feels. But mastering phraseology is a difficult process, and shortcomings are encountered here very often. The basis for the formation of a phraseological unit is semantic simplification, i.e., limiting the meaning of a word that has become a component of a phraseological unit, having its own, single phraseological meaning. For example, the word eye in the four-volume Dictionary of the Russian Language it has three meanings: 1) organ of vision, 2) ability to see; vision; vision, 3) evil eye - the mysterious magical power of a look that brings misfortune. Last meaning of the word eye is idiomatic. In the proverb Too many cooks spoil the broth component without an eye(singular only) is based on the figurative meaning “supervision”, which arose in oral speech on the basis of the second meaning. Expression cry your eyes out- cry a lot and for a long time - relies on the first meaning of the word eye. The phraseological unit is based on the same meaning Tet-a-tet- alone with someone. A phraseological unit, acquiring a single meaning, receives its subject-conceptual orientation, due to which it can become a synonym for the word: Tet-a-tet− alone, beat your head− sit back.

The meaning of a phraseological unit, based on the figurative phraseological meanings of its components, is often motivated differently in different languages. Thus, an adverbial phraseological unit of the Russian language Tet-a-tet has correspondence: German. uner vier Augen (literally: between the four eyes), English, face to face (face to face), fr. tete a tete (head to head). Phraseological units do not allow literal (word-by-word) translation: they require searching for a phraseological equivalent of another language, since phraseological meaning is accompanied by emotional, semantic and stylistic expression; for example, phraseology give bream colloquial, and the expression pitch darkness− bookish.

The degree of semantic simplification of the components of a phraseological unit varies; The older the phraseological unit is and the less connected it is with words of general use, the less motivated the phraseological meaning is, the more its internal form is forgotten. The classification of phraseological units is based on the degree of semantic simplification. The most famous classification is V.V. Vinogradov.

1 . Phraseological adhesions: sharpen the lasses, how to drink, on your own mind - The main feature of fusion is its semantic indivisibility, the absolute non-derivability of the meanings of the whole from its components. It represents a semantic unit, homogeneous with a word, devoid of internal form. Phraseological adjuncts are also called idioms. Idioms (phraseological units) do not allow word-by-word (literal) understanding, since one of the components has fallen out of modern word usage; This is also facilitated by a change in shape: laces(instead of balusters− balustrade posts; Wed Italian balaustro − column, baluster), just a joke− vm. tell a joke.

2. Phraseological unities: soap your neck; wash dirty linen in public; shot sparrow; you never know. Adjacent to phraseological units are sayings and proverbs, which have the form not of phrases, but of sentences: The master's work is afraid; Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.

A feature of phraseological units is their semantic two-facedness: they can be understood literally(wash dirty linen in public) and figuratively - as one semantic unit, with its own phraseological meaning “to disclose something”.

3. Phraseological combinations− this type of stable combinations in which non-free phraseological meanings of words are realized, for example − look away(from someone): Me with an effort he averted his eyes from that beautiful face. However, when management changes, phraseological unity arises look away(to someone) − to deceive: The courtesy and dexterity that he flaunted in front of the buyer who came to his shop was nothing more than a means of “averting” the buyer’s eyes, “talking his teeth” and in the meantime foisting rotten, faded goods.(G. Uspensky).

Compound names and terms. Phraseologisms are expressive means of language; they are characteristic of oral and book speech, the language of fiction. Due to these properties, compound names differ from phraseological units: they do not have an emotional-figurative meaning. Compound names are nominative means of the language, its constituent lexemes.

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.

Speech is a way of communication between people. To achieve complete mutual understanding and express your thoughts more clearly and figuratively, many lexical techniques are used, in particular, phraseological units (phraseological unit, idiom) - stable figures of speech that have independent meaning and are characteristic of a particular language. Often, simple words are not enough to achieve a certain speech effect. Irony, bitterness, love, mockery, your own attitude to what is happening - all this can be expressed much more succinctly, 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, and legends.

It is not worth it

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

Meaning. The effort expended 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 head analysis

Well, brother, you've come late to the very basic 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 forbidden to go inside with a hat, put their three hats and caps at the very entrance. At the end of the church service, when everyone left, they took them apart. Only those who were clearly in no hurry to go to church came to the “head-by-side analysis.”

How to get chickens into cabbage soup

And he ended up 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 without any idea of ​​its true meaning. Let's start with the word "chicken". This word in old Russian means “rooster”. But “cabbage soup” was not in this proverb before, and it was pronounced correctly: “I got caught in the plucking like a chicken,” that is, I was plucked, “unlucky.” The word “plucking” was forgotten, and then people, willy-nilly, changed the expression “to plucking” to “into cabbage soup.” When she was born is not entirely clear: some think that even under Demetrius the Pretender, when she was “plucked”; the Polish conquerors fell; others - that in the Patriotic War of 1812, when the Russian people forced Napoleon's hordes to flee.

King for a day

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

Meaning. About a man who accidentally found himself in a position of power for a short time.

Origin. The Arabic fairy tale “A Waking Dream, or Caliph for an Hour” (collection “A Thousand and One Nights”) tells how the young Baghdadian Abu-Shssan, not knowing that the caliph Grun-al-Rashid is in front of him, shares with him his cherished dream - become caliph at least for a day. Wanting to have fun, Harun al-Rashid pours sleeping pills into Abu Hassan’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-1ksan believes that he is the caliph, enjoys luxury and begins to give orders. In the evening, he again drinks wine with sleeping pills and wakes up at home.

Scapegoat

I'm afraid that you will forever be their scapegoat.

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

Origin. The phrase goes back to the text of the Bible, to the description of the ancient Hebrew ritual of transferring the sins of the people (community) onto a living goat. This ritual was performed in the event of desecration of the sanctuary where the Ark of the Ark was located by Jews. To atone for sins, a ram was burned and one goat was slaughtered “as a sin offering.” All the sins and iniquities of the Jewish people were transferred to the second goat: the priest laid his hands on it as a sign that all the sins of the community were transferred to him, after which the goat was expelled into the desert. All those present at the ceremony were considered purified.

sing Lazarus

Stop singing Lazarus, stop being poor.

Meaning. Beg, whine, complain exaggeratedly about fate, trying to evoke 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 pitiful lamentations, alms from passers-by. The blind people especially often sang the song “About the Rich Man and Lazarus,” composed based on one gospel story. Lazarus was poor and his brother was rich. Lazarus ate the rich man's leftover 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 reassure those from whom beggars begged for money. Since not all beggars were actually so unhappy, their plaintive moans were often feigned.

Get into trouble

You promised to be careful, but you deliberately get into trouble!

Meaning. Undertaking something risky, running into trouble, doing something dangerous, doomed to failure.

Origin. Rozhon is a sharpened stake that was used in bear hunting. When hunting with a goad, daredevils held this sharp stake in front of them. The enraged beast got into trouble and died.

Disservice

Constant praise from your lips is a real disservice.

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

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

Cast pearls before swine

In a letter to A. A. Bestuzhev (late January 1825), A. S. Pushkin writes: “The first sign of an intelligent person is to know at first glance who you are dealing with, and not to throw pearls in front of the Repetilovs and the like.”

Meaning. Wasting words speaking to people who cannot understand you.

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

You can't ride a goat

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

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

Origin. Amusing their high patrons, using harps and bells for their amusement, dressing up in goat and bear skins, and in the plumage of a crane, these “spinners” were sometimes able to do some pretty good things.

It is possible that their repertoire also included riding goats or pigs. Obviously, it was the buffoons who sometimes encountered such a bad mood from a high-ranking person that “even a goat had no effect on him.”

Unlucky man

Nothing went well with him, and in general he was a bad person.

Meaning. Frivolous, careless, dissolute.

Origin. In the old days in Rus', not only the road was called a path, but also various positions at the prince’s court. The falconer's path is in charge of princely hunting, the hunter's path is in charge of hound hunting, the stablemaster's path is in charge of carriages and horses. The boyars tried by hook or by crook to get a position from the prince. And those who did not succeed were spoken of with disdain: a good-for-nothing person.

Shelve

Now you’ll put it on the back burner, and then you’ll forget it completely.

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, the father of Peter I, ordered a long box to be installed in the village of Kolomenskoye in front of his palace, where anyone could drop their complaint. Complaints were received, but it was very difficult to wait for a solution: months and years passed. The people renamed this “long” box “long”.

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

Retired goat drummer

I am no longer in office - a retired goat drummer.

Meaning. A person not needed by anyone, respected by anyone.

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

Bring it under the monastery

What have you done, what should I do now, you brought me under the monastery, and that’s all.

Meaning. To put someone in a difficult, unpleasant position, to bring them 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 went to the monastery. According to another version, the expression is related to the fact that Russian guides led 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 difficult life of women in Tsarist Russia. Only strong relatives could protect 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 sent to the monastery “in humility” for six months or a year.

Plant the pig

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

Meaning. Secretly set up some nasty thing, do some mischief.

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 quietly put pork in his food, then his faith was desecrated.

Get into trouble

The guy got into such trouble that even the guard screamed.

Meaning. Find yourself in 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 not a pleasant thing.

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: water and sauerkraut. Preparing them was not particularly difficult. And if someone was called a master of sour cabbage soup, it meant that he was not fit for anything worthwhile.

Beluga roar

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

Meaning. Scream or cry loudly.

Origin. “As dumb as a fish” - this has been known for a long time. And suddenly “beluga roar”? It turns out that we are not talking about the beluga, but about the beluga whale, which is the name of the polar dolphin. He really roars very loudly.

Breeding antimonies

That's it, the conversation is over. I have no time to create antimonies with you here.

Meaning. Chat, carry on empty conversations. Observe unnecessary ceremony in relationships.

Origin. From the Latin name for antimony (antimonium), which was used as a medicine and cosmetic, after first grinding it and then dissolving it. Antimony does not dissolve well, so the process was very long and laborious. And while it was dissolving, the pharmacists carried on endless conversations.

On the side of the bake

Why should I go to them? Nobody called me. It's called coming - on the side of the heat!

Meaning. Everything is random, extraneous, attached to something from the outside; superfluous, unnecessary

Origin. This expression is often distorted by saying “on the side.” In fact, it could be expressed with the words: “side bake.” For bakers, baked, or baked, are 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. This is what 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. The Mirzas (Tatar princes), finding themselves subjects of the Russian Tsar, tried to beg all sorts of concessions from him, complaining about their orphanhood and bitter fate.

Grated kalach

Like a grated kalach, I can give you practical advice.

Meaning. This is what they call an experienced person who is difficult to deceive.

Origin. There used to be such a type of bread - “grated kalach”. The dough for it was crumpled, kneaded, “grated” for a very long time, which is why the kalach turned out to be unusually fluffy. And there was also a proverb - “do not grate, do not crush, there will be no kalach.” That is, trials and tribulations teach a person. The expression comes from a proverb, and not from the name of the bread.

Tip on your tongue

What are you saying? Thump your tongue!

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

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

Sharpen the laces

Why are you sitting idle and sharpening your swords?

Meaning. Talking idle talk, engaging in useless chatter, gossiping.

Origin. Lyasy (balusters) are turned figured posts of the railing at the porch; Only a true master could make such beauty. Probably, at first, “sharpening balusters” meant conducting an elegant, fancy, ornate (like balusters) conversation. And by our time, there were fewer and fewer people who could conduct such a conversation. So this expression came to mean empty chatter. Another version elevates the expression to the meaning of the Russian word balyasy - tales, Ukrainian balyas - noise, which go back directly to the common Slavic “tell”.

Pull the gimp

Now they’re gone, he’ll keep dragging his feet until we give up on this idea ourselves.

Meaning. To procrastinate, to delay something, to speak monotonously and tediously.

Origin. Gimp is the finest gold, silver or copper thread, which was used to embroider braids, aiguillettes and other decorations of officer uniforms, as well as priests' vestments and simply rich costumes. It was made in a handicraft way, by heating the metal and carefully pulling out a thin wire with pliers. 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 face in the dirt

Don't let us down, don't lose face in front of the guests.

Meaning. To make a mistake, to disgrace oneself.

Origin. To hit the dirt with your face originally meant “to fall on the dirty ground.” Such a fall was considered especially shameful by the people in fist fights - wrestling competitions, when a weak opponent was thrown prone to the ground.

In the middle of nowhere

What, should we go see him? Yes, this is in the middle of nowhere.

Meaning. Very far away, somewhere in the wilderness.

Origin. Kulichiki is a distorted Finnish word “kuligi”, “kulizhki”, which has long been included in Russian speech. This is what forest clearings, meadows, and swamps were called in the north. Here, in the wooded part of the country, settlers of the distant past constantly cut down “kulizhki” in the forest - areas for plowing and mowing. In old charters 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 “kulizhki”, worse developed than those close to him, where, according to the ideas of that time, goblins, devils, and all sorts of forest evil spirits lived in the swamps and windfalls. This is how ordinary words received their second, figurative meaning: very far away, at the edge of the world.

Fig leaf

She is a terrible pretender and lazy person, 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, experienced shame and girded themselves with fig leaves (fig tree): “And their eyes were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed together fig leaves and made girdles for themselves "(Genesis 3:7). From the 16th to the end of the 18th century, European artists and sculptors had to cover the most revealing parts of the human body with a fig leaf in their works. This convention was a concession to the Christian church, which considered the depiction of naked flesh sinful and obscene.

Filka's certificate

What kind of stupid letter is this, can’t you clearly express your thoughts?

Meaning. An ignorant, illiterate document.

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

For his bold denunciations of Ivan the Terrible and his guardsmen, Metropolitan Philip was imprisoned in the Tverskoy Monastery, where he was strangled by Malyuta Skuratov.

Grab the stars from the sky

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

Meaning. Do not be distinguished by talents and outstanding abilities.

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

That's enough of a prickle

He was in great health, and suddenly he got sick.

Meaning. Someone died suddenly or was suddenly paralyzed.

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

Apple of discord

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

Meaning. What gives rise to conflict, serious contradictions.

Origin. Peleus and Thetis, the parents of the Trojan War hero Achilles, forgot to invite the goddess of discord Eris to their wedding. Eris was very offended and secretly threw a golden apple onto the table at which gods and mortals were feasting; on it was written: “To the most beautiful.” A dispute arose between three goddesses: Zeus's wife Hera, Athena the maiden, 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 made the wife of King Menelaus, the beautiful Helen, fall in love with the young man. Leaving her husband, Helen left for Troy, and in order to avenge such an insult, the Greeks began a long-term war with the Trojans. As you can see, the apple of Eris actually led to discord.

Pandora's Box

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

Meaning. Everything that can serve as a source of disaster if you are careless.

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

Then Zeus decided to send punishment on them. The blacksmith god Hephaestus sculpted the beautiful woman Pandora from earth and water. The rest of the gods gave her: some cunning, some courage, some extraordinary beauty. Then, handing her a mysterious box, Zeus sent her to earth, forbidding her to open the box. Curious Pandora, as soon as she came into the world, opened the lid. Immediately all human disasters flew out of there and scattered throughout the universe. Pandora, in fear, tried to slam the lid again, but in the box of all the misfortunes, only deceptive hope remained.