The meaning of the proverb “a spoon is dear to dinner” and the origin of the proverb

The meaning of proverbs

Why are these short wise sayings needed? The essence of proverbs is to transfer knowledge from the old generation to the young in order to make them wiser. And such short, clever sayings decorate our speech and make it more expressive.

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Proverbs and sayings begin to be studied in kindergarten. Such short statements are accessible to children and teach the child to reason. In their work, speech therapists often use them as material for practicing sound pronunciation and diction. Also, using their example, the child is taught to express his opinion briefly and succinctly. Below is the meaning of the proverb “a spoon is dear to dinner.” Sometimes people do not quite understand the meaning of such short sayings. And understanding their meaning will help you use them correctly in speech.

Explanation of meaning

Some folk sayings may not be entirely understandable to modern people, because they may contain outdated words. Or they talk about some outdated historical phenomenon. What is the meaning of the proverb “a spoon is dear to dinner”?

This is what they say if a person did not manage to do something on time. And then the action no longer has such value. For example, you made soup and you need to eat it while it’s hot. A person must understand the value of the moment and correctly manage the time not only of his own, but also of those around him. Some proverbs are now used in a shorter version, such as this proverb. But this expression has a second part that people don't use anymore.

Consultation for parents “The way to dinner is a spoon”

Zulfiya Ravkhatovna Melnik

Consultation for parents “The way to dinner is a spoon”

It is with this famous saying that I would like to begin my article. I would like to ask my parents whether this expression is relevant in their family or, after all, the way to dinner is not a spoon , but a toy, an advertisement on TV, a book with pictures and, finally, the promised candy for eating porridge. Why are kids so reluctant to sit down at the table? Each child is individual and, therefore, in each case it is worth considering the reasons for poor appetite separately, for each. The reason for refusing food is most often parents . Parents are big alarmists , but you just need to figure out why the child doesn’t want to eat. There are several reasons, and you can find a way out of each. You just need to make a little effort, and most importantly, do not deviate from the rules and follow them every day, even if today is a day off or you went on a visit and it would seem you can relax, and give the child the opportunity to decide for himself whether he should eat borscht or cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner .

You must always remember that health begins at an early age, especially when it comes to the digestive system.

1. When preparing food, the child’s taste preferences are not taken into account. Sometimes the baby loves buckwheat, and the mother, tired from work, prepared borscht for the whole family and has absolutely no strength to cook any more separate dishes. But in fact, preparing something separately for the baby will not take so much time, and most importantly, it will bring real pleasure to watch your beloved child gobble up his dinner on both cheeks.

2. The child snacks between meals. It is very difficult to refuse a child if he asks for candy or cookies. But the result of the weakness shown by the parents will certainly be the child’s refusal to eat.

3. Poor appetite after illness. After an illness, it is very important not to force food on your child; let him eat often, but little by little, and try to prepare his favorite dishes.

4. The child is forced to eat. You cannot force a child to eat something; threats cannot achieve a positive result; this will only cause rejection and aversion from food.

5. Increased requirements and prohibition. Parents try to trick their child into eating, offering them candy, watching a cartoon, or going to the zoo. But, unfortunately, it will not be possible to achieve a great effect in this way either. When eating in front of the TV, the child will swallow it without chewing the food at all, and candy and the zoo will also not lead to the desired result.

6. The influence of the season on appetite. It is clear that in the hot season you don’t want to eat as much as you want to drink. Therefore, it would be advisable to offer the child a non-hot liquid dish, juices, etc.

And of course, the design of a children’s dish plays an important role, but here you need to rely on the mother’s imagination. Sandwiches in the shape of a sleeping bear cub under a blanket, sausage; Smesharik sovunya with big eyes made of egg yolks; trailers made of loaf slices with wheels made of carrot slices and so on...

Be sure to involve your child in cooking, let him help you as much as possible: give you a plate, a towel, hold the blender with your mother. It will give your baby special joy to create a fairy tale out of food together with his mother, and then, at work, his appetite will increase. The visual appeal of a dish, especially for small children, is of great importance, so parents need to use it one hundred percent.

Be attentive to your children, love them, and they will definitely respond to you with an excellent appetite! And remember, the road to dinner is still a spoon , bon appetit!

Second part of the expression

There is another meaning to the proverb “a spoon is dear to dinner.” It is connected with its second part. In the old days, people used to say: “A spoon is dear to dinner, but there’s at least a bench there.” Previously, in poor peasant families, one pot was placed on the table from which everyone ate, each using his own spoon.

Only wealthy people had plates and forks. All the dishes were stored in the kitchen bench (this is a prototype of modern kitchen sets). And for cutlery, especially old ones, there was a place on the shelf under the bench. They tried to place the new dishes in a prominent place. Thus, the meaning of the proverb “a spoon is dear to dinner” is different: a thing is important only as long as it is useful. And then it is removed as unnecessary.

This was an example of how the meaning of the phraseological unit “expensive spoon for dinner” can be different if you add a continuation to it. But to understand its meaning, you need to be familiar with a certain historical era, the peculiarities of people’s life. In the modern world, the proverb “a spoon is dear to dinner” is used in speech without an additional part. Because now everyone has forks and plates, but cutlery is not stored under the bench. Therefore, this expression is used to show how important it is to do everything on time and respect the time of the people around you.

Source

The meaning of the proverb “A spoon is for dinner”

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In live speech, folk aphorisms are most often addressed not because of their aesthetic function, but as a pragmatic component, as if reinforcing their thoughts with the authority of folk wisdom. When resorting to such a technique, it is very important to use the proverb in place and accurately understand its meaning.

It is known that some folk expressions today are much shorter than their original versions. As a rule, the main part of the proverb remains unchanged, and both versions, full and short, have the same meaning. At the same time, the “lost” continuation of proverbs is sometimes so unexpected that it can serve as a counter-argument to a more modern version.

Guided by the eternal desire to contain as much information as possible in the smallest possible volume, in living speech over time, preference is most often given to truncated expressions, which, in turn, is not a reason for forgetting the original versions of folk sayings. They are of interest not only as an object of linguistic research, but also as an integral part of the cultural and historical heritage.

For example, the expression “A spoon is dear to dinner,” often used today in the form of a single-member composition, has a continuation: “A spoon is dear to dinner, and then at least for a bench.” What is the meaning of the proverb?

The expression appeared at a time when the spoon was, in fact, the only cutlery used by the common people at every hot meal - food was served to the table in one large dish (kettle, pot or on a wooden dish), and forks and personal plates remained still a privilege of rich people. Naturally, without a spoon, getting your portion without getting burned was quite problematic. The direct meaning of the first part of the linguistic aphorism is clear, but what does it mean “at least there’s a bench there”?

In Russian huts, large utensils (pots, cast iron pots) were stored in a special bench that ran from the stove along the side wall. The “china” shop differed from the other shops in the house in its height and the presence of shelves covered with doors or a curtain.

Smaller kitchen utensils, mainly those that were used every day, including spoons, were stored in utensils - shelves located above the ship's bench. The space under the benches in the hut was called the podlavnik or podlavoch. And although the under-bench had a useful function, for example, under the “men’s” bench, the so-called “konik”, the owner stored tools (saws, axes, etc.), but due to its location, the under-bench, naturally, could not be considered a prestigious place in the house - all the garbage accumulated there. The status of the under-bench in the hut can be judged by the following proverb: “A new bed goes from shelf to shelf, but when it gets old, it piles up on the under-bench.”

It is noteworthy that in Rus', when sweeping the floor, all the garbage was swept under the bench into the “stove corner”, also known as “woman’s kut” - the space in the house near the stove, where women spent most of their time doing housework. After the garbage was collected, it was burned in a furnace. It is interesting that from the tradition of leaving dirty linen in the house in order to burn it later, a proverb-instruction was born - “Don’t take dirty linen out of the house, but put it under the bench,” which means: “don’t gossip!” Returning to the expression “Dear spoon...”, the second part of the aphorism in a deliberately exaggerated and rude form expresses an everyday observation - the need for spoons after dinner is small, having fulfilled their function, they become useless, therefore, they can be thrown under the bench, that is, forgotten about them .

The figurative meaning of the proverb is the following - the value of something, not only things, but also ideas, actions, is realized at the moment when they (thing, service, thought, etc.) are needed and interested. In other words, what is valuable is what is received on time.

The aphorism is used not only in relation to people, but also objects and phenomena. The extreme value of timely assistance is especially acutely realized when it comes to human health and life. Quite often the saying is used to condemn the belated actions or inaction of someone. For example, when a person who was asked for help refused, and then still expressed a desire to help, but his services were no longer needed. The famous saying has both Russian and foreign analogues. In particular, the British have a popular expression, which when translated into Russian sounds like this: “One stitch done on time is worth nine.”

Proverbs are wonderful spices for speech. But, just as too much seasoning drowns out the taste of the main dish, speech overly peppered with proverbs only causes irritation. In such cases, it seems that the interlocutor is unable to express his personal attitude to the subject of conversation, hiding behind ready-made life formulas.

You can convince with the help of folk wisdom only when it reflects not only a typical situation, but also the speaker’s own thoughts and feelings.

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