What does catchphrase mean?
The phrase “catchphrase” itself originally began to appear in the German language (Geflügelte Worte), but it was borrowed from the Greek language, since such a phrase was often found in Homer. They were called winged because they fly as if on wings and fly among people.
The definition of catchphrases is stable phraseological units that figuratively characterize certain life circumstances or actions of people, and are firmly established in colloquial speech, expressing the brightness and expressiveness of the language.
Latest Chinese warning
In the 1950s and 1960s, American aircraft often violated Chinese airspace for reconnaissance purposes. The Chinese authorities recorded every violation and each time sent a “warning” to the United States through diplomatic channels, although no real action followed them, and such warnings were counted in the hundreds. This policy has given rise to the expression “China's final warning,” meaning threats without consequences.
The role of catchphrases
We often use such expressions, often without thinking about where they came from. They are diverse in origin and reflect the history of the people. Some of them come from distant eras, others were born quite recently. Many of us have known the meaning of catchphrases since childhood and use them in everyday communication. They teach folk wisdom, understanding of moral values, contribute to the expansion of life experience, the development of literary taste and logical thinking. With the help of popular words and expressions, our language is more vivid and expressive. Their use in works of art and colloquial speech cultivates a taste for folk art. Winged expressions belong to a special layer of the Russian language and are part of the culture of the people.
Reach the handle
In Ancient Rus', rolls were baked in the shape of a castle with a round bow. Townspeople often bought rolls and ate them right on the street, holding them by this bow or handle. For reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not eaten, but was given to the poor or thrown to be eaten by dogs. According to one version, about those who did not disdain to eat it, they said: they got to the point. And today the expression “reach the pen” means to completely descend, to lose human appearance.
Heroes of popular expressions
Any person who has not only weaknesses and vices, but also virtues can become a hero of popular expressions. Many actions can be described in one word or a succinct phrase. Often the statements of historical figures became “winged”, which were used to characterize a person’s character or his actions. Thus, each of us can become a hero of popular expressions.
Blue blood
The Spanish royal family and nobility were proud that, unlike the common people, they traced their ancestry to the Visigoths and never mixed with the Moors who entered Spain from Africa. Unlike the dark-skinned commoners, the upper class had blue veins on their pale skin, and so they called themselves sangre azul, which means “blue blood.” From here this expression for denoting aristocracy penetrated into many European languages, including Russian.
Winged words and expressions from songs
Washing the bones
The Orthodox Greeks, as well as some Slavic peoples, had a custom of secondary burial - the bones of the deceased were removed, washed with water and wine, and put back. If the corpse was found not decayed and swollen, this meant that during life this person was a sinner and he was under a curse - to emerge from the grave at night in the form of a ghoul, vampire, ghoul and destroy people. Thus, the ceremony of washing the bones was necessary to ensure that there was no such spell.
Winged expressions from fables
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Description of some catchphrases
We often use so-called catchphrases without even knowing their origin. Of course, everyone knows: “And Vaska listens and eats” - this is from Krylov’s fable, “gifts of the Danaans” and “Trojan horse” - from Greek legends about the Trojan War... But many words have become so close and familiar that we don’t even think whoever said them first may come.
Scapegoat The history of this expression is as follows: the ancient Jews had a ritual for the remission of sins. The priest laid both hands on the head of the living goat, thereby, as if transferring the sins of the entire people onto it. After this, the goat was driven out into the desert. Many, many years have passed, and the ritual no longer exists, but the expression still lives on...
Tryn-grass The mysterious “tryn-grass” is not some kind of herbal medicine that people drink so as not to worry. At first it was called “tyn-grass”, and tyn is a fence. The result was “fence grass,” that is, a weed that no one needed, everyone was indifferent to.
Master of sour cabbage soup 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. Balzac’s age
The expression arose after the publication of the novel by the French writer Honore de Balzac (1799-1850) “A Woman of Thirty” (1831); used as a characteristic of women aged 30-40 years.
White Crow This expression, as a designation of a rare person, sharply different from the rest, is given in the 7th satire of the Roman poet Juvenal (mid-1st century - after 127 AD): Fate gives kingdoms to slaves, delivers triumphs to captives. However, such a lucky person is rarer than a black sheep.
Put a pig 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.
Throwing a stone The expression “throwing a stone” at someone in the sense of “accusing” arose from the Gospel (John 8:7); Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, who, tempting him, brought to him a woman caught in adultery: “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (in ancient Judea there was a penalty - stoning).
Paper endures everything (Paper does not blush) The expression goes back to the Roman writer and orator Cicero (106 - 43 BC); in his letters “To Friends” there is an expression: “Epistola non erubescit” - “A letter does not blush,” that is, in writing one can express thoughts that one is embarrassed to express orally.
To be or not to be – that is the question The beginning of Hamlet’s monologue in Shakespeare’s tragedy of the same name, translated by N.A. Polevoy (1837).
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing The expression originates from the Gospel: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
Crow in peacock feathers Originated from a fable by I.A. Krylov “The Crow” (1825).
Pour in first number You won’t believe it, but... from the old school, where students were flogged every week, no matter who was right or wrong. And if the mentor overdoes it, then such a spanking would last for a long time, until the first day of the next month.
Prescribe Izhitsa Izhitsa is the name of the last letter of the Church Slavonic alphabet. Traces of flogging on well-known places of careless students strongly resembled this letter. So registering an Izhitsa means teaching her a lesson, punishing her, and it’s easier to flog her. And you still criticize modern school!
I carry everything I have with me. The expression originated from an ancient Greek legend. When the Persian king Cyrus occupied the city of Priene in Ionia, the inhabitants abandoned it, taking with them the most valuable of their possessions. Only Biant, one of the “seven wise men”, a native of Priene, left empty-handed. In response to the perplexed questions of his fellow citizens, he answered, referring to spiritual values: “I carry everything I own with me.” This expression is often used in the Latin formulation due to Cicero: Omnia mea mecum porto. Everything flows, everything changes. This expression, defining the constant variability of all things, sets out the essence of the teaching of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus from Ephesus (c. 530-470 BC)
Goal like a falcon. Terribly poor, beggar. People usually think that we are talking about a bird. But the falcon has nothing to do with it. In fact, the “falcon” is an ancient military battering gun. It was a completely smooth (“bare”) cast iron block attached to chains. Nothing extra!
Orphan of Kazan This is what they say about a person who pretends to be unhappy, offended, helpless in order to pity someone. But why is the orphan “Kazan”? It turns out that this phraseological unit arose after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. 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.
Unlucky Man In the old days in Rus', “the path” was the name given not only to the road, but also to various positions at the prince’s court. The path of the falconer is in charge of princely hunting, the path of the hunter is in charge of hunting with dogs, the path of the stablemaster 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.
Was there a boy? One of the episodes of M. Gorky’s novel “The Life of Klim Samgin” tells about the boy Klim skating with other children. Boris Varavka and Varya Somova fall into the wormwood. Klim hands Boris the end of his gymnasium belt, but, feeling that he too is being pulled into the water, he lets go of the belt. Children are drowning. When the search for the drowned begins, Klim is struck by “someone’s serious, incredulous question: “Was there a boy, maybe there wasn’t a boy.” The last phrase became popular as a figurative expression of extreme doubt about something.
Twenty-two misfortunes So in A.P. Chekhov’s play “The Cherry Orchard” (1903) they call the clerk Epikhodov, with whom some comic misfortune happens every day. The expression is applied to people with whom some misfortune constantly happens.
Money does not smell The expression arose from the words of the Roman emperor (69 - 79 AD) Vespasian, said by him, as Suetonius reports in his biography, on the following occasion. When Vespasian's son Titus reproached his father for introducing a tax on public latrines, Vespasian brought the first money received from this tax to his nose and asked if it smelled. To Titus's negative answer, Vespasian said: "And yet they are made of urine."
Draconian measures This is the name given to exorbitantly harsh laws named after Dragon, the first legislator of the Athenian Republic (7th century BC). Among the punishments determined by its laws, the death penalty allegedly occupied a prominent place, which punished, for example, such an offense as theft of vegetables. There was a legend that these laws were written in blood (Plutarch, Solon). In literary speech, the expression “draconian laws”, “draconian measures, punishments” have become stronger in the meaning of harsh, cruel laws.
Topsy-turvy Now this seems to be a completely harmless expression. And once it was associated with shameful punishment. During the time of Ivan the Terrible, a guilty boyar was placed backwards on a horse with his clothes turned inside out and, in this disgraced form, was driven around the city to the whistling and jeers of the street crowd.
Retired Goat Drummer 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.
Yellow press In 1895, American graphic artist Richard Outcault published a series of frivolous drawings with humorous text in a number of issues of the New York newspaper “The World”; Among the drawings was a picture of a child in a yellow shirt, to whom various funny sayings were attributed. Soon another newspaper, the New York Journal, began publishing a series of similar drawings. A dispute arose between these two newspapers over the right of primacy to the “yellow boy”. In 1896, Erwin Wardman, editor of the New York Press, published an article in his magazine in which he contemptuously called both competing newspapers "yellow press." Since then, the expression has become popular.
Finest Hour Expression by Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) from the preface to his collection of historical short stories “Human Finest Hours” (1927). Zweig explains that he called historical moments starry hours “because, like eternal stars, they invariably shine in the night of oblivion and decay.”
The Golden Mean An expression from the 2nd book of odes by the Roman poet Horace: “aurea mediocritas.”
Choose the lesser of two evils An expression found in the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle “Nicomachean Ethics” in the form: “The lesser of evils must be chosen.” Cicero (in his essay “On Duties”) says: “One should not only choose the least of evils, but also extract from them themselves what can be good in them.”
Making mountains out of molehills The expression is one of the ancient ones. It is quoted by the Greek writer Lucian (3rd century AD), who ends his satirical “Praise of the Fly” like this: “But I interrupt my speech, although I could say a lot more, lest anyone think that I “, as the proverb goes, I make a mountain out of a molehill.”
Zest The expression is used to mean: something that gives a special taste, attractiveness to something (a dish, a story, a person, etc.). It arose from a popular proverb: “Kvass is not expensive, the zest in kvass is expensive”; became popular after the appearance of L. N. Tolstoy’s drama “The Living Corpse” (1912). The hero of the drama, Protasov, talking about his family life, says: “My wife was an ideal woman... But what can I tell you? There was no zest - you know, there is zest in kvass? – there was no game in our lives. And I needed to forget. And without the game you won’t forget...”
Lead by the nose Apparently, trained bears were very popular, because this expression was also associated with fairground entertainment. Gypsies led bears by a ring threaded through their noses. And they forced them, the poor fellows, to do various tricks, deceiving them with the promise of a handout.
Sharpening the balusters The balusters (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. But in our time, the number of people skilled in conducting such a conversation became fewer and fewer. So this expression came to mean empty chatter.
Swan song The expression is used to mean: the last manifestation of talent. Based on the belief that swans sing before death, it arose in ancient times. Evidence of this is found in one of Aesop’s fables (6th century BC): “They say that swans sing before they die.”
The Flying Dutchman A Dutch legend has preserved the story of a sailor who vowed, in a strong storm, to round the cape that blocked his path, even if it took him forever. Because of his pride, he was doomed to forever rush on a ship on a raging sea, never landing on the shore. This legend obviously arose in the age of great discoveries. It is possible that its historical basis was the expedition of Vasco da Gama (1469-1524), who rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1497. In the 17th century this legend was associated with several Dutch captains, which is reflected in its name.
Seize the moment The expression apparently goes back to Horace (“carpe diem” - “seize the day”, “take advantage of the day”).
The Lion's Share The expression goes back to the fable of the ancient Greek fabulist Aesop “The Lion, the Fox and the Donkey”, the plot of which - the division of prey among the animals - was later used by Phaedrus, La Fontaine and other fabulists.
The Moor has done his job, the Moor can leave. Quote from the drama by F. Schiller (1759 - 1805) “The Fiesco Conspiracy in Genoa” (1783). This phrase (d.3, iv.4) is uttered by the Moor, who turned out to be unnecessary after he helped Count Fisco organize a rebellion of the Republicans against the tyrant of Genoa, Doge Doria. This phrase has become a saying characterizing a cynical attitude towards a person whose services are no longer needed.
Manna from heaven According to the Bible, manna is the food that God sent to the Jews every morning from heaven when they walked through the desert to the promised land (Exodus 16, 14-16 and 31).
Disservice The expression arose from I. A. Krylov’s fable “The Hermit and the Bear” (1808).
Honeymoon The idea that the happiness of the first stage of marriage is quickly replaced by the bitterness of disappointment, figuratively expressed in eastern folklore, was used by Voltaire for his philosophical novel “Zadig, or Fate” (1747), in the 3rd chapter of which he writes: “Zadig experienced that the first month of marriage, as described in the book of Zend, is the honeymoon, and the second is the wormwood month.”
Young people everywhere are dear to us. Quote from “Song of the Motherland” in the film “Circus” (1936), text by V. I. Lebedev-Kumach, music by I. O. Dunaevsky.
Silence is a sign of consent Expression of Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) in one of his messages included in canon law (a set of decrees of church authority). This expression goes back to Sophocles (496-406 BC), in whose tragedy “The Trachinian Women” it is said: “Don’t you understand that by silence you agree with the accuser?”
The Torments of Tantalus In Greek mythology, Tantalus, the king of Phrygia (also called the king of Lydia), was the favorite of the gods, who often invited him to their feasts. But, proud of his position, he offended the gods, for which he was severely punished. According to Homer (“Odyssey”), his punishment was that, cast down into Tartarus (hell), he forever experiences unbearable pangs of thirst and hunger; he stands up to his neck in water, but the water recedes from him as soon as he bows his head to drink; branches with luxurious fruits hang over him, but as soon as he stretches out his hands to them, the branches deviate. This is where the expression “torment of Tantalus” arose, meaning: unbearable torment due to the inability to achieve the desired goal, despite its proximity.
In the seventh heaven The expression meaning the highest degree of joy, happiness, goes back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC), who in his essay “On Heaven” explains the structure of the vault of heaven. He believed that the sky consists of seven motionless crystal spheres on which the stars and planets are established. The seven heavens are mentioned in various places in the Quran: for example, it is said that the Quran itself was brought by an angel from the seventh heaven.
I don’t want to study, I want to get married Mitrofanushka’s words from D. I. Fonvizin’s comedy “The Minor” (1783), no. 3, yavl. 7.
The new is the well-forgotten old. In 1824, the memoirs of the milliner Marie Antoinette, Mademoiselle Bertin, were published in France, in which she said these words about the Queen’s old dress that she had updated (in reality, her memoirs are fake - their author is Jacques Pesce). This idea was perceived as new only because it had been well forgotten. Already Geoffrey Chaucer (1340-1400) said that “there is no new custom that is not old.” This quote from Chaucer was popularized by Walter Scott's book The Folk Songs of Southern Scotland.
Notch on the nose In this expression, the word “nose” has nothing to do with the organ of smell. A “nose” was the name given to a memorial plaque, or a note tag. In the distant past, illiterate people always carried such tablets and sticks with them, with the help of which all kinds of notes or notches were made as memories.
Neither fluff nor feather This expression arose among hunters and was based on the superstitious idea that with a direct wish (both fluff and feather), the results of the hunt can be jinxed. In the language of hunters, feather means bird, and down means animals. In ancient times, a hunter going on a hunt received this parting word, the “translation” of which looks something like this: “Let your arrows fly past the target, let the snares and traps you set remain empty, just like the trapping pit!” To which the earner, in order not to jinx it either, replied: “To hell!” And both were confident that the evil spirits, invisibly present during this dialogue, would be satisfied and leave behind, and would not plot intrigues during the hunt.
Beating the bucks What are the “bucks”, who “beats” them and when? For a long time, artisans have been making spoons, cups and other utensils from wood. To carve a spoon, it was necessary to chop off a block of wood from a log. Apprentices were entrusted with preparing the bucks: it was an easy, trivial task that did not require any special skill. Preparing such chocks was called “beating the lumps.” From here, from the mockery of the masters at the auxiliary workers - “baklushechnik”, our saying came from.
About the dead, it’s either good or nothing An expression often quoted in Latin: “De mortuis nil nisi bene” or “De mortuis aut bene aut nihil” apparently dates back to the work of Diogenes Laertius (3rd century AD) : “Life, teaching and opinions of famous philosophers”, which contains the saying of one of the “seven wise men” - Chilon (VI century BC): “Do not slander the dead.”
Oh holy simplicity! This expression is attributed to the leader of the Czech national movement, Jan Hus (1369-1415). Sentenced by a church council as a heretic to be burned, he allegedly uttered these words at the stake when he saw that some old woman (according to another version, a peasant woman) in simple-minded religious zeal threw the brushwood she had brought into the fire. However, Hus's biographers, based on reports of eyewitnesses to his death, deny the fact that he uttered this phrase. The church writer Turanius Rufinus (c. 345-410), in his continuation of Eusebius's History of the Church, reports that the expression “holy simplicity” was uttered at the first Council of Nicaea (325) by one of the theologians. This expression is often used in Latin: “O sancta simplicitas!”
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. An expression from the Bible, a formula for the law of retaliation: “A fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: as he has injured a man’s body, so must he do it” (Leviticus 24, 20; v. same – Exodus, 21, 24; Deuteronomy, 19, 21).
One step from the great to the ridiculous This phrase was often repeated by Napoleon during his flight from Russia in December 1812 to his ambassador in Warsaw de Pradt, who spoke about it in the book “History of the Embassy to the Grand Duchy of Warsaw” (1816). Its primary source is the expression of the French writer Jean-François Marmontel (1723-1799) in the fifth volume of his works (1787): “In general, the funny comes into contact with the great.”
Language will bring you to Kyiv In 999, a certain Kiev resident Nikita Shchekomyaka got lost in the endless, then Russian, steppe and ended up among the Polovtsians. When the Polovtsians asked him: Where are you from, Nikita? He answered that he was from the rich and beautiful city of Kyiv, and described the wealth and beauty of his native city to the nomads in such a way that the Polovtsian Khan Nunchak attached Nikita by the tongue to the tail of his horse, and the Polovtsians went to fight and plunder Kyiv. This is how Nikita Shchekomyaka got home with the help of his tongue.
Sharomyzhniki 1812. When the French burned Moscow and were left in Russia without food, they came to Russian villages and asked for food She rami, like give it to me. So the Russians began to call them that. (one of the hypotheses).
Bastard This is an idiomatic word. There is a river called Voloch, when the fishermen came with their catch, they said ours and Voloch came. There are several other tomological meanings of this word. To drag - to collect, to drag. This word came from them. But it became abusive not long ago. This is the merit of 70 years in the CPSU.
Know the ins and outs The expression is associated with an ancient torture in which the accused would have needles or nails driven under their fingernails to extract a confession.
Oh, you are heavy, Monomakh’s hat! Quote from A. S. Pushkin’s tragedy “Boris Godunov”, scene “The Royal Chambers” (1831), monologue of Boris (Monomakh in Greek is a martial artist; a nickname that was associated with the names of some Byzantine emperors. In ancient Rus', this nickname was assigned to the Grand Duke Vladimir (beginning of the 12th century), from which the Moscow kings traced their origin. Monomakh's cap is the crown with which the Moscow kings were crowned kings, a symbol of royal power). The above quote characterizes a difficult situation.
Plato is my friend, but truth is dearer. The Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his essay “Phaedo” attributes to Socrates the words “Following me, think less about Socrates, and more about the truth.” Aristotle, in his work “Nicomachean Ethics,” polemicizing with Plato and referring to him, writes: “Even though friends and truth are dear to me, duty commands me to give preference to truth.” Luther (1483-1546) says: “Plato is my friend, Socrates is my friend, but truth should be preferred” (“On the Enslaved Will,” 1525). The expression “Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas” - “Plato is my friend, but the truth is dearer”, was formulated by Cervantes in the 2nd part, ch. 51 novels "Don Quixote" (1615).
Dancing to someone else's tune The expression is used to mean: to act not according to one's own will, but according to the will of another. Goes back to the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BC), who in the 1st book of his “History” says: when the Persian king Cyrus conquered the Medes, the Greeks of Asia Minor, whom he had previously tried in vain to win over to his side, expressed their readiness obey him, but under certain conditions. Then Cyrus told them the following fable: “One flute player, seeing fish in the sea, began to play the flute, expecting them to come out to him on land. Having lost his hope, he took a net, threw it in and pulled out many fish. Seeing the fish struggling in the nets, he said to them: “Stop dancing; when I played the flute, you didn’t want to come out and dance.” This fable is attributed to Aesop (VI century BC).
After the rain on Thursday, the Rusichi - the oldest ancestors of the Russians - honored among their gods the main god - the god of thunder and lightning Perun. One of the days of the week was dedicated to him - Thursday (it is interesting that among the ancient Romans Thursday was also dedicated to the Latin Perun - Jupiter). Prayers were offered to Perun for rain during the drought. It was believed that he should be especially willing to fulfill requests on “his day” - Thursday. And since these prayers often remained in vain, the saying “After the rain on Thursday” began to be applied to everything that is unknown when it will come true.
Get into a bind In dialects, a bind is a fish trap woven from branches. And, as in any trap, being in it is not a pleasant thing. Beluga roar
A beluga roars like a fish - you have known this for a long time. And suddenly a beluga roars? It turns out that we are not talking about the beluga, but the beluga whale, which is the name of the polar dolphin. He really roars very loudly.
The winner is not judged These words are attributed to Catherine II, who allegedly expressed herself this way when A.V. Suvorov was put on trial by military court for the assault on Turtukai in 1773, undertaken by him contrary to the orders of Field Marshal Rumyantsev. However, the story about Suvorov’s arbitrary actions and about putting him on trial is refuted by serious researchers.
Know thyself According to the legend reported by Plato in the dialogue “Protagoras”, the seven sages of ancient Greece (Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobulus, Myson and Chilo), meeting together in the temple of Apollo at Delphi, wrote: “Know thyself.” The idea of knowing oneself was explained and disseminated by Socrates. This expression is often used in its Latin form: nosce te ipsum.
Rare bird This expression (Latin rara avis) meaning “rare creature” is first found in the satires of Roman poets, for example, in Juvenal (mid-1st century - after 127 AD): “A rare bird on earth, kind of like a black swan.”
One born to crawl cannot fly. Quote from “Song of the Falcon” by M. Gorky.
Smoke with a rocker In old Rus', huts were often heated in a black way: the smoke did not escape through a chimney (there was none at all), but through a special window or door. And they predicted the weather by the shape of the smoke. The smoke comes in a column - it will be clear, dragging - towards fog, rain, a rocker - towards the wind, bad weather, or even a storm.
Not for the yard This is a very old sign: only the animal that the brownie likes will live both in the house and in the yard (in the yard). If he doesn’t like it, he’ll get sick, get sick, or run away. What to do - not good!
Hair on end But what kind of hair is on end? It turns out that standing on end means standing at attention, on your fingertips. That is, when a person gets scared, his hair seems to stand on tiptoes on his head.
Point at the rampage The rampage is a sharp pole. And in some Russian provinces this is what they called four-pronged pitchforks. Indeed, you can’t really trample on them!
From the ship to the ball Expression from “Eugene Onegin” by A. S. Pushkin, chapter 8, stanza 13 (1832):
And he was tired of traveling, Like everyone else in the world, He returned and ended up, Like Chatsky, from the ship to the ball.
This expression characterizes an unexpected, sharp change in situation or circumstances.
Combine the pleasant with the useful An expression from “The Art of Poetry” by Horace, who says about the poet: “He who combines the pleasant with the useful is worthy of all approval.”
Wash your hands Used to mean: to avoid responsibility for something. It arose from the Gospel: Pilate washed his hands before the crowd, giving Jesus to them for execution, and said: “I am not guilty of the blood of this righteous man” (Matt. 27:24). The ritual washing of hands, which serves as evidence of the non-involvement of the person washing in anything, is described in the Bible (Deuteronomy 21:6-7).
Weak spot It arose from the myth about the only weak spot on the hero’s body: Achilles’ heel, a spot on Siegfried’s back, etc. Used in the meaning: the weak side of a person, deeds.
Fortune. Wheel of Fortune Fortune is the goddess of blind chance, happiness and misfortune in Roman mythology. She was depicted blindfolded, standing on a ball or wheel (emphasizing her constant changeability), and holding a steering wheel in one hand and a cornucopia in the other. The rudder indicated that fortune controls a person's destiny.
Upside down - in many Russian provinces this word meant walking. So, upside down is just walking upside down, upside down.
Grated kalach By the way, in fact there was such a type of bread - grated kalach. The dough for it was crushed, kneaded, and grated for a very long time, which is why the kalach turned out to be unusually fluffy. And there was also a proverb - don’t grate, don’t crush, there won’t be a kalach. That is, trials and tribulations teach a person. The expression comes from a proverb, and not from the name of the bread.
Bringing fish to clean water Once upon a time they said to bring fish to clean water. And if it’s a fish, then everything is clear: in thickets of reeds or where snags are drowning in silt, a fish caught on a hook can easily break the fishing line and leave. And in clear water, above a clean bottom, let him try. So it is with an exposed swindler: if all the circumstances are clear, he will not escape retribution.
And there is a hole in an old woman. And what kind of a hole is this (a mistake, an oversight by Ozhegov and Efremova) is this a hole (i.e. a flaw, a defect) or what? The meaning, therefore, is this: And a person wise by experience can make mistakes. Interpretation from the lips of an expert in ancient Russian literature: And on an old woman there is a blow Porukha (Ukrainian zh. up-down. 1 - Harm, destruction, damage; 2 - Trouble). In a specific sense, porukha (other Russian) is rape. Those. everything is possible.
He laughs best who laughs last. The expression belongs to the French writer Jean-Pierre Florian (1755-1794), who used it in the fable “Two Peasants and a Cloud.”
The end justifies the means. The idea of this expression, which is the basis of the morality of the Jesuits, was borrowed by them from the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679).
Man is a wolf to man. Expression from the “Donkey Comedy” by the ancient Roman writer Plautus (c. 254-184 BC).
