Meaning and origin of phraseologism with examples. Phraseologisms in Russian. Phraseological units from ancient Greek mythology

home » Zoology Meaning and origin of phraseologism with examples. Phraseologisms in Russian. Phraseological units from ancient Greek mythology

Ecology of life: Often, in order to achieve some kind of speech effect, simple words are 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 independent meaning and specific to 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. The philosophers of the 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 on either side of 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. with 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 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 "points": 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. At higher temperatures, 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. blew strong wind, and after 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. At the end of the XVIII century. 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. Her 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:

"As! 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 everywhere they carried such sticks and tablets with them 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 smart person- 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 for antimony (antimonium), which was used as a medicinal and cosmetic product, after rubbing 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 ordinary words got 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 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.

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 .

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. The Russian language is not in vain considered “great and powerful”.

It contains not only words with which you can describe the reality of what is happening, but also, the meaning of which does not correspond to the words used in them.

Such phrases (these are phraseological units) cannot be understood “on the forehead” (literally), because the words used in them sometimes create a completely ridiculous picture. For example, “make an elephant out of a fly”, “sit in a puddle”, “lead by the nose”, “like water off a duck's back”, etc. They are used only in a figurative sense and this.

What is it (examples)

Phraseologisms are set expressions(everyday used in this form), one of the features of which is that it is almost impossible to translate them into . And if you do it verbatim, you get a real abracadabra.

For example, how do you translate phrases to a foreigner:

With a goofy nose
Where do the eyes look?
Shot sparrow.

And at the same time, we, as native speakers of the Russian language, will immediately understand what is at stake.

"With a gulkin's nose" - a little, just a little bit.
"Where the eyes look" - directly, without a specific goal.
"Shot sparrow" - experienced in some matters.

This is one of the examples of phraseological units. And here is the definition given to this concept in textbooks:

“Phraseologism is an expression that is well-established in structure and composition, which used in a figurative sense and consists of two or more words.

Signs of phraseological units

Phraseologism is quite easy to recognize. These phrases have their own distinctive features:

They include two or more words;
Have stable composition;
Have portable meaning;
Have historical roots;
Are unified member of the proposal.

And now let's take a closer look at each of these distinctive criteria of phraseological units.

These are several words that are one member of the sentence

There are no phraseological units in one word at all. Most often they consist of exactly two words, but there are many examples of longer phrases.

Here examples of such phrases with an explanation of their meaning:

"I ate the dog" - experienced, has been doing something more than once.
“You won’t spill it with water” - very friendly.
“Wait for the weather by the sea” - do nothing and hope that everything will be decided by itself.
"Seven Fridays in a week" - constantly change your plans or decisions.
“To fight like a fish on ice” - you do something, but it does not give a result.
“Well, you made a mess” - he did something that provoked a whole chain of events.

When parsing a sentence, phraseological units are not divided into parts. For example, the phrase “worked up a sweat” is a single predicate. Just like "counting the crows" or "wash your hands".

Phraseological units are stable phrases in a figurative sense

Such phrases cannot be distorted adding or removing individual words from them. And cannot be replaced one word to another. In this way, they resemble a "house of cards" that will fall apart if one card is pulled out of it.

By the way, "House of cards" is also an example of a phraseological unit, it is used when they want to say that "something broke very easily or is about to break".

For example:

“Between heaven and earth” means to be in limbo, not knowing what to do.

And in this phrase it is impossible to replace "sky", for example, with "clouds", or "earth" with "field". The result is a completely non-colorful expression that others people won't understand.

More examples of stable phraseological units with an explanation of their meaning:

“Turn up the waters” means to come up with something strange, it’s not good to influence others.
"Slippery" - to do something poorly.
"Roll up your sleeves" - work well and quickly.
"Count the crows" - be distracted, be inattentive.
"Stay with the nose" means to be deceived.
"Getting to grips" - change your behavior or attitude towards something.

These phrases always have a figurative meaning.

As you may have noticed, all phraseological units have a figurative meaning. That is why they simply cannot be translated into another language.

For example, try translating to English phrase "disservice". It will sound like “bear service”, and any foreigner will literally understand that “a particular bear provides some kind of service”, and will rather decide that it is a trained bear.

But we understand perfectly well this phraseological unit, which means "Help so that it gets worse".

The same can be said about other expressions:

“Grated kalach” is a wise person who cannot be deceived.
"On the topic of the day" - something relevant, which in this moment draws a lot of attention.
“Sat in a galosh” - did something awkward, made a mistake.
"Losing your head" - doing unreasonable things.
"Wash the bones" - to discuss someone behind his back.

The history of the origin of phraseological units

Some philologists argue that all phraseological units have some historical roots. It's just that not everything managed to survive before us. But there are phrases about which it is known exactly where they came from.

For example, the expression "beat the buckets", which means "To do nothing". In the old days, small wooden blocks were called buckets, from which spoons were most often made. Making blanks was very easy, it was trusted to the most inept apprentices. And everyone around thought that they did not really work.

Or phraseological unit "like water off a duck's back", meaning that "everything is forgiven a person." This phrase was born by nature itself. Not only the goose, but also any bird, the water really quickly escapes, since their feathers have a thin layer of fat.

And here is the expression « trishkin caftan» not so widely known, although it means " failed attempt solve some problem that only leads to more problems.” The phrase appeared thanks to Krylov's fable:

Trishka's caftan was torn on his elbows.
What's the point of thinking here? He took up the needle:
Cut off the sleeves in quarters
And he paid elbows. The caftan is ready again;
Only a quarter of the bare hands became.
What about this sadness?

And here is the phraseology "Monomakh's hat", which means "too much responsibility", gave us Pushkin in his drama Boris Godunov.

Examples of phraseological units and their meaning

And this is not the only example when common expressions appear in the Russian language thanks to literature. For example, a lot came to us from ancient myths and epics, and even from the Bible.

"Apple of discord" Cause of quarrel between people. Initially, the apple was meant, because of which the ancient Greek goddesses Athena, Aphrodite and Hera quarreled, since it was written “the most beautiful” on it.
"Trojan horse"- a hidden trap. The wooden horse in which the Greeks hid to conquer Troy.
"Gordian knot"— a confusing, complicated situation. In memory of the real knot that King Gordius tied, and that Alexander the Great cut with his sword.
"Augean stables"- a big mess. One of the labors of Heracles when he was ordered to clear the huge stables of King Augeas.
- looming threat. Another story from Ancient Greece when the courtier Damocles envied King Dionysius and wanted to take his place. And he agreed, but hung a sword on a horsehair over his head.
"Procrustean bed"- the desire to fit something into the existing framework, while sacrificing something important. The robber Procrustes lured travelers to him and laid them on his bed. To whom she was small, he stretched out his legs. And to whom it is large, he cut them off.
"Two-faced Janus"— and deceit. In ancient Roman mythology, there was such a God with two faces, who was in charge of all doors, entrances and exits.
"Achilles' heel"- weakness. In honor of the ancient Greek warrior Achilles, who was dipped into the water of immortality as a child. And the only unprotected place he had left was the heel, since they held it when they lowered him into the bath.
"Manna from Heaven" something necessary and saving. Roots must be sought in the Bible, in history, how Moses led the Jews out of Egypt. At some point, they ran out of all the food, and God sent them "manna from heaven."
"Sisyphean Labor"- a useless exercise that will definitely not bring benefits. The ancient Greek king Sisyphus for his dissolute life was condemned to eternal torment - to roll a huge stone up the mountain, which then immediately rolled down.
« » - a topic or person that is constantly discussed. One of the cars in Old Testament for apostates - "you will be a parable, a horror and a laughingstock among all peoples." And “languages” are “peoples” in Church Slavonic.
"Ared's eyelids"- a very long time. An extremely rare phraseological unit, which also came from the Bible, which mentions the patriarch Ared, who lived in the world in 962.
"Homeric Laughter"- Loud laughter over some stupidity. This is how the Gods laughed in Homer's Odyssey and Iliad.
"smoking incense"- Praise beyond measure. Another rare phraseological unit that appeared thanks to the incense of the same name, which was burned in Jerusalem temples to propitiate God.
"Pyrrhic victory"- a victory for which one had to pay too high a price. The ancient Greek king Pyrrhus defeated the Romans, but lost too many soldiers. Even his phrase is known - "Another such victory, and we will perish."
"Sink into the air"- be forgotten. Summer - in ancient Greek, the river in the kingdom of the dead, which was ruled by the god Hades.
"Pandora's Box" is the source of misfortune and misfortune. In the Myths of Ancient Greece, Zeus sent a woman named Pandora to earth. And he gave her a casket, which contained all human misfortunes. She couldn't resist and opened it.
- disorder, disorganization, turning into real chaos. In the Old Testament, people decided to build a tower that would reach up to heaven.
But the Lord was angry - he destroyed the tower and mixed languages so that people could no longer understand each other.

Brief Summary

In conclusion, I will say that phraseological units are found in any language of the world. But such a number of winged phrases, as in Russian, nowhere else.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

The use of phraseological units in Russian, examples with explanation

We use a variety of phraseological turns in our native speech imperceptibly to ourselves, due to the fact that they have become familiar from childhood. The most famous came to us from fairy tales, epics, folk legends, some - from foreign languages. Originally Russian can be attributed to peculiar combinations that are found only in our native language and reflect Russian life, traditions and culture. Let's try to understand the meaning with the following example and explanation. Bread was considered the main product in Rus' - it managed to become a symbol of prosperity, good earnings. Therefore, phraseological units: "to beat off someone's bread" or "to eat bread for nothing" are understandable only to Russian people.

Metamorphism and figurativeness are the main criteria of Russian phraseological units. It is the nationality inherent mother tongue, allows you to understand set phrases not at the level of speech, but at the level of the language model that you absorb with mother's milk. Even obsolete phrases, the meaning of which is forgotten, become understandable and close to us thanks to their figurativeness. Below we will consider common examples of phraseological units with an explanation and their meaning.

Book and literary

The sphere of use of literary speech is much narrower than colloquial or interstyle. Book phraseological units are used mainly in written sources and give some shade of solemnity, elation, formality of action. Examples, explanations and meaning of book phraseological units are below:

- do not let the case be postponed for an indefinite period. Cloth refers to the woolen cloth that used to cover the desk. If any paper or folder lay under the cloth, it means that it remained unsigned and did not go into work.
"Raise to the shield"- that is, to honor, speak with praise about someone. As an example, the winners in the old days were literally raised on a shield and carried high so that everyone could see and thank them.
"Write - it's gone." So they say about a thing that is obviously impossible to do due to the absence of certain conditions. In the nineteenth century, officials wrote in the ledger of expenditure items on the receipt and expenditure of goods. The embezzlers usually ordered their clerk to make a record of the loss of goods with the words “Write - it’s gone.” At the same time, the loss itself was appropriated.
"Was there a boy?"- in this way, extreme doubt is now expressed in anything. Phraseologism came from M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Smagin", which describes the scene of children skating. When the guys fall under the water, Klim saves the girl first. Then he throws his belt to the boy, but, afraid that he himself might drown, lets him go. While searching for a drowned child, Klim hears a voice saying the phrase: “Was there a boy, maybe there wasn’t a boy?”
"Kisey young lady"- they speak so dismissively about a pampered girl who is absolutely not adapted to life. The turnover is taken from the story of N. G. Pomyalovsky “Petty-bourgeois happiness”.
"Bear Corner"- deaf settlement, outback. For the first time, the expression was used by P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky in the novel of the same name about one of the distant towns of Russia.
"Touch the inner core"- another book phraseological unit, the history of which goes back to the times when slaves were stigmatized. Cauterization delivered wild pain, especially when touching a healing wound. This turnover becomes relevant when the conversation touches on topics that cause mental anguish in the interlocutor.
"Scapegoat"- the one who is blamed for someone else's fault. The phrase refers to literary phraseological units and has an ancient origin. The biblical tradition speaks of the rite of absolution. The priest laid his hand on an ordinary goat, as if transferring sins from a person to an animal, which was later expelled into the desert.
"Like water off a duck's back"- all for nothing. The plumage of the goose is covered with a special lubricant that does not allow the bird to get wet. Water does not wet the wings of a goose. Thanks to this fat, it remains dry.

Examples of colloquial and borrowed phraseological units

Colloquial phraseological units are firmly entrenched in our speech. It is convenient for them to bring the thought to the interlocutor, especially when ordinary words are not enough for the emotional coloring of the phrase. Borrowed phraseological units are tracing papers and semi-calques taken from other languages by literal translation of sayings. There are phraseological units that simply correlate in meaning with set expressions in other languages. Their examples are: "white crow" sounds like "rare bird" in English, and the expression "hanging by a thread" is replaced by the combination "hanging by a thread". Other examples of phraseological units with explanations and meaning:

"First Among Equals"- that is, the best or leader. Borrowed from the Latin "Primus inter pare", which is literally translated as such. This title was held by the Emperor Augustus even before he assumed his high title. Thus, his prestige was maintained.
"Good (fun) mine with a bad game"- that is, behind an external imperturbable look to hide your experiences and failures. At the same time, “mine” - from the old Breton language is translated literally as “facial expression”.
"What is allowed to Jupiter is not allowed to the bull." For the first time the phrase was uttered by Publius Terence Aphrom. It is used when it is necessary to stop unfounded claims by indicating to the disputant his lower place.
"Eat a pood of salt"- a common colloquial phraseology. This is an example of a long life together. In the system of measures, a pood is equal to 16 kg. To consume this amount of salt, you need to live together for a huge period of time, during which people learn almost everything about each other.
"There is nothing behind the soul"- so it is customary to speak of a poor person. According to popular belief, the human soul was located in a dimple on the neck. In the same place it was customary to store money and jewelry in the old days. If there was nothing to hide in the dimple, then it was believed that there was nothing “behind the soul”.
- that is, a little snack. The expression is a tracing-paper from the French "tuer le ver", having literal translation- "drink a glass of alcohol on an empty stomach." It was assumed that alcohol, taken with a minimal snack, destroyed helminths in the body.
"The reins got under the tail"- colloquial phraseology denoting the reckless actions of someone. The expression was once used in the literal sense, and not figuratively, in relation to horses, in which, having fallen under the tail of the rein, caused pain and forced them to perform thoughtless actions.
"Nick down"- remember once and for all. In the old days, illiterate people carried tablets everywhere with them, on which they made notes with notches as a keepsake. The "nose" in this case is not an organ of smell, but a wearable thing.

Medical and other professional expressions with explanation

Some phraseological units are taken from the oral speech of people of various professions. These include the following sentences with phraseological units:

"Chest Shoemaker"- a medical term that has its own meaning and explanation. This is what is called a funnel-shaped chest. The lower part of the sternum in shoemakers' mind professional activity pressed inward, due to which the volume of the chest is significantly reduced.
- so they say about unproductive work. As an example: in the old days, the pharmacist wrote just such a recipe directly on the bottles of medicine. This meant that the treatment should be carried out slowly in order to have time to respond to the appearance of allergic manifestations. If for a patient such an approach is quite justified, then for a working person it is an indicator of laziness and indecision.
"Talk Teeth"- distract from the pressing problem with extraneous conversations. Unlike dentists, healers know how to temporarily eliminate pain with conspiracies. At the same time, they do not treat the teeth themselves and the problem remains unresolved.
"Sit in the liver"- get bored, poison life. AT Ancient Rus' The liver was considered the seat of human life force. It was believed that a person who interferes with life takes away free energy, which means that he sits in the liver and directly draws other people's strength from there.
"Holding breath"- that is, carefully, not missing even the smallest detail. In medicine, in order to clear the chest for a correct diagnosis, it is required to hold the breath for several minutes. It is believed that a person holding his breath will get the highest quality result.
"Rolling Up Your Sleeves"- act diligently and energetically, not sparing at the same time their own strengths. If you remember, in the old days it was customary to wear clothes with long sleeves - for some, the length reached 95 cm. It was impossible to work in such clothes. To do anything useful, you had to first roll up your sleeves, after which the case was argued much faster.
"Sleeveless"- lazily, slowly, without proper enthusiasm. This phraseological unit exists in contrast to the previous one and has a similar explanation. That is, the long sleeves dropped down did not allow the work to be done properly.
"Wait by the sea for the weather"- do nothing, expect the situation to resolve itself. This term came from the speech of sailors who, before going out to fish, always watched the weather and waited for a favorable period so as not to get into a storm.

Stable and neutral phrases and their meaning

Unlike colloquial phrases, which are more figurative, phrases that do not have an emotional connotation are considered neutral. Examples of such phraseological units with explanation and their meaning:

"Can't find a place"- that is, worried. So they say about a person who is in a state of great anxiety about someone.
"Without bending your back" It means hard work and perseverance. So they said about the plowmen who worked in the field from morning to night.
- torture with requests and talk about the same thing.
"To lose heart"- finally lose faith in their own abilities.
"Looking at night"- that is, before dark, when public transport is no longer running and the risk of becoming a victim of bad circumstances increases. In addition, there are many examples of the fact that a person will not have time to do anything significant late in the evening, since the daily resources of the body have been exhausted.
"Stay with the nose" or fail. Examples of the use of the expression: when someone allows himself to be fooled, does not get what he expected. The word "nose" in the old days meant a bow with an offering. "Nose" - that is, "brought". The rich usually came to officials with money, the poor carried a pig, chicken, eggs. Deacons for offerings made decisions in favor of the one who brought the gifts. It was a bad sign that the official did not accept the "nose" if he was too modest. At the same time, the one asking remained with his gift, that is, “with a nose” and did not receive what he wanted.
"Wash the bones"- that is, gossip, slander, disassemble the actions of another person. It was once believed that a sinner who was under a curse could come out of the grave in the form of a ghoul. To rid him of the spell, it was necessary to dig up the grave and wash the bones with clean water.

In the examples above, we see that the appropriate use of phraseological units saturates our speech, allows us to make communication emotionally rich and interesting. Sentences with idioms bring "zest" to the conversation and are perceived by everyone as a completely natural element of speech, reinforcing its meaning.

In most languages, there are such lexical units, which are called phraseological units. They are interesting in that they often create difficulties in translation or turn out to be untranslatable at all. Let's try to deal with such a phenomenon as phraseological units in the Russian language, and their role in written and oral speech.

The lexical composition of the Russian language consists not only of individual words denoting objects, positive and negative signs and actions, but also of soldered combinations.

Phraseological turnover is a historically established stable expression that has a holistic meaning.

roll up your sleeves - work hard;
as he looked into the water - he foresaw the future;
porridge in the head - confusion in thoughts;
blood with milk - a healthy, strong build person.

A number of signs will help you find a phraseological unit:

Phraseological phrases can have correspondences among free phrases. So, bite your tongue (shut up, refrain from speaking) can also be used in its direct meaning.

The question arises how to determine in what meaning a stable expression is used. Context will help. Compare: I already wanted to confess everything, but I bit my tongue in time (portable) / The bus shook so hard that I bit my tongue (direct).

If you have any doubts about whether you understand the definition of a phraseological unit correctly, you can always look it up in special dictionaries of the Russian language or, in extreme cases, turn to the Wikipedia portal and look there.

Types of phraseological units

Different phraseological turns have different degrees of cohesion of elements, that is, the dependence of the components of the phrase on each other.

On this basis, the following groups are distinguished in the language:

Unions. In such phrases, the words included in them have lost their original meaning, and therefore the general meaning does not follow from the semantics of its constituent elements. For example, to starve a worm: the general meaning of “snack” does not consist of the meanings of the word “starve” (to starve to death) and the word “worm” (a small worm). Phraseological fusions are also expressions that contain an obsolete word. Often the meaning of this word is either unknown to a wide range of people, or lost. Such turnovers include, for example, getting into a mess (being in an unpleasant situation), beating the buckets (idling), without hesitation (without any doubt), etc. Most people do not know what a slip or bucks are, but everyone knows the meaning of phraseological units using these words.
Unity. This group of phraseological phrases is made up of such statements, the meaning of which is partly related to the semantics of the words included in it, used in a figurative, figurative sense. For example, to go into its shell means "to retire": the basis of this combination is the image of a snail going into its shell. If the unions have lost their figurativeness, then the unities are perceived as paths. Among phraseological units, figurative comparisons are distinguished - like a bath sheet, like a mountain from the shoulders; epithets - iron discipline, crimson ringing; hyperbole - mountains of gold, a sea of \u200b\u200bpleasure; - there was no poppy dew in the mouth, with a little finger. The phraseological unity can be based on a pun or a joke: a hole from a donut (emptiness), from a sleeve vest (nothing). Sometimes they are built on the play of antonyms: both old and young, here and there, and laughter and sin.
Combinations. In such phraseological units of the Russian language, one of the components of a stable expression is limited in its use. For example, to cry sobbing: the word sobbing is used only with the word cry; look down (head): the word downcast is not used with other words.
Expressions. This type includes idioms, proverbs and sayings: happy hours are not observed; to be or not to be, a man in a case, you can't easily take a fish out of the pond.

The origin of phraseological units

Russian phraseology has evolved over many centuries, and its composition continues to grow today. In this regard, it becomes interesting where certain phraseological units came from in the language.

Consider the groups into which phraseological units are divided in terms of their origin.

Most of them are native Russians. Among them are:

Common Slavic: splurge (deceive), pours like a bucket (about heavy rain).
East Slavic: deaf grouse (a hard of hearing person), under Tsar Pea (a very long time ago).
Actually Russian: teeth to speak (to lie, inventing long and intricate stories), both cheaply and cheerfully.

Many stable expressions came to us from the Bible and are associated with biblical scenes: Babylonian pandemonium (disorder, turmoil) refers to the legend of the Babylonian confusion of languages, throwing beads in front of pigs (reporting to an ignorant person information that he can neither understand nor appreciate) is an inaccurate translation of the biblical quote "throwing pearls before swine."

Note! There are phraseological dictionaries of an etymological type, where you can find out the origin of a stable turnover. For example, "Etymological Phraseological Dictionary" by N.I. Shansky. Ordinary dictionaries of phraseology do not provide such information.

Some phraseological turns are based on legends and facts of antiquity.

So, the apple of discord (the cause of the dispute, strife) refers to the myth of Paris and Helen, the Augean stables (a very polluted room, a terrible mess) came from the myth of the exploits of Hercules, Sisyphean labor (hard, meaningless work) refers to the myth of Sisyphus.

Many stable turns came from the speech of representatives of various professions: without a hitch (without interference and problems), butcher (to win a complete victory) - from the speech of carpenters; play the first violin (be the leader of something) - from the speech of musicians.

Borrowings from European languages occurred in two directions:

From fiction: Leave hope, everyone who enters here (A. Dante), the princess and the pea (G. X. Andersen);
Tracing method, that is, a literal translation into Russian: honeymoon (French la lune de miel), time is money (English time is money).

Modern phraseological units are new set expressions that have appeared in the language over the past couple of decades. They have many sources: from rethinking existing units to borrowing from different languages, mostly from English.

Such stable turns, as a rule, exist among the youth. Here are a few examples: go on a diet in the sense of temporarily abandoning the use of obscene words; complete bezandenstend - a situation of not understanding something; for sharps to get - to go to jail (the similarity of the sharp sign with a lattice is shown).

The fate of such set expressions is not yet clear, they are not fixed in dictionaries and have a rather narrow circle of speakers.

The role of phraseology in a sentence

In a sentence, a phraseological unit is one member: subject, predicate, object, circumstance, definition or interjection.

The equivalence of a phraseological unit of one or another part of speech determines its role in the sentence:

Nominal phraseological units are formed mainly by a combination of a noun and an adjective, which means that they play the role of a subject or object in a sentence: golden hands, sea wolf.
Verbal phraseological units perform in a sentence, as a rule, the function of a predicate: bring to light (expose), invest one's soul (do something in good faith, with full dedication).
Adverbial types, like adverbs, play the role of circumstances in a sentence. Please note: the constituent statements can be expressed different parts speech, in addition to the adverb, but at the same time retain the general meaning of the circumstance. Examples: wholeheartedly, to the core, not far off.
In the role of a definition, turns are used, denoting a sign of an object:, blood with milk.
There are also interjectional phraseological units expressing the emotions of the speaker: no fluff, no feather!, damn it!

Let's analyze what questions a phraseological phrase can answer:

If the set expression answers the question who? or what?, then it plays the role of the subject. I kept waiting for the promised land to open (what?) to me.
Questions of indirect cases of a noun indicate that the phraseologism is an addition. Planning can be called (what?) The cornerstone of building a house.
Questions what to do? / what to do?, as a rule, show a phraseological unit-predicate. Pavel Ivanovich once again (what did he do?) got into trouble because of his new hobby.
If he answers questions how? when? where? where? where? why? why? how?, then it acts as a circumstance. Valentina valued her senior dispatcher (how?) worth her weight in gold.

Advice! To determine which member of a sentence is a phraseological unit, ask a question to the entire expression, and not to its part.

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Summing up

Phraseology is a source of imagery, and the skillful use of its units makes our speech more expressive. However, phraseological units must be used with caution.

Ignorance of the meaning of a set expression, its origin and scope of use often leads to errors and misunderstandings, and inaccurate transmission of the components of a phraseological unit indicates low language literacy.

In order not to get into trouble, do not use phraseological units that you doubt, and refer to dictionaries more often.