AT Phraseologism "like water off a duck's back" in a bizarre way, scientific physiology and a healer's conspiracy from the evil eye intertwined.
Let's try to figure it out in this weave .
Let's look at the meaning and versions of origin, synonyms-antonyms, as well as sentences with phraseological units from the works of writers.
The meaning of phraseology
Like water off a duck's back - everything is unimportant, indifferent; passes without a trace
Phraseologisms-synonyms: get out of the water dry, everything is tryn-grass, at least the grass does not grow, at least henna, to a light bulb, to a lantern, nevermind, neither warm nor cold
Phraseologisms-antonyms: get into history, guilty without guilt
AT foreign languages there are similar expressions. Among them:
- like water off a duck's back (English)
- comme l "eau sur les plumes d" un canard (French)
- an dem läuft alles ab (German)
The origin of phraseology
As often happens, there are two versions of the origin of the phraseological unit, and in this case they are not so different:
- A simpler version appeals to the easily observable fact that water cannot soak goose feathers because they are lubricated with special grease. It is known that birds have a special coccygeal gland above the tail, which secretes fat. In waterfowl, this gland is more developed. The goose squeezes out some of this lubricant with its beak and then methodically cleans its feathers, lubricating them with fat. In addition, the dense weave of feathers and down forms a single water-repellent surface.
- The second version considers the expression "like water off a duck's back" as part of a conspiracy or spell that relieves ailments and illnesses. Can be found different variants « secret formula": Like water from a goose, thinness from you!, Water from a goose, water from a swan, and from you, my child, all thinness to an empty forest, to big water, Water off the goose - never get sick! etc. In more knowledgeable sources, you can find out that water helps against diseases attributed to the evil eye. And that one even correct wording the matter is not limited, you need to perform a whole ritual: early in the morning, go to a spring or a river, scoop up water downstream, and closing the container, silently, without looking back, bring it home; then add one or three hot coals to it, a piece of oven clay, a pinch of salt and sprinkle the patient with it (or pour it over him twice a day at morning and evening dawn), saying: “Water from a goose, water from a swan - thinness from you !", etc. According to this version, over time, phraseologism, as we know it now, was formed from the wording of the conspiracy.
For this phraseological unit, the question is not which version is basically correct, but what happened at the beginning and what happens later. So, in some articles on this topic, you can find such an opening: “Before you is not a simple saying, but part of an ancient incantation formula.” And in the Educational phraseological dictionary there is a statement that initially this comparison (like water off a duck's back) was used in conspiracies, texts that supposedly have healing power.
So, what is the whole (in the beginning), and what is the part (later)? It seems to me that the whole is a visual image of a waterproof goose, and the parts that complement it are specific conspiracies and proverbs. In favor of this speaks and they are enough a large number of(in particular, see above), and the presence of similar phraseological units (idioms) in other languages (in particular, see even above). Yes, and according to the most common logic, an image (comparison) appears first, and only then - its use for certain purposes, and not vice versa.
Examples from the works of writers
He went out to himself - and grief is not enough for him, all this is from him like water off a duck's back! (N.V. Gogol, "Marriage")
What troubles did not happen to him! Twice they pulled it out of the hole, and everything was like water off a duck's back (A.N. Ostrovsky, "Don't live as you want")
You can see everything, like water off a duck's back, otherwise you would run out of grief, but you were still blown away. (I.S. Turgenev, "Noble Nest"
Katya stumbled more often, sighed with restraint. And Mishka, if only that, like water off a duck's back, would go and go with a rifle over his shoulders a thousand miles. (A. N. Tolstoy, "The Eighteenth Year")
However, I repeat: I do not understand well what is useful for the state, what is harmful, and why it happens that the blood comes off it like water off a duck's back. Among all and everything, only the personality interests me. (V.V. Nabokov, "Extermination of tyrants")
Like water off a duck's back
Expression like water off a duck's back applied to people who get away with everything, whom nothing takes.
Now most of the urban population has not even seen a living goose, does not know how these geese look. When we were children, in our city there was a large private sector and a ball pond in which these geese and swam in flocks large quantities. By the way, for some reason, in relation to geese, it is customary to say not a flock, but “a herd of geese”. This is the year they walk or swim. And when they fly - then a flock!
So, for you to know, the goose is a waterfowl. And in all waterfowl, special glands on the body secrete fat, which lubricates the feathers so that they do not get wet and stick together in the water. (In addition, this fat protects from the cold, birds do not need, for example, electric water heaters, geese can swim in water temperatures close to freezing.)
Geese (and ducks) can take off directly from water- their plumage is always ready to fly due to the fact that it does not get wet. Therefore, how much per goose do not pour water, she will roll off him, as from any oily surface and will not stick. Hence the meaning of the expression Like water off a duck's back- that is, it does not stick to a person, no matter what they say about him.
But the chicken was out of luck. They say just the opposite about her, “like a wet chicken,” so they say about someone whose appearance or essence is a pitiful sight.
Although , wet cat is also good !
Funny video on the topic
Goose in the tram
Moreexpressions from Russian speech:
newspaper duck this is deliberately false information published in the newspaper. Simply put, lies, fiction, falsehood. Goals newspaper ducks can be quite
Fortune telling on coffee grounds arose almost simultaneously with the advent of coffee as a drink. Did you know that Ethiopia, a country in the northeast, is the birthplace of coffee?
One of the myths about the exploits of Hercules (a giant from Greek mythology, who, under the name of Hercules, migrated to the Etruscans and Romans) tells that during
"It was under King Peas” they say, meaning “in ancient times”, a long time ago. But what is this king pea why peas and not radishes, for example?
It's getting bigger because the rhythm of life is just crazy. Accordingly, a person is forced to build a system of priorities, and sometimes other people do not always fall into this formation. But there are subjects who do not care. As if they have an empty column "value". "Like water off a duck's back" - they say about such people. Let's figure out in detail what this means, good or bad.
Origin
Phraseologism arose, like many proverbs and sayings, from people's observations of wildlife. For the goose water - habitat. He with water on "you". When he swims in a pond, water does not linger in his feathers. This allows him not to go to the bottom and not freeze. When the geese fly through the clouds, the water accumulated in them does not interfere with the plans of the birds - to get to warm places. Hence the meaning of the expression "like water off a duck's back".
Disapproving tone of phraseologism
Usually, when the expression in question is used, the person is blamed. Like, he's indifferent to everything. Nothing worries him and nothing really interests him.
Laughter is the best medicine for diseases
Is it always bad? Consider an example. The man was diagnosed with cancer. The history is silent about the degree of the disease, but this is not the main thing. The man reacted in an extraordinary way: instead of wasting time on chemotherapy or treatment in general, he scored comedies and, with the words “at least I’ll laugh at the end,” locked himself in the house.
Relatives who did not yet know how the matter would end could, of course, say: “It seems that he doesn’t care, his diagnosis is like water off a duck’s back” (we analyze the meaning with clear examples).
For example, Carnegie gives a case. The girl was cured of cancer thanks to faith - either in God, or in her healing. Now it is not so important, in fact, what matters is that she recovered at a time when the doctors had already given up on her. By the way, she also refused treatment.
From this, in no case can we conclude that treatment is evil or something like that. Spontaneous healing is like a miracle and cannot be fully relied upon. The moral of these stories is that sometimes it's good to behave like a bird, that is, in accordance with the phraseological unit "like water off a duck's back." Its meaning should be more or less clear to the reader.
Ironically admiring tone
It is good that the language is a living, dynamic entity, and the Russian language is highly dependent on intonation. In other words, the tone in which people pronounce this or that stable phrase is very important.
Now we have a good idea of the phraseological unit meaning (“like water off a duck's back” - about him in question in the article) and we can imagine that a person is not only scolded in this way, but also praised.
Steve Jobs and his failures
Many active Internet users have seen Steve Jobs' speech to Stanford graduates. In it, he said a lot of good and correct, but, in general, well-known things. Among other things, he said that he had three major failures - points in life that determined the contour of his fate, and each time a famous computer scientist restored himself from ruins.
It is possible to perceive such information in different ways. You can comment on the meaning of these turning points in Jobs's life: "Water off a duck's back!" After all, you must admit that a person, like a waterfowl, can repel not only good, but also bad. Besides, indifference, if it is peace of mind, is not so bad.
An example of a "goose" from world literature
Of course, a large number of heroes can be remembered, who did not care. Probably, from Russian literature, Oblomov from the novel of the same name comes to mind first of all. But I would like to turn not to him, but to the hero French writer Albert Camus - Meursault - "to an outsider".
At this point, we return to what we talked about at the beginning, i.e. the meaning (“like water off a duck’s back”) of the phraseological unit in this section is traditional.
In order for the reader to understand the meaning of events, it is worth recalling the plot of the book. The work begins with the fact that Meursault's mother dies. Moreover, since he had not lived with her for a long time (the closest relative of the hero was in a nursing home), the story is shocking from the very first lines: “Yesterday my mother died, or maybe the day before yesterday ...”
Then Meursault sits at the coffin of the deceased, but he cares little about all this, he wants to smoke and drink coffee and is very sorry that you can’t smoke right in the farewell hall.
Then, after Meursault returned to work the next day, the boss, assuming that people usually take time off in such situations, himself lets the employee go to grieve. Meursault does not refuse. He takes his girlfriend and they go to the cinema to watch a movie.
Indeed, “like water goose” - the meaning of phraseology in this case is one hundred percent suitable for describing the behavior of the hero of the work of the French thinker.
The moral side of the issue and the dispute about the meaning of phraseology
We brought here different examples from book real life about how ability is interpreted goose feathers repel water as a linguistic metaphor. The reader also understood which of the interpretations is classical, and which one can be used if a native speaker freely interprets the linguistic canon.
And yet, in the end, it should be said that, no matter what meaning the reader puts into the phraseological unit “like water off a duck's back” (what this expression means, we have already analyzed in detail), only one thing is important: to keep the presence of mind in any situation. It does not matter what others think or how they interpret the behavior. The only important thing is to be sober-minded. As psychologists say, a person who does not give in to emotions in critical situation, can rather correct the situation than the one who panics. Simple enough, but essential nonetheless.
One way or another, we hope that the question of what the expression "like water off a duck's back" means has disappeared from the reader after reading our article.
Like water off a duck's back. What does this proverb say, what does it mean?
- compare value magic formula with the meaning of the saying - is there a complete or partial coincidence in meaning?
- Compare this idiomatic expression with equivalents in other languages and see:
- do they match?)
- what other images are used in other languages (at least in one)?
- Find out if this idiomatic expression synonyms in Russian?
On the Internet, you can find the statement that the saying like water off a duck's back is part of the anti-adversity spell:
Is it so? Answer this question You can go in three different directions:
Saying and magic formula
The proverb has a clear disapproving character:
The magic formula is really aimed at ensuring that diseases and misfortunes do not act decisively, but it does not have a disapproving character. If we imagine a saying and a conspiracy describing the same situation, then it turns out that criticism, which is ignored, or punishment, which carried byquot ;, is disease equivalents from which you need to protect yourself. interesting attitude to life it turns out however. I would not be in a hurry to equate a proverb and a conspiracy.
The equivalent of a saying in another language
In English a similar situation is described by the expression (like) water off a ducks back(like water off the back of a duck). Apparently, English ducks also have feathers richly greased, but only this idiom cannot be deduced from the conspiracy. The magic rites of Russians are so well known because even in the 19th century grandmothers in the villages were whispering with might and main, there was someone to write them down, and in some places they still believe in the power of these formulas. Among the British, pagan rites have long been forgotten, however, waterfowl with dry plumage is also mentioned among them. This suggests that a conspiracy is a conspiracy, and observation of life and a simple image from the world of birds familiar to everyone could appear on its own.
What does this expression mean?
Criticism or warnings have no effect on anyone. Nothing has any effect ( The bullets had no effect on the steel door. They flew off like water from the back of a duck).
It's not about trouble at all. The main emphasis is on the inefficiency of something in relation to something. In the case when it is about criticism or warnings, then an element of condemnation, which is also characteristic of the Russian expression, appears. Criticism and warnings are not scourges to be protected from. The meaning of the Russian conspiracy does not fit the English idiomatic expression either.
Other Russian idioms with similar meaning
The very first thing that comes to mind is
They don't mention the bird here, they talk about what happens to it. This is again about avoiding a well-deserved punishment, a purely negative assessment.
Disapproval on the face, indifferent attitude to criticism and impunity - too
A negative attitude towards someone in relation to whom all the idioms listed in the answer could be used, his indifference and deafness, clearly separates such a person from the object of the conspiracy - in need of a talisman from evil.
This small difference, which I had to talk about so much and ponderously, for me personally means fundamental difference between the meaning of the saying like water off a duck's back and the whole point of the conspiracy. I would consider the similarity of saying and conspiracy as coincidence, based on the fact that in both cases we took simple images from realities that everyone understands.
Just as water does not linger on goose feathers, so problems and troubles do not leave any traces on some people. They do not react to what they do not like, do not suffer, are not offended and do not worry. In a word, take care of your psyche. It is much easier for such people in life than for those who pass all the bad things through themselves.
The meaning of this proverb is due to the fact that the goose is never wet, because water rolls off its feathers due to the fact that they are smeared with goose fat.
So it is with a person: it happens, they explain to him that he should not do bad things, but everything from him is like water off a duck's back.
The meaning of the proverb is that a person can do whatever he wants and is not punished for what he did.
There is a category of people for whom everything is fine, no matter what they do, what another person is afraid to do, but nothing happens to them for this. Lucky people who avoid trouble and punishment for their deeds. Just as water rolls off fat goose feathers, so all the negative consequences roll off them.
Like water off a duck's back.
In our time, this proverb is somehow not very popular, or I have not heard it.
And it means that a person manages to get out of difficult and extreme situations - dry.
This proverb also speaks of the inevitability of punishment. Steal a billion, you'll get nothing.
This means that problems, troubles or something similar roll down from the person about whom it speaks like water rolls off a goose. Without bringing that any harm and without leaving any unpleasant consequences.
Geese are very fat birds. Their feathers are saturated with fat, and it turns out that the goose comes out of the water almost dry.
When they say about a person like water off a duck's back; they mean that he knows how well go out from various complex life situations and circumstances. From him all this rolls down and he will remain dry, like a goose that has come out of the water just like that.
