Explanatory translation dictionary. - 3rd edition, revised. - M.: Flinta: Science. L.L. Nelyubin. 2003 .

See what the "dictionary of winged words and expressions" is in other dictionaries:

Dictionary of winged words- type of dictionary, in which winged words are collected and explained. In the history of Russian lexicography department. winged words were included in explanatory dictionaries, in phraseological. dictionaries, in dictionaries and sb. proverbs and sayings. Naib. known S.K.S. are directories ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary

Song without Words- From German: Liederohne Worte. Literally: Songs without words. Title of a collection of musical pieces by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809-1847). An analogue of the expression "no words" (from delight, confusion, surprise, etc.). Sometimes… … Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Many noble words, / No noble deeds in sight ...- Many noble words, / No noble deeds are visible ... From a poem without a title ("Smug talkers", 1856) N.A. Nekrasov (1821 1877): Self-satisfied talkers, Hunters to fashionable disputes, Where there are many noble words, But deeds are not visible ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

I'm an old soldier and I don't know the words of love- From the film "Hello, I'm your aunt" (1975), filmed by director Viktor Titov based on the play "Charley's Aunt" (1892) by the English playwright Brandon Thomas. The words of Colonel Francis Chesney: Donna Rosa, I am an old soldier and do not know the words ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Many noble words, / But noble deeds are not visible ...- Many noble words, / But noble deeds are not visible ... From a poem without a title ("Smug talkers", 1856) by N. A. Nekrasov (1821 1877): Smug talkers, Hunters to fashion disputes, Where there are many noble words, A things are not visible ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Oh, if it were possible to express the soul without words!- From the poem "Like midges dawn ..." (1844) by the poet Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (1820 1892). Allegorically: o it is impossible to express complex, conflicting feelings in words. Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. M .: Locky Press. ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

Once upon a time there was a gray goat with my grandmother- “There once was a gray goat with my grandmother” Song Author of the song Folk song “There once was a gray goat with my grandmother ...” a well-known Russian folk children's song. The author of the words is not known. According to the Tale Quartet, a modified landler melody ... ... Wikipedia

Newspeak- (Eng. Newspeak) fictional language from George Orwell's dystopian novel "1984". In the novel, newspeak is the language of a totalitarian society, mutilated by party ideology and party bureaucratic lexical turns, in which ... ... Wikipedia

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Foreword

The dictionary contains more than 2000 popular expressions that are widely used in Russian literary speech. The structure of the dictionary is quite convenient: all winged expressions are given an explanation of their semantic content; a certificate of origin is provided; all winged expressions are arranged in alphabetical order; at the end of the dictionary is an alphabetical index with page numbers.

Each dictionary entry includes:

- header expression;

- the value of the expression;

is the source of the expression;

- an indication of the scope or situation of the use of the expression.

The dictionary is divided into two parts: popular expressions in Russian and expressions in Latin. Particularly interesting for many readers will be the second part of the dictionary, the expressions of which have come to us through the centuries.

The dictionary is intended for a wide range of readers, it will be useful for both schoolchildren and philologists, teachers and all those interested.

BUT

WAS A BOY? Doubt, uncertainty in this or that fact.

Origins: M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin".

And Vaska listens and eats. Continue to do business that causes disapproval of others, not paying attention to anyone.

Origins: fable by I.A. Krylov "The Cat and the Cook".

AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED. state of stagnation; situation, problem remaining unchanged over time.

Origins: I.A.'s fable Krylov "Swan, Cancer and Pike".

BUT BY THE WAY, HE WILL REACH TO KNOWN DEGREES. It characterizes a careerist, flattery and servility seeking the favor of people who are higher on the social ladder.

Origins: comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit" (1824).

AND IT IS STILL RUNNING! Firm confidence in one's own right.

Origins: this statement belongs to the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Under pressure from the Inquisition, he renounced the doctrine of heleocentrism, but after the trial he again defended his scientific theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

AND YOU, FRIENDS, NO matter how you sit down, EVERYTHING IS NOT SUITABLE FOR MUSICIANS. Extreme amateurism, not leading to a successful result.

Origins: quote from the fable of I.A. Krylov "Quartet".

AND HAPPINESS WAS SO POSSIBLE, SO CLOSE!.. Regret about lost opportunities, failed happiness.

Origins: novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" (1823-1832), Tatyana's monologue.

AUGEAN STABLES. A neglected, filthy place, for the purification of which incredible efforts are required. A cluttered building in need of restoration and overhaul.

Origins: in Greek mythology - one of the twelve labors of Hercules, who turned the course of the river and cleared the stables of King Avgii in one day.

AGENT 007 (ironic). Scout, spy.

Origins: novels by Ian Fleming, whose hero James Bond is a successful English intelligence officer. Widely known for numerous film adaptations of novels.

AGENTS OF INFLUENCE (professional). Representatives of special services responsible for the formation of public opinion.

Origins: memo Yu.V. Andropov in the Central Committee of the CPSU "On the plans of the CIA to acquire agents of influence among Soviet citizens", published in the 90s of the twentieth century.

THE LAMB OF GOD. Ironic designation of a quiet, modest, meek person. Or so they call a person who sacrificed himself.

Origins: lamb is the Church Slavonic name for a lamb. "The Lamb is a symbolic name given to Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the salvation of man."

HELL IS AWESOME. Terrible place, in which a person feels uncomfortable. Often turmoil, chaos, crowds.

Origins: pitch - edge, edge; hell is the other world in which darkness and chaos reign.

ADMINISTRATIVE DELIGHT (ironic). Enjoyment of one's own significance, omnipotence on a certain scale.

Origins: novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's “Demons”: “You ... without any doubt know ... what it means ... an administrator, speaking in general, and what a Russian administrator means again, i.e. newly baked, newly installed... But you could hardly find out in practice what administrative enthusiasm means and what exactly is this thing? – Administrative delight? I don’t know what it is ... put some very last insignificance at the sale of some ... railway tickets, and this insignificance will immediately consider itself entitled to look at you as Jupiter when you go to get a ticket ... “Give me, they say, I will exert my power over you ... "And this in them comes to administrative delight."

ADONIS (noun). A handsome young man who can win a woman's heart.

Origins: Greek mythology. Adonis is the beloved of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty (Cyprida), who, after the death of her beloved, immortalized his beauty in a flower.

HEY, MUSH! TO KNOW SHE IS STRONG THAT BARKS AT THE ELEPHANT! It characterizes a person who boldly criticizes higher authorities, people, realizing his own impunity.

Origins: I.A.'s fable Krylov "Elephant and Pug". The bully dog ​​Moska barks at the Elephant, who does not pay attention to her:

Seeing the Elephant, well, rush at him,
And bark, and squeal, and tear,
Well, and climbs into a fight with him.
To the bewildered questions of other dogs, she answers:
"That's what gives me and spirit,
What am I, without a fight at all,
I can get into big trouble.
Let the dogs say
"Hey Moska! Know she's strong
What barks at the Elephant!

AKAKY AKAKIEVICH (noun)."Little man", an ordinary, uninitiated, obedient performer of minor assignments, with a lack of self-esteem.

Origins: story by N.V. Gogol's "Overcoat" (1842). Her hero Akaki Akakievich Bashmachkin is a petty official, an ordinary person, whose existence is worthy of pity and compassion.

CLEANCY IS THE POLITENESS OF KINGS(See PRECISION - POLITENESS OF KINGS).

ACROBATS OF CHARITY. Characterizes patrons, philanthropists who exaggerate the value of their assistance or engage in philanthropy for their own benefit.

Origins: the title of the story by D.V. Grigorovich (1885), who satirically depicted the activities of philanthropic societies.

AND THE CASKET JUST OPENED. Complex problems, often easily solved.

Origins: I.A.'s fable Krylov "Cabin".

ALGEBRA OF THE REVOLUTION. Literary definition of Hegel's philosophy.

Origins: in the work "The Past and Thoughts" (1855, part 4, ch. 25) A.I. Herzen wrote: "Hegel's philosophy is the algebra of revolution, it unusually liberates man and leaves no stone unturned from the Christian world, from the world of legends that have outlived themselves."

ALEXANDER THE MACEDONIAN HERO, BUT WHY BREAK CHAIRS? (ironic). The need for everything to comply with the measure.

Origins: comedy nv Gogol's The Inspector General (1836, d. 1, yavl. 1). The phrase belongs to Gorodnichiy, who characterizes the teacher: “He is a learned head - this can be seen, and he has picked up a lot of information, but he only explains with such fervor that he does not remember himself. I listened to him once: well, for now I was talking about the Assyrians and Babylonians - still nothing, but how I got to Alexander the Great, I can’t tell you what happened to him. I thought it was a fire, by golly! He ran away from the pulpit and, that he had the strength, to grab the chair on the floor. It is, of course, Alexander the Macedonian hero, but why break the chairs?

Hungering and thirsty. (direct) Someone who feels unbearably thirsty and hungry. (portable) An irresistible desire for something.

Origins: Gospel of Matthew (5:6). "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."

SCARLET SAILS. A symbol of romantic hopes and aspirations, sublime ideas about ideal love.

Source: the title of the story by A. Green, who poeticized romantic relationships.

ALMA MATER (portable). The generalized name of educational institutions, mainly higher ones, that gave young people a start in life.

Origins: translated from Latin alma mater means "nurse, mother" (alma- nourishing, nourishing mater- "mother"). The students of the Middle Ages called universities in which they received "spiritual food" in this way.

ALPHA AND OMEGA. The basis, the essence of something, the beginning and the end, the origins.

Origins: Bible (Apocalypse 1:8). "I am the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end," says the Lord. Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.

GIGOLO (noun). A man who lives on the means of his beloved.

Origins: drama by Alexandre Dumas son "Monsieur Alphonse" (1873). The first performance of the play in Moscow at the Maly Theater took place on October 3, 1874. In the Russian translation, the play was called "Handsome".

AMALFEIN HORN(see horn of plenty).

AND GET HERE LYAPKIN-TYAPKIN! (joking). A command requiring immediate execution.

Origins: comedy nv Gogol's The Inspector General (1836).

AMERICA FOR AMERICANS. Inadmissibility of foreign interference in the affairs of the American continents.

Origins: In 1823, US President John Monroe, in his annual message to Congress, outlined the basic principles of American policy (the "Monroe Doctrine"), which consisted in the fact that the United States would not allow the Holy Alliance of European Monarchs to interfere in the affairs of the American countries, which, after the victory over the Napoleonic France not only to prevent a revolutionary movement in its possessions and the overthrow of monarchies in other countries, but also to strengthen the influence of European powers on the American continents.

AMPHITRYON (noun). Hospitable host.

Origins: in Greek mythology, Amphitrion is the king of Tirinth, the husband of Alcmene, deceived by Zeus, who took the form of Amphitryon himself. The myth was put by the Roman Plautus as the basis for the plot of the comedy "Amphitrion", in which Jupiter (Zeus), posing as Amphitryon, invited one of the characters to his breakfast. Jean Rotre (1609-1650) created the comedy "The Doubles" on the same plot: "He is not Amphitrion who does not dine." Molière transferred this phrase to the play of the same name (1668): “The real Amphitrion is the Amphitrion at whom they dine” (case 3, appearance 5).

ANIKA WARRIOR (noun). The name of a bully who boasts of his own strength, but constantly fails.

Origins: 1) a work of Russian folk poetry, a "spiritual verse" about Anika the warrior. His hero was proud of his strength and cunning, but, having met Death, he was frightened and defeated by her; 2) who came from the West not earlier than the 16th century. military story "Debating the belly with death." The very name Anika is taken from the Byzantine story about the hero Digenis, nicknamed anikitos(invincible). The epithet was taken as a proper name. There are many folk legends about Anika the warrior, the plots of which are reflected in popular prints.

Annibal's Oath(see HANNIBAL'S Oath).

ANTEY (noun). A strong man, firmly connected with his native land, people.

Origins: Greek mythology. Antaeus is a giant, the son of Poseidon (god of the seas) and Gaia (goddess of the earth). He defeated all his opponents, as he drew strength by touching the earth - his mother. Antaeus died in the struggle with Hercules (Hercules), who lifted the enemy into the air and thereby deprived him of support and a source of strength.

ANTIGONE (noun). A symbol of reckless daughter love, duty and courage.

Origins: Greek mythology. Antigone is the daughter of the blind Theban king Oedipus, who voluntarily went into exile to follow her sick father and faithfully looked after him until his death. Her image was used in the tragedies of Sophocles "Oedipus in Colon", "Antigone".

APOGEE OF GLORY. The highest degree of popularity, fame of someone.

Origins: apogee (astronomical term) - the highest point of the lunar orbit, and now also the greatest distance of an artificial satellite from the Earth.

APOLLO (noun). A handsome, physically developed, harmoniously built young man.

Origins: Greek mythology. Apollo is the sun god.

APPETITE COMES WITH EATING. Ever-growing needs that cannot be met.

Origins: Francois Rabelais' novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (1532).

ARGONAUTS (noun). The name of sailors, travelers, adventurers.

Origins: ancient Greek legends. The heroes go to Colchis (the eastern coast of the Black Sea) for the golden fleece (the skin that was guarded by dragons and bulls, spewing flames from their mouths). Their leader, Jason, built the Argo (fast) ship, after which the participants in this, according to legend, the first long-distance voyage, were called Argonauts.

ARGUS. EYES OF ARGUS (noun). The name of a vigilant watchman, vigilantly guarding someone, something.

Origins: Greek mythology. The hundred-eyed giant Argus, the all-seeing guard assigned to the daughter of the Argos king Io. Argus' eyes rested alternately, so he did not know sleep. According to legend, after the murder of Argus by Mercury, the goddess Juno adorned the eyes of this guard with a peacock tail.

AREDOVY (ARIDOVY) EYELIDS. Synonymous with longevity.

Origins: Bible (Genesis 5:20). The Biblical Patriarch of Jared lived for 962 years.

ARIADNA THREAD(see ARIADNE'S THREAD).

ARISTARCH (noun). The name of every incorruptible and just critic.

Origins: Aristarchus of Samothrace (III-II centuries BC), ancient Greek philologist and critic, respected by his fellow citizens for his accurate assessment of the work of Homer, Aristotle, Herodotus, the great tragedians Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles and other ancient authors.

ARISTOCRACY OF THE SPIRIT. The spiritual elite of society, people whose spiritual authority in society is very high, and moral and intellectual development provides them with the moral right to influence the public consciousness and behavior of the majority.

Origins: the expression belongs to the German writer Heinrich Steffens, who meant the adherents of the leader of German romanticism August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845). Theodor Mundt wrote: "He [Steffens] is the head of that aristocracy of spirit which he himself once so aptly called."

ARCADIA. ARCADIAN IDYLL. Happy, carefree life; Arcadia is the embodiment of universal harmony and contentment.

Origins: Arcadia is the central mountainous part of the Peloponnese, the main occupation of the population is cattle breeding and agriculture. In ancient literature (and later in the classical literature of the 17th-18th centuries), the serene life of the Arcadian shepherds was sung about (“And I was born in Arcadia”, i.e. “and I was happy”).

ARMIDA. GARDENS OF ARMIDA (noun). The name of a beautiful coquette, known for her frivolity.

Origins: poem by an Italian poet of the 16th century. Torquato Tasso Jerusalem Delivered. Armida - the main character, a beauty and a sorceress, kept the hero of the poem Rinaldo in a magical garden with the help of spells.

ARHAROVETS (noun). A person outside the law and public morality, a masterful robber; out of control child.

Origins: N.P. Arkharov was the Moscow police chief under Catherine II and the governor-general of St. Petersburg since 1796, known for his unprecedented dexterity in detective affairs and unraveling the most complex crimes. Initially, detectives and policemen were called Arkharovtsy.

ARCHIVE YOUTH (joking). Young people who consider themselves the spiritual elite of society.

Origins: an expression attributed to a friend of A.S. Pushkin to the bibliophile S.A. Sobolevsky, who jokingly called a group of young philosophizing nobles that in 1820-1821. served in the Moscow archive of the State Collegium of Foreign Affairs. A.I. Koshelev, brothers I.V. and P.V. Kireevsky, S.P. Shevyrev, V.F. Odoevsky, Sobolevsky himself. In his Notes, Koshelev wrote: “The archive was known as a gathering of thinking” Moscow youth, and the title of “archival youth” became very honorable, so that later we even got into the verses of A.S., who was beginning to enter into great glory. Pushkin. Koshelev has in mind an excerpt from "Eugene Onegin" (ch. 7, stanza XLIX):

Archival young men in a crowd
They stare at Tanya
And about her among themselves
They speak unfavorably.

According to N.O. Lerner, Pushkin was attracted by the oxymoron "archival" and "young men". The idea of ​​mustiness and antiquity is associated with the archive, so the expression “archival youth” contains a contradiction. However, this name was something of an official term. So, a certain collective work of young officials had the title: “Diplomatic articles from the general Robinston Dictionary, translated at the Moscow archive by serving noble youths in 1802, 1803, 1804 and 1805. under the supervision of Senior Advisor A. Malinovsky.

ARCHIMEDE'S LEVER. GIVE ME A POINT AND I WILL MOVE THE EARTH. driving force in general.

Origins: Archimedes of Syracuse (III century BC), mechanic and mathematician of Ancient Greece, said this phrase when he deduced the laws of the lever.

ARCHITECTURE IS FROZEN MUSIC. Definition of architecture as an art form.

Origins: a paraphrase of the saying of the Greek poet Simonides of Ceos (556-469 BC): "Painting is silent music, and poetry is talking painting." It sounded in the conversation of the German writer I.V. Goethe with Eckermann in March 1829. In Prose Sayings, Goethe says: "Architecture is numb music." Schelling's "Lectures on the Philosophy of Art" (1842) quotes the aphorism: "Architecture is frozen music." We find the same comparison in a French writer of the 19th century. Madame de Stael in Corinne, where she speaks of admiring St. Peter's in Rome as "continuous and fixed music".

ASPASIA (noun). Inspirer, patron of the arts.

Origins: Aspasia is the famous getter of Ancient Greece, distinguished by her education, intelligence, and delicate taste. Her home in Athens attracted poets, artists, scientists. Later - the wife of the Athenian strategist Pericles.

WHO ARE JUDGES? A critical look at the right to condemn others, granted to certain individuals who are not distinguished by high moral qualities.

Origins:

ATTACKING CLASS. A figurative characterization of the proletariat as the hegemon of the revolution.

Origins: poem by V.V. Mayakovsky "Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1924), dedicated to the leader of the Bolshevik Party:

I will write
And about this and that, but now
not the time for lovemaking.
I am all my sonorous power of a poet to you
I give, attacking class.

ATTIC SALT. Subtle eloquence, witty joke.

Origins: attributed to Marcus Tullius Cicero. A connoisseur of Greek culture, he emphasized oratory and, in particular, the eloquence of the inhabitants of Attica. His correspondent, the writer Titus Pomponius Atticus in 61 BC. Cicero thanked for the letters: "All of them were sprinkled not only with the salt of wit, as the students of orators say, but are also remarkable for the manifestations of your friendship." Known is the work of Cicero "On the Orator" (55 BC), written in the form of a literary conversation. One of its imaginary participants Julius Caesar, expressing his opinion about real jokers, gives priority to the inhabitants of Attica, who are fluent in the gift of eloquence. In particular, he comments on the following phrase of Ennius: “The wise man would rather agree to extinguish a burning coal in his mouth than to keep a good word to himself” (an untranslatable pun; from the poet Ennius bona dicta- wise, instructive words, here bona dicta- sharpness). Of course, a good word, in their opinion, is a word that has salt in it. In Attica, as in other parts of Greece that had access to the sea, salt was obtained by evaporation in the sun or by boiling sea water, and therefore Attic salt was considered the most "fine".

AFANASIY IVANOVICH AND PULCHERIA IVANOVNA (noun). Images of faithful spouses, commoners, whose life is serene and orderly.

Origins: story by N.V. Gogol "Old World Landowners" (1835). Her heroes are simple-hearted landowners, kind spouses, whose “vegetative” existence is worthy of pity and indulgence.

ATHENS NIGHTS. A reckless pastime of people satiated with an idle life.

Origins: religious cults of the deities Demeter and Dionysus in Ancient Greece. Their celebrations began in Athens and other cities in the late evening and lasted until the morning, gradually taking on the character of orgies. Banned in the 2nd century. BC.

OH MY GOD! WHAT WILL PRINCESS MARIA ALEXEVNA SAY! Fear of someone else's opinion, unwillingness to "wash dirty linen in public."

Origins: comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit".

ACHILLES' HEEL. Weak, vulnerable spot.

Origins: Greek mythology. Brave Achilles (Achilles) was invulnerable to enemy arrows, because in infancy, his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, dipped Achilles into the sacred river Styx. However, the water did not touch the heel, for which Thetis held her son, it was in this only vulnerable part of the body of Achilles that the arrow of Paris hit.

B

BA! ALL FAMILIAR FACES. The joy of an unexpected meeting with friends, acquaintances.

Origins: comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit" (d. 4, yavl. 14).

GRANDS KNOCK. Earn money with easy work, without stress.

Origins: a Russian game of grandmas, the main element of which is knocking down pieces.

GRANDMA TWO SAID. Unpredictability of the expected result.

Origins: truncation of the Russian proverb "Grandmother (grandmother) said in two: either rain or snow, either it will or not."

INDIAN SUMMER. Days in early September with clear warm weather.

Origins: with the 1st (14th) of September, popularly called the day of Simeon the Pilot, or Semyon's Day, many old sayings and proverbs are associated, for example: “Semyon sees off summer”, “Semyon Indian summer brings”, “Semyon day - Indian summer ". Indian summer is also counted from Semyonov's day: according to some sources - seven days, according to others - two weeks. Dictionary V.I. Dahl fixes: "Since the Indian summer, the Indian holiday and the Indian work." By this time, the summer field work was completed and the time came for gatherings, evening parties, sittings, lighting - women's leisure, which took place by the light of torches and lamps on long autumn evenings. The poetess Olga Bergholz has a lyric poem "Indian Summer":

There is a time of nature of special light,
The dim sun, the gentlest heat.
It's called Indian Summer
And in charms he argues with spring itself.
Already gently sits on the face
Flying, light web ...
How loudly the belated birds sing!
How magnificently and menacingly the curtains are burning!
Mighty downpours have long died down,
Everything is given over to a quiet and dark field ...
More and more often from the look I am happy,
Rarely and bitterly am I jealous
O wisdom of the most generous Indian summer,
I welcome you with pleasure...

MARKET OF EVERYTHING FUN. bourgeois society.

Origins: translation of the title of the novel by the English writer Thackeray “Vanity Fair. A novel without a hero.

BAZAROV. Representative of the raznochinno-democratic intelligentsia. Materialist, a man of extreme worldview.

BAZAROVSHINA. A categorical rejection of idealistic teachings, romanticism and sentimentality.

Origins: novel by I.S. Turgenev "Fathers and Sons", the main character is Evgeny Bazarov.

BALAKIREV. Joker and joker.

Origins: Ivan Alexandrovich Balakirev is a servant and court jester of Peter I and Catherine I. He is credited with a huge number of jokes, barbs, anecdotes.

BALALAYKIN. A person who is ready to pick up any topic in a conversation is a talker.

Origins: Balalaikin is the hero of the essays by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin.

BALZAC'S AGE. BALZAC WOMAN. Middle-aged woman in her 30s and 40s.

Origins: novel by the French writer Honore de Balzac "The Thirty-Year-Old Woman".

BARON MUNCHHAUSEN. A harmless dreamer, an inventor.

Origins: the hero of Rudolf Erich Raspe (1786), the image was replicated by Western European writers. In Russia, the popularity of the hero was brought by the film "The Same Munchausen" directed by M.A. Zakharov.

MY FATHERS! An exclamation expressing joy, admiration, surprise.

Origins: the call of the Eastern Slavs to the spirits of their ancestors for help.

BASH ON BASH. Barter, exchange.

Origins: translated from the Turkic language "bash" - "head". Traders exchanged cattle "head for head".

BASHMAKOV HAVE NOT Worn YET. Determination of the variability of the female character, the speed of changing beliefs.

Origins: in ancient times, the number of worn shoes determined the distance traveled, as well as time. The expression came into use after the translation of N.A. Field work of W. Shakespeare "Hamlet".

IVORY TOWER. Characteristics of elite artistic and literary creativity. For French romantic poets, this expression is a symbol of the world of dreams, into which they went in their work from the reality that burdened them.

Origins: for the first time this expression was used by the French poet and critic C. Sainte-Beuve.

BAIUSHKI BYE. BYU-BY. A gentle lullaby.

Origins: the word "bayu" comes from the Old Slavonic "bayati" - "to speak, to tell."

THE TROUBLE IS IF THE PIES SHOULD START THE FURNACE, AND THE BOOTS WILL BE STUFFED BY THE PIE. That's what they say about people who don't mind their own business.

Origins: I.A.'s fable Krylov "Pike and Cat".

POOR AS IR. Extreme poverty.

Origins: Homer's poem The Odyssey.

WITHOUT A PAPER YOU ARE A Bug, AND WITH A PAPER YOU ARE A HUMAN. An expression about the importance and necessity of documents.

Origins: from the pop review "Question with an edge." The author of the words is V.I. Lebedev-Kumach.

WITHOUT GUILT GUILT. This is what they say about an accused but innocent person.

Origins: the name of the comedy A.N. Ostrovsky.

WITHOUT ANGER AND PREDICTION. Fair resolution of a case or dispute. An objective view of the situation.

Origins: expression of the Roman historian Tacitus.

GET INTO THE BIG BATTLE WITHOUT FIGHTING. So they say about the one who undeservedly seeks calling and glory.

Origins: I.A.'s fable Krylov "Elephant and Pug".

WITHOUT FOOLS. Serious attitude to something.

Origins: The expression originated in the Middle Ages. When the boyars were going to make serious government decisions in the royal chambers, their meetings were held in strict secrecy. No one was allowed in there, including sharp-tongued, chatty jesters, who at that time were customary to keep at the royal court. The expression "without fools" literally meant "without jesters."

WITHOUT FATTORY BELIEVED. Ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Origins: the motto of the all-powerful minister A.A. Arakcheev, elevated by Paul I in 1799 to the dignity of a count. Arakcheev did not lose his influence during the change of imperial power.

WITHOUT MANY WORDS. Accurate, concise, short.

Origins: novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin".

WITHOUT A RUDDER AND WITHOUT SAILS. Without a goal, without help, arbitrarily (used in relation to a person or a team).

Origins: quote from the poem by M.Yu. Lermontov "Demon".

NO HITCH AND NO HITCH. Flawless, no remarks.

Origins: in the old days, the word "hitch" meant roughness, a hook on the surface of a smoothly planed board. To denote a job well done, joiners used the expression "no hitch."

WITHOUT LONGING, WITHOUT THOUGHT FATAL. Purposefully, without unnecessary doubts.

Origins: poem by A.N. Maykov "Happy"

WITHOUT A KING IN THE HEAD. Stupid, reckless, imprudent person.

Origins: Russian proverb "Your mind is the king in your head."

SINLESS INCOME. A voluntary offering, a bribe disguised as a gift.

Origins: the expression was introduced into literary use by N.A. Nekrasov. The poet probably got it from the bureaucratic environment, where it was considered acceptable to accept what was not prohibited by law. Poem by N.A. Nekrasov "Masha" (1851):

He was a new breed of man.
Exceptionally honor understood
And sinless even income
Called theft, liberal!

M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin also used this expression in his works.

CRAZY DAY. A day full of surprises and surprises, a hectic day.

Origins: play by the French playwright Beaumarchais Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro.

WHITE ARAPIA. Land of dreams and dreams, an unknown country.

Origins: according to one version, blacks, representatives of Arabia, were called "black araps" in Russia. In the XVI century. Russian traveler F.A. Kotov, having visited the Arabian land, said that the Araps were white-skinned. According to another version, in 1833 Russia sent ships of the Black Sea Fleet to help the Turkish Sultan against the Egyptian Pasha. The sailors called the campaign to Constantinople a campaign under the "white arap", meaning the Arabs. After that, there were fantastic stories among the people about the "white araps" and the country where they live - White Arapia.

WHITE CROW. Unlike the rest, not like everyone else, a bright personality.

Origins: 7th satire by the Roman poet Juvenal.

BELENY ate. So they say about a person whose behavior goes beyond the generally accepted norms.

Origins: Henbane is a poisonous herbaceous plant with purple-yellow flowers and a stupefying unpleasant odor. A person who has eaten henbane berries loses his mind for a while; severe poisoning can lead to death.

WHITE GOLD. Figurative name for cotton.

Origins: cotton is a valuable and rather expensive material.

WHITE SPOT. Something mysterious, unexplored.

Origins: in the 18th century cartographers left blank spots on the maps where the territory had not yet been explored.

WHITE SLAVES. WHITE NEGROS. Exploited, disenfranchised masses.

Origins: so in England they called the workers of large industrial enterprises. The expression came into use in Russia in the 19th century. - so called serfs.

WHITE TERROR. Extermination of leaders and participants of the revolutionary movement.

Origins: mass arrests of revolutionaries and Bonapartists in France in 1815

PROTECT AS THE APPLE OF THE EYE. Preserve, preserve, preserve.

Origins: from Church Slavonic "zenitsa" - "pupil", and "eye" - "eye". The expression is often used in the Bible.

OIL OF BIRCH. Rods.

Origins: in the old East Slavic school, the beginning of a new stage of education was marked with porridge from one boiler. The guilty students, instead of treating them to porridge, were flogged with birch rods, i.e. "We were treated to birch porridge."

TAKE IT BIG THERE IS NO SCIENCE HERE. So jokingly called a greedy person.

Origins: an expression from the song "Yabeda" by the poet V.V. Kapnista.

TAKE THE OVERCOAT, GO HOME. An offer to complete a task.

Origins: lyrics by B. Okudzhava.

BERMUDA TRIANGLE. A place where inexplicable phenomena occur; something mysterious, inexplicable.

Origins: Charles Berlin's Bermuda Triangle (1974).

THE DEMON HAS INVITED. A state in which a person behaves inappropriately, a violation of generally accepted norms of behavior.

Origins: according to ancient legends, madness was caused by evil spirits that inhabited a person - demons.

THE BARRELT fig tree. 1. Childless woman. 2. A person whose activity is useless, fruitless.

Origins: Gospel of Matthew (21:19). Finding no fruit at a roadside fig tree, Jesus said, "Let there be no fruit from you forever." And immediately the fig tree dried up.

NON-MEANING DREAMS. Fruitless illusions, unfulfilled fantasies.

Origins: Nicholas II, in a speech to representatives of the nobility, zemstvos and cities, delivered on January 17, 1895, said: “I know that recently in some zemstvo meetings the voices of people who were carried away by senseless dreams about the participation of representatives of the zemstvos in matters of internal administration were heard. Let everyone know that, devoting all my strength to the good of the people, I will guard the beginning of autocracy as firmly and unswervingly as my unforgettable late father guarded it. Initially, in the written speech, instead of the word “meaningless”, it was listed as “unrealizable”. But in the excitement, the king made a slip of the tongue. Since then, the expression "meaningless dreams" has gained popularity. At the same time, the “Song” was distributed among the people, in which Nikolai, referring to the “grooms of demagoguery”, “sans-culottes from Tver”, says:

For good wishes
I thank you all
But dreams are meaningless
Cut the power to me, the king.

L.N. Tolstoy, outraged by the speech of Nicholas II, wrote an article-pamphlet "Senseless Dreams", directed against the autocracy. The article was first published in 1918.

Slave of love

Title of the film (1976) directed by Nikita Mikhalkov (b. 1945) according to the script Friedrich Naumovich Gorenstein(1939-2002) and Andrey Sergeevich Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky(b. 1937). Ironically about a woman in love (amorous).

Hell of a job

From the poem "A Conversation with Comrade Lenin" (1929) Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (1893- 1930):

The work is hellish / will be / done / and is already being done.

Allegorically about a very difficult, almost impossible work, task.

Inspired worker, / Craftsman for the glory of beauty

From the poem "Excerpts from the Book of Love" by the poet (1807- 1873).

Jokingly about an artist, entertainer, etc.

The workers have no fatherland. You can't deprive them of what they don't have

From The Communist Manifesto (1848) Karl Marx(1818- 1883) and Friedrich Engels(1820-1895) (Ch. 2 "Proletarians and Communists").

Slave, blind imitation

A. S. Griboedova(1795-1829). Chatsky about the adoration of everything foreign:

So that the Lord destroyed this unclean spirit

Empty, slavish, blind imitation.

Once on Epiphany evening / The girls wondered: / A slipper over the gate, / Taking it off their feet, they threw

From the poem "Svetlana" (1812) Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky (1783- 1852).

Allegorically: a commentary on all kinds of fortune-telling, attempts to look into the future, etc. (iron.).

One, two, three, four, five, / The bunny went out for a walk

From a poem without a title (1851, publ. 1880), which belongs to a Russian poet forgotten even by literary encyclopedias Fedor Miller (1818-1881).

These lines became widely known after their publication in school anthologies for elementary reading, published in the 19th century.

Discord and vacillation

The expression has developed as a "summary quotation" based on a number of relevant phrases from the works V. I. Lenin(1870-1924). For example, in the preface to Chto Delat (February 1902), he wrote: "... That confusion, those vacillations that constituted the hallmark of a whole period in the history of Russian Social Democracy." The same expression is found in his speech at the I Congress of the RSDLP (August 2, 1903) - "elements of disunity, vacillation and opportunism", etc.

Allegorically about the lack of purposefulness and unity.

From French: Est-ce qu "on emporte la patrie sous la semelle de ses souliers? Words of an outstanding figure of the Great French Revolution Georges Jacques Danton(1759-1794). spoken in response to the advice of friends to emigrate in order to escape the political persecution of Robespierre and the threatening guillotine.

Am I lying on roses?

Words of the last ruler of Mexico Guatemosina, captured by the Spanish conquerors-conquistadors (1521). By order of the conqueror of Mexico, Cortes Guatemozin and cacique (leader) Takuba were tortured on a red-hot grate, demanding to give them all the golden treasures of the country. Kasik could not stand it and began to moan loudly, which caused the above remark of Guatemosin.

Allegorically: I am not in a better position than you, but I do not complain, I behave with dignity.

Am I my brother's keeper?

From Bible. In the Old Testament (Genesis, ch. 4, article 9) this answer of Cain, who killed his brother Abel, is given to the question where his brother is.

The abysses of heaven opened up

From bible(Church Slavonic text). The Old Testament speaks of the Flood (Genesis, ch. 7, verses 11-12): “All the fountains of the abyss were opened, and the abysses of heaven were opened. And it rained on the earth forty days and forty nights.

Russian text: “... all the fountains of the great abyss burst open, and the windows of heaven were opened; and it rained on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

Jokingly about heavy rain, prolonged bad weather.

spreading cranberry

From French: Un kliukva majestueux.

Erroneously attributed to the French writer Alexandre Dumas-père (1802-1870), who allegedly wrote in his notes about a trip to Russia that he once rested after a tiring journey "in the shade of a spreading cranberry."

But A. Dumas has nothing to do with this expression, and in his stories about travels in Russia, as well as in the novel from Russian life "Maitre d" armes, there are neither these words, nor any other gross distortions of the realities of Russian life in general.

In fact, this phrase was born in Russia itself as a parody of the absurd ideas of foreigners about Russia. For the first time these words were heard in 1910 from the stage of the famous at the beginning of the 20th century. Petersburg theater of parody and satire "Crooked Mirror" (in which another winged word was born. See. Wampuka ). The theater repertoire included a parody play called “Love of a Russian Cossack. Sensational French drama with murder and expropriation from the life of real Russian farmers in one act with an introduction. Alteration from the famous Russian novel by B. Geyer. Of course, this was not a "French play", but a parody of it, performed by Boris Fedorovich Geyer (1879-1916).

The play depicted certain "French playwrights Romain and Latuk" offering the director of the French theater a drama set "in the central department of Russia, near St. Muscovy on the banks of the Volga." The plot is simple: they want to forcibly marry the heroine of the play, the girl Aksenka, to a Cossack, and the girl regrets in advance about the separation from her beloved Ivan, recalling how she sat with him under the “spreading boughs of a century-old cranberry”.

And so this famous expression was born, which almost instantly became popular in an abbreviated version - "spreading cranberries" - as a common noun for all kinds of ridiculous fiction.

The popularity of the expression was also facilitated by numerous comic poems, imitations, etc., written based on this play. These were parodies of clichés and stilted representations of foreigners about Russia. For example, such “French poems” by a “foreigner” poet:

Sous I "omge d" un kliukva

Etait assisc une devouchka.

Son nom etait Marie,

Mais dans sa froide patrie

On l "appelait Machka.

Translation: "In the shade of a cranberry sat a girl whose name was Maria, but in her cold homeland she was called Mashka."

Allegorically: about all sorts of ridiculous inventions, as well as about fantastic, false ideas of foreigners about Russia (irong.).

Mud rakes

From English: Muckrakers. Literally: People with dung pitchforks.

Words of the 26th President of the United States (1901 - 1909) Theodore Roosevelt(1858-1919), which he said in a speech (April 14, 1906) about critical American journalists who closely followed the actions of the government and the "powerful of this world" and revealed their unseemly deeds. T. Roosevelt repeated this expression in his other speeches.

The original source of the expression is a poem by an English poet John Bunyan(1628-1688) The Pilgrim's Way (1678), the second part of which speaks of "the man with the muckrake".

Allegorically about press workers conducting their own investigation (ironic); about journalists looking for compromising materials for sensational publications (contempt.).

Crush the bastard!

The call of the French writer-educator Voltaire(pseudonym Francois Marie Arouet, 1694-1778) from his letter (November 28, 1762) to the philosopher and compiler of the Encyclopedia Jean d "Alembert. The writer spoke in this message about superstitions and the Church that exploits them. Later Voltaire will repeat this phrase in correspondence with your friends.

During the years of the French Revolution, these words will become the slogan under which the struggle against the church will begin in France.

Allegorically: a call for the destruction of some social evil.

Divide and rule

From Latin: Divide and impera[divide et impera].

It is generally accepted that this was the motto of the foreign policy of Ancient Rome, but no evidence of this was found from ancient authors. The German poet Heinrich Heine (letter from Paris dated January 12, 1842) believed that the author of this motto was the Macedonian king (359-336 BC) Philip (382-336 BC), father of Alexander the Great.

It is believed that the first ruler to officially use this phrase was the French king Louis XI (1423-1483), who said: "Diviser pour regner" - "Divide in order to reign."

The expression became widely known thanks to the French economist and philosopher Pierre Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865), who sneered: “Divide et impera, divide and rule, divide and you will reign, divide and you will become rich; share and you will deceive people and you will blind their minds and you will mock justice.”

Cheer up, shoulder! Wave your hand!

From the poem "Mower" (1836) by the poet Alexey Vasilyevich Koltsov (1809-1842):

Cheer up, shoulder!

Wave your hand!

[...]

Buzz, scythe,

Like a swarm of bees!

Moloney, braid,

Shine all around!

Shut up grass

Podkoshonnaya...

Ironically, about the desire to "cut off the shoulder", to act imprudently, rashly.

Reasonable, kind, eternal

From the poem "To the Sowers" (1877) N. L. Nekrasova(1821 - 1877), who refers to the "sowers of knowledge in the field of the people":

Sow reasonable, good, eternal,

Sow! The heartfelt Russian people will thank you...

The expression "sower" is a stable image in Nekrasov's poetics: he calls the critic V. G. Belinsky (the poem "Belinsky") an "honest sower of good", the writer N. G. Chernyshevsky is a "sower of truth" (the poem "Parable"), and also speaks of the "sower" in the poem "To whom it is good to live in Russia":

Soil is good

The soul of the Russian people...

O sower, come!

In this case, we are talking not only about the work of a school teacher, but also about the sum of some “eternal values”, about civic feeling, a new, progressive worldview, etc.

The district committee is closed, everyone went to the front

The expression entered the language from a school textbook on the history of the Soviet era. In the section devoted to the Civil War, there was a photograph of a wooden house with an inscription on the boarded up door: “The District Committee is closed. Everyone went to the front." It was traditionally reproduced as a document of the summer - autumn of 1919. In fact, this is a "staged" frame from the documentary film "The Tale of Won Happiness" (1938), dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Komsomol (authors - Y. Poselsky, N. Venzher, F. Kiselev).

Jokingly about a closed public institution.

District weekdays

Title of the book (1952-1956, a cycle of five essays) by a Soviet writer Valentin Vladimirovich Ovechkin (1904- 1968).

Ironically about the routine life of a small, provincial town.

Race of masters - race of slaves

From the doctrine of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche(1844-1900), who argued that human society consists of people of different qualities - from a minority represented by strong personalities - "masters" and the majority, consisting of spiritually weak people, from "slaves". And these people live according to different rules: the "masters" have their own morals, the "slaves" have their own.

Usually cited as an ironic commentary on this kind of pseudo-Nietzschean reasoning.

The sea spread wide

see In vain the old woman is waiting for her son home.

Broken connection of times

From the tragedy "Hamlet" William Shakespeare(1564-1616). In the monologue that concludes the first act, Hamlet, having sworn to the shadow of his murdered father to avenge him, exclaims (translation A. Kronebsrga, 1844):

The connection of times has broken.

Why did I tie her born!

Allegorically about a sharp, decisive social turning point, a cataclysm, about breaking a tradition in the field of morality, social behavior, etc.

Crucify him!

From Bible. In the New Testament (Gospel of Mark, ch. 15, st. 13. 14) it is reported that with this cry the crowd demanded the execution of Jesus Christ from the Roman governor in Judea, Pontius Pilate.

It is usually cited as an ironic comment about the call to reprisal against someone.

Scattered from Basseinaya Street

From the poem "That's how absent-minded" (1928) by the poet Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak(1887-1964) about an inattentive, forgetful, eccentric person:

There lived a scattered man

On Basseinaya Street.

He sat down on the bed in the morning

Started putting on a shirt

He put his hands in his sleeves -

It turned out they were pants.

He began to put on a coat -

They tell him it's not.

Began to pull on gaiters -

They tell him: not yours.

Here's how scattered

From Basseinaya Street! ..

Usually cited when talking to children as an admonition and a joke to encourage the child not to be so "scattered from Basseinaya Street".

Relax and try to enjoy

From English: She should lie back and enjoy it.

Usually this expression is erroneously attributed to some kind of printed manual for women soldiers in the British army: it supposedly answers the question of what to do if a woman is threatened with violence and she no longer has the strength to resist.

In England, the origin of this phrase is explained differently. So, N. Rees, compiler of the dictionary-reference book “Phrases of the century” (“Sayings of the century”, 1987), indicates that the phrase “She should lie down and (try) to enjoy it” (“She should lie back and enjoy it” ) is attributed to "First Viscount Curzon". So, according to legend, he answered the question of what a girl should do when she meets a rapist. It is assumed that in this case, N. Rees had in mind the first Marquis Curzon (1859-1925), who was at one time the Governor General of India, and then the British Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The phrase serves as a formula for playful consolation in a situation where it is not possible to avoid an unpleasant development of events.

Reason contrary to the elements

From the comedy "Woe from Wit" (1824) A. S. Griboedova(1795-1829). The words of Chatsky (act. 3, yavl. 22), who speaks of "foreign power of fashion", forcing Russians to adopt European clothes - "in spite of reason, contrary to the elements."

It is usually used in relation to the rash, hasty actions of a stubborn, narrow-minded person (ironic).

Talking about many things is difficult, and sometimes dangerous.

From the poem "Questions" of the poet Vladimir Grigorievich Benediktov (1807-1873).

It is cited as an excuse-apology for the unwillingness to speak on unpleasant, dangerous topics for the speaker (jokingly-iron.).

Spreading thought along the tree

An incorrectly translated line from the monument of ancient Russian literature "The Tale of Igor's Campaign", which nevertheless lives its own independent life in modern Russian.

The “Word” says: “The prophetic Boyan, if someone wanted to compose a song, spread his mind over a tree, like a gray wolf on the ground, a blue-gray eagle under the clouds.”

"Mys" in translation from the Old Slavonic "squirrel". Accordingly, the author says that Boyan, composing a song, embraced the whole world with his mind's eye - he ran like a squirrel on a tree, like a gray wolf - on the ground, flew like an eagle under the clouds.

It is noteworthy that, for example, in the Pskov province, even in the 19th century . the squirrel was called that way - “mouse”.

Allegorically: go into unnecessary details, digress from the main idea, touch on different, side topics, like branches of a tree, topics, etc. (jokingly ironic).

Rip and throw

From the poem "Cupid, deprived of sight" by the poet Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (1717- 1777):

He vomits

And a mosque;

Those who get caught by him tear up,

Like a quail gyrfal.

Jokingly-ironically: to rage, violently show one's anger.

Realpolitik

From German: Die Realpolitik.

From the work "Fundamentals of realpolitik applied to the state conditions of Germany" (1853) by a German writer Gustav Ditzel.

The expression became widely known thanks to the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who often spoke of the "realpolitik" of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

The expression regained its popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. XX century, when it sounded in the speeches of the German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who sought to unite the "two Germanys" - the FRG and the GDR.

Allegorically: a policy pursued taking into account the objective interests of the state and the situation in which it is currently located.

The real balance of power

The expression became popular thanks to the German socialist and critic Ferdinand Lassalle(1825-1864), who in 1862 spoke repeatedly about the "real balance of power" in his speeches on the constitution - "On the essence of the constitution" and "What's next?".

In Russia, the expression became especially popular in 1905.

Revolutions are the locomotive of history

From "Class Struggle in France 1848-1850" Karl Marx (1818-1883).

Revolutionaries in robe and shoes

From the essay "Paris Letters" by a German publicist and critic Carla Ludwig Berne(1786-1837), who in one of these “letters” (November 4, 1831) ironically wrote about the royalists, “who are in a dressing gown and shoes (“shoes” in this case are slippers, “dressing gown” is a dressing gown. - comp.) awaiting the return of Henry V.

Later this expression will be repeated by the Prussian Foreign Minister Manteuffel, and it will become widely known in Europe and Russia. In one of his speeches (January, 1851), he will say about the expected strike of the Prussian officials: “Yes, gentlemen, I consider such a revolution very dangerous, because you can take part in it, remaining in a dressing gown and shoes, while those who go to barricades, you still need to have the courage to expose yourself to bullets.

In Russia, this expression has become popular in the form of "revolutionaries in a dressing gown and shoes" (jokingly-iron.).

Revolutionary phrase

From the article "On the revolutionary phrase" (1918) V. I. Lenin(1870-1924): “A revolutionary phrase is a repetition of revolutionary slogans without regard to objective circumstances, given the turn of events, given the given state of affairs. The slogans are excellent, captivating, intoxicating - there is no ground under them - this is the essence of the revolutionary phrase.

The revolution is prepared by thinkers, but bandits make

From the novel The Flies (1918) by a Mexican writer Mariano Azuela(1873-1952), who wrote in it about the events of the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917.

This idea itself is of ancient origin. So, the French publicist of the end of the XVIII century. Antoine de Rivarol wrote: “Even if a conspiracy is sometimes drawn up by smart people, it is always carried out by a bloodthirsty beast” (“Selected Sayings”, translated by Yu. Korneev and E. Linetskaya).

Revolution in action

Review of the French emperor and commander Napoleon I(1769-182 And about the comedy "The Marriage of Figaro" by Pierre Beaumarchais.

Quoted in relation to any social phenomenon. event, etc., which, although they are not literally a revolutionary act, nevertheless actually solve the tasks of the revolution, do its work.

The revolution, the necessity of which the Bolsheviks kept talking about, was accomplished

From the report on the tasks of the Soviet government, which was made by V. I. Lenin(1870-1924) at a meeting of the Petrograd Soviet on October 25, 1917 - on the eve of the capture of the Winter Palace and the arrest of members of the Provisional Government. The phrase served as the basis for the same type of expressions - with the replacement of the words "revolution" and "Bolsheviks" with others appropriate to the occasion.

The revolution devours its children

The words spoken before the execution by the famous figure of the Great French Revolution Georges Jacques Danton(1759-1794). He became one of the many victims who died from recent associates. In 1794, the Jacobins issued a series of decrees that marked the beginning of the "great terror", which was directed against all "enemies of the people", against those who in one way or another "assisted the enemies of France", tried to "violate the purity and strength of revolutionary principles" and etc. The victims of repression were both nobles, royalists, and the revolutionaries themselves, who for one reason or another were declared "enemies of the people." So, J. Danton, K. Desmoulins and their like-minded people, who opposed the extremes of terror, for a truce with an external enemy (to give the country a respite), were given the nickname "indulgent", accused of assisting the enemies of the revolution and, after a short trial, were executed by guillotine April 5, 1794

Standing in front of the revolutionary tribunal, J. Danton bitterly threw out to its members: “It was I who ordered the establishment of your vile tribunal - God and people forgive me!”

The meaning of the expression: the logic of post-revolutionary events is such that the struggle between the revolutionaries themselves becomes inevitable, and usually the people whom the revolution elevates to the pinnacle of state power are the first to die.

Other phrases of J. Danton went down in history - Courage, courage and more courage and Is it possible to take your homeland with you on the soles of your boots?

Revolutionary keep pace, / The restless enemy does not sleep

From the poem "The Twelve" (1918) by the poet Alexander Alexandrovich Blok (1880-1921).

Usually cited as a call for vigilance, prudence (jokingly-iron.). see also The enemy does not sleep.

Regional powers

From English: regional powers.

From the book (ch. 2) "The Super-Powers" ("The Super-Powers", 1944) political scientist William Fox(b. 1912), who called “regional” (as opposed to “world powers” ​​or “superpowers”) “powers [...] whose sphere of interest is limited to only one theater of international conflicts”, while superpowers act according to all over the globe, participating in one way or another in all armed conflicts.

rare bird

From Latin: Rara avis .

From the satires of Roman poets, in particular Juvenal(Decimus Junius Yuvenal, c. 60-127):

A rare bird on earth, sort of like a black swan.

Jokingly-ironically: a rare, extraordinary person of his kind.

river of time

From the last poem (1816) of the poet Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (1743-1816):

The river of time in its striving

Takes away all the affairs of people

And drowns in the abyss of oblivion

Peoples, kingdoms and kings.

Religion is the opium of the people

From the introduction to the work "On the critique of the Hegelian philosophy of law" Karl Marx(1818-1883): “Religion is the sigh of an oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a soulless order. Religion is opium people."

It is usually quoted inaccurately: "Religion is the opium of the people."

Reportage with a noose around his neck

The title of the last book of the hero of the Czech Resistance during World War II, a communist writer Julius Fucik(1903-1943). Sentenced to death by the German occupiers, he wrote this book in prison while awaiting execution. see also People, be vigilant!

Reptile Press

The expression is usually associated with the name of the Chancellor of Prussia (then the whole of Germany) Otto Eduard Leopold Bismarck(1815-1898), thanks to which the word became winged.

But it was found in literature before, only in a different meaning. For example, in France and England (see Ch. Dickens's "Pickwick Club Notes"), so, pejoratively - "reptiles", - newspapers were often called, which, it was believed, insidiously "bite" and "stung", like snakes, their heroes publications.

Thanks to Bismarck, the expression took on a different meaning. The chancellor, not at all referring to the press, called "reptiles" some secret enemies of the state, an "internal enemy", which, like a reptile, lurks somewhere under a stone and is waiting for the moment to attack. The chancellor had to talk about these reptiles especially often in 1868 during the war with Austria.

Prussia then occupied the lands of the Austrian ally - the Kingdom of Hanover - and annexed them to the Reich. And with the Hanoverian king, Prussia, in the person of its minister-president, concluded an agreement: King George V abdicates the throne, renounces hostile actions against Berlin, and the latter guarantees him a "compensation" of 48 million thalers. But the king broke his promise. It turned out that on the territory of France, he forms military units hostile to Prussia - the so-called "Welf Legion" - from among the Hanoverian emigrants, dissatisfied with the Prussians.

Bismarck considered himself free from the obligation to pay money to the king and formed a secret "Welf Fund" from them. It was not provided for in the budget, and, consequently, Bismarck did not have to report to the Landtag on his spending. And to all questions about the fund, he replied that this money was needed "to monitor and prevent intrigues on the part of King George and his agents." And on January 30, 1868, at a meeting of the Landtag, he even emphasized that “we (the Bismarck government. - comp.) we deserve your gratitude by chasing the malevolent reptiles down to their burrows to see what they are up to." So he tried to justify the existence of this fund, which the public immediately caustically called "reptilian."

But the left press soon found out that the money from this fund was used not so much to fight the separatists, but to bribe the German press to form public opinion favorable to Bismarck. A scandal erupted, and now all journalists from the bribed publications were called "reptiles", and their newspapers - "reptilian press".

Very soon, the expression became popular throughout Europe, including Russia.

In February 1876, Bismarck, speaking in the Reichstag, tried to publicly protest against such a rethinking of his expression "reptile", but it has already firmly entered life in its modern meaning.

Allegorically about the "lured", pro-government press, about corrupt journalism (disapproved, contempt.).

roman cucumber

From the fable "The Liar" (1812) I. A. Krylova(1769-1844). A certain traveler tells about what he saw, in an obvious way lying:

Here in Rome, for example, I saw a cucumber:

Ah, my creator!

And to this day I don’t remember!

Will you believe? well, right, he was from the mountain!

I. A. Krylov borrowed the plot of the fable from the German writer Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715-1769).

Krylov's line has become a folk proverb: "It's good to tell a fairy tale about a Roman cucumber."

Allegorically: ridiculous fiction, excessive exaggeration (iron.).

Robin Hood

Hero (Robin Hood) medieval English folk ballads, who fought against the Norman conquest, the protector of the offended and the poor. It is found in the works of English writers - W. Legland, W. Shakespeare, B. Johnson (the hero of the pastoral "The Sad Shepherd"), W. Scott (one of the heroes of the novel "Ivanhoe").

A common noun (ironic) for a person who, hoping to restore justice, robs the rich and distributes the loot to the poor.

Robinson

The hero of the novel "The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Robinson Crusoe" (1719) by an English politician, writer, founder of the English realistic novel Daniel Defoe(1660-1731), who spent many years on a desert island.

A common noun for a person who, by the will of circumstances, lives alone, far from people, and independently, alone, overcomes the difficulties of his solitary life.

From here robinsonade- a series of extraordinary adventures (one or more people), as well as stories about them.

Robot

From the play "R. U.R." ("Rossmus universal robots", 1920). Czech writer and playwright Karela Capek(1890-1938). With this play, the playwright (brother of the famous writer Josef Čapek) was the first to discover a very popular in the world art of the 20th century. theme - the relationship between man and machine, the release of the latter from the control of its creator, the revolt of machines.

"Robot" in Czech - "worker", "worker".

After the screening of this play and the screening of the film in the USSR, the word "robot" entered the Russian language as a name for a machine similar to a person and doing work for him.

Cornucopia

From Latin: cornu copyae[root copy].

From ancient Greek mythology. The Thunderer Zeus, the head of Olympus, was fed with her milk by the goat Amalthea. When Zeus grew up and became the supreme god, he took his nurse to heaven in gratitude, and she became the star Capella in the constellation Auriga.

But on the way to heaven, the goat Amalthea accidentally lost one horn. Zeus raised him and presented him to the nymphs, who also took part in his upbringing. At the same time, the head of Olympus endowed this horn with a magical property: one had only to wish, as a wide variety of dishes appeared from the horn or a delicious drink poured. He was literally a cornucopia.

Allegorically: a source of income, wealth, welfare.

Horns and hooves

Title of the 15th chapter of the satirical novel The Golden Calf (1931) by Soviet writers Ilya Ilf(1897-1937) and Evgenia Petrova(1903-1942). It speaks of a fictitious enterprise - "an office for the preparation of horns and hooves", organized great strategist Ostap Bender.

Ironically about a deliberately fraudulent enterprise.

Birthmarks of capitalism

From the work "Critique of the Gotha Program" (1875) Karl Marx(1X18-1883): The author speaks of socialism as the first stage of communism and emphasizes: “We are not dealing here with a communist society that developed on its own basis, but, on the contrary, with that which has just coming out just from capitalist society and which therefore in all respects, in economic, moral and intellectual, still retains the birthmarks of the old society, from the depths of which it emerged.

Allegorically about "remnants of the past" (iron.).

Homeland or Death!

From Spanish: Patria o muerte!

Republican slogan during the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 gg. between the supporters of the republic and the military rebels (francists), led by General Franco.

Later, during the years of the Cuban revolution, this slogan became popular again in the form of “Motherland or death! We will win!" ("Patria o muerte! Venceremos!"). It became a symbol of this revolution after it was delivered in a speech (March 7, 1960) by its leader Fidel Castro Ruz (b. 1926) at the Colón Cemetery in Havana during the funeral of the passengers of the steamship Couvre. (He delivered to Cuba ammunition purchased by the Cuban government in Belgium, but on March 4, 1960, in the port of Havana, he was blown up by saboteurs who mined the ship.)

Comes from childhood

The expression is based on the title of the film “I come from childhood” (1966), filmed by director Viktor Turov according to the script of the poet and screenwriter Gennady Fedorovich Shpalikov (1937-1974).

Usually this expression is widely used in publications devoted to the problems of childhood and adolescence, education, personality development (“we all come from childhood”, etc.).

Born to crawl cannot fly

From the poem in prose "Song of the Falcon" (1898) Maxim Gorky(pseudonym of Alexei Maksimovich Peshkov, 1868-1936).

It is possible that Gorky used a similar expression from the fable "The Man and the Cow" by the Russian poet-fabulist of the 18th century. Ivan Ivanovich Khemnitser(1745-1784). The fable tells how one day a man decided to saddle a cow and ride it, but she “fell off” under the rider:

The cow did not learn to jump.

That is why you should know:

Whoever was born to crawl is no longer able to fly.

Horns and legs

see. Remained from the goat horns and legs.

novel of the century

see Writer-cannibal.

Rosinante

From the novel Don Quixote (cf. Don Quixote) Spanish writer (1547-1616). This is the name of the main character's horse. Since in Spanish “rosin” is “horse”, and “ante” is “before”, this nickname has a purely ironic meaning - “what was once a horse”. Allegorically: a nag, an old, starved horse (iron.).

The luxury of your own mind

The expression became widely known after the German Chancellor Otto Edward Leopold Bismarck(1815-1898), speaking in May 1886 at a meeting of the Reichstag, he said that he could not afford such a luxury as the luxury of his own opinion.

The luxury of human communication

see The only real luxury is the luxury of human communication.

Russia in the dark

From English: Russia in the Shadows.

Title of the book (1920) by an English writer H. G. Wells(1866-1946), dedicated to Russia in the first post-revolutionary years. In the same place (Chapter VI), the author writes about his conversation with V. I. Lenin, calling him Kremlin dreamer(also an oft-quoted expression by Wells). The head of the Soviet government shared with the English writer his plans for the electrification of Russia lying in the mist and assured him that in ten years it would be a new country lit by the lights of power plants.

Quoted in relation to Russia, which is going through a troubled, crisis time.

Russia we lost

Title of a documentary film (1991) made by a Soviet director Stanislav Sergeevich Govorukhin(b. 1936) according to his own script.

In the post-perestroika Russian Federation (former RSFSR), this nostalgia film for pre-revolutionary Russia became an effective tool in the debate between communists and democrats, an argument that was used in favor of the Russian Federation leaving the Soviet Union.

Russia, washed with blood

Title of the book (1932) by a Soviet writer Artem Vesely(pseudonym of Nikolai Ivanovich Kochkurov, 1899-1939).

Usually, this refers to Russia, which went through the tests of the First World War, the revolution and the Civil War.

Russia can only be defeated by Russia

From the play "Demetrius" by the German poet and playwright Johann Friedrich Schiller(1759-1805), dedicated to the events of the Time of Troubles in Russia at the beginning of the 17th century. and actually the impostor False Dmitry.

The meaning of the expression: only the Russians themselves can destroy their state, starting civil strife, unrest, ill-conceived reforms, etc.

Russia is focusing

The original source of the expression is the words of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (1856-1882) of the government of Alexander II, Prince Alexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov(1798-1883), Lyceum friend of A. S. Pushkin.

In the original: “Russia is being reproached for isolating itself and keeping silent. They say that Russia is pouting. Russia is not pouting, she is gathering her strength.”

Appointed to the post of minister in 1856, after the defeat of Russia in the Crimean War, the prince sought to pursue a balanced policy, avoiding the country's involvement in military coalitions and conflicts. The great powers perceived this as Russia's desire for self-isolation. withdrawal from world politics.

Piano in the bushes

The original source is a pop miniature "Quite by accident" (from the parody review "The Thirteenth Program") by writers-humorists Arkady Mikhailovich Arkanov(b. 1933) and Grigory Izrailevich Gorin(1940-2000), who ironically in it over television cliches designed to depict live broadcast, improvisation, etc. The hero of the miniature, a former Moscow worker resting in a public garden, and now a pensioner, Stepan Vasilievich Seregin, to the host’s question about how to spend his free time replies that he likes to play the violin.

S e r e g i n. Yes! I accidentally took a violin with me! I will perform Oginsky's "Polonaise" on it! (Pulls out violin and plays.)

In e d u shch and y. Perfect! Bravo! You appear to be talented!

S e r e g i n. Yes!.. And I also play the piano. Here, just in the bushes, there is a piano by chance, I can play ... I will perform Oginsky's Polonaise for you.

In e d u shch and y. Thank you, Stepan Vasilyevich, unfortunately, we are limited in time... Tell me, please, how does your family have a rest?

S e r e g i n. My wife spends more and more time doing chores. And the son works in the Far East... Ah! Here he came. (Rises to meet his son.)

In e d u shch and y. What a pleasant surprise...

A phrase-symbol of a clumsily planned "accident", a pre-prepared "impromptu", etc.

hand washes hand

From Latin: Manus manum lavat[manus manum lavat].

A proverb known since ancient Rome.

Allegorically about mutual responsibility, when in unseemly deeds bad people cover and protect each other.

Hands off!

From English: Hands off!

The phrase has become a common political slogan thanks to the British Prime Minister and the leader of the Liberal Party William Ewart Gladstone(1809-1898). He uttered these words to Austria, which occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in the autumn of 1878, and Gladstone stood up for the rights of these countries.

Guide to action

see Not a dogma, but a guide to action.

Leading and guiding force

From a report (1943) I. V. Stalin(1878-1953) at the ceremonial meeting of the Moscow Soviet on November 6, 1943: "The leading and guiding force of the Soviet people, both in the years of peaceful construction and in the years of war, was the party of Lenin, the Bolshevik party."

Stalin's definition of the Communist Party of the USSR as "the leading and guiding force of Soviet society" was included in the theses of the Central Committee of the CPSU on the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution (June, 1967) and in the Constitution of the USSR in 1977 (6th article, which existed until March 1990) .

In modern speech it is used jokingly and ironically.

Manuscripts do not burn

From the novel (Ch. 24 "Extraction of the Master") "The Master and Margarita" (1928-1940) Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov(1891 -1940). Woland became interested in the novel about Pontius Pilate:

“Let me see,” Woland held out his hand, palm up.

Unfortunately, I cannot do this, - the master answered, - because I burned it in the stove.

Forgive me, I don’t believe it, Woland answered, it can’t be. Manuscripts do not burn. - He turned to Behemoth and said: - Come on, Behemoth, give me a novel.

The cat instantly jumped up from his chair, and everyone saw that he was sitting on a thick stack of manuscripts. The cat bowed the upper copy to Woland.

The meaning of the expression: a word, a living human thought can neither be destroyed nor forbidden.

Russian constitution - bribe

Words (1904) of a friend and correspondent A.P. Chekhov, journalist, editor-in-chief and owner (since 1876) of the Novoe Vremya newspaper Alexei Sergeevich Suvorin (1834-1912).

The meaning of the expression: on the eve of the first Russian revolution in the liberal community of the country, a lot was said about the need to adopt a constitution, which at that time was replaced by the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire and the actual practice of monarchical rule (the adoption of decrees, favoritism, etc.). A. S. Suvorin pointed out that even the constitution can change little in the structure of Russian life, because it is determined by centuries-old traditions, among which there is practically no public control over the observance of laws and, as a result, corruption and bribery. And in the end they will be stronger than the norm of any formal law.

Russians are coming!

From English: The Russians Are Coming!

From the title of a satirical novel (“The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!”, 1961) by the writer Nathaniel Benchley(b. 1915), who wrote about a hypothetical Soviet invasion of Great Britain. The title of the novel is a paraphrase-parody of a historical phrase from the American War of Independence from the British Empire; "The English are coming!" ("The British are coming!"). With these words, according to legend, Paul Revere informed the American militia in Lexington about the approach of the enemy (April 18, 1775).

The expression became very popular after the film adaptation of Benchley's novel in 1966 and became a phrase-symbol of unfounded (on the verge of hysteria) fears of a Soviet (Russian) invasion of the United States (Great Britain).

Russians themselves create difficulties for themselves and then heroically overcome them

Primary source - the words of an English statesman and Prime Minister of Great Britain (1940-1945; 1951 - 1955) Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874- 1965).

In original: The Bolsheviks themselves create difficulties for themselves and then overcome them brilliantly.

Russian rebellion - senseless and merciless

see God forbid to see the Russian rebellion, senseless and merciless.

Russian and Chinese brothers forever

From the song "Moscow - Beijing" (1950), written by the composer Vano Muradeli on verses Mikhail Maksimovich Vershinin(b. 1923). The song was written at the peak of "Soviet-Chinese friendship" and was supposed to serve as its symbol. Later, with N. S. Khrushchev coming to power in the USSR, relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply, and this line in unofficial use began to be quoted only ironically, and the song was “shelved”.

The line serves as the basis for a playful paraphrase - with the replacement of "Chinese" with a word that is more in line with the political situation.

The fish rots from the head

From Latin: Piscis primum a capite foetat[piscis primum a capite fötat]. Literally: The fish starts to smell from the head.

In this form, it is first found in the writings of the ancient Greek historian, philosopher and writer. Plutarch(c. 45 - c. 127).

snout in the cannon

Primary source - the fable "The Fox and the Marmot" I. A. Krylova (1769-1844).

In original: Your snout is down.

The fox, who "was a judge in the chicken coop," complains to the Groundhog about injustice. She was expelled from the chicken coop for bribes and abuse, and she is completely innocent of this! Groundhog on this one answers her:

“No, gossip; I often saw

What a stigma you have in fluff.

I. A. Krylov concludes his fable with the words:

Now, how to reduce his income with expenses,

Even if you can't prove it in court

But if you do not sin, you will not say:

That he has fluff on his snout

Knight without fear and reproach

From French: Le Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche.

The title that the King of France Francis I granted to the famous French knight Pierre du Terrail Bayard (1476-1524), who became famous for his exploits in battles and victories in tournaments. In addition, the king appointed him as commander of the company of his personal guard, thereby equating him with the princes of the blood, and also honored him with knighting the king himself, that is, Francis himself.

Bayard died in one of the battles in Italy. Dying, he asked his comrades to lean him against a tree so that he could die the way he always wanted - standing, facing the enemy.

The title of "knight without fear and reproach" was also worn by another outstanding commander of France - Louis de la Tremuy (1460-1525).

This expression became common after the anonymous French novel (1527) was widely circulated under the title “A most pleasant, amusing and restful story composed by an honest servant about the events and deeds, successes and exploits of a good knight without fear and reproach, the glorious lord Bayard.”

Knight for an hour

Title of the poem (1863) N. A. Nekrasova(1821 - 1877). It is based on another, well-known phrase - King for a day.

Allegorically: a weak-willed person whose courage and noble impulses do not last long (iron., contempt.).

Knight of the sad image

From Spanish: El caballero de la triste figura.

The protagonist of the novel "Don Quixote" (full author's title of the novel "The Glorious Knight Don Quixote of La Mancha", 1615) by the Spanish writer Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra (1547-1616).

see also Don Quixote.

A series of magical cute face changes

From the poem "Whisper, timid breath ..." (1850) Afanasy Afanasyevich Fet (1820-1892):

Whisper, timid breath,

trill nightingale,

Silver and flutter

Sleepy stream.

Night light, night shadows,

Shadows without end

A series of magical changes

Sweet face.

Allegorically about people who are unstable in their position, changing their beliefs, principles, or just their appearance.

For example, in A. N. Tolstoy’s novel “Walking Through the Torments,” a gymnasium teacher, after the arrival of whites in the city, is transformed within half an hour and appears on the street “dressed, in a starched shirt, holding a uniform cap and a cane.” And one of the street ragamuffins “looked with humor at the passing gymnasium teacher:

A series of magical changes to a wonderful face,” he said in a distinct bass voice.

Dress up in someone else's feathers

The original source of the image is the fable of the ancient Greek fabulist Aesop(VI century BC) "Owl and Jackdaw", based on which I. A. Krylov (1769-1844) wrote the fable "Crow". Her main character, Crow, decided to surprise everyone and put peacock feathers in her tail. Cm. In borrowed plumes.

An ironic commentary on someone's attempt to show themselves in a more favorable light, using obviously unsuccessful, ridiculous means for this.

M.V. Petrova

Dictionary of popular expressions

Foreword

The dictionary contains more than 2000 popular expressions that are widely used in Russian literary speech. The structure of the dictionary is quite convenient: all winged expressions are given an explanation of their semantic content; a certificate of origin is provided; all winged expressions are arranged in alphabetical order; at the end of the dictionary is an alphabetical index with page numbers.

Each dictionary entry includes:

header expression;

The value of the expression;

Expression source;

An indication of the sphere or situation in which the expression is used.

The dictionary is divided into two parts: popular expressions in Russian and

expressions in Latin. Particularly interesting for many readers will be the second part of the dictionary, the expressions of which have come to us through the centuries.

The dictionary is intended for a wide range of readers, it will be useful for both schoolchildren and philologists, teachers and all those interested.

WAS A BOY? Doubt, uncertainty in this or that fact.

Origins: M. Gorky's novel "The Life of Klim Samgin".

And Vaska listens and eats. Continue to do business that causes disapproval of others, not paying attention to anyone.

Origins: I.A. Krylov's fable "The Cat and the Cook".

AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED. state of stagnation; situation, problem remaining unchanged over time.

Origins: I.A. Krylov "Swan, Cancer and Pike".

BUT BY THE WAY, HE WILL REACH TO KNOWN DEGREES. It characterizes a careerist, flattery and servility seeking the favor of people who are higher on the social ladder.

Origins: comedy A.S. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit" (1824).

AND IT IS STILL RUNNING! Firm confidence in one's own right.

Origins: This statement belongs to the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei (1564–1642). Under pressure from the Inquisition, he renounced the doctrine of heleocentrism, but after the trial he again defended his scientific theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun.

AND YOU, FRIENDS, NO matter how you sit down, EVERYTHING IS NOT SUITABLE FOR MUSICIANS. Extreme amateurism, not leading to a successful result.

Origins: a quote from the fable of I.A. Krylov "Quartet".

AND HAPPINESS WAS SO POSSIBLE, SO CLOSE!.. Regret about lost opportunities, failed happiness.

Origins: novel by A.S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" (1823-1832), Tatyana's monologue.

AUGEAN STABLES. A neglected, filthy place, for the purification of which incredible efforts are required. A cluttered building in need of restoration and overhaul.

Origins: in Greek mythology - one of the twelve labors of Hercules, who turned the course of the river and cleared the stables of King Avgii in one day.

AGENT 007 (ironic). Scout, spy.

Origins: The novels of Ian Fleming, whose hero James Bond is a successful English spy. Widely known for numerous film adaptations of novels.

AGENTS OF INFLUENCE (professional). Representatives of special services responsible for the formation of public opinion.

Sources: memo Yu.V. Andropov in the Central Committee of the CPSU "On the plans of the CIA to acquire agents of influence among Soviet citizens", published in the 90s of the XX century.

THE LAMB OF GOD. Ironic designation of a quiet, modest, meek person. Or so they call a person who sacrificed himself.

Origins: lamb - the Church Slavonic name of the lamb. "The Lamb is a symbolic name given to Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as a sacrifice for the salvation of man."

HELL IS AWESOME. Terrible place, in which a person feels uncomfortable. Often turmoil, chaos, crowds.

Origins: pitch - edge, edge; hell is the other world in which darkness and chaos reign.

ADMINISTRATIVE DELIGHT (ironic). Enjoyment of one's own significance, omnipotence on a certain scale.

Origins: novel by F.M. Dostoevsky's "Demons": "You ... without any doubt know ... what it means. administrator, speaking in general, and what does the Russian administrator mean in the new, i.e., newly baked, newly appointed ... But you could hardly find out in practice what administrative enthusiasm means and what kind of thing it is? - Administrative delight? I don’t know what it is… put some very last insignificance at the sale of some… railroad tickets, and this insignificance will immediately consider itself entitled to look at you as Jupiter when you go to get a ticket. “Let me say, I will exert my power over you.” And this in them comes to administrative delight.”

ADONIS (common noun). A handsome young man who can win a woman's heart.

Origins: Greek mythology. Adonis is the lover of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty (Cyprida), who, after the death of her beloved, immortalized his beauty in a flower.

HEY, MUSH! TO KNOW SHE IS STRONG THAT BARKS AT THE ELEPHANT! It characterizes a person who boldly criticizes higher authorities, people, realizing his own impunity.

Origins: I.A. Krylov "Elephant and Pug". The bully dog ​​Moska barks at the Elephant, who does not pay attention to her.

A phraseological dictionary is an explanatory dictionary in which the meaning of non-free phrases, phraseological units is revealed, their stylistic coloring is noted, the etymology of some phraseological units is explained.

The main dictionary in which the phraseological units of the Russian language are collected and explained is the “Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language” compiled by A.I. Molotkov (the last, 4th edition of this dictionary was published in 1983). Here is how, for example, the expressions to sing Lazarus and the swan song are interpreted and illustrated in it:

SING LAZARUS. Pretending to be unfortunate, trying to pity, cry, complain about his fate, fate. - I myself give preference to cigars, but in our secluded lands it is extremely difficult to get them. Fathers and Sons...

From the gospel parable of the poor Lazarus, who lay in scabs at the gates of the rich man and was glad to eat the crumbs from his table.

SWAN SONG (SONG). The last, usually the most significant work of someone; the last manifestation of talent, abilities, etc. I will not mention anything ... about that sauce, which is the swan song of an old cook. Gogol. The story of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich.

From the popular belief that the swan sings once in a lifetime - just before death.

In addition, in 1980, the Prosveshchenie publishing house published V.P. Zhukov’s School Phraseological Dictionary. It selects and describes the phraseological expressions most frequently encountered in the speech practice of students.

In pre-revolutionary times, we did not have such special phraseological dictionaries. However, there were collections of winged words, proverbs, sayings, well-aimed folk expressions / One of the richest collections of this kind was the book by M. I. Mikhelson “Russian Thought and Speech. Yours and someone else's. Experience of Russian phraseology. Collection of Figurative Words and Allegories" (1903-1904, in two volumes), which has now become a bibliographic rarity. In 1892, the collection of S. V. Maksimov "Winged Words" was published (its third edition was published in 1955).

In Soviet times, N. S. and M. G. Ashukins created a reference manual “Winged Words” (3rd, revised and enlarged edition. - M., 1965), in which they collected and explained mainly catch phrases that came into use from literary works.

For example:

FROM THE SHIP TO THE BALL.

An expression from "Eugene Onegin" by A. S. Pushkin, ch. 8, stanza 13 (1832):

And travel to him

Like everything in the world, tired,

He returned and got

Like Chatsky, from the ship to the ball.

This expression is characterized by an unexpected, abrupt change in situations and circumstances.

There are also collections of proverbs and sayings. The most famous is the collection “Proverbs of the Russian people” compiled by V.I. Life is death”, etc.). Other collections are also popular: Rybnikova M.A. Russian proverbs and sayings. - M., 1961; Zh at about in V.P. Dictionary of Russian proverbs and sayings. - M., 1966 and some. others

More on the topic § 100. PHRASEOLOGICAL DICTIONARIES AND DICTIONARIES OF WINGED WORDS:

1. Aspect dictionaries: synonymous, antonyms, homonyms, paronyms, foreign words, etymological, phraseological dictionaries of correct use, spelling, orthoepic, derivational, etc.
2. 21. stylistics and orthology of borrowed vocabulary. Etymological dictionary. Dictionary of foreign words.
3. § 16. Dictionary of foreign words. Dictionary of printing terms
4. Single-valued and multi-valued words. Homonyms. Homonym types. The use of polysemy and homonymy. Pun. Stylistically erroneous use of polysemantic words, and words that have homonyms. Dictionaries of homonyms. Explanatory dictionaries.
5. Vocabulary of the Russian language. Native Russian and borrowed vocabulary. Assessment of the influx of foreign vocabulary in the post-perestroika periods. The use of borrowed words. Etymological dictionaries. Dictionaries of foreign words.