12 catchphrases, the meaning of which is not known to everyone

Editorial response

Winged expressions help to express thoughts more accurately, give speech more emotional coloring. They allow in a few short but precise words to express more emotions and convey a personal attitude to what is happening.

AiF.ru recalls the meanings of some Russian phraseological units.

quiet glanders

Initially, this expression meant to secretly dig a mine or a secret tunnel. The word "zappa" (translated from Italian) means earthwork shovel.

Borrowed into French, the word turned into the French "sap" and received the meaning of "earthworks, trenches and undermining", the word "sapper" also arose from this word.

In Russian, the word "sapa" and the expression "quiet glanders" meant work that is carried out with extreme caution, without noise, in order to get close to the enemy unnoticed, in complete secrecy.

After widespread use, the expression acquired the meaning: carefully, in deep secrecy and slowly (for example, “So he drags all the food from the kitchen on the sly!”).

Nothing is visible

According to one version, the word "zga" comes from the name of a part of the horse harness - a ring in the upper part of the arc, into which a rein was inserted so as not to dangle. When the coachman needed to unharness the horse, and it was so dark that this little ring (zgi) could not be seen, they said that "you can't see it at all."

According to another version, the word "zga" comes from the old Russian "sytga" - "road, path, path." In this case, the meaning of the expression is interpreted - "so dark that you can not even see the road, the path." Today the expression “nothing is visible”, “nothing can be seen” means “nothing is visible”, “impenetrable darkness”.

A blind man leads a blind man, but both of them cannot see. (last)

"Darkness hangs over the earth: you can't see it..." ( Anton Chekhov, "Mirror")

dance from the stove

Vasily Alekseevich Sleptsov. 1870 Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Published in St Petersburg, 1903

The expression "to dance from the stove" first appeared in the novel of the 19th century Russian writer Vasily Sleptsov « Good man". The book was published in 1871. There is an episode in it when the main character Seryozha Terebenev recalls how he was taught to dance, but the “pas” required from the dance teacher did not work out for him. There is a phrase in the book:

- Oh, what are you, brother! - Father says reproachfully. - Well, go back to the stove, start over.

In Russian, this expression began to be used when talking about people whose habit of acting according to a hardened scenario replaces knowledge. A person can perform certain actions only “from the stove”, from the very beginning, from the most simple and familiar action:

“When he (the architect) was ordered to plan, he usually drew the hall and the hotel first; how in old time schoolgirls could only dance from the stove, and so did artistic idea could proceed and develop only from the hall to the living room. ( Anton Chekhov,"My life").

shabby look

At times Tsar Peter I lived Ivan Zatrapeznikov- an entrepreneur who received the Yaroslavl textile manufactory from the emperor. The factory produced a cloth called “stripe”, or “stripe”, popularly called “mesh”, “mesh” - a coarse and low-quality cloth made from hemp (hemp fiber).

Clothes were sewn from shabby clothes mainly by poor people who could not buy something better for themselves. And the appearance of such poor people was appropriate. Since then, if a person is dressed sloppily, they say about him that he has a shabby appearance:

“The hay girls were poorly fed, dressed in shabby clothes and given little sleep, exhausting them with almost continuous work.” ( Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, "Poshekhonskaya antiquity")

Sharpen laces

To sharpen folly means to idle talk, to engage in useless chatter. Lassy (balusters) are chiseled curly columns of railings at the porch.

At first, “sharpening balusters” meant having an elegant, whimsical, ornate (like balusters) conversation. However, there were few craftsmen to conduct such a conversation, and over time, the expression began to mean empty chatter:

“They used to sit in a circle, some on a bench, some simply on the ground, each with some kind of business, a spinning wheel, a comb or bobbins, and they would go and go to sharpen their laces and babble about a different, experienced time.” ( Dmitry Grigorovich, "Village").

Lying like a gray gelding

To lie like a gray gelding means to speak fables without being embarrassed at all. In the 19th century, an officer served in one of the regiments of the Russian army, a German named von Sivers-Mehring. He liked to tell the officers funny stories and fables. The expression "lies like Sievers-Mering" was understandable only to his colleagues. However, they began to use it throughout Russia, completely forgetting about the origins. Sayings appeared among the people: “lazy as a gray gelding”, “stupid as a gray gelding”, although the horse breed has nothing to do with this.

Bullshit

According to one version, the expression "bullshit" comes from "lying like a gray gelding" (in fact, these two phrases are synonymous)

There is also a version that the expression "bullshit" came from the name of one scientist - Brad Steve Cobile, who once wrote a very stupid article. His name, consonant with the words "bullshit" correlated with scientific nonsense.

According to another version, "bullshit" is an expression denoting a stupid statement or thought; appeared due to the beliefs of the Slavs that the gray horse (gray with an admixture of a different color) was the most stupid animal. There was a sign according to which if you dream gray mare then in reality the dreamer will be deceived.

Androns ride

"Androns are coming" means nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, complete nonsense.

In Russian, this phrase is used in response to someone who tells a lie, inappropriately puts on airs and boasts about himself. In the 1840s, on the territory of almost all of Russia, andretz (andron) meant a wagon, various kinds of carts.

“And you don’t have to scold my house! “Do I scold you?.. Cross yourself, Petrovnushka, the androns are coming!” ( Pavel Zarubin, "Dark and bright sides of Russian life")

Biryuk live

The expression "to live with a biryuk" means to be a hermit and a closed person. AT southern regions In Russia, a wolf is called a biryuk. The wolf has long been considered a predatory animal dangerous for the economy. The peasants perfectly studied his habits and habits and often remembered them when speaking about a person. “Oh, and you have grown old, little brother! Dunyashka said regretfully. “Some kind of gray has become like a biryuk.” ( Mikhail Sholokhov, Quiet Don)

Mikhail Golubovich in the movie Biryuk. 1977

to play with spillikins

Spillikins are various small household items that were used during the ancient game. Its meaning was to pull out one toy after another from a pile of toys with fingers or a special hook, without touching or scattering the rest. The one who moved the adjacent spillikin passes the move to the next player. The game continues until the whole pile is taken apart. By the beginning of the 20th century, spillikins became one of the most popular games in the country and were very common not only among children, but also among adults.

AT figuratively the expression "playing spillikins" means to engage in trifles, nonsense, leaving aside the main and important:

“After all, I came to the workshop to work, and not to sit back and play spillikins.” ( Mikhail Novorussky"Notes of the Schlisselburger")

Pies with kittens

In Russia, they never ate cats, except in severe famine. During prolonged sieges of cities, their inhabitants, having exhausted all food supplies, people used domestic animals for food, and cats and cats were the last to go.

Thus, this expression means a catastrophic state of affairs. Usually the proverb is shortened and they say: “These are the pies”, in other words, “these are the things”.

Leave unsalted slurping

Illustration for the fairy tale "Shemyakin Court". Copper engraving, first half of the 18th century. Reproduction. Photo: RIA Novosti / Balabanov

In Russia in the old days, salt was expensive product. It had to be transported from afar off-road, taxes on salt were very high. When visiting, the host salted the food himself, with his own hand. Sometimes, expressing his respect for especially dear guests, he even added salt to the food, and sometimes those who were sitting at the far end of the table did not get salt at all. Hence the expression - "to leave without salty slurping":

“And the more she spoke, and the more sincerely she smiled, the stronger the confidence became in me that I would leave her without salty slurping.” ( Anton Chekhov"Lights")

"The fox missed the live and went away slurping unsalted." ( Alexey Tolstoy"The Fox and the Rooster"

Shemyakin Court

The expression "shemyakin court" is used when they want to emphasize the unfairness of any opinion, judgment or assessment. Shemyaka - a real historical person, Galician Prince Dimitri Shemyaka, famous for its cruelty, deceit and unrighteous deeds. He became famous for his tireless, stubborn struggle with the great Prince Vasily the Dark, his cousin, for the Moscow throne. Today, when they want to point out the partiality, unfairness of some judgment, they say: “Is this criticism? Shemyakin court of some kind.

Chimera
AT Greek mythology The Chimera is a monster with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a dragon. Allegorically, a chimera is something unreal, unrealizable, unrealizable and strange dream.

Meal'n'Real!
An expression from the 7th satire of the Roman poet Juvenal. It was the slogan of the Roman mob under Emperor Augustus: "Panem et cir-censes!" (literally: "Bread and circus games!").

Keep (keep) like the apple of an eye
An expression from the Bible: “He found him in the waterless desert, thirsty from the heat, protected him, looked after him, kept him like the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy, 32, 10). “Keep me like the apple of your eye” (Psalm 16:8). Zenica (Church-Slav.) - pupil, eye.

Daily bread.
An expression from the prayer given in the Gospel (Matthew, 6,11): give us our daily bread today, "that is, the bread we need for existence, give us today. In addition to the direct meaning, it is used in the meaning:" the most necessary "

The Road to Calvary
An expression that characterizes difficult, various life trials, one after another that befell someone; goes back to the ancient belief of Christians in the walking of the souls of dead sinners through torment and ordeal for forty days, when demons subject them to all sorts of tortures.

Khlestakov, Khlestakovshchina
Comedy hero N.V. Gogol's "Inspector General" is a liar and a braggart. His name has become a household name for people of this type. Khlestakovism is a shameless lie; boasting without measure and embarrassment.

textbook gloss
An expression from a poem by VV Mayakovsky "Jubilee", written for the 125th anniversary of the birth of A.S. Pushkin. With this expression, both Mayakovsky and subsequently others, characterize the embellishment of reality, its varnishing for the sake of someone's interests, for the sake of maintaining official version what is happening and hiding facts that do not fit into the overall good picture.

• 29 November 2012, 03:50

Cerberus
In Greek and Roman mythology, Cerberus is a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake tail that guarded the entrance to the underworld. Hence the word "Cerberus" is used in the meaning: "evil, ferocious overseer"

Cyclops. Cyclopean buildings
In Greek mythology, the Cyclopes are three one-eyed giants. They were credited with the construction of gigantic buildings. Hence "Cyclops" is often used in the meaning of "one-eyed", and "cyclopean buildings" are gigantic structures.

Chaste (beautiful) Joseph
The expression is used in the sense: a chaste young man. It arose from the biblical story (Genesis, 39) about young Joseph, whom the wife of the Egyptian courtier Pentephria tried in vain to seduce

Circe
Circe ( latin form; Greek Kirka) - a sorceress from the island of Eya, who turned Odysseus' companions into pigs, and kept him on her island for a year. In a figurative sense - an insidious seductress.

End justifies the means
The idea of ​​this expression, which is the basis of the morality of the Jesuits, was borrowed by them from the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), who in his book On the Citizen (1642) wrote: to the end, it follows from this that since everyone has the right to self-preservation, then everyone has the right to use all means and perform any deed, without which he is not able to protect himself. The Jesuit priest Herman Buzenbaum in his work "Fundamentals of Moral Theology" (1645) wrote "To whom the end is allowed, the means are also allowed." Similar thoughts were expressed Italian writer and politician Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). French philosopher and the mathematician Blaise Pascal, who himself did not share the views of the Jesuits, formulated their morality as follows: "We correct the depravity of the means by the purity of the end"

Tsar hunger
An expression from a poem by N.A. Nekrasov "Railway"
There is a king in the world: this king is merciless,
hunger is its name.
He leads armies; at sea by ships
Rules; drives people to the artel,
Walks behind the plow, stands behind the shoulders
Stonemasons, weavers

• 29 November 2012, 03:51

What is allowed to Jupiter is not allowed to the bull
According to ancient Greek myth, Jupiter (Greek Zeus) liked the daughter of the Phoenician king Europe. Jupiter turned into a bull and kidnapped her. Quod licet Jovi, non licet bovi - the proverb speaks of an immodest or baseless claim.

Man is a social animal
An expression from the work "Politics" by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who says that "Man by nature is a social animal." This expression was popularized by "letter 87" from "Persian Letters" (1721) by the French writer and thinker Montesquieu (1689 - 1755).

Man to man wolf
An expression from the "Donkey Comedy" ("Asinaria") by the ancient Roman writer Plautus (c. 254 - 184 BC), often quoted in Latin (Homo homini lupus est or lupus est homo homini); used as a formula for extreme selfishness.

What is truth?
Expression from the Gospel (John, 18, 37). Jesus, being interrogated by Pilate, said: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" - but the question remained unanswered. This expression has become a formula of skepticism.

Q.E.D
This formula ends every mathematical reasoning of the great Greek mathematician Euclid (III century BC); often quoted in Latin: "Quod erat demonstrandum"

Man is born free
Expression from treatise F-F Rousseau (1712-1778) "On the Social Contract" (1762), which begins with the words: "Man is born free, but meanwhile he is everywhere in chains."

Humans tend to make mistakes
The prototype of this expression is found in the Greek poet Theognis, who lived 500 years BC; he expressed the idea that it is impossible to maintain close friendly relations with anyone if you are angry at any mistake of friends, "since mistakes are inevitable between mortals."
In the future, similar thoughts are found in Euripides: "All people tend to err"; Cicero: "It is natural for every person to err, but it is unusual for anyone but fools to persist in error."

• 29 November 2012, 03:52

Eureka
(Greek: "I have found!"). The expression attributed the greatest mathematician ancient times to Archimedes of Syracuse (about 287 - 212 BC) The Roman engineer and architect Vetruvius says: the Syracusan king Hieron suspected his jeweler of using more silver than he should have used when making a golden crown. He instructed Archimedes to prove this. Archimedes worked on determining the composition of the alloy for a very long time and unsuccessfully, until, finally, by chance, while swimming, he discovered the basic law of hydrostatics. (Every body immersed in a liquid loses as much weight as the liquid displaced by it weighs.) Archimedes was so delighted with the discovery that he was naked with a cry of "Eureka!" ran home from the bath to test his theory.
The exclamation "Eureka!" used as an expression of joy at discovery, at a suddenly appearing, overshadowing thought.

Aegis, to be under the auspices
To be under the auspices is to be protected. The symbol of the protection of the gods, the shield of Zeus, forged by Hephaestus. In the middle of the Aegis was the head of the Gorgon Medusa. At the same time, it was an attribute of Athena, but in exceptional cases Apollo could also wear it.

Aesopian (slave) language
An expression denoting an allegorical language, full of omissions, allusions, allegories; takes place after the name of the legendary Greek fabulist, a slave. It was dangerous for him to talk openly about many things, and therefore, in his instructive stories, he resorted to allegorical form. The expression "Aesop, the slave language" was introduced into the Russian language by Saltykov-Shchedrin, who himself used fable, allegorical turns in narrations about contemporary Russia.

Aesculapius, son of Aesculapius
In Greek mythology, Aesculapius is the god of medicine. His name became a common name for a doctor. The expression "Son of Aesculapius" is used in the same meaning.

• 29 November 2012, 03:52

Jupiter, you're angry - so you're wrong
Appeal of Prometheus to Zeus (Jupiter): "You take up lightning instead of an answer, which means you are wrong." The expression is used in those cases when someone gets angry in a dispute, thereby betraying his wrong.

Vale of weeping
Bible expression (Psalm 83:7); used in the meaning: earthly life with its sorrow, sorrows and suffering.

• 29 November 2012, 03:53

Apple of discord
In Greek mythology, the apple of discord is a golden apple with the inscription "the most beautiful", which was thrown by the goddess of discord Eris to three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The mortal youth Paris had to award the apple to the most worthy. Hera promised Paris power and wealth, Athena - wisdom and military glory, and Aphrodite - to marry the most beautiful woman. And Paris recognized the most beautiful of the goddesses Aphrodite. Fulfilling her promise, the goddess helped Paris kidnap the most beautiful of mortal women, Helen. This kidnapping started the Trojan War. The expression "apple of discord" means: the cause of the dispute, discord.

Pandora's Box
In Greek mythology, Pandora is the first woman created by the gods as a punishment for humans for stealing fire from Prometheus. Zeus gave her in marriage to the titan Epimetheus. For the wedding, Zeus gave Pandora a box that contained all human vices, troubles, misfortunes and illnesses, but forbade him to open it. Seeing this vessel in her husband's house, the curious Pandora, despite the ban, opened it, and all the disasters from which humanity suffers spread throughout the earth. Only one Hope remained at the bottom of the vessel, as Zeus wished. In a figurative sense, "Pandora's box" is the source of all kinds of disasters.

Vanity Fair
An expression from a poem English writer John Bunyan (1628-1688) Pilgrim's Progress; a pilgrim passes through a city, of which he says: "The name of this city is Vanity, and in this city there is a fair called Vanity Fair" The English novelist Thackeray (1811-1863) took the expression "Vanity Fair" for the title of his satirical the mores of his contemporary bourgeois society obsessed with careerism and vanity.

Iago
A character in Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello, the Moor of Venice", a type of scoundrel-slanderer. His name has become a household name for people of this type.

Like a thief in the night
An expression from the Church Slavonic text, 1st Epistle to Thessalonians, 5.2, (in Russian: like a thief at night). Used in the meaning: suddenly, suddenly

I am a king, I am a slave. I am a worm, I am a god
Quote from Derzhavin's ode "God"

The language of native aspens
An expression from an epigram (1884) by I.S. Turgenev on N.Kh. Ketcher (1809-1886), translator of Shakespeare. His translations were distinguished by excessive closeness to the original to the detriment of poetry. This expression is used about clumsy translations from foreign languages ​​into Russian.

· Double standards.

A diametrically opposite assessment of the same type of phenomena by the same observer, depending on his considerations of profit. The term double standard (English) appeared in the middle of the 19th century to denote unequal moral requirements for men and women. It is currently used to negatively characterize phenomena in politics, journalism, economics and other areas of activity in which moral principles, laws, rules and other generally accepted evaluative standards are violated for the sake of someone's interests. The classic expression of the policy of double standards was the phrase from artwork Harry's Game (1975) by British writer Gerald Seymour: "For whom is a terrorist, and for whom is a freedom fighter." Double standards also apply. Hottentot morality, which is expressed in the statement of one African native: “Evil - when a neighbor attacks me and takes away his cattle and wife. And good - when I take away his livestock and wife from a neighbor..

· Two-faced Janus.

Insincere, Two-faced person. In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of time, as well as every beginning and end. Depicted with two faces facing opposite sides: young people go forward to the future, and old people go back to the past.

· Maiden memory.

Bad, "short" memory. The expression arose as a result of the truncation of the proverb: The girl's memory of the guy forgot.

· Ninth shaft.

1 - the most violent, strong manifestation of something formidable; 2 - the pinnacle of any achievements of creative thought or human activity. An old Russian expression based on the belief that during a storm the most dangerous wave is the ninth.

· Deja vu.

Deja vu (fr.) - "already seen." Mental condition, in which a person feels that he has once been in a similar situation. The term was first used by the French psychologist Émile Boirac (1851-1917) in his book The Psychology of the Future. There are similar phenomena: deja vecu - "already experienced", deja entendu - "already heard"; as well as the opposite effect: jamais vu - "never seen" - a state when a person in a familiar environment feels that he has never been here, does not recognize familiar things. All of these effects can be associated with paramnesia- a memory disorder, expressed in distorted memories, in which there is a mixture of past and present, as well as real and fictional events.

· To make mountains out of molehills.

Exaggerate. The expression is given by the Greek writer Lucian (3rd century AD), who ends his satirical “Praise of the Fly” as follows: “But I interrupt my word, although I could say a lot more, so that someone would not think that I , according to the proverb, I make an elephant out of a fly.

· Make a good face on a bad game.

Under external calm, try to hide your failures, troubles. According to one version, the expression is associated with gamblers who, when the cards are badly dealt, try to appear cheerful in order to confuse their opponents.

· Share the skin of an unkilled bear.

Anticipate the outcome of a case; to share what is not yet. An expression from the fable "The Bear and Two Comrades" French poet and the fabulist Jean La Fontaine (1621-1695).

· In the bag.

Almost completed job. In the old days, the messengers who delivered the mail sewed very important papers (“cases”) under the lining of their caps or hats so as not to attract the attention of robbers.

· The case burned out.

That's what they say about successful completion any business, a major undertaking; when someone has achieved their goal. Well, finally my case burned out! Previously, if a court case disappeared, then a person could not be legally charged. Cases often burned down: either from a fire or from deliberate arson for a bribe. In such cases, the defendants said with satisfaction: "The case has burned out."

· The thing is young.

So they say about something peculiar to young people; about love relationships. His business is young, he wants to walk.

· It smells like kerosene.

The case takes an unexpectedly dangerous and unpleasant turn; close to disaster. This phrase is from the feuilleton “Everything is in order” (“Pravda”, April 22, 1924) by a famous Soviet journalist of the 1920s. Mikhail Efimovich Koltsov (pseudonym M.E. Fridlyand, 1898-1940). He wrote about a bribe oil companies, "strongly and convincingly smelling of kerosene." It was about a major scam with oil concessions in the state of California (USA), in which, as shown by the investigation, high-ranking American officials were involved, which forced the compromised US Attorney General to resign (Pravda reported this on March 30, 1924 .).

· The case of tobacco.

Very bad, hopeless. The expression came from the Volga barge haulers. When fording shallow bays or small tributaries of the Volga, barge haulers tied their pouches of tobacco around their necks so that they would not get wet. When the water was so high that it came up to the neck and the tobacco got wet, the barge haulers considered the transition impossible, and their position in these cases was very bad, hopeless.

· The case is a pipe.

The case is bad; the case comes to an end. Your business is a pipe. The phrase comes from the expression fly out the pipe.

· Money doesn't smell.

Indiscriminate attitude to how the money was received. The expression arose from the words of the Roman emperor (69-79 AD) Vespasian, said by him, as Suetonius reports in his biography, on the following occasion. When Vespasian's son Titus reproached his father for imposing a tax on public latrines, Vespasian brought the first money received from this tax to his nose and asked if they smelled. To the negative answer of Titus, Vespasian said: "And yet they are from urine."

· Keep in tight grip.

To keep someone in strict obedience; to treat someone harshly. Hedgehog gloves(holits) - working leather mittens without lining and fur, intended for catching hedgehogs. As far back as the 18th century, there was a proverb: To be taken with a hedgehog and a soft body.

· Keep in a black body.

Be strict with someone to keep hungry. From early youth, she was kept in a black body: she worked for two, but she never saw any kindness. The expression comes from the Turkic “kara-kesek”, meaning “moderately nourish”, “malnourish”.

The literal translation means "black meat" (i.e. meat without fat). This is where the concept of " black body» (i.e. thin, lean body).

· Keep a stone in your bosom.

harbor anger against someone; be ready to do something nasty to someone. Previously, they really wore stones in their bosoms when they were plotting something unkind. The expression appeared in the Time of Troubles, when the Poles captured Moscow ( early XVII century). Although they were feasting with the Muscovites, hiding their enmity, they literally kept cobblestones in their bosoms just in case. Eyewitnesses testify to this, for example, the Polish chronicler Maciewicz. “Be friends with the Muscovites, but keep a stone in your bosom,” said the Poles, and later the Little Russians.

· Keep your nose to the wind.

Adapt to circumstances by changing your beliefs and your behavior. According to one version, the expression came from the speech of the sailors: the bow of the ship was originally meant. On the other hand, turnover reflects the behavior of dogs.

· De facto.

De facto (lat.) In fact; in practice. A Latin term which in jurisprudence means "practised, but not necessarily legalized". He manages the enterprise de facto, despite the fact that he does not have official authority for this. The opposite of the concept de jure.

· De jure.

De jure (lat.) Legally; by right. That's what they say about the law. Organplanners can act de jure, refusing to approve the implementation of a particular plan. The term is often contrasted with the concept de facto, because Not everything that is declared by laws is carried out in practice and vice versa.

· Cheap and angry.

Now they say so that it has a low cost, but acceptable quality; about acquiring a cheap, but quite worthwhile and sound. Initially, the phrase meant cheap low-quality services. According to one version, the expression comes from the old lexicon of street cheap n *********** k. Degraded women provided low-grade and unemotional service for low pay.

· Jihad.

(From the Arabic verb jahada- “make efforts”) A concept in Islam, meaning diligence, the struggle for what is the most noble and lofty goal for a person; fight for faith. Some Islamic theologians divide jihad into big (spiritual struggle with one's own shortcomings, for example, with lies, deceit, corruption of society, etc.) and small ( gazavat- power struggle with infidels). Thus, jihad is a struggle with one's passions, for the elimination of social injustice, constant diligence in spreading the religion of Allah and, finally, waging war against aggressors in the name of Allah. The Quran says about jihad: “You are commanded to fight against the enemies of Islam, and you hate that. But it is also possible that you hate what is good for you; that you desire what is evil for you. Allah knows, but you do not know” (2: 216); “Fight them until disbelief disappears and faith in Allah is established” (2: 193); “... having united, fight all against the polytheists, just as they all fight with you” (9: 36).

· Good Samaritan.

A kind, sympathetic person, ready to help those in trouble. An expression from the Bible (Luke, ch. 10), which describes the story told by Jesus to his disciples. In this parable, the one from whom the person least of all expected help came to the rescue. The Samaritans are a small ethnic group that lived in Israel and fought against the Jews.

· Bring to a white heat.

Very angry; bring someone into a state of extreme irritation, preceding the loss of self-control. The expression most likely originated in hot forges, where it was noticed that when heated strongly, the metal begins to glow. Moreover, with increasing temperature, the color of the glow of the metal changes: at first it is red, then it begins to turn yellow, and in the end the steel shines bright white. A white glow (heat) marks the limiting state of a solid metal, and if the temperature is increased further, the metal will go into a liquid state.

· Milch cow.

A rich source of income, benefits that can be enjoyed long time. State automobile company AvtoVAZ became the cash cow of Berezovsky's growing empire. A cow that brings a lot of milk is called a dairy cow.

· Get to the handle.

Go down, lose your human form. The expression was invented in ancient Russia and is associated with kalach. Kalach is a wheat bread baked in the shape of a castle with a round bow. The townspeople often ate kalachi right on the street, holding this very bow (handle). For reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not used for food, but was given to beggars or dogs. About those who did not disdain to eat it, they said "reached the handle."

· Doctrine.

Doctrina (lat.) - "teaching". Scientific, philosophical, political, legal, religious concept; belief system; guiding principle. military doctrine Russian Federation is purely defensive.

· To the light bulb.

I don't care; I'm not afraid of anything. An expression from the film by Leonid Gaidai "Partner" (1965) from the cycle "Operation" Y "and other adventures of Shurik", which is said by the parasite Fedya.

· Long hole.

This is the name of the situation in which the insolvent debtor is located. Expression fall into debt means the inability of the debtor to repay the debt to the creditor, usually the bank.

Previously, during the existence of debt slavery (until the 19th century), a debt hole was called a prison, often arranged in the ground, used by the state to imprison debtors at the request of a creditor. In Asia and Western Europe, this was one of the ways to force debtors to repay loans. Debt pits were also used in Russia, where this idea was brought by Jewish usurers in the 9th century. The debtor was subjected to imprisonment until he paid or worked off his debt to the creditor. At the same time, the creditor was obliged only to feed the detainee and not to mutilate.

· To the core.

1 - very strongly imbued with something ( scared to the core; he got me to the bone). 2 - entirely, deeply, thoroughly ( he was a poet to the core). As you know, the bone marrow is located inside the bones of humans (and animals).

· Antediluvian times.

Very old times. Similarly: under King Peas. Term from the Bible. This is about global flood which God, angry with the people, sent to the earth. The rain continued for 40 days and 40 nights. The land was flooded up to the highest mountains. Only Noah and his family managed to escape. This righteous man, at the command of God, built Noah's ark - special ship where he placed all the birds and animals in pairs. After the flood ended, the earth was repopulated by them. The Flood divided biblical history into pre-Flood times and post-Flood times.

· Road spoon to dinner.

Everything has its time and place; valuable is what appears in right moment. So they say about the importance of something in the right place at the right time; as well as untimely measures and proposals. Now I don’t need a loan anymore - the road is a spoon for dinner. A Russian proverb that literally expresses the idea that a spoon is useful during meals (lunch), in other cases it is not needed.

· Draconian measures.

This is the name given to exorbitantly harsh laws named after the Dragon, the first legislator of the Athenian Republic (VII century BC). Among the punishments determined by its laws, a prominent place was occupied by the death penalty, which punished even minor offenses, such as stealing vegetables.

· Tear like Sidorov's goat.

It is cruel and ruthless to flog, beat someone. The imagery of comparison is based on the figurative meanings of words Sidor(this name was often associated with the idea of ​​an evil or grumpy person) and goat(according to popular belief, an animal with a harmful character).

· Cudgel stoerosovy.

An extremely stupid person, a fool, a blockhead. The expression is based on the figurative meaning of the word cudgel- stupid, ignorant person. Adjective stoirosovy, due to its unusualness, makes possible the assumption of the seminary origin of the turnover: most likely, it arose as an alteration of the Greek stauros - a stake, a pole, a pile.

· Smoke rocker.

Noise, din, turmoil and disorder. In old Russia, the huts were often heated in a black way: the smoke did not escape through the chimney (it did not exist at all), but through a special window or door. And the shape of the smoke predicted the weather. There is a column of smoke - it will be clear; portage - to fog, rain; rocker - to the wind, bad weather, and even a storm.

· Breathe incense.

So they say about a thin, weak, sickly-looking person who does not have long to live. The expression is based on religious symbolism. In the church, incense is censed (they shake the vessel in which the smoking incense is located). This rite is performed, in particular, before the dead or dying.

· Uncle Sam.

Uncle Sam (English) A humanized image of the United States of America. Uncle Sam is often portrayed as an elderly man with delicate features, an old-fashioned beard, and a top hat of flowers. american flag, blue tailcoat and striped trousers. American folklore claims that the appearance of the expression "Uncle Sam" is associated with the butcher Sam Wilson, who supplied provisions to the Troy military base in New York. Wilson signed barrels of meat with the letters U.S., referring to the United States (United States), and the soldiers jokingly said that the meat came from Uncle Sam (Uncle Sam).

· Eating is understandable.

This is how they say something that is quite simple and clear, that everyone will understand. The source of the expression is Mayakovsky's poem:
Clearly even a hedgehog
This Petya was a bourgeois.
The phrase became commonplace in Soviet boarding schools for gifted children. They recruited teenagers who had two years left to study (grades A, B, C, D, E) or one year (grades E, F, I). The students of the one-year stream were called “hedgehogs”. When they came to the boarding school, two-year students were already ahead of them in the curriculum.

· Yeralash.

1 - confusion, confusion, confusion. What the hell is in your room? 2 - nonsense, nonsense, nonsense. Chaotic speech is a jumble of disparate thoughts. The word comes from the Turkish aralash- mixture, mixture. Yeralash used to be called a mixture of heterogeneous candied fruits with nuts and other sweets.

· Heresy.

Nonsense, lies, nonsense. The lecturer spoke some heresy.

Translated from ancient Greek, the term means "choice", "direction", "teaching", "sect". In religion: deviation from church dogmas; any ideas that contradict or reject religious teachings. In the Middle Ages heretics(carriers of heretical ideas) severely persecuted inquisition institutions of the Roman Catholic Church.

· If the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed goes to the mountain.

So they say when you need to take the first step towards solving a problem that has arisen in a relationship with a partner. The English scholar and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) in his book Moral and Political Essays (1597) cited the story of the prophet Mohammed (570-632 AD). In the essay "On Courage" contained in this book, Mohammed promises the people that he will make the mountain come closer to him, but when this does not happen, he says: "Well, if the mountain does not want to go to Mohammed, then Mohammed will go to the mountain" .

· There is life in the old dog yet.

There are more forces. From the story of N. V. Gogol "Taras Bulba".

· joking.

Behave cynically; to allow taunts in relation to others; mock; clown. He scoffed and mocked those around him.. Comes from the words: yora- bully, bully, mischievous; yernik- a coniferous plant with prickly needles.

· The toad is choking.

That's what they say when they experience strong feeling greed. Looking at the price tag, I refused to buy - I was strangled by a toad. Apparently, the expression comes from the medical term "angina pectoris", which used to be called asthma, accompanied by attacks of suffocation.

· Fried facts.

Sensational negative information about someone or something. Ready to drink sensations - favourite dish majority of the world's reading or writing population. The greatest number of fried facts is found in the so-called yellow press.

· Wait by the sea for the weather.

To be inactive, to be in anticipation of something, without doing anything for this; hope for favorable circumstances; hope that problems will resolve themselves. The expression probably originated at the time sailing fleet when sailors had to wait for favorable weather for safe navigation.

· Iron curtain.

Barriers (usually deliberately created for ideological reasons) that prevent mutual contacts between different countries and create their political isolation. This expression was found already in the First World War. On December 23, 1919, Georges Clemenceau declared in the French Chamber of Deputies: "We want to put an iron curtain around Bolshevism so as not to destroy civilized Europe in the future."

· Yellow press.

The expression is used to refer to low-quality print publications that specialize in spreading rumors, gossip, scandals and other sensations, often imaginary. In 1895, the American graphic artist Richard Outcault placed in a number of issues of the New York newspaper The world series frivolous drawings with humorous text; among the drawings was a child in a yellow shirt, to whom various amusing statements were attributed. Soon another newspaper New York Journal - began to print a series of similar drawings. A dispute arose between the two papers over the title to the "yellow boy". In 1896, Erwin Wardman, editor of the New York Press, published an article in his magazine in which he contemptuously called the two competing newspapers "yellow press."

· Decembrist's wife

A faithful woman who is ready to share grief and misfortune with her chosen one and will never leave or betray him. The term is associated with the well-known Decembrist uprising in Russian history, which took place on December 14, 1825. The uprising was crushed, and Nicholas I severely punished the rebels, sending most of them into exile in Siberia. The tsar granted the wives of the Decembrists the right to divorce their husbands - " state criminals". However, the women refused this offer, left their children, relatives and friends, and followed their husbands to hard labor.

· Alive, bitch!

The expression is used in relation to people who disappeared somewhere, disappeared for a long time from the field of view of other people and, according to the general opinion, stopped their activities or even died, but in fact they are alive and well and are busy with the same business. smoking room- a game common in the 18th century, which consisted of the following: the players formed a circle along which they passed each other a burning or smoldering (smoking) torch or straw and at the same time they said in turn: “Alive, alive, Smoking room, not dead. The legs are thin, the soul is short ”(there were many other versions of this proverb). The player, in whose hands the torch went out, was eliminated from the game.

· Live in grand style.

To live in wealth, not counting money, without denying yourself anything. It is believed that the expression became popular in Russia after the Literaturnaya Gazeta published a note about its origin in 1841. According to this article, in the XII century in England there was a fashion for long shoes. It all started with English king Henry II Plantagenet (1133-1189), on the big toe of whose right foot there was a growth. For convenience, the king ordered shoes with long, sharp, upturned toes. The courtiers immediately picked up the fashion. As a result, the king was forced to limit the length of socks by law: ordinary citizens were allowed to wear shoes with a toe no longer than half a foot (15 cm), knights and barons - one foot (30 cm), and earls - two feet (60 cm). Shoe size has become evidence of wealth and nobility. They began to say about rich people: "lives on a big footing."

· Die is cast.

The final choice has been made. The words of the future Roman emperor (and then only the commander who conquered Gaul) Gaius Julius Caesar (100-44 BC), which he uttered when crossing the Rubicon River - a border that he, by law, had no right to cross.

· Bogey.

Something that inspires fear and disgust; scarecrow. The term translated from Old Slavonic means "burning sulfur (resin)". Often mentioned in Old Testament, for example, in the First Book of Genesis (ch. 19, v. 4): “And the Lord rained brimstone and fire from heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah” (Russian translation). The word became popular after the production of the play "Hard Days" (1862) by Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (1823-1886), in which the merchant's wife Nastasya Patrikeevna says (act. 2, yavl. 2): "I'm so timid, it doesn't look like anything. Here, too, as soon as I hear the word “bogey”, my arms and legs will shake.”

· Boil porridge.

Start a difficult, troublesome business. He himself brewed porridge, he himself and disentangle. Used to be a word“porridge” was used in the meaning of “holiday feast” (for example, it was customary to arrange porridge at the bride’s father on the occasion of the wedding), and then in the meaning of “turmoil”.

· Stymie.

Put someone in a hopeless position. The phrase contains a direct meaning: if the pursuer drives the fugitive into a corner, then he has nowhere to run further.

· Bosom friend.

A very close friend. The expression "pour over the Adam's apple" meant to get drunk.

· Talk teeth.

Try to deceive, deceive, distract extraneous conversations. Don't talk to me! In pre-revolutionary Russia, for the treatment of toothache, they turned to healers who spoke their teeth - muttered incomprehensible words that distracted the patient from toothache.

· Back thought.

Arriere pensee (fr.) Hidden thought; secret intention. Approached him with a back thought - to steal a wallet. The phrase came into Russian from French.

· Go to the fire.

Visit without an invitation. In the small towns of pre-revolutionary Russia, it was customary to invite guests by placing a tall candle in the window. If a light burning on the windowsill is visible from the street, it means that the owners of the house will be glad to see guests. Now this expression means "to come to visit without an invitation", and then the fire of a candle served as an invitation.

· Bosom friend.

A very close friend. old expression"Pour over the Adam's apple" meant to get drunk.

· Throw (throw) a fishing rod.

Carefully find out something; trying to find out some information, usually about a person. She began to throw fishing rods about his hobbies. The expression is related to fishing. Anglers cast their lines in different places to find out where the best bite is.

· Law of the jungle.

The Law of the Jungle (English) The law according to which the strongest survive in the struggle of life; who is stronger, he is right. So they say when they mean a fierce struggle without any principles; when the strong (individuals, organizations, states) oppress the weak, violating social norms of morality and law. Free trade is nothing more than the law of the jungle. The term comes from The Jungle Book (1894) by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936), in which he applies it as a code used by animals in the jungles of India. The quote edited by Konstantin Dushenko contains the following wording of the Law of the Jungle in relation to social realities: "The strong deal with the weak, the smart deal with the strong, and the government deals with everyone."

· Tighten nuts.

Restrict rights; increase liability; oppress someone's freedom. The government is tightening the screws by imposing tough restrictions. The expression comes from the speech of railway workers. Tightening the nuts on the railway track is a responsible business.

· Vicious circle.

Desperate situation. A vicious circle is a path whose end coincides with the beginning. The expression is used to describe a problem, the consequence of which is its own cause. Young people are not hired because they have no work experience; But where can they get work experience if they are not hired? It turns out a vicious circle. Similarly: vicious circle.

· Freeze the worm.

Have a light bite; satisfy hunger. Apparently, the expression came to the Russian language from the French language, in which there is a turnover tuer le ver, which is used in the meaning of “drink a glass of alcohol on an empty stomach” and literally translates as “kill the worm”. The appearance of turnover is associated with the popular belief that you can get rid of worms by drinking vodka or white wine on an empty stomach.

· Imprint on tablets.

Perpetuate, legitimize forever. Events are recorded on the tablets of history. By biblical story, the tablets are stone slabs with the ten divine commandments written on them, handed to Moses by God on Mount Sinai.

· The Forbidden fruit.

Something tempting, desirable, but forbidden or inaccessible. The expression arose from the biblical myth about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the fruits of which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat.

· Nick down.

Remember firmly. "Nose" was called a commemorative plaque, or a tag for records. In the distant past, illiterate people always carried with them such boards, on which all kinds of notes or notches were made as a keepsake.

· Bury talent in the ground.

To destroy abilities, not to care about their development. Talent - Antique currency unit, and considerable (one Attic talent was equal to 26 kilograms of silver). The outstanding abilities of a person - his main wealth - have long been also called talent. The expression arose from the gospel parable about how a certain person, leaving, instructed the slaves to maintain their fortune: he gave five talents to one slave, two to another, and one to the third. The slaves who received five and two talents used them for business, that is, they loaned them at interest, and the one who received one talent buried it in the ground. When the master returned, he demanded a report from the slaves. Those who gave the money at interest doubled it and returned to him instead of the five talents received - ten, instead of two - four. And the master praised them. And the one who received one talent said that he buried it in the ground. The owner answered him: “Cunning slave and lazy. I should have given my money to the merchants, and I would have received it at a profit” (Mat. 25:15-30).

Modern world cultural development would be impossible without the great heritage left to us by Ancient Greece. The most mysterious state is rightly considered to be the progenitor of democracy, science and art. The myths of the ancient Greeks, telling about the life and wisdom of the gods and the exploits of ancient heroes, live in the minds of the society of our time.

For modern man ancient fairy tales have become ordinary stories, many people refer to their content and morality in search of some truth. The average layman freely uses in colloquial use " winged "expressions of the myths of ancient Greece, sometimes without even delving into their meaning.
"Olympian calm" . There is hardly a person in our world who has not uttered or heard this phrase at least once in his life. As a rule, it is used to characterize a self-confident, cold-blooded person, or it can express irony in relation to a subject who is absolutely indifferent to everything that happens around. And in times these words symbolized the power of the Olympic idols, because of this they never experience manifestations of excitement or anger.
"Sink into oblivion" . So they say about people or any events that have been irretrievably forgotten, forever disappeared from the memory of people. A beautiful and figurative expression, they are very fond of using writers, publicists, orators. In Russian there is a similar expression, which sounds somewhat different, “like sunk into the water”, which means disappeared without a trace. According to ancient mythology, the Lethe River flowed in the underground, the waters of which carried eternal oblivion. After drinking water from this river, the dead forever forgot about their earthly life.
"Sisyphean Labor" . One more example expressions from the myths of ancient Greece. This is usually called meaningless, useless, stupid and at the same time exhausting work. The phrase is constantly heard, especially in the collectives of those enterprises and organizations where there is no proper organization of production. This phrase is based on the plot of the ancient myth about King Sisyphus, who led a luxurious life and constantly deceived the gods in order to prolong his earthly existence as long as possible. When the deception was revealed, the punishment of the gods was very severe. They doomed Sisyphus to eternal suffering, he had to constantly roll up a huge stone boulder to the top of the mountain, which at the last moment was sure to fall down.

"Narcissus". In modern society, men who are obsessed with the passion of narcissism are called so, not without a hint of irony. Narcissus was the son of one of the ancient gods, the young man was very handsome and one day, when he saw his image in the water, he fell in love with himself. Self-love was so strong that he became terminally ill. The gods took pity on him and turned the young man into a beautiful and graceful flower.
"Pandora's Box" . When the performance of any action entails a whole avalanche undesirable consequences. The mythological first earthly woman Pandora could not resist the temptation and, despite a strict ban, opened the casket. When the vessel was opened, thousands of troubles and misfortunes escaped from it, which forever became the sad heritage of mankind.
"Sword of Damocles". A synonym for perceived danger that could happen at any moment. Damocles was jealous of his king Dionysius all the time. The king decided to teach his servant a lesson, for which he seated him on his throne, and hung a sharp sword over his head on a horsehair, which could break at any moment. Only in this way did Damocles understand how dangerous and disturbing the fate of the ruler was.

"Fear the Danes, those who bring gifts». There is a simplified version of the expression, the winged expression of ancient Greece, which is used in our time, it sounds like the gifts of the Danaans. It personifies deceitful flattery, a manifestation of deceit and hypocrisy. This expression is based on how the Danaans, using a cunning trick with a huge wooden horse with warriors hidden in it, took Troy.
"Trojan horse". The origin has the same meaning and roots as the gifts of the Danaans.
Achilles' heel. For several millennia, it represents the most vulnerable spot. Nereid, deciding to protect her son Achilles from the deadly wounds that soldiers receive in battle, immersed the child in sacred water. A miracle happened, his body was able to withstand the blows of a sword, spear and arrow, only the heel, for which the mother held little Achilles during the ceremony, was not protected by magical powers.
"Augean stables" . A popular expression from the myths of ancient Greece, which has come down to our time and symbolizes a dirty and fetid place. It is based on the legend of the exploits of Hercules, when the mythical hero blocked the bed of the Alpheus River and cleared the stables of King Avgii with its waters.

Augean stables
In Greek mythology, the Augean stables are the vast stables of Augius, king of Elis, which have not been cleaned for many years. They were cleansed in one day by the hero Heracles (Hercules): he sent a river through the stables, the waters of which carried away all the manure. This myth was first reported by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (1st century BC). The expression "Augean stables" that arose from here is used to refer to a very dirty room, as well as severe neglect, clogging, disorder in matters that require great effort to eliminate them; it became winged in antiquity (Seneca, Satire on the death of Emperor Claudius; Lucian, Alexander).

Ariadne's thread
An expression meaning: a guiding thread, a guiding thought, a way to help get out of a difficult situation, solve a difficult issue. It arose from the Greek myths about the Athenian hero Theseus, who killed the Minotaur, a monstrous half-bull, half-man. At the request of the Cretan king Minos, the Athenians were obliged to send seven boys and seven girls to Crete every year to be devoured by the Minotaur, who lived in a labyrinth built for him, from which no one could get out. To accomplish a dangerous feat, Theseus was helped by the daughter of the Cretan king Ariadne, who fell in love with him. Secretly from her father, she gave him a sharp sword and a ball of thread. When Theseus and the young men and women doomed to be torn to pieces were taken to the labyrinth. Theseus tied the end of the thread at the entrance and went along the intricate passages, gradually unwinding the ball. Having killed the Minotaur, Theseus found the way back from the labyrinth by a thread and brought out all the doomed from there (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 8, 172; Heroides, 10, 103).

Achilles' heel
In Greek mythology, Achilles (Achilles) is one of the strongest and bravest heroes; He is sung in Homer's Iliad. The post-Homeric myth, transmitted by the Roman writer Hyginus, reports that the mother of Achilles, the sea goddess Thetis, in order to make her son's body invulnerable, dipped him into the sacred river Styx; dipping, she held him by the heel, which the water did not touch, so the heel remained the only vulnerable spot of Achilles, where he was mortally wounded by the arrow of Paris. The expression “Achilles (or Achilles) heel”, which arose from here, is used in the meaning: a weak side, a vulnerable spot of something.

Barrel Danaid
The Danaids in Greek mythology are the fifty daughters of the king of Libya, Danae, with whom his brother Egypt, the king of Egypt, was at enmity. Fifty sons of Egypt, pursuing Danae, who fled from Libya to Argolis, forced the fugitive to give them his fifty daughters as wives. On their wedding night, the Danaids, at the request of their father, killed their husbands. Only one of them decided to disobey her father. For the crime committed, forty-nine Danaids were, after their death, condemned by the gods to forever fill a bottomless barrel with water in the underworld of Hades. Hence the expression "barrel of Danaid", used in the meaning: constant fruitless labor, as well as a receptacle that can never be filled. The myth of the Danaids was first described by the Roman writer Hyginus (Fables, 168), but the image of a bottomless vessel was found among the ancient Greeks earlier. Lucian was the first to use the expression "danaid barrel".

Age of Astrea
In Greek mythology, Astrea is the goddess of justice. The time when she was on earth was a happy, "golden age." She left the earth in the Iron Age and since then, under the name of Virgo, has been shining in the constellation of the Zodiac. The expression "age of Astrea" is used in the meaning: a happy time.

Libation [worship] Bacchus [Bacchus]
Bacchus (Bacchus) - in Roman mythology - the god of wine and fun. Among the ancient Romans, when offering sacrifices to the gods, there was a rite of libation, which consisted in pouring wine from a bowl in honor of the god. From this arose the playful expression "libation to Bacchus", used in the meaning: a drinking bout. The name of this ancient Roman god is also used in other playful expressions about drunkenness: “worship Bacchus”, “serve Bacchus”.

Hercules. Herculean labor [feat]. Pillars of Hercules [pillars]
Hercules (Hercules) - the hero of Greek myths ("Iliad", 14, 323; "Odyssey", II, 266), gifted with extraordinary physical strength; he performed twelve feats - he killed the monstrous Lernean hydra, cleared the stables of Augius, and so on. On the opposite coasts of Europe and Africa near the Strait of Gibraltar, he placed the "Pillars of Hercules (pillars)". So in the ancient world they called the rocks of Gibraltar and Jebel Musa. These pillars were considered "the edge of the world", beyond which there is no way. Therefore, the expression "to reach the Pillars of Hercules" began to be used in the meaning: to reach the limit of something, to the extreme point. The name of the legendary Greek hero has become a household name for a person with great physical strength. The expression "Hercules labor, feat" used when talking about some business that requires extraordinary effort.

Hercules at the Crossroads
The expression arose from the speech of the Greek sophist Prodicus (5th century BC), known only in the presentation of Xenophon's "Memories of Socrates", 2, 1, 21-33). In this speech, Prodicus told the allegory he had composed about the youth Hercules (Hercules), who was sitting at a crossroads and thinking about life path which he was to choose. Two women approached him: Pampering, who painted for him a life full of pleasures and luxury, and Virtue, who showed him the difficult path to glory. The expression "Hercules at the Crossroads" is applied to a person who finds it difficult to choose between two solutions.

Hymen. Bonds [chains] of Hymen
AT Ancient Greece the word "hymen" meant both a wedding song and the deity of marriage, consecrated by religion and law, in contrast to Eros, the god of free love. Allegorically, "Hymen", "The Bonds of Hymen" - marriage, matrimony.

Sword of Damocles
The expression arose from the ancient Greek tradition, told by Cicero in the essay "Tusculan Conversations". Damocles, one of the associates of the Syracusan tyrant Dionysius the Elder (432-367 BC), began to enviously speak of him as the happiest of people. Dionysius, in order to teach the envious man a lesson, put him in his place. During the feast, Damocles saw that a sharp sword was hanging on a horsehair over his head. Dionysius explained that this is the emblem of those dangers to which he, as a ruler, is constantly exposed, despite the seeming happy life. Hence the expression " sword of Damocles” received the meaning of an impending, threatening danger.

Greek gift. Trojan horse
The expression is used in the meaning: insidious gifts that bring death to those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to a trick: they built a huge wooden horse, left it at the walls of Troy, and pretended to swim away from the coast of Troad. The priest Laocoon, seeing this horse and knowing the tricks of the Danaans, exclaimed: “Whatever it is, I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts!” But the Trojans, not listening to the warnings of Laocoön and the prophetess Cassandra, drag the horse into the city. At night, the Danaans, who hid inside the horse, went out, killed the guards, opened the city gates, let in their comrades who returned on ships, and thus captured Troy (“Odyssey” by Homer, 8, 493 et ​​al.; “Aeneid” by Virgil, 2, 15 and ff. .). Virgil's half-line "I'm afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts", often quoted in Latin ("Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes"), has become a proverb. From here arose the expression "Trojan horse", used in the meaning: a secret, insidious plan.

Two-faced Janus
In Roman mythology, Janus - the god of time, as well as every beginning and end, entrances and exits (janua - door) - was depicted with two faces facing in opposite directions: young - forward, into the future, old - back, into the past. The expression "two-faced Janus", or simply "Janus", which arose from here, means: a two-faced person.

The Golden Fleece. Argonauts
In ancient Greek myths, it is said that the hero Jason went to Colchis (the eastern coast of the Black Sea) to extract the golden fleece (golden wool of a ram), which was guarded by a dragon and bulls, spewing flames from their mouths. Jason built the Argo (fast) ship, after which the participants in this, according to legend, the first long-distance voyage of antiquity, were called Argonauts. With the help of the sorceress Medea, Jason, having overcome all obstacles, successfully mastered the golden fleece. The first to expound this myth was the poet Pindar (518-442 BC). The golden fleece is called gold, wealth, which they seek to master; Argonauts - brave sailors, adventurers.

Cassandra
According to Homer ("Iliad", 13, 365), Cassandra is the daughter of the Trojan king Priam. Apollo gave her the gift of divination. But when she rejected his love, he inspired everyone to distrust her prophecies, although they always came true; so, in vain, she warned the Trojans that the wooden horse, which they brought into the city, would bring them death (Virgil and Aeneid, 2, 246) (see Gifts of the Danaans). The name of Cassandra has become a household name for a person who warns of danger, but who is not believed.

Castor and Pollux
In Greek mythology, Castor and Polydeuces (Roman Pollux) are the sons of Zeus and Leda, twins. In the Odyssey (II, 298) they are spoken of as the children of Leda and Tyndareus, the son of the Spartan king. According to another version of the myth, Castor's father is Tyndareus, and Pollux's father is Zeus, therefore the first, born of a mortal, is mortal, and the second is immortal. When Castor was killed, Pollux began to beg Zeus to give him the opportunity to die. But Zeus offered him a choice: either to stay forever on Olympus without a brother, or to spend one day with his brother on Olympus, the other in Hades. Pollux chose the latter. Their names have become synonymous with two inseparable friends.

Summer. Sink into oblivion
In Greek mythology, Leta is the river of oblivion in Hades, the underworld; the souls of the dead, upon arrival in the underworld, drank water from it and forgot their entire past life (Hesiod, Theogony; Virgil, Aeneid, 6). The name of the river has become a symbol of oblivion; the expression “to sink into oblivion”, which arose from here, is used in the meaning: to disappear forever, to be forgotten.

Mars. Son of Mars. Field of Mars
In Roman mythology, Mars is the god of war. Figuratively: a military, belligerent person. The expression "son of Mars" is used in the same meaning; the expression "Marsovo-le" in the meaning: the battlefield. Also in ancient rome called one of the parts of the city on the left bank of the Tiber, intended for military and gymnastic exercises. In Paris, this name is given to the square in the western part of the city, which originally served for military parades. In St. Petersburg, this was the name of the square between the Summer Garden and the barracks of the Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment, where large military parades were held under Nicholas I and later.

Between Scylla and Charybdis
According to the legends of the ancient Greeks, two monsters lived on the coastal rocks on both sides of the Strait of Messina: Scylla and Charybdis, which swallowed sailors. Scylla,
... without cease barking,
With a piercing squeal, like a young puppy's squeal,
The whole neighborhood is announced by a monster. approach her
It's not scary for people alone, but for the most immortal...
Past her, not a single sailor could unscathed
With an easy ship to pass: all the toothy mouths gaping,
At once, she kidnaps six people from the ship ...
Close up you will see another rock...
Scary the whole sea under that rock disturbs Charybdis,
Consuming three times a day and spewing three times a day
Black moisture. Don't you dare get close when it consumes:
Poseidon himself will not save from certain death then ...
(“Odyssey” by Homer, 12, 85-124. Translation by V. A. Zhukovsky.)
The expression “between Scylla and Charybdis” that arose from here is used in the meaning: to be between two hostile forces, in a position where danger threatens from both sides.

Minerva [Pallas] emerging from the head of Jupiter [Zeus]
Minerva - in Roman mythology, the goddess of wisdom, the patroness of sciences and arts, identified with Greek goddess Pallas Athena, which, according to myths, was born from the head of Jupiter (the Greek parallel to it is Zeus), coming out fully armed - in armor, a helmet, with a sword in hand. Therefore, when they talk about someone or something that allegedly appeared immediately completely finished, this appearance is compared with Minerva, who came out of the head of Jupiter, or with Pallas, who came out of the head of Zeus (Hesiod, Theogony; Pindar, Olympian Odes, 7, 35).

Morpheus. Embrace of Morpheus
In Greek mythology, Morpheus is the son of the god Hypnos, the winged god of dreams. His name is synonymous with sleep.

Flour Tantalum
In Greek mythology, Tantalus, the king of Phrygia (also called the king of Lydia), was a favorite of the gods, who often invited him to their feasts. But, proud of his position, he offended the gods, for which he was severely punished. According to Homer ("Odyssey", II, 582-592), his punishment was that, thrown into Tartarus (hell), he always experiences unbearable pangs of thirst and hunger; he stands up to his neck in water, but the water recedes from him as soon as he bows his head to drink; branches with luxurious fruits hang over him, but as soon as he stretches out his hands to them, the branches deviate. Hence the expression "Tantal's torment" arose, which means: unbearable torment due to the inability to achieve the desired goal, despite its proximity

Narcissus
In Greek mythology, he is a handsome young man, the son of the river god Cephis and the nymph Leirio-pa. One day, Narcissus, who had never loved anyone, leaned over the stream and, seeing his face in it, fell in love with himself and died of anguish; his body turned into a flower (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3, 339-510). His name has become a household name for a person who admires himself, narcissistic. M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin called the liberal talkers of his day, in love with their own eloquence, those “sowers of progress” who quarreled with the government bureaucracy for insignificant reasons, covering up with chatter about the “holy cause”, “bright future” etc., their personal interests (“The New Narcissus, or In Love with Himself.” “Signs of the Times”).

Start with Leda's eggs
In Greek mythology, Leda, the daughter of Thestia, king of Aetolia, struck Zeus with her beauty, who appeared to her in the form of a swan. The fruit of their union was Helen (Iliad, 3, 426; Odyssey, II, 298). According to the latest version of this myth, Elena was born from one Leda's egg, and her brothers, the twins Castor and Pollux, from another (Ovid, Heroides, 17, 55; Horace, Satyrs, 2, 1, 26). Having subsequently married Menelaus, Helen was abducted by Paris and thus turned out to be the culprit of the Greek campaign against Troy. The expression “beginning with the eggs of Leda” goes back to Horace (65-8 BC), who (“On the Art of Poetry”) praises Homer for not beginning his narrative of the Trojan War ab ovo - not from an egg (of course, the myth of Leda), not from the very beginning, but immediately introduces the listener in medias res - into the middle of things, into the very essence of de la. It should be added to this that the expression "ab ovo" among the Romans was proverbial; in full form: "ab ovo usque ad mala" - from beginning to end; literally: from egg to fruit (the Roman dinner began with eggs and ended with fruit).

Nectar and ambrosia
In Greek mythology, nectar is a drink, ambrosia (ambrosia) is the food of the gods, giving them immortality (“Odyssey”, 5, 91-94). Portable: an unusually tasty drink, gourmet dish; supreme pleasure.

Olympus. Olympians. Olympic bliss, greatness, tranquility
Olympus is a mountain in Greece, where, as it is told in Greek myths, the gods lived (Ho-mer, Iliad, 8, 456). At later writers(Sophocles, Aristotle, Virgil) Olympus is the vault of heaven, inhabited by the gods. Olympians are immortal gods; figuratively - people who always preserve majestic solemnity appearance and imperturbable peace of mind; also called arrogant people, inaccessible. From here a number of expressions arose: "literary Olympus", "musical Olympus" - a group of recognized poets, writers, musicians. Sometimes these expressions are used ironically, jokingly. "Olympic bliss" - the highest degree of bliss; "Olympic greatness" - solemnity in manners, in all appearance; "Olympic calmness" - calmness unperturbed by anything.

panic fear
The expression is used in the meaning: unaccountable, sudden, strong fear, covering many people, causing confusion. It originated from the Greek myths about Pan, the god of forests and fields. According to the myths, Pan brings sudden and unaccountable terror to people, especially travelers in remote and lonely places, as well as to the troops who rush to flee from this. This is where the word "panic" comes from.

Parnassus
In Greek mythology, Parnassus is a mountain in Thessaly, the seat of Apollo and the Muses. In a figurative sense: a collection of poets, the poetry of a people. "Parnassian sisters" - muses.

Pegasus
In Greek mythology, the winged horse of Zeus; under the blow of his hoof on Mount Helikon, the source of Hypocrene was formed, inspiring poets (Hesiod, Theogony; Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5). Symbol of poetic inspiration.

Pygmalion and Galatea
AT ancient Greek myth the famous sculptor Pygmalion is told that he openly expressed his contempt for women. Enraged by this, the goddess Aphrodite made him fall in love with a statue of a young girl Galatea, created by him, and doomed him to torment unrequited love. Pygmalion's passion was, however, so strong that it breathed life into the statue. The revived Galatea became his wife. On the basis of this myth, Pygmalion was figuratively called a person who, by the strength of his feelings, by the direction of his will, contributes to the rebirth of another (see, for example, Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion"), as well as a lover who meets the cold indifference of his beloved woman.

Prometheus. Promethean fire
Prometheus in Greek mythology is one of the Titans; he stole fire from heaven and taught people how to use it, which undermined faith in the power of the gods. For this, the angry Zeus ordered Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing) to chain Prometheus to a rock; an eagle that flew in every day tormented the liver of the chained titan (Hesiod, Theogony; Aeschylus, Bound Prometheus). The expression “Prometheus fire” that arose on the basis of this myth is used in the meaning: the sacred fire burning in the human soul, the unquenchable desire to achieve lofty goals in science, art, community service. The image of Prometheus is a symbol human dignity, greatness.

Penelope's work
The expression originated from Homer's Odyssey (2, 94-109). Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, during many years of separation from him, remained faithful to him, despite the harassment of the suitors; she said she was postponing new marriage until the day when she finishes weaving the coffin for her father-in-law, Elder Laertes; she spent the whole day weaving, and at night she unraveled everything that she had woven during the day and went back to work. The expression is used in the meaning: fidelity of the wife; endless work.

Sphinx. Sphinx riddle
In Greek mythology, the Sphinx is a monster with the face and chest of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird, who lived on a rock near Thebes; The Sphinx lay in wait for travelers and asked them riddles; he killed those who failed to unravel them. When the Theban king Oedipus solved the riddles given to him, the monster took his own life (Hesiod, Theogony). Hence the word "sphinx" got the meaning: something incomprehensible, mysterious; "sphinx riddle" - something unsolvable-mine.

Sisyphean labor. Sisyphean work
The expression is used in the meaning: hard, endless and fruitless work. Originated from Greek mythology. The Corinthian king Sisyphus was sentenced by Zeus to eternal torment in Hades for insulting the gods: he had to roll a huge stone up the mountain, which, having reached the top, again rolled down. For the first time, the expression "Sisyphean labor" is found in the elegy (2, 17) of the Roman poet Proportion (1st century BC)

Titans
In Greek mythology, the children of Uranus (heaven) and Gaia (earth), who rebelled against the Olympian gods, for which they were cast into Tartarus (Hesiod, Theogony). Portable titans are people distinguished by their strength, gigantic power of mind, geniuses; titanic - huge, grandiose.

Philemon and Baucis
In the ancient Greek legend, processed by Ovid (Metamorphoses, 8, 610 et al.), there is a couple of modest elderly spouses who cordially received Jupiter and Mercury, who came to them in the form of weary travelers. When the gods, angry that the rest of the inhabitants of this area did not show them hospitality, flooded it, the hut of Philemon and Baucis, which remained unharmed, was turned into a temple, and the spouses became priests. According to their desire, they died at the same time - the gods turned Philemon into an oak, Baucis into a linden. Hence Philemon and Baucis became synonymous with the inseparable pair of old spouses.

Fortune. Wheel of Fortune
Fortune - in Roman mythology, the goddess of blind chance, happiness and misfortune. She was depicted with a blindfold, standing on a ball or wheel and holding a steering wheel in one hand, and a cornucopia in the other. The steering wheel indicated that fortune rules the fate of man, the cornucopia - for well-being, the abundance that she can give, and the ball or wheel emphasized her constant variability. Her name and the expression "wheel of Fortune" is used in the meaning: chance, blind happiness.

Fury
In Roman mythology - each of the three goddesses of vengeance (in Greek myth.-erinia). Aeschylus, who brought the Erinyes on stage, depicted them as disgusting old women with snakes instead of hair, with bloodshot eyes, with protruding tongues and bared teeth. A symbol of revenge, figuratively - an angry angry woman.

Chimera
In Greek mythology, a fire-breathing monster described in various ways. Homer in the Iliad (6, 180) reports that it has the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a dragon. Hesiod in Theogony claims that the chimera has three heads (lion, goat, dragon). Allegorically, a chimera is something unreal, the fruit of consideration.

Cerberus
In Greek mythology, a three-headed dog guarding the entrance to the underworld (Hades). It was first described in Theogony by the ancient Greek poet Hesiod; Virgil speaks of her (“Aeneid”, 6), etc. Hence the word “Cerberus” (Latin form; Greek Kerberus) is used figuratively in the meaning: a ferocious, vigilant guardian, and also an evil dog.

Circe
Circe (Latin form; Greek Kirke) - according to Homer, an insidious sorceress. The Odyssey (10, 337-501) tells how, with the help of a magic drink, she turned the companions of Odysseus into pigs. Odysseus, who was given a magical plant by Hermes, overcame her spell, and she invited him to share her love. Having forced Circe to swear that she was not plotting anything bad against him and would return the human form to his companions, Odysseus leaned towards her proposal. Her name has become synonymous with a dangerous beauty, an insidious seductress.

Apple of discord
This expression in the meaning: the subject, the cause of the dispute, enmity, was first used by the Roman historian Justin (II century AD). It is based on a Greek myth. The goddess of discord, Eris, rolled a golden apple between the guests at the wedding feast with the inscription: "To the most beautiful." Among the guests were the goddesses Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, who argued about which of them should get the apple. Their dispute was resolved by Paris, the son of the Trojan king Priam, by awarding the apple to Aphrodite. In gratitude, Aphrodite helped Paris kidnap Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, which caused the Trojan War.

Pandora's Box
An expression that has the meaning: the source of misfortunes, great disasters; arose from the poem of the Greek poet Hesiod "Works and Days", which tells that once people lived without knowing any misfortunes, illnesses and old age, until Prometheus stole fire from the gods; for this, the angry Zeus sent a beautiful woman to earth - Pandora; she received from Zeus a chest in which all human misfortunes were locked. Spurred on by curiosity, Pandora opened the casket and scattered all the misfortunes.

Tenth Muse
Ancient mythology numbered nine muses (goddesses - patronesses of sciences and arts). The ancient Greek poet Hesiod in "Theogony" ("Genealogy of the gods", 77) for the first time in the sources that have come down to us calls their names. The delimitation of the fields of sciences and arts ( lyric poetry, history, comedy, tragedy, dancing, love poetry, hymns, astronomy and epic) and assigning them to certain muses was made in a later era (III - I centuries BC).
The expression "tenth muse" denotes any area of ​​art, mostly newly emerged and not included in the canonical list: in the 18th century. so called criticism, in the middle of the XIX century. in Germany - variety theater, in our time - cinema, radio, television, etc.

Golden Rain
This image arose from the Greek myth about Zeus, who, captivated by the beauty of Danae, the daughter of the Argos king Acrisius, appeared to her in the form of a golden rain, after which her son Perseus was born.
Danae, showered with a rain of gold coins, is depicted in the paintings of many Renaissance artists (Titian, Correggio, Van Dyck, etc.). The expression is used in the meaning: big money. Figuratively, the "golden rain" is called the easily obtained wealth.

Cyclops. Cyclopean buildings
In Greek mythology, one-eyed giant blacksmiths. The ancient Greek poet Hesiod (8-7 centuries BC) in Theogony (Genealogy of the Gods) tells that they forged lightning and thunder arrows for Zeus. According to Homer ("Odyssey", 9, 475) - one-eyed strong men, giants, cannibals, cruel and rude, living in caves on mountain tops, engaged in cattle breeding. The Cyclopes were credited with building gigantic buildings. Hence "cyclops" is used in the meaning of one-eyed, as well as a blacksmith. The "Cyclopean Building" is a huge structure.

By some unnamed essay