In the whole world, phraseological units. What does phraseology mean? Behind seven seals

Phraseologisms are popular expressions that do not have an author. Authorship doesn't matter. These “highlights” have become firmly established in our language, and are perceived as a natural element of speech, coming from the people, from the depths of centuries.

Phraseologisms are a decoration of speech. Imagery, which is easily perceived in native speech, becomes a stumbling block in a foreign language. We absorb our language model with mother's milk.

For example, when you say “a storehouse of knowledge”, you don’t think about the fact that a storehouse is a well! Because when you say this, you don’t mean a well at all, but an intelligent person, from whom, like from a well, you can draw useful information.

Phraseologisms and their meanings Examples

The meaning of phraseological units is to give an emotional coloring to an expression and enhance its meaning.

Since water plays a big role in human life, it is not surprising that there are so many phraseological units associated with it:

Water doesn't cloud your mind.
Water doesn't cry for water.
The water is breaking the dam.
Water will find a way.

Below, as examples, are phraseological units that are somehow related to water:

Beat the key– about a stormy, eventful, fertile life: by analogy with a gushing spring in comparison with calmly flowing sources of water.

Fight like a fish on ice- persistent but vain efforts, fruitless activities

Storm in a teacup- great anxiety over a trivial matter.

Written on the water with a pitchfork– it is not yet known how it will be, the outcome is not clear, by analogy: “grandmother said in two”

You can't spill it with water- about strong friendship

Carry water in a sieve- waste time, do useless things Similar to: pounding water in a mortar

I put water in my mouth- is silent and doesn't want to answer

Carry water(on sb.) - burden him with hard work, taking advantage of his flexible nature

Still waters run deep- about someone who is quiet, humble only in appearance

Come out dry from water- without bad consequences, go unpunished

Bring to light- to expose, to catch in a lie

Drive the wave- carry gossip, provoke scandals

Ninth wave- severe test (high wave)

Money is like water — meaning the ease with which they are spent

To stay afloat — be able to cope with circumstances and conduct business successfully

Blow on water after getting burned on milk- be overly cautious, remembering past mistakes

Wait by the sea for weather- wait for favorable conditions that are unlikely to happen

From empty to empty (pour)- engage in empty, meaningless reasoning

As two drops of water- similar, indistinguishable

Like looking into the water- foresaw, accurately predicted events, as if he knew in advance

How he sank into the water- disappeared without a trace, disappeared without a trace

Down in the mouth- sad, sad

It's raining like buckets- heavy rain

Like water through your fingers- one who easily escapes persecution

How do you not know the ford? , then don't go into the water- warning not to take hasty action

How to give something to drink- accurately, undoubtedly, easily, quickly; as easy as giving a traveler a drink

Like a fish in water- very well oriented, understand something well, feel confident

Like water off a duck's back- no one cares about anything

Out of the blue- unexpectedly, suddenly

A drop wears away a stone — 0b perseverance and perseverance

Sink into oblivion- To be consigned to oblivion, to disappear without a trace and forever

Crocodile tears- insincere compassion

Swim in gold- to be very rich

The ice has broken- the matter has begun

Fish in troubled waters- to benefit for oneself without advertising it

Much water has passed under the bridge(since then) - a lot of time has passed

Reckless- about a decisive, gallant, courageous person

Sea of tears- cry a lot

Darker than a cloud- very angry

Muddy the waters- deliberately confuse, confuse or cause confusion

On the wave of success- take advantage of the opportunity

On the crest of a wave- is in favorable conditions

At the bottom- low (including in a figurative sense)

Build up the atmosphere- exaggerate the seriousness of the situation

You cannot enter the same river (water) twice- you can enter the stream of water again, but it will no longer be the same, because in life you cannot repeat some moments, you cannot experience them twice

If we don't wash, we'll just ride- not in one way, but in another, by any means (to achieve something, to annoy someone). The expression comes from the speech of village washerwomen

Slurping not salty- return profit-free

Live from bread to water- to be in poverty, to starve

To pour (water) from empty to empty- engage in monotonous, meaningless activities

Washing the bones- to slander, gossip, gossip about someone

Fill up the cup- make you nervous

To go with the flow- submit to the influence of circumstances, the course of events

After the rain on Thursday- never. The phraseological unit is associated with the veneration of the god Perun (the god of thunder and lightning) by the ancient Slavs. Thursday was dedicated to him. In Christian times the expression began to express complete distrust

Last straw- something after which a turning point occurs

Pass fire, water and copper pipes- survive life's trials, difficult situations

A dime a dozen- a large number of

Flog a dead horse- a useless matter Similarly:

Pound water in a mortar- engage in useless, empty work

Seventh water on jelly- distant relatives

Seven feet under the keel- have a good, unobstructed road

Don't drink water from your face- they persuade you to love a person not for external data, but for internal qualities or other less visible advantages.

Hide the ends in water- hide traces of the crime.

Quieter than water, below the grass- behave modestly, inconspicuously

Wash your hands- to distance yourself from something, to relieve oneself of responsibility for something. Among some ancient peoples, judges and prosecutors performed a symbolic ritual as a sign of their impartiality: they washed their hands. The expression became widespread thanks to the Gospel legend, according to which Pilate, forced to agree to the execution of Jesus, washed his hands in front of the crowd and said: “I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One.”

The time comes when schoolchildren begin to learn what phraseological units are. Their study has become an integral part of the school curriculum. Knowledge of what phraseological units are and how they are used will be useful not only in Russian language and literature lessons, but also in life. Figurative speech is a sign of at least a well-read person.

What is a phraseological unit?

Phraseologism - with a certain content of words, which in a given combination have a different meaning than when these words are used separately. That is, a phraseological unit can be called a stable expression.

Phraseological phrases in the Russian language are widely used. The linguist Vinogradov studied phraseological units, and it was largely thanks to him that they began to be widely used. Foreign languages also have phraseological units, but they are called idioms. Linguists are still arguing whether there is a difference between a phraseological unit and an idiom, but have not yet found an exact answer.

The most popular are colloquial phraseological units. Examples of their use can be found below.

Signs of phraseological units

Phraseological units have several important features and characteristics:

A phraseological unit is a ready-made linguistic unit. This means that a person who uses it in his speech or writing retrieves this expression from memory, and does not invent it on the fly.
They have a permanent structure.
You can always choose a synonymous word for a phraseological unit (sometimes an antonym).
A phraseological unit is an expression that cannot consist of less than two words.
Almost all phraseological units are expressive and encourage the interlocutor or reader to show vivid emotions.

Functions of phraseological units in Russian

Each phraseological unit has one main function - to give speech brightness, liveliness, expressiveness and, of course, to express the author’s attitude to something. In order to imagine how much brighter speech becomes when using phraseological units, imagine how a comedian or writer makes fun of someone using phraseological units. The speech becomes more interesting.

Phraseological styles

The classification of phraseological units by style is a very important feature of them. In total, there are 4 main styles of set expressions: interstyle, bookish, colloquial and colloquial. Each phraseological unit belongs to one of these groups, depending on its meaning.

Colloquial phraseological units are the largest group of expressions. Some believe that interstyle and colloquial phraseological units should be included in the same group with colloquial ones. Then only two groups of set expressions are distinguished: colloquial and bookish.

Differences between book and colloquial phraseological units

Each style of phraseological units is different from each other, and the most striking difference is demonstrated by book and colloquial phraseological units. Examples: not worth a penny And a fool is a fool. The first stable expression is bookish, because it can be used in any work of art, in a scientific journalistic article, in an official business conversation, etc. Whereas the expression " fool by fool" widely used in conversations, but not in books.

Book phraseological units

Book phraseological units are set expressions that are much more often used in writing than in conversations. They are not characterized by pronounced aggression and negativity. Book phraseological units are widely used in journalism, scientific articles, and fiction.

During it- means something that happened a long time ago. The expression is Old Slavonic and is often used in literary works.
Pull the gimp- the meaning of a long process. In the old days, a long metal thread was called a gimp; it was pulled out with metal wire tongs. They embroidered on velvet with gimp; it was a long and very painstaking job. So, pull the gimp- This is a long and extremely boring job.
Play with fire- doing something extremely dangerous, “being on the cutting edge.”
Stay with your nose- to be left without something that you really wanted.
Kazan orphan- this is a phraseological unit about a person who pretends to be a beggar or a sick person, while having the goal of getting a benefit.
You can't ride a goat- this is what they said a long time ago about girls whom jesters and buffoons could not cheer up on holidays.
Bring to clean water- to expose someone for committing something unpleasant.

There are a lot of book phraseological units.

Interstyle phraseological units

Inter-style ones are sometimes called neutral colloquial, because they are neutral from both a stylistic and emotional point of view. Neutral colloquial and book phraseological units are confused, because inter-style ones are also not particularly emotionally charged. An important feature of interstyle phrases is that they do not express human emotions.

Not a bit- means the complete absence of something.
Play a role- somehow influence this or that event, become the cause of something.

There are not very many interstyle phraseological units in the Russian language, but they are used in speech more often than others.

Conversational phraseological units

The most popular expressions are colloquial phraseological units. Examples of their use can be very diverse, from expressing emotions to describing a person. Conversational phraseological units are perhaps the most expressive of all. There are so many of them that one can give endless examples. Colloquial phraseological units (examples) are listed below. Some of them may sound different, but at the same time have a similar meaning (that is, they are synonyms). And other expressions, on the contrary, contain the same word, but are clear antonyms.

Synonymous colloquial phraseological units, examples:

Without exception, the meaning of generalization is: all as one; both old and young; from small to large.
Very quickly: in an instant; I didn’t have time to look back; in a moment; I didn’t have time to blink an eye.
Work hard and diligently: tirelessly; until the seventh sweat; rolling up your sleeves; in the sweat of his brow.
Proximity value: two steps away; be nearby; at hand.
Run fast: headlong; that there is strength; at full speed; what to eat; in all shoulder blades; with all my might; only his heels sparkle.
Similarity value: all as one; everything is as if chosen; one to one; Well done to well done.

Antonymous colloquial phraseological units, examples:

The cat cried(few) - Chickens don't peck(a lot of).
Can't see anything(dark, hard to see) - At least collect needles(light, clearly visible).
Lose your head(not thinking well) - Head on your shoulders(a reasonable person).
Like a cat and a dog(warring people) - Don't spill the water, Siamese twins; soul to soul(close, very friendly or
Two steps away(near) - Far away(far).
Head in the clouds(brooding, daydreaming and unfocused person) - Keep your eyes open, keep your ears open(attentive person).
scratch your tongue(talk, spread gossip) - Swallow tongue(be silent).
Uma chamber(clever man) - Without a king in your head, live in someone else's mind(stupid or reckless person).

Phraseologisms examples with explanation:

American uncle- a person who very unexpectedly helps out of a financially difficult situation.
Fight like a fish on ice- do unnecessary, useless actions that do not lead to any result.
Beat your head- mess around.
Throw down the gauntlet- enter into an argument with someone, challenge.

The Russian language is rightfully considered the most perfect, beautiful and rich language in the world, which has absorbed, along with the authentic culture of more than 200 peoples of the Russian world, the best elements of Western and Eastern cultural traditions.

Our language is one of the basic elements of the entire Russian civilization, therefore, in order to be fully considered Russian, we must be able to use it well and master the entire wealth of concepts and expressions of the Russian language no worse than Pushkin, Gogol and Dostoevsky.

We present to your attention the first part of the TOP-50 most interesting phraseological units of the Russian language with their original and current meanings, as well as the history of origin:

1. Goal like a falcon

The expression means extreme poverty, need.

"Falcon"- this is a smoothly planed log of a battering ram, bound at the end with iron, which could be hand-held or wheeled and was used until the end of the 15th century to break holes in wooden palisades or fortress gates. The surface of this weapon was flat and smooth, i.e. "naked". The same term also denoted cylindrical tools: iron crowbar, pestle for grinding grain in a mortar, etc.

2. Arshin swallowed

An expression denoting a person standing at attention or adopting a majestic, arrogant pose with a straight back.

Arshin is an ancient Russian measure of length of 71 centimeters, widely used in sewing before the transition to the metric system of measures. Accordingly, craftsmen used wooden or metal yardsticks for measurements. If you swallow one, your posture will probably become phenomenal...

3. Scapegoat

This is the name given to a person who has been given all the blame for some kind of failure or failure.

An expression that goes back to the Bible. According to the ancient Jewish rite, on the day of remission of sins, the high priest placed his hands on the head of the goat and thereby placed on it the sins of the entire people of Israel. Then the goat was taken into the Judean desert and released so that it would forever bear the sins of the Jews.

4. Screams at the top of Ivanovo

The ensemble of Kremlin cathedrals in Moscow is decorated with the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, where all thirty bells were always rung on holidays. The ringing was extremely powerful and carried very far.

5. The Smoking Room is alive!

We remember this expression from the film “The meeting place cannot be changed” and it meant the joy of meeting a person who has gone through serious trials.

In fact, “smoking room” is an ancient children’s game in Rus'. The children sat in a circle and passed a burning torch to each other, saying: “The smoking room is alive, alive! The legs are thin, the soul is short.” The one in whose hands the torch went out left the circle. That is, a “smoking room” is a torch that burned weakly and “smoked” (smoke) in children’s hands.

In relation to a person, the expression was first used by the poet Alexander Pushkin in an epigram to the critic and journalist Mikhail Kachenovsky: “How! Is the Kurilka journalist still alive?..”

6. Clear out those Augean stables

Deal with an incredibly neglected mess of cyclopean proportions.

Goes back to the ancient Greek myths about Hercules. There lived in ancient Elis King Augeas, a passionate lover of horses, who kept three thousand horses in the stables, but did not clean the stalls for 30 years.

Hercules was sent to Augeas' service, to whom the king instructed to clean the stables for one day, which was impossible. The hero thought and directed the river waters into the gates of the stables, which carried out all the manure from there within a day. This act became the 6th labor of Hercules out of 12.

7. Bosom Friend

Now a positive expression denoting a long-time and trusted friend. Previously it was negative, because I meant drinking buddy.

The ancient expression “to pour on the Adam’s apple” meant “to get drunk”, “to drink alcohol.” This is where this phraseological unit was formed.

8. Get into trouble

Find yourself in an extremely uncomfortable or even dangerous position.

A prosak is a drum with teeth in a machine used to comb wool. If you got into a mess, you could easily get hurt and lose your arm.

9. Dirty place

And again, a biblical expression found in psalms and church prayers and denoting paradise, the heavenly kingdom. In secular usage, the word acquired a negative connotation - bars, strip clubs, etc. began to be called “hot spots.”

This refers to a place where cereals grow abundantly, from which the main food (bread) is prepared - a fertile field, the basis of prosperity.

10. Like Buridan's donkey

This means a person who is extremely indecisive.

It goes back to the famous example of the 14th century French philosopher Jean Buridan, who argued that people’s actions depend for the most part not on their own will, but on external circumstances. Illustrating his idea, he argued that a donkey, to the left and to the right of which two identical piles would be placed at equal distances, one of which would contain hay, and the other would have straw, would not be able to make a choice and would die of hunger.

11. Reach the handle

To completely descend, to lose human appearance and social skills.

In Ancient Rus', kalachi were baked not in round shapes, but in the shape of a castle with a round bow. Townspeople often bought kalachi and ate them right on the street, holding this bow like a hand. At the same time, for reasons of hygiene, the pen itself was not eaten, but was either given to the poor or thrown to the dogs. About those who did not disdain to eat it, they said: they got to the point.

12. Go easy on yourself

Find yourself in an uncomfortable and often shameful position.

In Rus', walking bareheaded in crowded places (excluding temples for men) was considered a disgrace. There was no greater shame for a person than having his hat torn off in a public place.

13. Shabby look

Untidy clothing, unshavenness and other signs of carelessness in appearance.

Under Tsar Peter I, the Yaroslavl linen manufactory of the merchant Zatrapeznikov began operating, producing silk and cloth that were in no way inferior in quality to the products of European workshops.

In addition, the manufactory also produced very cheap hemp striped fabric, which was nicknamed “shabby” after the merchant’s name. She went for mattresses, bloomers, sundresses, women's headscarves, work robes and shirts.

For rich people, a robe made from “trapeza” was home clothing, but for the poor, clothes made from this fabric were used “for going out.” A shabby appearance spoke of a person’s low social status.

14. Caliph for an hour

This is what they say about a person who accidentally and briefly finds himself in power.

The expression has Arabic roots. This is the name of the fairy tale from the collection “A Thousand and One Nights” - “A Daydream, or Caliph for an Hour.”

It tells how the young Baghdadian Abu-Ghassan, not knowing that the caliph Harun al-Rashid is in front of him, shares with him his cherished dream - to become a caliph at least for a day. Wanting to have fun, Harun al-Rashid pours sleeping pills into Abu Hassan’s wine, orders the servants to take the young man to the palace and treat him like a caliph.

The joke succeeds. Waking up, Abu Hassan believes that he is the caliph, enjoys luxury and begins to give orders. In the evening, he again drinks wine with sleeping pills and wakes up at home.

15. Knock you down

Make you lose the thread of a conversation, forget about something.

In Greece there is Mount Pantelic, famous in ancient times, where marble was mined for a long time. Accordingly, there were many caves, grottoes and passages, and once there, one could easily get lost.

16. I figured it out

Those. understood what kind of person he was, noticed a deception or discovered a secret.

The expression came to us from those times when coins made of precious metals were in use. The authenticity of the coins was checked by tooth, because precious metals without impurities were soft. If there is a dent on the coin, then it is real, and if not, it is fake.

17. The voice of one crying in the wilderness

This is what they say about someone whose sound thoughts and warnings they stubbornly refuse to listen to.

A biblical expression with roots in the prophecy of Isaiah and the Gospel of John. The prophets who predicted the imminent coming of the Savior called on the Jews to prepare for this day: to monitor their lives and correct it, becoming pious, and to be attentive to the gospel preaching. But the Jews did not heed these calls and crucified the Lord.

18. Bury talent in the ground

This means not using and not developing God-given abilities.

And again a reference to the Bible. Talent was the name given to the largest weight and monetary unit in Ancient Greece, Babylon, Persia and other regions of Asia Minor.

In the Gospel parable, one of the servants received money from the master and buried it, being afraid to invest it in a business that could bring both profit and loss. Upon the master's return, the servant returned the talent and was punished for the lost time and the profit lost by the master.

19. Tightened the rigmarole

I started some very long task and began to hesitate.

Gimp is the thinnest wire made of precious metals, which acquired rather the properties of a thread and was used to decorate camisoles, uniforms and dresses with beautiful complex patterns. It was necessary to pull the gimp on ever-shrinking jewelry rollers in several passes, which was a long process. Sewing with gimp is even less fast.

20. Brought to white heat

Angered me to the point of fury, uncontrollable rage.

Goes back to blacksmithing. When metal is heated during forging, it glows differently depending on the temperature: first red, then yellow and finally blinding white. At an even higher temperature, the metal will already melt and boil.

21. Soap Opera

This is what they call a television series with a trivial plot.

The fact is that in the 30s in America they began to produce multi-part (at that time still radio) programs for housewives with melodramatic plots. They were created with money from soap and detergent manufacturers, who advertised their products during breaks.

22. Good riddance!

Nowadays this is how they kick out an annoying guest or visitor. Previously, the meaning was the opposite - a wish for a good journey.

In one of Ivan Aksakov’s poems you can read about a road that is “straight as an arrow, with a wide surface that spreads like a tablecloth.” Knowing our spaces, people wanted an unhindered and easy path.

23. Egyptian plagues

Heavy punishments, disasters, torments that have fallen.

Biblical story from the book of Exodus. For Pharaoh’s refusal to release the Jews from captivity, the Lord subjected Egypt to terrible punishments - the ten plagues of Egypt: blood instead of water, execution by frogs, an invasion of midges, dog flies, cattle pestilence, ulcers and boils, thunder, lightning and hail fire, an invasion of locusts, darkness and death. firstborn in Egyptian families.

24. Do your bit

Invest part of your labor, skills or money into creating something important, big.

There is a well-known biblical story about two mites of a poor widow, which she donated to the activities of the Jerusalem Temple. The lepta is one of the smallest coins of that time in the Roman Empire. Two mites were the widow’s only money, donating which she remained hungry until the evening. Therefore, her sacrifice turned out to be the largest of all.

25. Sing Lazarus

Beat people, beg, try to play on sympathy.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is told by the Savior in the Gospel. Lazarus was poor and lived at the gate of the rich man's house. Lazarus ate the leftover food of the rich man along with the dogs and suffered all sorts of hardships, but after death he went to heaven, while the rich man ended up in hell.

Professional beggars in Russia often begged on the steps of churches, comparing themselves to the biblical Lazarus, although they often lived much better. That's why attempts to make people feel sorry for them are called that way.

Andrey Szegeda

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Hello, dear readers of the blog site. It is not for nothing that the Russian language is considered “great and powerful”.

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

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

What is it (with examples)

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

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

With a gulkin nose
Where the eyes look.
Shot sparrow.

At the same time, we, as native speakers of Russian, will immediately understand what we are talking about.

“With a gulkin’s nose” - not enough, just a little bit.
“Where the eyes look” - directly, without a specific goal.
“Shooted Sparrow” is experienced in some matters.

These are some examples of phraseological units. Here is the definition of this concept in textbooks:

“Phraseological unit is an expression that is well-established in structure and composition, which used figuratively and consists of two or more words."

Signs of phraseological units

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

They contain two or more words;
Have stable compound;
Have portable meaning;
Have historical roots;
Are united member of the proposal.

Now let’s take a closer look at each of these distinctive criteria of phraseological units.

These are several words that are one part of a sentence

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

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

“He ate the dog” - experienced, has done something more than once.
“You can’t spill water” - very friendly.
“Wait for the weather by the sea” - do nothing and hope that everything will be resolved by itself.
“Seven Fridays a week” - constantly change your plans or decisions.
“Struggle like a fish against ice” - you do something, but it doesn’t give results.
“Well, you’ve made a mess” - you did something that provoked a whole chain of events.

When parsing a sentence, phraseological units are not divided into parts. For example, the phrase “worked until we sweated” is a single predicate. Just like “counting crows” or “washing your hands.”

Phraseologisms are stable phrases in a figurative sense

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

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

For example:

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

And in this phrase it is impossible to replace “sky” with, for example, “clouds”, or “earth” with “field”. The result will be a completely different expression than others people won't understand.

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

“To muddy the waters” means to come up with something strange; it is not good to influence others.
“Sloppy” - doing something poorly.
“Roll up your sleeves” - work well and quickly.
“Counting crows” means being distracted, inattentive.
“Staying with your nose” means being deceived.
“Come to your senses” - change your behavior or attitude towards something.

These phrases always have a figurative meaning

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

For example, try translating the phrase into English "disservice". It will sound like “bear service,” and any foreigner will literally understand that “a specific bear provides some kind of service,” and will most likely decide that we are talking about a trained bear.

But we understand perfectly well this phraseological unit, which means “to help in such a way that it became even worse”.

The same can be said about other expressions:

“Grated Kalach” is a man with experience and who cannot be deceived.
“On the topic of the day” is something relevant that is currently attracting a lot of attention.
“I got into a galosh” - I did something absurd, I made a mistake.
“Losing your head” means doing unreasonable things.
“Wash the bones” - discuss someone behind his back.

History of the origin of phraseological units

Some philologists argue that all phraseological units have some kind of historical roots. It’s just that not everything managed to survive before us. But there are phrases about which we know exactly where they came from.

For example, the expression "beat the buck", which means "To do nothing". In the old days, small wooden blocks were called baklushi, from which spoons were most often made. It was very easy to make blanks; this was trusted to the most inept apprentices. And everyone around believed that they weren’t really working.

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

And here is the expression "Trishkin caftan" is not as widely known, although it means “an unsuccessful attempt to solve some problem that only leads to more problems.” The phrase appeared thanks to Krylov's fable:

Trishka’s caftan was torn at the elbows.
Why take so long to think here? He took up the needle:
I cut off the sleeves by a quarter -
And he paid in elbow grease. The caftan is ready again;
My arms became only a quarter bare.
But what about this sadness?

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

Examples of phraseological units and their meaning

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

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

Brief summary

In conclusion, I will say that phraseological units are found in any language in the world. But so many catchphrases, as in Russian, nowhere else.

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