phraseological units they call stable combinations of words, turns of speech such as: “beat the buckets”, “hang your nose”, “ask a brainwasher” ... The turn of speech, which is called a phraseological unit, is indivisible in meaning, that is, its meaning does not add up from the meanings of its constituent words. It works only as a whole, a lexical unit.
Phraseologisms- these are popular expressions that do not have an author.The meaning of phraseological units is to give an emotional coloring to the expression, to strengthen its meaning.
When phraseological units are formed, some components acquire the status of optional (optional): “The components of a phraseological unit that can be omitted in some cases of its use are called optional components of a phraseological unit, and the phenomenon itself, as a feature of the phraseological unit form, is called optional components of a phraseological unit.
The first component of the turnover may be optional, facultative, i.e. expression will sound without it.
Phraseologisms usually do not tolerate the replacement of words and their permutations, for which they are also called set phrases.
No matter what can't pronounce no matter what happens to me or no matter what, a take care of the pupil of the eye instead of cherish like the apple of an eye.
There are of course exceptions: to be puzzled or break your head, surprise and take someone by surprise but such cases are rare.
Many phraseological units are easily replaced by one word:
headlong- fast,
at hand- close.
most main feature phraseological units - their figurative and figurative meaning.
Often a direct expression turns into a figurative one, expanding the shades of its meaning.
Bursting at the seams- from the speech of the tailor acquired a wider meaning - to decline.
Confound- from the speech of railway workers it passed into common use in the sense of confusing.
See “PHRASEOLOGICAL UNITS IN PICTURES. Meanings of phraseological units "
There are native Russian phraseological units, but there are also borrowed ones, including phraseological units that came into the Russian language from ancient Greek mythology.
Tantalum flour- unbearable torment from the consciousness of the proximity of the desired goal and the impossibility of achieving it. (An analogue of the Russian proverb: “The elbow is close, but you won’t bite”). Tantalus is a hero, the son of Zeus and Pluto, who reigned in the region of Mount Sipila in southern Phrygia (Asia Minor) and was famous for his wealth. According to Homer, for his crimes, Tantalus was punished in the underworld with eternal torment: standing up to his neck in water, he cannot drink, as the water immediately recedes from his lips; branches weighed down with fruits hang from the trees around it, which rise up as soon as Tantalus stretches out his hand to them.
Augean stables- a heavily littered, polluted place, usually a room where everything is lying in disarray. Phraseologism comes from the name of the huge stables of the king of Elis Avgeas, not cleaned for many years. Cleaning them was only possible for the mighty Hercules - the son of Zeus. The hero cleared the Augean stables in one day, directing the waters of two turbulent rivers through them.
Sisyphean labor- useless, endless hard work, fruitless work. The expression came from the ancient Greek legend of Sisyphus, a famous cunning man who was able to deceive even the gods and constantly came into conflict with them. It was he who managed to chain Thanatos, the god of death, sent to him, and keep him imprisoned for several years, as a result of which people did not die. For his actions, Sisyphus was severely punished in Hades: he had to roll a heavy stone up the mountain, which, reaching the top, inevitably fell down, so that all work had to be started anew.
sing praises- to praise someone or something with great enthusiasm; to praise someone or something. It arose from the name of dithyrambs - laudatory songs in honor of the god of wine and the vine Dionysus, which were sung during processions dedicated to this deity.
Golden Rain- large sums of money. The expression originated from the ancient Greek myth of Zeus. Captivated by the beauty of Danae, the daughter of the Argos king Acrisius, Zeus penetrated her in the form of a golden rain, and from this connection Perseus was later born. Danae, showered with a rain of golden coins, is depicted in the paintings of many artists: Titian, Correggio, Van Dyck, and others. Titian. Danae.
Throw thunder and lightning- scold someone; speak angrily, irritably, reproaching, denouncing someone or threatening him. It arose from ideas about Zeus, the supreme god of Olympus, who, according to myths, dealt with his enemies and people who were objectionable to him with the help of thunderbolts, terrifying in their power, forged by Hephaestus.
Ariadne's thread, Ariadne's thread- that helps to find a way out of a predicament. Named after Ariadne, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos, who, according to ancient Greek myth, helped the Athenian king Theseus, after he killed the half-bull-half-human Minotaur, safely get out of the underground labyrinth with a ball of thread.
Achilles' heel- a weak point, a weak point of something. 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.
Gifts of the Danes ( Trojan horse) - insidious gifts that bring death to those who receive them. Originated from Greek legends about the Trojan War. The Danaans, after a long and unsuccessful siege of Troy, resorted to a trick: they built a huge wooden horse, left it near the walls of Troy, and pretended to swim away from the coast of the Troad. The priest Laocoön, who knew about the tricks of the Danaans, saw this horse and exclaimed: “Whatever it is, I am afraid of the Danaans, even those who bring gifts!” But the Trojans, not listening to the warnings of Laocoon and the prophetess Cassandra, dragged 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.
Between Scylla and Charybdis- to be between two hostile forces, in a position where danger threatens from both sides. 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, ... incessantly barking, With a piercing screech, like a young puppy’s screech, The whole neighborhood of monsters announces ... Past her, not a single sailor could pass unscathed With an easy ship: all toothy mouths gaping, At once she is six people from the ship kidnaps... Close up you will see another rock... Terribly the whole sea under that rock disturbs Charybdis, Three times a day absorbing and three times a day spewing Black moisture. Do not dare to approach when it absorbs: Poseidon himself will not deliver from certain death then ... "
Promethean fire sacred fire, burning in the human soul, an unquenchable desire to achieve high goals in science, art, social work. 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; the daily flying eagle tormented the liver of the chained titan.
Apple of discord- 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.
Sink into oblivion- to be forgotten, to disappear without a trace and forever. From the name of Leta - the river of oblivion in the underground kingdom of Hades, the souls of the dead drank water from it and forgot their entire past life.
It is interesting that in phraseological units the word nose practically does not reveal its main meaning in any way. The nose is the organ of smell, however, in stable phrases, the nose is associated primarily with the idea of something small, short. Remember the fairy tale about Kolobok? When the Fox needed Gingerbread Man to get within her reach, to get closer, she asks him to sit on her nose. However, the word nose does not always mean the organ of smell. It also has other meanings.
grumble under your breath- grumbling, grumbling, muttering indistinctly.The word mouth is included in a number of phraseological units, the meanings of which are associated with the process of speaking. Food enters the human body through the mouth - a number of stable expressions in one way or another indicate this function of the mouth. There are not many phraseological units with the word lip.
You won't take it in your mouth- they say if the food is cooked tasteless.The word ear is included in phraseological units, one way or another connected with hearing. Harsh words act primarily on the ears. In many stable expressions, the word ears means rather than the organ of hearing, but only its outer part. I wonder if you can see your ears? Using a mirror in this case is not allowed!
Be careful- a person tensely waits for danger. Vostry is the old form of the word acute.With the word tooth in the Russian language, there are a fairly large number of set expressions. Among them, a group of phraseological units is noticeable, in which teeth act as a kind of weapon of defense or attack, a threat. The word tooth is also used in phraseological units denoting various deplorable states of a person.
be in the teeth- to impose, to bother.The words chest and back are included in oppositely colored phraseological units. However, there are positively colored phraseological units with the word back.
Stand up or stand with your chest for someone- rise to the defense, steadfastly defend.Language is another word often found in phraseological units, since language is extremely important for a person, it is with him that the idea of \u200b\u200bthe ability to speak and communicate is associated. The idea of speaking (or, conversely, silence) can be traced in one way or another in many phraseological units with the word language.
Run with your tongue out- very fast.See if phraseological units are illustrated correctly, and tell me how do you understand their meaning?
We walked the town literally along and …
And we were so tired on the road that we barely ...
Your friend asks furtively
Copy the answers from your notebook.
No need! After all, you will give this to a friend ...
They are out of tune, they confuse words, someone sings in the forest, ...
The kids won't listen to them.
From this song, ears ...
You have probably heard more than once that some phrases are called phraseological units. And, we argue, many times they used such turns themselves. Let's check what you know about them. We bet we know more. And we are happy to share information.
Phraseologism- a turnover that is freely reproduced in speech, has a holistic, stable and, often, figurative meaning. From the point of view of the structure, it is built as a coordinating or subordinating phrase (it has a non-predicative or predicative character).
In what case does a certain phrase turn into a phraseological unit? When each of its constituent parts loses its independence as a semantic unit. And together they form a phrase with a new, allegorical meaning and imagery.
Phraseological features:
Some of these features characterize the internal content of the phraseological phrase, and some characterize the form.
First of all, its pronounced stylistic coloring. Most commonly used words in the vocabulary of the average person are neutral vocabulary. Phraseological units are characterized by evaluative meaning, emotionally expressive coloring, without which the realization of the meaning of phraseological units is impossible.
From the point of view of the stylistics of the language, phraseological units can be divided into:
Phraseologisms are capable (and actively carry out this) in terms of composition to be combined with words of free use (that is, all other words of the language, “non-phraseologisms”).
Phraseologisms can also be classified from a lexico-grammatical point of view:
Is it necessary to distinguish between phraseological units and idioms? Idioms- these are speech turns that cannot be divided into constituent parts without losing the original meaning and the general meaning of which cannot be deduced from the meanings of the individual words that make up them. We can say that phraseologism and idiom are related as a genus and species. That is, phraseologism is a broader concept, a special case of which is an idiom.
Idioms are curious in that when they are literally translated into another language, their meaning is lost. An idiom gives such a description of phenomena that is logical for native speakers of a particular language, but relies on definitions and metaphors that cannot be understood outside this language without additional interpretation. For example, in Russian we talk about heavy rain like a shower. The English in this case say it's raining cats and dogs). And, for example, Estonians about a heavy downpour will say that it is pouring like a beanstalk.
About something incomprehensible we will say chinese letter, but for the Danes it is " sounds like the name of a Russian city". German says: “I only understood “station”, Pole - “Thank you, everyone is healthy at my house”, the Englishman will use "It's all Greek to me" (It's all Greek to me).
Or let's take the well-known Russian phraseological unit beat the buckets(= to mess around, to engage in nonsense) - it cannot be translated into another language literally. Because the origin of the expression is connected with the phenomena of the past, which has no analogues in the present. “To beat the buckets” means to split a log into chocks for turning spoons and wooden utensils.
Do not confuse phraseological units with speech clichés and clichés. Phraseologisms are a product of language metaphorization. They enrich the speech, make it more expressive and diverse, give the utterance figurativeness. Cliches and clichés, on the contrary, impoverish speech, reduce it to some hackneyed formulas. Although phraseological units have a stable structure and are reproduced, as a rule, in their entirety, without changes and additions, they liberate thinking and give free rein to the imagination. But cliches and clichés make thinking and speech stereotyped, deprive them of their individuality and testify to the poverty of the speaker's imagination.
For example, expressions black gold(= oil), people in white coats(= doctors), soul light- have long been no longer metaphors, but real clichés.
The incorrect use of phraseological units leads to speech errors, sometimes just annoying, and sometimes even comical.
Like any lexical units, phraseological units are born, exist for some time, and some of them sooner or later go out of active use. If we talk about the relevance of phraseological units, then they can be divided into:
The system of phraseological units of the Russian language is not once and for all frozen and unchangeable. New phraseological units inevitably arise in response to the phenomena of modern life. Borrowed as cripples from other languages. And they enrich modern speech with new, relevant metaphors.
Here, for example, are a few relatively “fresh” phraseological units, relatively recently (mainly in the 20th century) that have taken root in the Russian language:
On a live thread- to do something not too carefully, temporarily, with the expectation in the future to redo the work as it should, to do it without extra effort. The origin of the phraseological unit is quite transparent: when seamstresses sew the parts of the product together, they first sweep them with large stitches so that they just stick together. And then they sew the parts neatly and firmly.
cloudless nature- a characteristic for a calm and unflappable person with a benevolent and balanced character, a person without special flaws and not subject to mood swings. And it can also be used not only to describe a person, but also to characterize abstract phenomena (relationships between people, for example).
How to send two bytes- a characteristic for any action, which is completely easy to perform.
Speak different languages- do not find mutual understanding.
Make lemonade out of lemons- to be able to apply even the most unfavorable conditions and circumstances to your advantage and achieve success in this.
By the way, phraseological units can be both synonyms and antonyms among themselves. Having understood what connections exist between phraseological units that are different at first glance, one can more deeply comprehend their meanings. And also to diversify the use of these turns in speech. Sometimes synonymous phraseological units describe various degrees of manifestation of a phenomenon or its various, but similar aspects. Look at these examples of phraseological units:
We bring to your attention the interpretation and even the history of the origin of some phraseological units. They are included in the active stock of the modern Russian language. And, despite the fact that some are no longer just tens, but even a couple of hundred years old, they remain popular and are widely used in everyday speech and literature.
Augean stables- so they burn about a very dirty place, a neglected and untidy room, things scattered in disorder. Applies also to messy, disordered and neglected cases.
Phraseologism comes from ancient Greek myths. One of the exploits of Hercules was cleaning the stables of the king of Elis Avgii, which had not been cleaned for 30 years.
Ariadne's thread- a wonderful way to find a way out of a predicament.
This turnover also came to us from ancient Greek myths. According to legend, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos, Ariadne, helped the Athenian hero Theseus get out of the labyrinth of the minotaur, giving him a ball of thread so that he could return from the tangled corridors along the thread fixed at the entrance to the labyrinth. By the way, if one day you become interested in ancient literature, you will know that later Ariadne probably regretted that she undertook to help Theseus.
Achilles' heel- the weakest and most vulnerable place, a secret weakness.
According to ancient Greek mythology, the hero Achilles was miraculously tempered from any danger. And only one heel remained humanly vulnerable. From the wound inflicted by an arrow in the heel, Achilles subsequently died.
lamb in paper- a bribe.
It is believed that phraseology originated in the eighteenth century. At that time, there was a magazine called "Vssakaya Vsyachina", the editor of which was the Empress Catherine II. The monarch was sharply critical of the bribery common among officials. And she claimed, they say, officials, hinting at a bribe, demand to bring them a "lamb in a piece of paper." The turnover was popular with the Russian writer M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who, as you know, often ridiculed the vices of contemporary society.
without a hitch, without a hitch– flawlessly, without complications and problems, well and smoothly.
A hitch used to be called roughness, unevenness on the surface of a smoothly planed board.
beat the alarm- to draw everyone's attention to something of great public or personal importance, to something dangerous and disturbing.
Nabat - in the Middle Ages and earlier periods of history, to alert people about trouble (fire, invasion of enemies, etc.), an alarm signal was given by the sound of bells, less often drums were beaten.
good obscenities(scream) - shout very loudly, at the top of your lungs.
Phraseologism has nothing to do with modern swear words, i.e. matu. From Old Russian good can be translated as strong, and mat - as a voice. Those. the expression should be taken literally only if you know what each of its parts means separately.
big boss- an important, respected and significant person in society.
In the old days, heavy loads on the rivers were rafted with the help of the draft power of people (barge haulers). The most experienced, physically strong and hardy person, who was called a bump in the jargon accepted in this environment, walked ahead of everyone in the strap.
shave forehead- send to military service, into soldiers.
Before the new statute on conscription was adopted in 1874, recruits for the army were recruited (usually under duress) for a period of 25 years. While the recruitment lasted, everyone fit for military service had the front half of the head shaved bald.
Babel- confusion and crowding, disorder.
The biblical traditions describe the construction of a grandiose tower up to the sky (“pillar of creation”), which was started by the inhabitants of Ancient Babylon and in which many people from different lands took part. As a punishment for this insolence, God created many different languages, so that the builders stopped understanding each other and, in the end, could not complete the building.
bartholomew's night- massacre, genocide and extermination.
On the night of August 24, 1572 in Paris, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day, Catholics staged a massacre of Protestant Huguenots. As a result, several thousand people were physically destroyed and wounded (according to some estimates, up to 30 thousand).
Versta Kolomna- a characteristic for a person of very high stature.
In the past, milestones marked the distance on the roads. Specifically, this expression was born from a comparison of tall people with milestones on the way between Moscow and the village of Kolomenskoye (the summer residence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was located there).
hang dogs- accuse someone, condemn and blame, slander and blame someone else.
By "dog" is not meant an animal, but an outdated name for thorns and thorns.
in all shoulder blades- very fast.
This turnover was born to denote a very fast run of a horse, when it jumps "in all front legs."
free Cossack- a definition for a free and independent person.
In the Muscovite state of the 15th-17th centuries, this was the name given to free people from the central regions of the country who fled to the periphery in order to escape enslavement (that is, turning into serfs).
newspaper duck- unverified, distorted or generally false information in the media from beginning to end.
There are several versions of the origin of this phraseological unit. Journalists have a popular one: in the past, in newspapers, next to dubious and unverified reports, they put the letters NT ( non-testatum= "not verified" in Latin). But the fact is that the German word for "duck" ( ente) is consonant with this abbreviation. This is how the expression was born.
highlight of the program- the most important part of the performance, the best and most important number, something very important and significant.
The famous Eiffel Tower was built in Paris specifically for the World Exhibition (1889). To contemporaries of those events, the tower looked like a nail. By the way, it was assumed that 20 years after the exhibition, the tower would be dismantled. And only the development of radio broadcasting saved it from destruction - the tower began to be used as a tower for placing radio transmitters. And the expression has since taken root to denote something unusual, noticeable and significant.
pillars of Hercules(pillars) - the highest, extreme degree of something.
It was originally used to describe something very distant, almost "on the edge of the world." So in ancient times they called two rocks located on the banks of the Strait of Gibraltar. In those days, people believed that the ancient Greek hero Hercules installed the pillars there.
naked as a falcon- a characteristic for a very poor person.
Falcon - the so-called ancient wall-beater used during the siege. It looked like an absolutely smooth cast-iron blank, fixed on chains.
sword of Damocles- constant threat, danger.
In ancient Greek myths, there was a story about a tyrant from Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder. He taught a lesson for envy to his position of one of his associates named Damocles. At the feast, Damocles was seated in a place over which a sharp sword was hung on a horsehair. The sword symbolized the many dangers that constantly haunt a person of such a high position as Dionysius.
case burned out– i.e. something completed successfully, in a satisfactory manner.
The origin of this phraseological unit is connected with the peculiarities of judicial office work in the past. A defendant could not be charged with anything if his case was destroyed, for example, by fire. Wooden courts, together with all the archives, often burned in the past. And just as often there were cases when court cases were destroyed intentionally, for a bribe to judicial officials.
reach the handle- to reach the extreme degree of humiliation, extreme need, finally sink and lose self-respect.
When old Russian bakers baked rolls, they gave them the shape of a padlock with a round bow. This form had a purely utilitarian purpose. It was convenient to hold the kalach by the bow while eating. Apparently, they already guessed about the diseases of dirty hands even then, so they disdained to eat the handle of the kalach. But it could be served to the poor or thrown to a hungry dog. It was possible to reach the point of eating a kalach handle only in the most extreme case, in extreme need, or simply not caring at all about one's health and image in the eyes of others.
bosom friend- the closest and most reliable friend, soul mate.
Before the arrival of Christianity in Rus', it was believed that the soul of a person is in the throat, "behind the Adam's apple." After the adoption of Christianity, they began to believe that the soul is located in the chest. But the designation of the most trusted person, to whom you can even entrust your own life and for whom you will regret it, has remained as a “bosom”, i.e. "soul" friend.
for lentil soup- to change their ideals or supporters for selfish motives.
According to biblical tradition, Esau gave up his birthright to his brother Jacob for nothing more than a bowl of lentil stew.
golden mean- an intermediate position, behavior aimed at avoiding extremes and making risky decisions.
This is a tracing-paper from the Latin saying of the ancient Roman poet Horace " aurea mediocritas".
history with geography- a state when things took an unexpected turn that no one expected.
Phraseologism was born from the outdated name of the school discipline - "history with geography".
and no brainer- something that should be clear even to the most obtuse, self-evident.
There are two versions of the origin of this phraseological unit. It is also possible that both are true and one follows from the other. One turn went to the people after the poem by V. Mayakovsky, in which there were such lines: “It is clear even to a hedgehog / This Petya was a bourgeois.” According to another, the expression took root in boarding schools for gifted children that existed in Soviet times. The letters E, G and I denoted classes with students of one year of study. And the students themselves were called "hedgehogs." In terms of their knowledge, they lagged behind students from classes A, B, C, D, E. Therefore, what is understandable to the “hedgehog” should have been all the more understandable for more “advanced” students.
not by washing, so by skating- not one way, but another way to achieve the desired result.
This phraseological unit describes the old way of washing, adopted in the villages. The linen was rinsed by hand, and then, due to the lack of such benefits of civilization as an iron at that time, they were “rolled back” with a special wooden rolling pin. After that, things became squeezed out, especially clean and even practically ironed.
latest Chinese warning- empty threats that do not entail any decisive action.
This phraseological unit was born relatively recently. In the 1950s and 1960s, US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft frequently violated Chinese airspace. The Chinese authorities responded to any such violation of the borders (and there were several hundred of them) with an official warning to the US leadership. But no decisive action was taken to stop the reconnaissance flights of American pilots.
on the sly- secretly and gradually do something, act on the sly.
Sapa (from it. zappa= "hoe") - a ditch or dig, imperceptibly pulled out towards the enemy's fortifications in order to take him by surprise. In the past, in this way they often dug under the walls of enemy fortresses, laying gunpowder charges in the trenches. Exploding, the bombs destroyed the outer walls and opened up the opportunity for the attackers to break through. By the way, the word "sapper" of the same origin - that was the name of the people who left the powder charges in the saps.
We hope that we were able to at least slightly open for you the diverse and interesting world of phraseological units. If you continue this journey on your own, there are still many interesting discoveries ahead of you.
Phraseological phrases change over time, new phenomena in life lead to the emergence of new phraseological units. If you know any interesting new phraseological units, tell us about it in the comments. We will definitely supplement this article with them and do not forget to thank those who send us novelty phraseological units.
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You have probably heard more than once that some phrases are called phraseological units. And, we argue, many times they used such turns themselves. Let's check what you know about them. We bet we know more. And we are happy to share information.
Phraseologism- a turnover that is freely reproduced in speech, has a holistic, stable and, often, figurative meaning. From the point of view of the structure, it is built as a coordinating or subordinating phrase (it has a non-predicative or predicative character).
In what case does a certain phrase turn into a phraseological unit? When each of its constituent parts loses its independence as a semantic unit. And together they form a phrase with a new, allegorical meaning and imagery.
Phraseological features:
Some of these features characterize the internal content of the phraseological phrase, and some characterize the form.
First of all, its pronounced stylistic coloring. Most commonly used words in the vocabulary of the average person are neutral vocabulary. Phraseological units are characterized by evaluative meaning, emotionally expressive coloring, without which the realization of the meaning of phraseological units is impossible.
From the point of view of the stylistics of the language, phraseological units can be divided into:
Phraseologisms are capable (and actively carry out this) in terms of composition to be combined with words of free use (that is, all other words of the language, “non-phraseologisms”).
Phraseologisms can also be classified from a lexico-grammatical point of view:
Is it necessary to distinguish between phraseological units and idioms? Idioms- these are speech turns that cannot be divided into constituent parts without losing the original meaning and the general meaning of which cannot be deduced from the meanings of the individual words that make up them. We can say that phraseologism and idiom are related as a genus and species. That is, phraseologism is a broader concept, a special case of which is an idiom.
Idioms are curious in that when they are literally translated into another language, their meaning is lost. An idiom gives such a description of phenomena that is logical for native speakers of a particular language, but relies on definitions and metaphors that cannot be understood outside this language without additional interpretation. For example, in Russian we talk about heavy rain like a shower. The English in this case say it's raining cats and dogs). And, for example, Estonians about a heavy downpour will say that it is pouring like a beanstalk.
About something incomprehensible we will say chinese letter, but for the Danes it is " sounds like the name of a Russian city". German says: “I only understood “station”, Pole - “Thank you, everyone is healthy at my house”, the Englishman will use "It's all Greek to me" (It's all Greek to me).
Or let's take the well-known Russian phraseological unit beat the buckets(= to mess around, to engage in nonsense) - it cannot be translated into another language literally. Because the origin of the expression is connected with the phenomena of the past, which has no analogues in the present. “To beat the buckets” means to split a log into chocks for turning spoons and wooden utensils.
Do not confuse phraseological units with speech clichés and clichés. Phraseologisms are a product of language metaphorization. They enrich the speech, make it more expressive and diverse, give the utterance figurativeness. Cliches and clichés, on the contrary, impoverish speech, reduce it to some hackneyed formulas. Although phraseological units have a stable structure and are reproduced, as a rule, in their entirety, without changes and additions, they liberate thinking and give free rein to the imagination. But cliches and clichés make thinking and speech stereotyped, deprive them of their individuality and testify to the poverty of the speaker's imagination.
For example, expressions black gold(= oil), people in white coats(= doctors), soul light- have long been no longer metaphors, but real clichés.
The incorrect use of phraseological units leads to speech errors, sometimes just annoying, and sometimes even comical.
Like any lexical units, phraseological units are born, exist for some time, and some of them sooner or later go out of active use. If we talk about the relevance of phraseological units, then they can be divided into:
The system of phraseological units of the Russian language is not once and for all frozen and unchangeable. New phraseological units inevitably arise in response to the phenomena of modern life. Borrowed as cripples from other languages. And they enrich modern speech with new, relevant metaphors.
Here, for example, are a few relatively “fresh” phraseological units, relatively recently (mainly in the 20th century) that have taken root in the Russian language:
On a live thread- to do something not too carefully, temporarily, with the expectation in the future to redo the work as it should, to do it without extra effort. The origin of the phraseological unit is quite transparent: when seamstresses sew the parts of the product together, they first sweep them with large stitches so that they just stick together. And then they sew the parts neatly and firmly.
cloudless nature- a characteristic for a calm and unflappable person with a benevolent and balanced character, a person without special flaws and not subject to mood swings. And it can also be used not only to describe a person, but also to characterize abstract phenomena (relationships between people, for example).
How to send two bytes- a characteristic for any action, which is completely easy to perform.
Speak different languages- do not find mutual understanding.
Make lemonade out of lemons- to be able to apply even the most unfavorable conditions and circumstances to your advantage and achieve success in this.
By the way, phraseological units can be both synonyms and antonyms among themselves. Having understood what connections exist between phraseological units that are different at first glance, one can more deeply comprehend their meanings. And also to diversify the use of these turns in speech. Sometimes synonymous phraseological units describe various degrees of manifestation of a phenomenon or its various, but similar aspects. Look at these examples of phraseological units:
We bring to your attention the interpretation and even the history of the origin of some phraseological units. They are included in the active stock of the modern Russian language. And, despite the fact that some are no longer just tens, but even a couple of hundred years old, they remain popular and are widely used in everyday speech and literature.
Augean stables- so they burn about a very dirty place, a neglected and untidy room, things scattered in disorder. Applies also to messy, disordered and neglected cases.
Phraseologism comes from ancient Greek myths. One of the exploits of Hercules was cleaning the stables of the king of Elis Avgii, which had not been cleaned for 30 years.
Ariadne's thread- a wonderful way to find a way out of a predicament.
This turnover also came to us from ancient Greek myths. According to legend, the daughter of the Cretan king Minos, Ariadne, helped the Athenian hero Theseus get out of the labyrinth of the minotaur, giving him a ball of thread so that he could return from the tangled corridors along the thread fixed at the entrance to the labyrinth. By the way, if one day you become interested in ancient literature, you will know that later Ariadne probably regretted that she undertook to help Theseus.
Achilles' heel- the weakest and most vulnerable place, a secret weakness.
According to ancient Greek mythology, the hero Achilles was miraculously tempered from any danger. And only one heel remained humanly vulnerable. From the wound inflicted by an arrow in the heel, Achilles subsequently died.
lamb in paper- a bribe.
It is believed that phraseology originated in the eighteenth century. At that time, there was a magazine called "Vssakaya Vsyachina", the editor of which was the Empress Catherine II. The monarch was sharply critical of the bribery common among officials. And she claimed, they say, officials, hinting at a bribe, demand to bring them a "lamb in a piece of paper." The turnover was popular with the Russian writer M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, who, as you know, often ridiculed the vices of contemporary society.
without a hitch, without a hitch– flawlessly, without complications and problems, well and smoothly.
A hitch used to be called roughness, unevenness on the surface of a smoothly planed board.
beat the alarm- to draw everyone's attention to something of great public or personal importance, to something dangerous and disturbing.
Nabat - in the Middle Ages and earlier periods of history, to alert people about trouble (fire, invasion of enemies, etc.), an alarm signal was given by the sound of bells, less often drums were beaten.
good obscenities(scream) - shout very loudly, at the top of your lungs.
Phraseologism has nothing to do with modern swear words, i.e. matu. From Old Russian good can be translated as strong, and mat - as a voice. Those. the expression should be taken literally only if you know what each of its parts means separately.
big boss- an important, respected and significant person in society.
In the old days, heavy loads on the rivers were rafted with the help of the draft power of people (barge haulers). The most experienced, physically strong and hardy person, who was called a bump in the jargon accepted in this environment, walked ahead of everyone in the strap.
shave forehead- to send to military service, to the soldiers.
Before the new statute on conscription was adopted in 1874, recruits for the army were recruited (usually under duress) for a period of 25 years. While the recruitment lasted, everyone fit for military service had the front half of the head shaved bald.
Babel- confusion and crowding, disorder.
The biblical traditions describe the construction of a grandiose tower up to the sky (“pillar of creation”), which was started by the inhabitants of Ancient Babylon and in which many people from different lands took part. As a punishment for this insolence, God created many different languages, so that the builders stopped understanding each other and, in the end, could not complete the building.
bartholomew's night- massacre, genocide and extermination.
On the night of August 24, 1572 in Paris, on the eve of St. Bartholomew's Day, Catholics staged a massacre of Protestant Huguenots. As a result, several thousand people were physically destroyed and wounded (according to some estimates, up to 30 thousand).
Versta Kolomna- a characteristic for a person of very high stature.
In the past, milestones marked the distance on the roads. Specifically, this expression was born from a comparison of tall people with milestones on the way between Moscow and the village of Kolomenskoye (the summer residence of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was located there).
hang dogs- accuse someone, condemn and blame, slander and blame someone else.
By "dog" is not meant an animal, but an outdated name for thorns and thorns.
in all shoulder blades- very fast.
This turnover was born to denote a very fast run of a horse, when it jumps "in all front legs."
free Cossack- a definition for a free and independent person.
In the Muscovite state of the 15th-17th centuries, this was the name given to free people from the central regions of the country who fled to the periphery in order to escape enslavement (that is, turning into serfs).
newspaper duck- unverified, distorted or generally false information in the media from beginning to end.
There are several versions of the origin of this phraseological unit. Journalists have a popular one: in the past, in newspapers, next to dubious and unverified reports, they put the letters NT ( non-testatum= "not verified" in Latin). But the fact is that the German word for "duck" ( ente) is consonant with this abbreviation. This is how the expression was born.
highlight of the program- the most important part of the performance, the best and most important number, something very important and significant.
The famous Eiffel Tower was built in Paris specifically for the World Exhibition (1889). To contemporaries of those events, the tower looked like a nail. By the way, it was assumed that 20 years after the exhibition, the tower would be dismantled. And only the development of radio broadcasting saved it from destruction - the tower began to be used as a tower for placing radio transmitters. And the expression has since taken root to denote something unusual, noticeable and significant.
pillars of Hercules(pillars) - the highest, extreme degree of something.
It was originally used to describe something very distant, almost "on the edge of the world." So in ancient times they called two rocks located on the banks of the Strait of Gibraltar. In those days, people believed that the ancient Greek hero Hercules installed the pillars there.
naked as a falcon- a characteristic for a very poor person.
Falcon - the so-called ancient wall-beater used during the siege. It looked like an absolutely smooth cast-iron blank, fixed on chains.
sword of Damocles- constant threat, danger.
In ancient Greek myths, there was a story about a tyrant from Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder. He taught a lesson for envy to his position of one of his associates named Damocles. At the feast, Damocles was seated in a place over which a sharp sword was hung on a horsehair. The sword symbolized the many dangers that constantly haunt a person of such a high position as Dionysius.
case burned out– i.e. something completed successfully, in a satisfactory manner.
The origin of this phraseological unit is connected with the peculiarities of judicial office work in the past. A defendant could not be charged with anything if his case was destroyed, for example, by fire. Wooden courts, together with all the archives, often burned in the past. And just as often there were cases when court cases were destroyed intentionally, for a bribe to judicial officials.
reach the handle- to reach the extreme degree of humiliation, extreme need, finally sink and lose self-respect.
When old Russian bakers baked rolls, they gave them the shape of a padlock with a round bow. This form had a purely utilitarian purpose. It was convenient to hold the kalach by the bow while eating. Apparently, they already guessed about the diseases of dirty hands even then, so they disdained to eat the handle of the kalach. But it could be served to the poor or thrown to a hungry dog. It was possible to reach the point of eating a kalach handle only in the most extreme case, in extreme need, or simply not caring at all about one's health and image in the eyes of others.
bosom friend- the closest and most reliable friend, soul mate.
Before the arrival of Christianity in Rus', it was believed that the soul of a person is in the throat, "behind the Adam's apple." After the adoption of Christianity, they began to believe that the soul is located in the chest. But the designation of the most trusted person, to whom you can even entrust your own life and for whom you will regret it, has remained as a “bosom”, i.e. "soul" friend.
for lentil soup- to change their ideals or supporters for selfish motives.
According to biblical tradition, Esau gave up his birthright to his brother Jacob for nothing more than a bowl of lentil stew.
golden mean- an intermediate position, behavior aimed at avoiding extremes and making risky decisions.
This is a tracing-paper from the Latin saying of the ancient Roman poet Horace " aurea mediocritas".
history with geography- a state when things took an unexpected turn that no one expected.
Phraseologism was born from the outdated name of the school discipline - "history with geography".
and no brainer- something that should be clear even to the most obtuse, self-evident.
There are two versions of the origin of this phraseological unit. It is also possible that both are true and one follows from the other. One turn went to the people after the poem by V. Mayakovsky, in which there were such lines: “It is clear even to a hedgehog / This Petya was a bourgeois.” According to another, the expression took root in boarding schools for gifted children that existed in Soviet times. The letters E, G and I denoted classes with students of one year of study. And the students themselves were called "hedgehogs." In terms of their knowledge, they lagged behind students from classes A, B, C, D, E. Therefore, what is understandable to the “hedgehog” should have been all the more understandable for more “advanced” students.
not by washing, so by skating- not one way, but another way to achieve the desired result.
This phraseological unit describes the old way of washing, adopted in the villages. The linen was rinsed by hand, and then, due to the lack of such benefits of civilization as an iron at that time, they were “rolled back” with a special wooden rolling pin. After that, things became squeezed out, especially clean and even practically ironed.
latest Chinese warning- empty threats that do not entail any decisive action.
This phraseological unit was born relatively recently. In the 1950s and 1960s, US Air Force reconnaissance aircraft frequently violated Chinese airspace. The Chinese authorities responded to any such violation of the borders (and there were several hundred of them) with an official warning to the US leadership. But no decisive action was taken to stop the reconnaissance flights of American pilots.
on the sly- secretly and gradually do something, act on the sly.
Sapa (from it. zappa= "hoe") - a ditch or dig, imperceptibly pulled out towards the enemy's fortifications in order to take him by surprise. In the past, in this way they often dug under the walls of enemy fortresses, laying gunpowder charges in the trenches. Exploding, the bombs destroyed the outer walls and opened up the opportunity for the attackers to break through. By the way, the word "sapper" of the same origin - that was the name of the people who left the powder charges in the saps.
We hope that we were able to at least slightly open for you the diverse and interesting world of phraseological units. If you continue this journey on your own, there are still many interesting discoveries ahead of you.
Phraseological phrases change over time, new phenomena in life lead to the emergence of new phraseological units. If you know any interesting new phraseological units, tell us about it in the comments. We will definitely supplement this article with them and do not forget to thank those who send us novelty phraseological units.
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All kinds of encyclopedias and dictionaries, as well as Wikipedia, give different definitions. The simplest meaning of "Phraseology" is given in the Encyclopedic Dictionary.Phraseologism is a stable turn of speech, a phrase, an expression, the meaning of which does not consist of the concepts of its constituent words.
In one of the most common languages \u200b\u200bon the planet - Russian, there are a huge number of such examples of Phraseological units. If we add expressions that were borrowed from foreign languages, then one might think that we are only doing what we are talking with the help of Phraseological units.
"Drop the Glove"
"Beat but listen"
"To beat the key"
"Sleeveless"
"Leave with the nose"
The term "Phraseology" consists of two ancient Greek words "phrasis" - "expression" and "logos" - "concept". This science studies stable turns of speech
Phraseological units
Phraseological combinations
Phraseological fusions (idioms)
Phraseological expressions, are a special turn of speech, which all consist of words with a free meaning. Their feature is the use as ready-made speech turns.
An example Phraseological expressions can serve as an aphorism: " knowledge is power", proverbs:" when cancer on the mountain whistles", "where a horse with a hoof, there is a cancer with a claw"as well as common cliches used in everyday colloquial speech:" Good afternoon", "see you again", "good luck".
Phraseological units, are a figure of speech in which each term has its own special meaning, but the associated ones acquire a figurative meaning.
"Throw the bait"
"Get in the Net"
"To go with the flow"
Phraseological combinations are a turn of speech in which words have a non-free (used only in a specific phrase) or free meaning. Combinations differ from unity and splices in that the words included in the expression can be replaced.
"Lust for Glory"
"Revenge"
"Lust for Money"
"burn with hate"
"Burn with Love"
"Burn in shame"
A phrase can be not only a complete sentence, a thought, but also a turn of speech, a musical passage, and in singing it can be a musical figure that can be sung without taking a breath.
Phraseological unions or as they are also called, idioms are an unchanging and untranslatable expression peculiar only to this language. The term idiom was borrowed from the Greek language "idioma" and is translated as "a kind of phrase."
"Neither fish nor fowl"
"Seven spans in the forehead"
"Don't sew a tail on a mare"
In the play "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov, one can pay attention to the monologue of a certain Gaev, which he addresses to the closet: " Dear, dear closet! I welcome your existence, which for more than a hundred years has been directed exclusively to the ideals of justice and kindness, your silent call, which made us work fruitfully, has not weakened for a long hundred years, maintaining, despite sorrows, faith in a better future, cheerfulness and educating we have social self-consciousness and ideals of goodness".
Phraseologisms in video pictures
And, it is impossible not to use phraseological units or idioms (they are one and the same). It is about them that we will tell you right now.
Phraseologism- this is a stable combination of words, the meaning of which is not determined by the meaning of the words considered separately. That is, phraseologism is, in fact, a kind of unit of language, and is perceived as an exclusively holistic concept.
That is why, when they try to translate phraseological units into other languages, they sound incomprehensible or even meaningless.
The most striking example is the well-known speech of the head, who promised Vice President Richard Nixon that he would show the whole West "Kuzkin's mother." They say that the English translators, having heard this expression, stumbled a little, and then translated it like this: "I will show you Kuzma's mother."
It is interesting that phraseological units do not obey the current norms of the language. They may be with grammatical errors or some obsolete features (archaisms). But therein lies the cultural splendor of idiomatic expressions.
To beat the buckets - to mess around;
No hesitation - no doubt at all;
Play the fool - indulge;
Without a king in the head - without a mind;
- for real, for justice;
Later sleeves - carelessly, carelessly;