How to "get to the handle" and who has "seven Fridays in the week": Interesting facts about famous phraseological units

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Some old sayings did not arise from scratch. The people noticed the most interesting facts and put them into words. After all, you can't tell right away why someone has seven Fridays in the week, and someone has gotten to the point. At the same time, you can find out why in Russia they used milk to put out fires, spit with turnips and other interesting facts.

Russian rolls, and where does "get to the handle"

Today, when they say about someone “this person has come to the end,” they mean his difficult financial situation or moral condition. And earlier it was not about that. It turns out that this expression came from Ancient Russia and is associated with a delicious bakery product - kalach. In Russia they baked a lot, the products were of the most different shapes. The same rolls could be both round and similar to a pie, but the most famous and widespread was and remains a roll with a handle. Outwardly, it resembles a sports equipment (kettlebell) or a castle.

What was this pen made for? In old Russia, it was not yet customary to wash your hands before eating a tasty roll, but nevertheless it was considered wrong to take pastries with dirty hands. Therefore, they baked lush rolls with handles. They held on to it in order to calmly eat the delicacy. And also ropes were threaded through the handles and the pastries were hung for storage. The ubiquitous rats could get along the rope, while it was the handle that got it. Hungry animals gnawed at it, and then the owners took the intact rolls. If we go back to the expression "got to the handle", then the point is the following: the handle was tough, the most tasteless part of the roll. Having eaten it, the man threw away the soiled piece of pastry, which was gladly picked up by stray dogs and beggars.

Who are the roars and why did they hide on the battlefield

It is unlikely that today an ordinary person would think to growl and howl viciously and loudly, imitating a wild wolf. Unless he works in a film studio and dubs films. And in Ancient Russia such people, having a powerful, loud voice and capable of portraying a formidable beast, were very much appreciated. They were called roars, and their task was responsible - to help the army win the battle.

How it happened: on the night before the battle, the roars, like shadows, crawled onto the battlefield and disguised themselves on it. The place of their location was chosen where the cavalry was supposed to go. When the opponents rushed into the attack on horseback, the roarmen began to growl and howl loudly, frightening the noble animals. Horses, instinctively afraid of wolves, panicked, began to throw off their riders, and they used this confusion to get the long-awaited victory. Therefore, a good (let's say, talented) rover was worth its weight in gold.

Why fires were extinguished with milk and how they protected their homes from lightning

Many modern people are afraid of thunderstorms. And in ancient Russia, almost everyone was afraid of her. The thunderstorm was perceived not just as bad weather, but as a divine symbol. First, the lord of lightning and thunder was the god Perun, then he was replaced by Ilya the prophet. He flew across the sky in his chariot and threw lightning spears at the demons, and the wheels of the chariot rumbled, causing thunderclaps.

Lightning was of great importance. If, for example, she hit a tree, then the devil was sitting there. And if lightning struck the hut, then they said that it was either punishment assigned for some offense, or, conversely, God's mercy.

To soften the divine powers, in Russia they extinguished fires after a thunderstorm in a very strange way - they used not water, but milk. If there was not too much milk, they took beer or kvass. Oddly enough, the peasants believed that the fire would blaze even more from the water. In addition to delicious drinks, you could try throwing an Easter egg into the fire.

Fires after thunderstorms happened often, because lightning rods did not exist then. It was expensive and difficult to rebuild a hut or a house after a fire. Therefore, such a comforting belief arose that lightning cannot hit the same place twice. After the fire, the peasants collected coals and stored them in an inaccessible secret place, considering them a talisman against fire.

But there were also fireballs. To prevent them from flying into the house, it was necessary to smear the door frames and windows with milk. Birch branches consecrated in the Trinity were also used. When the storm was in full swing, the family gathered in the entryway and prepared to leave their home at any time. The front door was not closed to show obedience to divine will.

To escape another natural disaster, a bell had to be rung. The unclean force, having heard the bell ringing, should have been frightened and stopped its pranks.

Why do they say "easier than a steamed turnip" and why did they spit on her

The saying "simpler than a steamed turnip" speaks precisely about the simplicity of any action. In ancient Russia, it was used as the main product. Turnip dishes were simple and unpretentious: they made soup from it, ate it raw, rubbed it, put it in porridge and just steamed in pots. By the way, among etymologists there is an opinion that until the 20th century they spoke not “simpler”, but “cheaper”. Turnips were planted everywhere, and bought in wagons. It was an unpretentious, cold-tolerant culture that always rescued the peasants.

If it was easy to cook turnips, then the process of sowing it was very exotic. They planted it by spitting out seeds, which are very small in turnips. The peasants did not consider it possible to lose even a few seeds, and tried to plant turnips correctly, evenly and accurately. It was very difficult to distribute the smallest seeds with strained hands. Therefore, there were professional spitters, that is, peasant women who sowed reputation with their mouths. Seeds moistened with saliva, they quickly and accurately spat out in the right place in the field. Skillful spitters were very popular and even took orders for sowing turnip.

Who had seven Fridays in the week and what happened that day

About a person who often changes his mind or does not keep promises, they say "he has seven Fridays a week." Why Fridays? In ancient Russia, on this day, they took a break from work and dedicated it to bazaar agreements. Buying a batch of goods on Friday, they made a promise to pay for it in a week or deliver what was not enough.

Alas, like today, there were many cunning and dishonest traders in ancient times. Friday was coming, and no money, no goods. People who break Friday traditions were considered frivolous liars, of whom they talked about "seven Fridays a week." And it is also interesting that the words "Friday" and "back out", that is, back down, have a similar sound.

By the way, the artist Vsevolod Ivanov specializes in Vedic Russia. From his paintings breathtaking, they are so large-scale and well-developed.