Who are the dumplings and carrots, and why no one wanted to marry them

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

Today, as well as many centuries ago, men gladly woo young and beautiful women. But they do not always manage to achieve what they want. There are circumstances when you have to marry older women. Only now would they say “she is already over forty,” but before, at twenty-five, the young woman became an old maid, whom no one looked at. The lot of a woman was to wait for the groom and save up a dowry. And men chose, wooed, married, supported the family. Those who could not get married on time were given rather strange nicknames. Read who the obabok is, why women did not want to marry their subordinates, and which men were called sparrows.

Ratnik: this is not only the one who did not manage to get married before leaving for the service

Warriors in Russia were called not only the military, but also the reserve soldiers. Sometimes a man did not marry because his military service prevented him. I did not find a wife before being called up for service, this event did not happen while in the army - return home as a bean. Such bachelors who returned from service and wooed old maidens were also called warriors.

Why did they choose the spinsters? It was believed that for a young wife such a soldier was too old due to his age, but for a woman sitting in girls he would be ideal. There were also peculiar prohibitions on marriage. For example, there are references to the fact that it is impossible to marry within seven years if the first marriage was annulled due to deception. Option: the groom was "slipped" into the wrong bride, which was shown at the bride. If the fraud was discovered, you had to wait 7 years. So bachelors appeared, as well as old maidens, to whom the warriors wooed. By the way, this was the name not only for those who wanted to find family happiness, having come from the service, but also for married men who left their families. An analogy can be drawn here that marriage is a service, and divorce is a reserve.

Subordinate: a log or a bachelor?

Subordinate - such a strange word was called in Russia for aged bachelors. In its original meaning, it is a log, dry and long, which is used to heat barns. Why was this the name of the bachelors? The logic is this: a log is not very good for melting a stove, since it burns quickly and gives almost no heat. So an age bachelor is unlikely to warm a young and demanding wife in intimate life, but for an old maid it is quite suitable. Well, it’s an insulting nickname, but that’s how it was.

Sparrow: today would be the name of someone who cannot invite a lady to a restaurant

Sparrow. This nickname has nothing to do with the famous captain Jack Sparrow. Very often in Russia, a man remained a bachelor due to the fact that he was poor. After marriage, the young had to move to the spouse's house, and his duty was to provide for the family completely. And if he has nothing, no money, no good house, no vegetable garden, then he is unlikely to be a desirable contender for young women.

So such poor peasants wooed the old maidens. They were ready to take the applicant to his father's house, feed him, give him water and humor him in every possible way. Such men were called sparrows. This meant that they would still be here under the heel of his wife, and would not be the real owners of the house. A sparrow chased by a cat. By the way, if the spouse came to his wife's house after marriage, because the father-in-law had no sons, he wore an even more ridiculous nickname - the yardman.

Obabok: a mushroom man who is hard to find a wife

Not everyone could marry a young and beautiful girl. For example, a widower of considerable age, who had lost his wife and had not changed his life for some time, could not count on this. Oddly enough, such men were often blamed for the death of their wife. But the young people did not really want to take care of the elderly widower and his children. But the old maidens (over-the-top) gladly accepted offers from such suitors. If a man delayed getting married after his wife died, he was called an obabk. In general, this was the name of the boletus mushroom. If you remember, the old mushroom becomes soft, like a sponge, it is even difficult to cut it, as it spreads under the knife. Therefore, a man called an obabk was not in demand among young brides. And even today you can often hear: "That's an old mushroom, looking at a young one."

Carrot: carrots as an erotic symbol, and also where does the carrot cake and the search for a wife have to do with it

In accordance with the Cathedral Code of 1649, the girl should have been given in marriage until the moment she turns 15. In the middle of the 19th century, after twenty-five years, women were already called old maidens. Surprisingly, the man who turned thirty and who has not married until now bore the title of old man. Everyone wanted to get married on time, because if time is lost, then counting on a young and hot bride was not worth it - welcome to the world of overdone.

Why did the man remain a bachelor, if he had no visible physical disabilities? Most often, those who suffered from male powerlessness wooed the old maid. These candidates were nicknamed carrots. What's the logic here? Carrots have always been a kind of erotic symbol, personifying masculine strength. If a man was called a carrot, and this is nothing more than a pie stuffed with a delicious orange vegetable, then most likely it was understood that his masculine strength could not be manifested due to the stuck dough.

As you know, dough is a soft, viscous mass that does not at all correspond to ideas about sexuality. It is unlikely that a young girl could bite such a groom, and therefore they had to look for older women. Sometimes there were unions of carrots with the so-called defective bride, marriage, that is, with a woman who had a bad reputation, was considered a walker, sick, unsightly.

No less offensive nicknames were received by women with certain shortcomings. Modern brides would just be offended by them.