The directory was compiled by the editors of the Gramota.ru portal based on materials from the following publications:

Birikh A.K., Mokienko V.M., Stepanova L.I. Russian phraseology. Historical and etymological dictionary / Ed. V. M. Mokienko. – 3rd ed., rev. and additional – M., 2005.

Dushenko K. V. Dictionary modern quotes. – 4th ed., rev. and additional – M., 2006.

Dushenko K.V. Quotes from Russian literature. Directory. M., 2005.

Kochedykov L. G. Brief dictionary foreign language phraseological units. M., 1995.

Weave bast shoes (obsolete simple irony) – 1) to confuse something in the case; 2) conduct an intricate, florid, confusing conversation (often with the aim of deceiving, confusing). The expression contains the name of one of the realities of Russian life. Bask work - weaving bast shoes, matting, boxes from bast - did not require special skill, which is also reflected in other proverbs: To lead a house is not to weave bast shoes; Living at home is not sewing a basket. figurative meaning of the verb weave -“arranging something complicated, confusing”, “saying something awkward, stupid” is closely related to the direct one: “a simple, simple thing.”

Paw sucking (simple irony) - to live poorly, from hand to mouth. The expression is actually Russian. Originally it meant “to live with reserves” - from the custom of bears to live off fat reserves all winter and suck their paws during hibernation.

a swan song – about the last one, usually the most significant work, creation, the last manifestation of the talent of an artist, writer, etc. The expression goes back to ancient beliefs that a swan sings only once in its life - before death, and this song is beautiful. The expression is found in the writings of ancient Greek and Roman writers and poets; for the first time, apparently, in Aeschylus’s tragedy “Agamemnon”. Brem in “The Life of Animals” says that the voice of a whooper swan resembles the ringing of a silver bell, and the last breaths of a mortally wounded swan pour out in the form of a melodious melody. Apparently, the tale of the swan song is based on reality, but poetry has clothed it in the form of a legend.

Easy to remember - about someone who appears at the moment when they are spoken or thought about. There are two versions of the origin of the turnover. According to one of them, the expression goes back to the saying Lthere's a wolf in sight, associated with ancient superstitions that forbade saying the name of the beast out loud: it’s worth saying the word wolf out loud, as a wolf will immediately appear. Therefore, this word is not in the proverb, it is only implied. According to the second version, the expression is associated with folk custom, ritual action. During the burial, they commemorated not only the dead (for their repose), but also those who left (for their health). If after this mention the man soon returned, they said: easy to remember.

Get into trouble - undertake something obviously risky, doomed to failure. Obsolete word trouble denotes a sharpened stake (horn) that was used in bear hunting. Furious beast got into trouble- a wide knife, sharpened on both sides, on a long stick with a crossbar under the blade, which the bear itself grabbed onto.

Flying Dutchman (often joke.) – 1) about a constantly traveling, wandering person, a wanderer; 2) about a restless, restless, constantly fussing person. The reverse is a tracing paper with it. der fliegende Hollander. Goes back to the medieval legend about a captain who vowed to round the cape blocking his way in a storm, even if it cost him his life and lasted forever. For his pride, he was punished by fate: the ghost of the captain and his ghostly ship have been rushing across the sea forever since then. Sailors consider bad omen see him on your way. In German and other modern European languages, the expression became popular thanks to Wagner's opera The Flying Dutchman (1841).

Pitching the bells (disapproved) - lie, spread fables, gossip; talk idle talk. The expression is associated with the superstitious custom that existed in the old days of spreading incredible rumors and fables during the casting of church bells. It was believed that the more incredible a rumor or fable was and the more more people If someone believes him, the more ringing and beautiful in tone the new bell will be.

Sleight of hand, no fraud (jokingly ironic) - about a very clever deception, fraud. This expression became popular after the film “A Start to Life” (1931), where it was the favorite phrase of the film’s hero, the street child and clever thief Mustafa. This phrase apparently goes back to the German saying Eins, zwei, drei! Geschwindigkeit ist keine Hexerei! "One two Three! Speed ​​is not witchcraft at all”; translated by A. Gornfeld: “No witchcraft, but only sleight of hand.” According to G. Heine, these are the words of the famous magician Jantjen of Amsterdam.

The bast doesn't knit (simple contempt) - about a very drunk person who is unable to coordinate his movements and speak coherently. The expression is associated with folk craft: boxes, tueski and bast shoes were woven from bast (linden bark). Every peasant had to be able to, if not weave, then at least to knit bast shoes, pick them up, i.e. repair them if necessary. If he doesn’t knit the bast, then he is either mentally disabled or drunk to the limit.

Pull the strap (disapproved) – do hard, monotonous work for a long time. The expression goes back to the speech of barge haulers on Russian navigable rivers. The ships went down with the current, and horses or barge haulers were used to lift them up, against the current. The owner of the ship hired a team of barge haulers, and they pulled the ships against the current using a rope - a towline. The rope was attached to a mast or a specially installed pole. The barge haulers threw straps attached to the towline over their shoulders and walked along the shore or in shallow water near the shore, dragging ships or barges behind them. Strap in expression - a wide belt made of leather or durable fabric, which is thrown over the shoulder for traction or carrying loads.

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

"Flying Dutchman"(Dutch. De Vliegende Hollander, English. The Flying Dutchman) - a legendary sailing ghost ship that cannot land on the shore and is doomed to forever plow the seas. Usually people observe such a ship from afar, sometimes surrounded by a luminous halo. According to legend, when the Flying Dutchman encounters another ship, its crew tries to send messages ashore to people who have long been dead. In maritime beliefs, an encounter with the Flying Dutchman was considered a bad omen.

Origin

Legend has it that in the 1700s, Dutch captain Philip Van der Decken (or in some versions Van Straaten) was returning from the East Indies with a young couple on board. The captain liked the girl; he killed her betrothed, and proposed to her to become his wife, but the girl threw herself overboard.

Other versions of the legend

• Van der Decken vowed to sell his soul to the devil if he could pass the cape unharmed and not run into the rocks. However, in the contract he did not specify that this needed to be done only once, and therefore he was doomed to eternal wandering.
• Due to strong storms, the ship was unable to round Cape Horn for a long time (according to another version, the Cape of Good Hope). The crew rebelled, asking the skipper to turn back. But the angry Van Straaten began to blaspheme in response and declared that he would storm Cape Horn, even if he had to sail until the second coming. In response to such blasphemy, a terrible voice was heard from the sky: “So be it - swim!”
• The crew of a Dutch merchant ship fell ill with a terrible disease. For fear that the disease might be brought ashore, no port accepted the ship. The ship with sailors who died from illness, lack of water and food still roams the seas and oceans.
• One version tells of Captain Falkenburg, who was doomed to wander the North Sea until the Last Judgment, playing dice with the devil for his own soul.
• The crew of the Flying Dutchman was in such a hurry to get home that they did not come to the aid of another sinking ship, for which they were cursed.

Possible explanation

One of the possible explanations, as well as the origin of the name, is associated with the phenomenon of Fata Morgana, since the mirage is always visible above surface of the water.

It is also possible that the glowing halo is St. Elmo's fire. For sailors, their appearance promised hope for success, and in times of danger, for salvation.

Fata morgana of the ships.jpg

This image shows how the Fata Morgana changes the shape of the two ships. The four photographs in the right column are of the first ship, and the four photographs in the left column are of the second.

Fata Morgana of a boat.jpg

A chain of changing mirages.

There is also a version that yellow fever played a role in the origin of the legend. Transmitted by mosquitoes that bred in containers of food water, this disease was quite capable of destroying an entire ship. An encounter with such a ghost ship was truly life-threatening: hungry mosquitoes immediately attacked living sailors and transmitted the infection to them.

In art

IN fiction the legend has been presented in many variations. The novel was published in 1839 English writer Frederick Marryat's "Ghost Ship" (English)Russian, which tells about the wanderings of Philip Van der Decken, the son of the captain of the cursed ship. Nikolai Gumilyov’s poem “” from the cycle “Captains”, IV, published in 1909, is dedicated to the Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman is mentioned in the story “Captain Duke” by Alexander Greene.

The expression has been used more than once in cinema as an allusion. The title “The Flying Dutchman” was given to such films as the film by Vladimir Vardunas, shot at the Yalta film studio “Fora Film” in 1990, and the film by the Dutch director Jos Stelling, released in 1995.

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Notes

see also

• "Mary Celeste" is another common noun for ghost ships.
• "Corsairs: City of Lost Ships" - computer role-playing game, in which the player is given the opportunity to remove the curse from the Flying Dutchman.

An excerpt characterizing The Flying Dutchman

Since the morning of that day, Natasha had not had a minute of freedom, and not once had time to think about what lay ahead of her.
In the damp, cold air, in the cramped and incomplete darkness of the swaying carriage, for the first time she vividly imagined what awaited her there, at the ball, in the illuminated halls - music, flowers, dancing, the sovereign, all the brilliant youth of St. Petersburg. What awaited her was so beautiful that she did not even believe that it would happen: it was so incongruous with the impression of cold, cramped space and darkness of the carriage. She understood everything that awaited her only when, having walked along the red cloth of the entrance, she entered the entryway, took off her fur coat and walked next to Sonya in front of her mother between the flowers along the illuminated stairs. Only then did she remember how she had to behave at the ball and tried to adopt the majestic manner that she considered necessary for a girl at the ball. But fortunately for her, she felt that her eyes were running wild: she could not see anything clearly, her pulse beat a hundred times a minute, and the blood began to pound at her heart. She could not accept the manner that would make her funny, and she walked, frozen with excitement and trying with all her might to hide it. And this was the very manner that suited her most of all. In front and behind them, talking just as quietly and also in ball gowns, guests entered. The mirrors along the stairs reflected ladies in white, blue, pink dresses, with diamonds and pearls on their open arms and necks.
Natasha looked in the mirrors and in the reflection could not distinguish herself from others. Everything was mixed into one brilliant procession. Upon entering the first hall, the uniform roar of voices, footsteps, and greetings deafened Natasha; the light and shine blinded her even more. The owner and hostess, who had already been standing for half an hour front door and those who said the same words to those entering: “charme de vous voir,” [in admiration that I see you] greeted the Rostovs and Peronskaya in the same way.
Two girls in white dresses, with identical roses in their black hair, sat down in the same way, but the hostess involuntarily fixed her gaze longer on thin Natasha. She looked at her and smiled especially at her, in addition to her masterful smile. Looking at her, the hostess remembered, perhaps, her golden, irrevocable girlhood time, and her first ball. The owner also followed Natasha with his eyes and asked the count who was his daughter?
- Charmante! [Charming!] - he said, kissing the tips of his fingers.
Guests stood in the hall, crowding at the front door, waiting for the sovereign. The Countess placed herself in the front row of this crowd. Natasha heard and felt that several voices asked about her and looked at her. She realized that those who paid attention to her liked her, and this observation calmed her somewhat.
“There are people just like us, and there are people worse than us,” she thought.
Peronskaya named the countess the most significant people who were at the ball.
“This is the Dutch envoy, you see, gray-haired,” said Peronskaya, pointing to an old man with silver gray curly, abundant hair, surrounded by ladies, whom he made laugh for some reason.
“And here she is, the queen of St. Petersburg, Countess Bezukhaya,” she said, pointing to Helen as she entered.
- How good! Will not yield to Marya Antonovna; Look how both young and old flock to her. She is both good and smart... They say the prince... is crazy about her. But these two, although not good, are even more surrounded.
She pointed to a lady passing through the hall with a very ugly daughter.
“This is a millionaire bride,” said Peronskaya. - And here are the grooms.
“This is Bezukhova’s brother, Anatol Kuragin,” she said, pointing to the handsome cavalry guard who walked past them, looking somewhere from the height of his raised head across the ladies. - How good! is not it? They say they will marry him to this rich woman. And your sauce, Drubetskoy, is also very confusing. They say millions. “Why, it’s the French envoy himself,” she answered about Caulaincourt when the countess asked who it was. - Look like some kind of king. But still, the French are nice, very nice. No miles for society. And here she is! No, our Marya Antonovna is the best! And how simply dressed. Lovely! “And this fat one, with glasses, is a world-class pharmacist,” said Peronskaya, pointing to Bezukhov. “Put him next to your wife: he’s a fool!”

Chickens laugh

Chicken, according to popular belief, is one of the least respectable birds. Unlike other domestic birds, it can neither swim nor fly. All chicken interests are limited to food, and is reflected in the proverb: “Who cares, but smokers are millet.” They say about a poorly built hut that it stands on chicken legs. And when a person does something that makes the chickens laugh, then this will already be unsurpassed nonsense.

Night blindness

Night blindness is a disease in which a person has difficulty seeing after dark. According to popular belief, in order to be cured, you need to go to a crossroads, sit on the ground and pretend that you have lost something. To the traveler’s question “What are you looking for?” you should answer: “Whatever I find, I won’t give it to you!”, wipe your eyes with your hand and wave at the inquisitive person. This is enough for the disease to leave one person and spread to another. Night blindness was passed on to the chickens themselves: they went into the chicken coop, where they doused themselves cold water or ate boiled beef liver. Also early in the morning they went to wash themselves in the spring rain; Water taken from the place where the river originates was also considered healing. According to legend, you should not step into ashes or soot, as this will cause night blindness.

In a figurative sense, “night blindness” is a lack of understanding, a rejection of the obvious; unwillingness to listen to generally accepted opinion.

Laurel wreath

In ancient Greece, the laurel tree was considered a symbol of the god Apollo, the patron of art. The winners of competitions (musical or poetry) were awarded a wreath of laurel branches, from which the word “laureate” comes. This custom has survived to this day.

In the modern understanding, wearing a laurel wreath means winning victory and glory.

a swan song

The expression has been known since ancient times. It is based on popular belief as if a swan sings only once in its life - before death. His voice resembles the pleasant sound of a silver bell, and his last breath is very melodious.

Most often the expression "swan song" is used when we're talking about O last piece artist.

The lion's share

Father of phraseology - ancient Greek fabulist Aesop. In one of his works, Leo said: “I take the first part as a participant in the hunt, the second - for courage, the third I take, knowing the appetite of my family. Anyone who doubts my right to the fourth share, let him speak out.” And so he took all the spoils for himself. But then the expression “lion’s share” acquired a different meaning - the largest share of booty, money, property, inheritance, etc.

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The expression belongs to Jesus Christ, but its origin is ambiguous. According to one version, a camel is a thick rope woven from camel hair, and it is really impossible to pull it into a needle. According to another, the residents of Jerusalem called the eye of a needle one of the city gates, which were too low and narrow to let a caravan of camels through.

The first part of the expression became widely used - “it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle,” which acquired the meaning “very difficult, almost impossible.”

Flying Dutchman

According to sailor legend, one Dutch captain vowed to sail his ship around a cape (a small piece of land that juts out into the sea or river) that blocked his path, even if it took forever. For such audacity and defiance of storms, he was doomed, together with his dead crew, to forever rush (synonymous with “fly”) through the sea on a ghost ship, rather than mooring to the shore. The sailors believed that a meeting with the Flying Dutchman foreshadowed a storm, the death of the ship and people. Now the phraseology "flying Dutchman" is used to describe people who are constantly on the road.

Lika doesn't knit

When simple people they wore shoes woven from bast - the inner part of the linden bark. It was called bast shoes. Baskets and other products were woven from bast. Every peasant knew how to, if not weave, then at least mend bast shoes.

To say about a person that he doesn’t know anything meant that she was either out of her mind or very drunk. In the modern understanding, “it doesn’t knit” - he is able to speak normally and understandably (about a drunk).

Other phraseological units are also associated with the face: not lykom shit - capable, smart, brave, strong, experienced; to kick the bast - to beat, punish, deal with or cruelly rob, exploit; like buckwheat bast - bad, clumsy.