What does the word lead by the nose mean. Where did these expressions come from? Origin Lead by the nose

In everyday life, quite often, in order to embellish our speech, we use various phraseological units, speech turns, folk sayings and expressions. Do we know their meaning and history? Here are some examples.

1. "Lead by the nose"

Previously, gypsies entertained people at fairs, speaking with bears. They forced the animals to perform various tricks, while deceiving them with the promise of handouts. The gypsies led the bear by the nose ring. It was from that time that "don't lead me by the nose" means "do not deceive." And the expression “to know the whole story” is connected ... with the old torture, when the accused were driven nails or needles under the nails. The purpose of this rather unpleasant act was to gain recognition.

About the one who knows little, we say "master of sour cabbage soup." The origin of the saying is quite simple. Sour cabbage soup (apparently, in the simplest variation) was a simple meal: water and sauerkraut. It wasn't hard to make soup. And if someone was called the "master of sour cabbage soup", this meant that he was not good for anything worthwhile. The expression “to put a pig on”, that is, to do something bad to someone, is apparently due to the fact that some peoples do not eat pork for religious reasons. And if pork was imperceptibly put into a person’s food, then by doing so they did a very serious dirty trick.

3."beat the buckets"

Today, the expression "beat the buckets" means to do nothing. Meanwhile, before beating the buckets was an occupation. Although quite simple ... Dishes in ancient times were mainly made of wood: cups and spoons, “brothers” and plates - everything was wooden. But in order to cut something, it was necessary to chip off a chock - a baklusha - from a log. It was an easy, trifling matter that was entrusted to apprentices. This lesson was called “beating the buckets”. The craftsmen jokingly called the auxiliary workers "bottlenecks". So, from the jokes of the masters, this expression appeared.

4. "I didn't come to the yard"

When you study proverbs and sayings, you wonder what antiquity they sometimes come from. “I didn’t come to the court” - This saying has an interesting mythological basis. According to her, only the animal that the brownie likes will live in the courtyard (yard). And if you don't like it, you'll either run away or get sick. What to do ... not to the court ...

5. "Scapegoat"

“Found a scapegoat”, “who will they make the scapegoat this time?” - such phrases can often be heard at work. The “scapegoat” is understood as a person on whom all the flaws were hung up, while he himself may have a very indirect relation to the troubles that have happened, or even be completely uninvolved in them. This expression has its own history... The ancient Jews had a rite of absolution, in which a goat participated. The priest laid his hands on the goat's head, as if shifting the sins of the whole people onto it. After this, the unfortunate man, who had a rather weak attitude towards the sins of an entire people, was driven into the wilderness. So it goes. It is not known how many goats went on a harsh journey for the sins of others, but, fortunately, the rite no longer exists. And the expression still lives on.

6."Kazan orphan"

As you know, the expression "Kazan orphan" refers to a person who pretends to be offended or helpless in order to pity someone. Now this phrase is used, rather, as a good-natured joke. But why exactly "Kazan"? This phraseological unit arose after the conquest of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible. Tatar princes (mirzas) became subjects of the Russian tsar. At the same time, they tried to beg from Ivan the Terrible all sorts of concessions and benefits, complaining about the bitter fate. It was they who, thanks to the sharp folk language, became the first "Kazan orphans."

7. "Do not take dirty linen out of the hut"

An ancient and ubiquitous proverb. Of course, it does not teach us uncleanliness. She advises not to endure family squabbles and quarrels in public. Dahl generally wrote beautifully about this proverb: “family squabbles will be sorted out at home, if not under one sheepskin coat, then under one roof.” But this proverb also has a direct meaning: among the peasants, rubbish was never swept out and carried out into the street. It was quite difficult to do: sweep the rubbish into the street through the high rapids. However, the main reason is the existence of a rather serious belief: according to rubbish, unkind people can send damage. Rubbish was usually swept into the oven or cooking corner. When the stove was fired, the rubbish was burned. There was another interesting custom: the wedding guests, testing the patience of the bride, forced the hut to be revenged, while again and again they littered and said: “Sweep, sweep, but don’t take it out of the hut, but rake it under the bench and put it in the oven so that it will take out the smoke ".

8. "Neither stake nor yard"

We are talking about a state of extreme poverty. If we disassemble the content of this proverb, it turns out that there is no “not a stake”, that is, a short pointed stick, “not a yard” - that is, a house. As for the “yard”, everything is clear, and there are no disputes on this score. But about the “col” there is a rather convincing version of the late nineteenth century. The fact is that, at least in some places, a “stake” was called a strip of arable land two sazhens wide. Therefore, not to have a stake means not to have arable land; not to have a yard means to live with others. Well… it makes sense. It is difficult to overestimate, especially in the old days, the importance of arable land for the peasant. In fact, along with the house, she was his main wealth.

9. "to go crazy"

The word "crazy" is often used in Everyday life. As you know, it means a situation where a person has lost the ability to clearly perceive the surrounding reality, to think adequately. Interestingly, the origin of the word is associated with large-scale events in 1771, it was then that a devastating plague raged in Moscow. Eyewitnesses described the following symptoms in people: "The reprimand of the patients is unintelligible and confusing, the tongue is definitely frozen, or bitten, or like that of a drunk." The plague manifested itself in chills, fever, headache and confusion. The memory of the above events is reflected in the word "crazy", which we now apply to much less serious situations.

10."Goof"

Means "to get into a difficult, stupid, embarrassing or ridiculous situation, to miss the danger." It appeared in the speech of old Russian spinners, rope craftsmen and was formed from the combination of getting into a trouble. The word prosak has been lost in modern Russian, since reality itself has passed away - a rope, rope mill, a machine on which in the old days ropes were twisted, stretching from the spinning wheel to the sleigh. When working with prosak, the spinner was in great danger if the beard, clothes or hand fell into the loom: he could lose not only his beard, but sometimes his health or life. The expression get into a mess, where the adverb into a mess is formed from a combination of a noun with a preposition, which is traditional for Russian dialects, has lost direct meaning and now it has become used only in a figurative way, that is, it has acquired the status of a phraseological unit. The origin of many Russian phraseological units, by the way, is connected with the professional environment.

11."Get it on your nose"

This expression is often said today in full confidence that the nose is meant. Ordinary human nose. Sometimes they also show on the nose. Meanwhile, this is a mistake ... The nose used to be called a special plaque for records. It was worn along with special sticks, with which they made various notes or notches as a keepsake. Indeed, in antiquity, for all its severity, no one made any notches on his personal nose as a keepsake.

12."Playing with spillikins"

There is such an old game, with the help of which, as they say, patience and caution are developed: spillikins. Before you lies a bunch of tiny little things, glasses, hammers, hearts - spillikins - piled up in a mess. It is required with a small hook to pull out one spillikin after another from the pile so that the rest are not disturbed. A great activity for idlers! It is not surprising that the expression "playing spillikins" has long meant: to engage in trifles, nonsense, leaving aside the main and important.

13. "Shelving"

There is an assumption that this, meaning “to give the case a long delay”, “to delay its decision for a long time”, arose in Moscow Russia, three hundred years ago. Tsar Alexei, the father of Peter I, ordered in the village of Kolomenskoye in front of his palace to install a long box where anyone could drop their complaint. Complaints fell, but it was very difficult to wait for decisions; often months and years had passed before that. The people renamed this "long" box to "long". It is difficult, however, to vouch for the accuracy of this explanation: after all, we are not talking about "lowering" or not "putting", but "putting it on the back burner." One might think that the expression, if not born, was fixed in speech later, in “presences” - institutions of the 19th century. The then officials, accepting various petitions, complaints and petitions, undoubtedly sorted them, putting them in different boxes. "Long" could be called the one where the most unhurried things were put off. It is clear that the applicants were afraid of such a box. By the way, there is no need to assume that someone once specifically renamed the "long" box into "long": in many places in our country in in native language"long" means "long". The expression “put under the cloth” which was born later has the same meaning. Cloth covered tables in Russian offices.

In our time, this promise is worth nothing. Therefore, lawyers who help draw up a contract are now so popular. Earlier in Russian Empire the word of the merchant was inviolable. If the merchants made a deal, they carefully followed every letter of the contract.
Today there are many citizens who like to "lead by the nose." If we open the dictionary, we will find in it the interpretation of this phraseological unit, how to "deceive or control." Most citizens stop communicating with such people. It is unpleasant to feel that you are being impudently deceived, it is even worse when a person depends on such liars.

The history of the expression "lead by the nose"

The country of origin of this phraseological unit is now difficult to establish, it is only known that this idiom appeared a very long time ago. Researchers are sure that this idiom "to lead by the nose" originated in Central Asia.
Many travelers who found themselves in Asia were amazed to see how a child deftly manages a camel. Indeed, the difference in height was very impressive. The Europeans, who for the first time saw how a child leads a camel with his small hand, and he dutifully followed him, were shocked. Many assumed that this was some kind of witchcraft.

In fact, neither the magic nor the skill of young Asian children has anything to do with it. The thing is that cunning Asians at the dawn of time figured out how to deal with these wayward and strong animals. They pierced their noses and inserted a metal ring to which a rope was tied.
How can a camel disobey in this case?
The same practice extended to wayward bulls, the ring in the nose very quickly cooled their violent temper and easily subordinated these animals to the will of man.

In medieval Russia, exactly the same trick was used, but the ring was threaded into the bear's nose. This was usually done by gypsies, who wandered from city to city and showed this dangerous predator for a small reward.
In order to control the animal and protect the audience, the gypsies tightly gripped the rope that was tied to the iron ring in the bear's nose. A variety of tricks and tricks greatly amused the many visitors to the fair, who did not think at all about the suffering of the poor animal.
This is how the expression "lead by the nose" appeared, which means optionality, deceit and lies.

We don't like being led by the nose. But some love lead others by the nose.

And judging by the prevalence Phraseologism "lead by the nose" they often succeed.

The meaning of phraseology

lead by the nose - deceive, mislead for a certain period of time

Phraseologisms-synonyms: rub glasses, wrap around your finger, powder your brains, hang noodles on your ears

Phraseologisms-antonyms: cut the truth-womb (partially)

IN foreign languages there are similar expressions. Among them:

• lead (smb.) up the garden path, lead a pretty dance (English)
• faire marcher, donner l "eau bénite à (qn) (French)
• J-n an der Nase herumführen (German)

The origin of phraseology

In principle, different versions of the origin of this phraseological unit are very similar in essence: people have learned to deftly control a large animal using a rope tied to a metal ring threaded through its nose. But the details are different:

• The most common version refers to the gypsies who staged street performances with a trained bear. At the same time, they forced him to do various somersaults, deceiving him with promises of handouts. In another version of this version, it is not the bears who are being deceived, but the enthusiastic spectators, whose pockets are emptied by other gypsies during the performance. At the performances, the bears depicted “how guys crush peas”, “how men go to corvée”, “how men return from corvee”, “how the priest goes to serve mass”, etc. In 1867, a decree was issued in Russia "forbidding the trade to drive bears for the amusement of the people" and such representations became illegal.
• The second version is more versatile. According to her, the image of this phraseological unit was formed due to the transfer of the behavior and qualities of an animal (obediently obeying a person, pulling him by a rope tied to a ring threaded through the animal’s nose) to the behavior and qualities of a person (subject to the influence of another person, “leading him by the nose” ). This metaphor is common in many European languages ​​and, according to some sources, originated in the ancient Greek period.

It should be noted that, in general, in a number of other phraseological units, the nose is associated with deception and ridicule. Among them: leave with the nose, pull the nose, show the nose, (poke) the blow under the nose, take it out from under the nose.

Examples from the works of writers

Master and Doctor I - and here
Tom went into his tenth year;
Pupils here and there
I always pass by the nose.
And I still see that knowledge is not given to us.
The chest withered from burning suffering! (J.W. Goethe, "Faust")

- The best sailor sometimes mist leads by the nose, and not one old sea dog was mistaken, taking any stranded for the shore. (D.F. Cooper, "Sorceress of the Sea" or "Ocean Prowler")

I confess I do not understand why it is so arranged that women grab our noses as deftly as if they were the handle of a teapot? Either their hands are so made, or our noses are no longer good for anything. And despite the fact that Ivan Nikiforovich's nose was somewhat like a plum, she [Agafya Fedoseevna] grabbed him by the nose and led him along like a dog. (N.V. Gogol, “The Tale of how Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich”)

The students all fell in love with her, one at a time or several at a time. She led everyone by the nose and told the other about the love of one and laughed at the first, then with the first at the second (I.A. Goncharov, “Cliff”)

- Have you taken these fables at face value? After all, Lentochkin leads you by the nose, plays the most shameless way. (B. Akunin, "Pelagia and the Black Monk")

The expression "to lead by the nose" has quite a vital origin. Here are some examples from the distant past:

Camels are rather free-spirited animals. To make them more docile, when they were small, they pierced their nose, put a ring into it, to which they tied a rope. The animal went where the owner wanted.

The bear naturally hibernates in winter. But he was often taken to fairs, and simply to cities and villages. The bear showed different tricks, and people paid money for it. And in winter, the bear wanted to sleep, he had no time for tricks. So... the ring was also a painful stimulus to work.

Well, this example is known to all of us from the pictures, which depict a huge bull with a nose ring. A thick rope was tied to this ring, by which several hefty men led him.

In all these cases, with the help of a nose ring, the animals were led to where their owners needed. Literally - led by the nose.

Phraseologism "lead by the nose" means the following:

Not just to deceive a person, but to manipulate him by giving incorrect information.

Unfortunately, this is a very common method among loved ones, at work, etc. In general, in any area of ​​life. This is due to the inability of a person to analyze information and compare facts.

I wish that no one ever led you by the nose. Be smart, prudent and self-sufficient.

The phrase arose a long time ago from an unknown country, but definitely from Central Asia.

Travelers and visitors have always been amazed at the ability of boys and girls to manage camels, which obeyed them implicitly.

Desert two-humped animals obediently moved exactly where the little hand of a child led them. The little man will pull the rope to which the camel is tied and the animal dutifully follows him. And the secret is pretty simple. The fact is that in the nose of the camel there was a ring with which the rope was connected. It's hard to disobey. By the way, they did the same with the bulls. This made it possible to subdue the animal and their ferocious temper.

In Russia, this trick was also used, but only to bears. Gypsies performed with these animals at fairs. And the people had fun and earned. This was done for the safety of the audience and themselves. A ring was inserted into the nose of the bear, with the help of which they directed the beast. All sorts of tricks and tricks greatly amused visitors to bazaars and fairs. And no one thought about the suffering of the clubfoot, unfortunately.

And so the phrase appeared, denoting deceit and optionality.