Animals in proverbs and sayings |
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Here are some riddles taken at random from the dictionary of V.I.Dahl:
The prominent Russian fiction writer and ethnographer S. V. Maksimov wrote: “The animal kingdom has given many similarities suitable for proverbial expressions and winged words”. Let us recall here at least some of them:
Consoling a friend who made a completely excusable mistake, we say: "Do not grieve, the horse has four legs, but it stumbles." Having achieved more than a modest result, we reassure ourselves that "there is no fish and cancer." We scold for greed: "If you chase two hares, you won't catch a single one." We teach to maintain endurance and patience: "And they teach the bear to dance." We frankly condemn hypocrisy, hypocrisy, saying: "The wolf took pity on the mare, left his tail and mane" - or simply by mentioning "crocodile tears."
Whatever language you take, whatever dictionary you open, in any of them it is easy to find clear traces of centuries-old communication between man and wildlife. Words-images, phrases-metaphors, gleaned in this communication, decorate our speech, making it more emotional, brighter, more colorful; on the other hand, all of them in their totality represent, as it were, a miraculous monument to our planetary neighbors — those who run, jump, crawl, swim and fly. Krasnopevtsev V.P. |
A lot can be found in the dictionary of "people from the forest". Sometimes their origins are in plain sight; others require some effort to decipher; only a specialist can understand the pedigree of the third. But animals not only densely “populated” our vocabulary, they are also the protagonists of many, if not most, folk riddles, proverbs and sayings, without which a bright, figurative speech is inconceivable.
"The hen is sitting on golden eggs, and her tail is wooden." (Charcoal pan and skillet.)
"To be afraid of wolves - do not go to the forest"
The last proverb has, by the way, interesting analogies:
There are many proverbs and sayings in which animals act as characters in other languages. We will limit ourselves here to just a few examples:
Wishing you success in your business, the representative of the African Shilluk tribe will say: "Kwomi omul yi tvol", which means: "A snake will crawl along your back." The wish might not seem very pleasant, if it were not for the self-evident for the Shilluk its final, omitted part: "without biting, without causing harm."
Winged words and expressions are close to folk proverbs and sayings: "dove of peace", "wolf in sheep's clothing", "mountain gave birth to a mouse", "scapegoat", "swan song", "disservice", "three whales", etc. n. As a matter of fact, all their difference from folklore is a more or less precise address and date of origin. For example, the author of the well-known expression "This is where the dog is buried" was the German Count Wangijnheim, who lived in the 17th century in Thuringia.During the internecine war, the dog Stutzel served as a liaison with the besieged castle. The dog fell at the hands of the enemy; the grateful count buried the faithful messenger in the family park, and on a stone tombstone he inscribed the words that later became winged: "This is where the dog is buried" ...
| Golden eagle |
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