It happens that some efforts are clearly not enough to achieve certain goals, and then a person, speaking about them, gives them a definition - a drop in the ocean. We will consider the meaning of phraseologism further, and also discuss why sometimes even a drop of something is very important.
Origin
It is impossible to talk about any specific source of origin, since phraseological units, most likely, were born from simple human observation and a common understanding of part and whole. What is a drop in relation to the sea? Almost nothing.
Tonality of expression
When they say that this is a drop in the ocean (the meaning of phraseology in the process of research) in relation to something, then such a characteristic is not the best. For example, a person is collecting a car. He saved for a long time and collected 10,000 rubles a year, and the car he wants costs, say, 1,500,000 rubles.
Phraseological synonyms
To better understand what synonyms of the expression in question can be, it is again more effective to turn to images.
For example, a person owes a lot of money to creditors or the state. And a friend offers him help. Their dialogue will be saturated with various substitutions of speech circulation “drop in the sea”. We found out the meaning of phraseologism, now let's see what analogues it has in Russian:
“Hi, Petya, why are you so sad?” - asks a friend Sergei.
- Yes, you know, debts completely strangled me, and the cat cried for my salaries. I can’t take a loan, expensive things that I could give as a mortgage - I took care of it once or twice, can I not really sleep on the floor?
“And how much do you need, Petya, for you to sleep peacefully on your couch?”
- Yes, nothing at all - some 10,000 rubles.
- You know what, I just received a prize, let’s go, I will lend you the treasured amount.
- True? You are a true friend, Serge!
We can see from the conversation of two friends that such expressions as “the cat cried”, “once or twice and miscalculated”, “nothing at all” convey the same meaning as the phrase “drop in the sea”. We examined the meaning of phraseology and possible synonyms using imaginary dialogues, which could very well be in reality. It remains for us to draw a definite conclusion.
Indeed, the sea is huge, and the drop is small compared to it, but the balance of power changes when it comes to human mutual assistance and understanding. Perhaps someone believes that a good word is worthless, but sometimes it can turn mountains and turn rivers back or save a life. In other words, sometimes a drop in the sea is very significant when it comes to a particle of human heat.
If we leave aside the lyrics, then all the tasks assigned to us are fulfilled: the origin, the meaning of the expression “drop in the sea” are considered. A synonym was also chosen, and not even one. We have offered several options to choose from. We hope the reader is satisfied with the work done.