What unexpected and at first glance even incomprehensible expressions do not contain dictionaries of the Russian language! And here is the “gulkin nose” - who is a gulka and what does her nose have to do with it? Let's try to figure it out.
The meaning of phraseology "with gulkin nose"
The richness of the native language is also characteristic in that the definition of a particular concept is not limited to just one word. You can simply say: "I'm hungry." But this will be nothing more than a statement of fact. And you can add expression to this message and say: “Since yesterday there was no poppy dew in the mouth.” And the degree of hunger of the speaker becomes almost perceptible. How richer this message sounds!
There are a great many such examples. No wonder that a huge number of relevant dictionaries have been published explaining the meanings and origin of various stable expressions.
The meaning of phraseology “with a gulkin nose” also expands the concepts of “very small” or “very small, small”. It is used, as a rule, when characterizing a place, objects, money: “He needs a place with a gulkin nose”, “And coins in his wallet - with a gulkin nose”, “He has a room with a gulkin nose”. Value the phrase "with a sparrow nose" still expresses something small.
The history of the origin of the expression "with a gulkin nose"
Phraseologisms and words have common features - lexical meaning and grammatical category. The first parameter is confirmed by the fact that both can be correlated as synonyms. The idiom “with a gulkin nose” in the meaning of “very little” also refers to these.
The history of phraseological units indicates the phrase as a genetic source of stable expressions. By and large, each of the idioms represents a grammatical construction, which is rethought for a specific concept. This is also indicated by the expression in question.
Phraseologism "with a gulkin nose" is directly related to the beak of a dove. Are these birds usually called up? “Guli-guli-guli” - in imitation of their “conversation”. And they themselves became affectionately called these birds. And the beak - the nose of a dove, gulki - is very shallow in comparison with its body. This is the lexico-genetic origin: “with a gulkin nose” - therefore, something extremely small, well, just with a pigeon beak.
Synonyms of phraseological units in Russian
The expression in question belongs to the category of winged words. It is known that thanks to them the language is enriched. By the way, the meaning of phraseology “with a gulkin nose” in Russian vocabulary has several more similar winged phrases.
- With various expressive shades, no less common expressions about a small amount can be used in speech: “a cat cried”, “a drop in the sea”, “can be counted on the fingers”, “one, two and miscalculated”, “barely enough”, “nothing "," On the little finger. "
- The expressions “shorter than a sparrow’s nose” (“with a sparrow’s nose”), “with a pinhead”, “with a little finger” are appropriate to say about the small size of an object. Note, by the way, that the two last expressions of the indicated categories are given a slightly different meaning by the prepositions “on” and “s” used with them.
The history of phraseologisms is rich in such examples. Expanding the topic, one can turn to verbal synonyms (including dialectisms) that have the same meaning.
- In the meaning of "little": drip, drop, penniless, on the bottom, odd;
- in the meaning of "small": tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, microscopic, takusenky.
Synonyms in other languages
Of course, the original Russian expression associated with the onomatopoeic name of the dove cannot be literally transferred to other people's lexical systems.
However, in different languages ​​there are stable expressions that have the meaning of "very little". So, in English it is the phrase less then nothing, literally meaning "less than nothing." And the familiar “drop in the sea” in English sounds a drop in the ocean (drop in the ocean).
In German, so klein / wenig wie Taubennase is almost “gulkin’s nose”, which literally translates as “as small / as small as the dove’s nose”.
The winged Spanish expression, bearing the same meaning, sounds like no hay para un bocado, i.e. there is no room for a bite.
The Japanese version of phraseology (neko no hitai hodo), which has the literal meaning "with a cat's forehead" and also means "very little, almost nothing," also seems interesting.
Antonyms of phraseologism in Russian
Naturally, if the concept of “very little” exists, then, accordingly, the opposite should also be. What could be the opposite meaning of phraseology “with a gulkin nose”?
An example is the idiom "even a dime a dozen." In the old days, in order to artificially create a small body of water, a river flow was blocked by a dam. For its construction they used stones, earth, in general any waste, cheap material, which was in large quantities around - even a dime a dozen.
As antonyms one can consider the expressions “visible-invisible”, “more than enough”, “there is no end to the edge”, “as much as you like”, “carriage and small cart”, as well as the word “full”.
Although at first glance this seems somewhat unexpected, in a certain sense the phrase “no end” can be used. Cf .: work with Gulkin nose - work is no end.
Antonyms in other languages
The expression “with a gulkin nose” with the opposite meaning has interesting variations in other languages. In English, this antonym with the meaning "at least a dime a dozen" will sound like this: at least a dime a dozen. Translated into Russian as “at least a dime (a coin of 10 cents) per dozen”.
In English, there is one more expression - the antonym of “gulkin’s nose”, which corresponds to Russian “carriage and small cart”: enough for a man and his dog (that is, literally: enough for a person and his dog).
The Spanish phrase al menos a diez centavos por docena has the same meaning as the English one about 10 cents per dozen.
French correspondence to Russian “even a dime a dozen” - au moins treize à la douzaine. Literally translated as "at least thirteen per dozen (i.e., twelve)."
In German, the analogues are “more than enough” - jeder menge, that is, “a large number”, “at least a dime a dozen” - Im Überfluss (“in abundance”), but these are, so to speak, word substitutes. And there is such a stable phrase: so viel wie Sand am Meer, which literally translates: "as much as sand by the sea."
The use of the expression "with gulkin nose" in the literature
Phraseologists have an enviable fate. He assigned the role of elements of the language, decorating and enriching it. Take at least the expression "with a gulkin nose." The value "very small, very small", as has already been established, have several more stable expressions that are successfully used in literary speech.
And although in the dictionaries next to the idiom under consideration there is a note “simple.” - vernacular, it’s not difficult to imagine how dull the dialogue would have sounded, say, of the heroes of S. Antonov’s novel “It was Penkov,” if instead of “gulkin’s nose” a laconic “very little” was written: “A dryer is needed when there is something to dry, He interrupted her. “And you know how much seed corn we have.” With a gulkin nose. "
As already noted, the phrase is used not only to determine the scanty amount, but also in the description of size, area. So, in the “Family of Zvonarevs” A. Stepanov, through the lips of one of the heroes, remarks: “One thing is bad: where to put something? "Shed - with a gulkin nose, and even that roof is thin."
The use of the phrase "with gulkin nose" in oral speech
When people talk to each other in a casual environment, it certainly doesn’t occur to them what lexical units they use in their conversation - phraseologisms or just words. And stable expressions have this peculiarity: they represent a complete formation and are used, organically and naturally flowing into the speech stream. And “with a gulkin nose” is not at all an exception. Rather, the opposite.
Phraseologisms like words are used in oral speech, obeying the established norms of the language. However, they can be pronounced by speakers and in slightly modified form. You can use the phrase without an excuse: "small - well, purely gulkin nose." In another colloquial version, it sounds like "no more gulkin nose." And above, such a synonym for the expression in question was noted as “with a sparrow’s nose”. As they say, the birds are different, but the meaning is the same.
Conclusion
Among the various components of the composite section of linguistics, called phraseology, the expression "with a gulkin nose" stands out according to the method of education: its component is a kind of rethought word. “Gulka” is “pigeon”, “nose” is “beak”, and as a result, the resulting expression “pigeon's beak” expresses a new meaning - “negligible”.
As a rule, phraseological units are mostly elements of colloquial speech, no matter how often they are used in fiction. However, it is rather difficult to separate them from the neutral in style expressions used in different types of speech, including colloquial.
Knowing what “with a gulkin nose” means as idiom, you can use it in everyday communication in a role that linguists would characterize as stylistically reduced - colloquial.
However, if you try to conduct a kind of experiment on the frequency of use of this phraseology, in comparison with words that have the same meaning, then, perhaps, the idiomatic expression will be in the winners. If this is not "with a gulkin nose," then the "cat cried" - for sure.