Many phraseologisms are used to characterize a person. Among these stable expressions, we can mention the “cinquefoil”. Who is it called? To answer this question, you need to determine what the phraseology “goose cinquefoil” means. We will try to figure this out in this article.
“Goose cinquefoil” - phraseological unit: meaning
In order to interpret this expression, we turn to the explanatory dictionary of S. I. Ozhegov and the phraseological dictionary Stepanova M. I.
The first gives the following definition: about a clever person, a crook. It was noted that the expression is colloquial.
In the phraseological dictionary of M. Stepanova, the following interpretation is given: the disapproving characterization of a person who admits reprehensible acts, sluggishness, shortsightedness, arrogance, etc. It is indicated that the expression is ironic and is used in colloquial style.
Thus, we can conclude that "goose cinquefoil" is a phraseological unit having a negative color. It characterizes sneaky people.
A fascinating story about the origin of the phrase "goose cinquefoil"
Phraseologism appeared thanks to Count Vasily Saltykov. He was the owner of an exit settlement. He had a nickname - the goose count. It appeared not by chance. That's because he raised herds of geese.
In the village in which he lived, there were all conditions for breeding this bird. Around meadows, near the river. Bred a count of geese for marketing. However, in those days, a retired ambassador could sell such a large number of birds only in Moscow and St. Petersburg. At the same time, in the old days a bird was bought live.
The count had a question, how to carry geese to the capitals, which were far from his estate? When the geese were brought to these cities in carts, they had a non-market appearance when they arrived: they were emaciated, and no one wanted to buy them. Then the count came up with an original way that would help deliver his birds over long distances in good condition. He ordered the geese to be driven under their own power.
They prepared the road for a start: they plowed the land and planted it with grass so that the bird would not lose along the way, but would gain weight. One by one the flocks of geese ready for sale began to be driven. And then another problem came to light. Poor geese rubbed their paws until blood. That was not good either. Then the count (or someone from his environment) decided to shoe the birds. We started to fit bast shoes on the feet of geese. However, the birds were not enthusiastic about the shoe; they tried in every possible way to get rid of it. And those bast shoes that remained quickly wore out.
What was needed was an idea that would help deliver birds to distant cities without prejudice to their presentation. It was as follows. As you know, the legs of geese are able to withstand different temperatures. They can walk both on ice and on hot sand. Based on this observation, it was decided to do the following. Hot resin was poured, geese were driven on it. After that, the birds were sent to the poured sand. Thus, geese formed peculiar horseshoes. They protected their paws, and the birds began to drive to the farthest cities for sale, right up to Paris.
Hence the expression "goose cinquefoil" came from. Phraseologism characterized Count Saltykov. He got so contrived that he found a way to achieve his goal. Since then, this expression is characterized by sneaky and dexterous businessmen. However, this definition is very disapproving.
Conclusion
We examined the expression "goose cinquefoil" - phraseological unit, which is actively used in literature and journalism. In the article, we noted what this phrase means and how it was formed.