"Going all out" - what does this expression mean? It can often be found both in literature and in everyday speech. Despite this, not everyone knows about its meaning. Moreover, in its use there are some shades. This article will tell you about what it means to go into all seriousness, about versions of its origin.
Several interpretations
Regarding what it means "to the best of our ability", dictionaries give several options for explanations:
- Firstly, it is rampant and reckless to indulge in something reprehensible: profligacy or drunkenness, revelry; burn life, not knowing any limit, not observing moral standards. Example: "As soon as Sergey became aware that his wife was unfaithful to him, he wanted to go into all seriousness: to get drunk so as to completely disconnect from joyless reality."
- Secondly, this is not to shun any means in achieving their goals. Example: “In order not to get into the army, he went all out: he began to invent diseases for himself, to get fake certificates.”
- Thirdly, it is to start doing something with full dedication, very intensively. Example: "Achieving a record flowering of plants, the gardener went all the way, watering them endlessly and feeding them with fertilizers."
As you can see, in the first two cases the expression is used in a dismissive and even in a reprehensible sense, while in the latter it has a more or less neutral connotation.
It should be noted that there is no unequivocal opinion about what the phrase “breaking bad” means. Let's consider some of them.
Jingle bells
The linguists who express it, explaining what it means "to the best of their ability", are referred to the vocabulary of the ringer. There is a special name for the large bells on the belfry. They are called "heavy." The time when you need to beat at them is determined by the Typicon, the church charter.
In ancient times, bells were made of various sizes and voices, including very large ones. So, for example, the famous bell of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin had a weight of 4 thousand pounds, which is 65 tons. This explains the name indicated above.
Initially, the expression “hit hard” appeared, which meant “ring all the bells”. In ancient times, with their help, people were informed about important events. Along with the one under consideration, there was also the phrase “ring all the bells”. It, along with the literal meaning, acquired figurative and began to mean a noisy discussion of any news.
Thus, part of the etymologists came to the conclusion that it was from the bell ringers and their heavy bells that the studied expression appeared in our language, which in the future was rethought and began to denote behavior that was characterized by great expression.
Litigation
According to other etymologists, the phraseological unit under study is directly related to the word “lawsuit”. This is an outdated legal term that means litigation in a civil proceeding.
In a figurative sense in colloquial speech, it means any disagreements, disputes. It is not surprising that court proceedings do not bring a person positive emotions, cause difficult feelings, especially if they drag on for a long time.
In jurisprudence, there is such a term as “clericalism”, it characterizes people who are called stoops. They are inclined to engage in lawsuits for various reasons. Often they fight for their infringed rights and interests, which in fact turn out to be exaggerated or even imaginary.
Kverulyanty file complaints to various authorities, statements of claim to the court. Decisions made in their cases are disputed, their failure and failure lead to their even greater conviction of an biased attitude towards them. Therefore, they continue to file protests and appeal against court decisions. As a result, things can drag on for years to come.
This is exactly what is implied by some etymologists when they explain what it means "to the utmost."
Indulge in sins
According to the third version, the phraseologism under consideration is associated with the expression “to go into all the hard”, which, in turn, is close to the phrase “it was not easy”. What does an adjective mean in this context? This has long been called "evil spirits," "evil spirits."
This meant otherworldly forces and various evil creatures, such as spirits, devils, demons, undead, werewolves, brownies, goblins, mermaids. The common thing for them is belonging to an alien, impure, negative, other world, as well as their inherent insidiousness towards people. Shepherds, millers, blacksmiths, sorcerers and witches were suspected of having connections with such forces.
In the Christian religion, evil spirits were understood to mean fallen angels. In accordance with apocryphal ideas, part of the evil spirits were created by God, and part by Satan.
With the passage of time, the expression "go into all seriousness" began to be used, where the used adjective is similar to the word "hard". Along with this, it is understood that the phraseological unit under study applies to serious sins. That is, he assumes that the person is completely surrendered to them.
In conclusion of the consideration of the question of what “in all serious ways” means, it should be noted that the last version of its origin is most consistent with the meaning in which it is used today.