It is difficult to guess the significance of many speech turns without knowing the history of their origin. This problem is often encountered by people who are fluent in the language. Where did the mysterious expression “sharpen the hair” come from in Russian? What is the point of traditionally investing in it? The answers to these questions can be found in this article.
The expression "sharpen the hair": origin
Unfortunately, linguists have not yet reached a consensus on where this expression came from. Many of them associate the speech turnover “sharpening the baldness” with the ancient craft, which is already left only in the memories. Carved posts, which were used as a support for stair railings, were once called lassos (balusters, balusters).
Making bald (baluster) - a work that can hardly be called heavy, burdensome. It is not surprising that the masters in the process of working entertained themselves with conversations with each other without the slightest damage to the result. The most popular theory says that this is exactly how the speech turn “sharpening lyasy” appeared in our language.
Alternative version
Of course, there are other versions that explain the origin of the mysterious phraseological unit. For example, some modern linguists suggest paying attention to the word "ballet". They argue that it could have been formed from the Old Slavic verb "balak", which translates as "talk, talk." Nowadays, it is almost forgotten.
In this case, the word “sharpen” is also attributed a completely different meaning. Researchers suggest looking for its roots in the Indo-European language. If you rely on their theory, the verb was formed from the words "pour, exude." Therefore, it means "to exude sounds", "pour out speech."
Expression value
“Sharpening Lyasy” is an expression that is actively used today in colloquial speech and in fiction. It is used when they want to pay attention to the fact that someone is engaged in empty chatter, spends his time on it. In other words, the meaning of phraseologism: “chatting over trifles”, “wagging out of business”.
For example, we can say about the chatterbox that he is a lover of "sharpening laces." However, phraseologism can also be used in its direct meaning, which implies the manufacture of balances.
Examples of use
Above we talk about what the expression “sharpen your hair” means. To remember it, it is worth familiarizing yourself with examples of its use in literary works. Say, the writer Fedor Abramov actively uses this speech revolution . For example, in the work "Pelagia", written by him, one of the heroes offers the other to leave, explaining this by the fact that he does not have time to sharpen his hair.
You can find a stable design in the work "Przewalski's Horse", the creator of which is Shatrov. One of the characters asks workers if they intend to do business or continue to sharpen their hair. Examples of the use of speech circulation show that they often resort to it when they want to accuse someone of a waste of time - their own or someone else's.
Synonyms and Antonyms
It’s very easy to find a suitable synonym for the expression “sharpening laces”, the meaning of which is disclosed above. Balabolit, fuss, chatting - verbs that can be used in this case without the slightest damage to the meaning. You can also optionally replace the balusters with balusters or balusters - the value will remain unchanged.
Of course, this original speech structure also has antonyms, which are also worth remembering to expand the vocabulary. Let’s say, about a person, one can say that he "is silent, as if swallowing a tongue", "keeps his mouth shut."