Every day we use various winged phrases in our speech. Some of them came to us from the depths of centuries, preserved thanks to fairy tales. Folk art passed on word of mouth, until a great deal of work was done to collect folklore and folk traditions. So phraseologisms from fairy tales appeared in print and firmly entered the modern language. True, some of them have changed their meaning. Let's consider it in more detail.
What are phraseologisms from fairy tales?
All tales can be divided into copyright and folk. That is, those who came from oral folk art, which has been transmitted for centuries from generation to generation, and having an author - writer. He can use folklore material, in his own way interpreting the events of legends and epics. As a rule, the author introduces new heroes, comes up with details, and all this against the historical background of a folk tale.
The famous character in many tales of Koschey the Immortal has long been a household name. Now they can call a very thin man. And initially he represented, apparently, a sorcerer with an antisocial orientation. Since this character was born in pagan time, the interpretation of its meaning is not entirely clear to researchers. A similar character is known in Bulgaria. Modern scholars suggest that Koschey is the son of Montenegro, the god of chaos.
Tales of Pushkin
The most fabulous place is Lukomorye described by A.S. Pushkin. Perhaps no one had described him in such detail and poetry before him. Some illustrations depict the coast as if making a bow with its bend, and miracles occur in the formed lagoon.
“There is a Russian spirit, it smells of Rus there,” Pushkin wrote. He also has other idioms from folk tales, apparently told to him by the nanny Arina Rodionovna, a great lover of folklore.
“And I was there, drinking honey beer,” concludes the description of this fabulous place, Alexander Sergeyevich. Only, unlike the folk tradition, he did not emphasize that "it flowed down the mustache, but it didn’t get into the mouth." He reports that he was sitting under an oak tree and the cat told him tales. Those that he passed on to us.
And since childhood we have been repeating the words of them, sometimes forgetting the source:
- A star burns in the forehead - this can be said about a bruise, a pimple on the forehead.
- At the trough - they say about who worked a lot, but to no avail.
- Well, now is your darling happy? - sarcastically ask a greedy person.
- The tale is a lie, and there is a hint in it - an indication of the rational essence of the story.
- Not a mouse, not a frog, but an unknown little animal - this is how they speak of someone extremely ridiculous in appearance.
- If I were a queen - chuckling, remind the interlocutor that he is not omnipotent.
- You are beautiful, no doubt - a well-deserved compliment.
Tales of Andersen
Many languages included phraseological units from the tales of H. H. Andersen. He wrote fairy tales-parables, drawing a conclusion or summing up the narrative. For example, “The New Dress of the King”, where cunning tailors assure their sovereign that they made an outfit from the finest fabric. Obsequious nobles repeated this lie. And while walking in front of the people, the naive boy could not resist and remarked:
- And the king is naked! - And now they say so in the case when the essence of the problem is not solved, despite any costly expenses.
- The ugly duckling - they will say about the disproportionate teenager.
- The Princess and the Pea, - talk about overly scrupulous ladies.
Many other phrases of the writer may not be so famous, but no less valuable:
- You have become just a shadow - you can hear when you are sick.
- Steadfast tin soldier - praise a loyal person who occupies a low position.
Tales of Afanasyev
Folklore collector A.N. Afanasyev did a tremendous job, leaving notes on folk tales and legends. Now, according to his publications, the life of Slavic peoples is being studied. Often they mention the time of the distant past, call this era "before King Peas." In the same context, this phraseology is used now.
It is known that the Slavs carried pagan names for a long time, which they often used together with baptismal ones. Among such "non-Christian" names there are also Peas. And the expression "under Tsar Gorokh" exists in both Belarusian and Ukrainian.
Afanasyev himself connects the king of Peas with Perun. Researcher of Ancient Russia B. A. Rybakov saw in him the leader of the Slavic tribe.
The constant hero of the Russian fairy tale is Ivan the Fool. He lies on the stove and does not work. But then he emerges victorious from all situations, marries the princess and receives half the kingdom. From these tales, sayings were born:
- The law is not written to fools.
- Fools are lucky.
Ivan the Fool in the modern sense is a person who is not guided by generally accepted laws and principles, but creates his naive logic. However, often it is effective.
Fair buffoons
In the 12-14 centuries in Russia, buffoons were popular. These roving actors were the first to know the news and, in the absence of newspapers, were indispensable sources of information. They also knew many folk tales. As it happened, at first they prepared the listeners - they told a saying. Often in poetic form, with jokes. Then came the narrative. Ordinary phraseological units from fairy tales, examples for the beginning of a legend:
- In a certain kingdom, in a certain state.
- For distant lands.
- In the distant kingdom.
- On the sea-okiyan, on the island of Buyan.
Then there was a story about the adventures of the protagonist. He overcame difficulties and met various miracles:
- He walked in high mountains, swam in deep rivers.
- Three days and three nights.
- How long, how short.
- Milky rivers and jelly banks.
- A hut on chicken legs.
- Neither in a fairy tale nor a pen to describe.
- No sooner said than done.
The narrative ended with an afterword:
- And I was there, drinking honey beer.
Tales of the Magi
In the ancient chronicles of the 13-14 centuries, information about the magicians is preserved. These are the Slavic pagan priests with whom the church fought. They transmitted secret knowledge to their followers through tales and epics, often playing the harp. We have heard phraseologisms from fairy tales of the Magi, which have now lost their former meaning:
- Pounding water in a mortar is now called a useless activity.
- Beating the bacilli is a symbol of idleness.
- To write with a pitchfork on water means vague promises.
In fairy tales of the Magi, living and dead water appears. To make living water, the sorcerer collected it from seven different sources, after which there was no sense in the mortar for purification. After that he took a trigger (this is a kind of fork) and wrote sacred runes on water, making it holy.
When a child was born, the sorcerer celebrated the day and time of his birth, cut down a certain tree and broke it into bacilli. Nowadays, billets are called blanks for wooden spoons. And in ancient times, toys were made from bacluses, and handles for tools or weapons, and dishes, and talismans. They were considered a talisman for life.
Sayings from fairy tales
Everyone knows the expression "a fairy tale is a lie, but a hint in it." Thus ended the tales of parables. A wise saying summed up the story with one phrase. Many of them have become proverbs. A lot of them:
- The beaten unbeaten is lucky.
- The morning is wiser than the evening.
- Do not sit in your sled.
- In crowded but not mad.
- Die yourself, and help a comrade.
- Do not open your mouth to another loaf.
- The world is not without good people.
- Debt good turn deserves another.
To summarize
Without phraseologisms, our language would be poor and inexpressive. Timely spoken apt word can defuse tense situations, console with folk wisdom or express the essence of what has been said. Speech, rich in folk sayings, is interesting and original. No wonder storytellers still use this storehouse of centuries-old heritage.