If you think about the symbol of our era, you immediately want to refresh the memory of the phraseological meaning “like a squirrel in a wheel”. The interpretation of the meaning of the winged expression that we inherited from I. A. Krylov will be addressed below.
The plot of the fable (origin)
The famous story is a holiday, festivities. A wonderful miracle was brought to the fair - a squirrel in a wheel. She runs in a circle. People look and wonder. Near the fair tent, the place where the animal gives an idea, there was a tree, and there was a blackbird on it. And he is interested in squirrels, what, in fact, is she doing? She replies that the big gentleman is working as a messenger. The squirrel is very busy, it can’t even find time for a full dinner. Why is there lunch, even a poor fellow to breathe - and then there is no time!
Thrush, leaving the place of observation and seeing how the squirrel set off again in a circle, philosophically remarks: "It is clear to me that you are running, and you are still on the window."
We think that the meaning of phraseology “as a protein in a wheel” is already clear. Nevertheless, morality with a detailed explanation is already in a hurry to the reader.
Morality
What the composition of the Russian classic teaches is not so difficult to comprehend. Each of us knows people who love imitation of violent activity, but there is no core in it, there is no sense. It is precisely in these that the fable beats. A man can rush, run, jump, but his efforts have no direction - he is always in place. The meaning of phraseology “as a squirrel in a wheel” implies simple morality.
Modern life of phraseology
Now the meaning of the expression has softened a bit: now anyone who is too busy can be worthy of a comparison with a squirrel. Take, for example, office workers.
An ordinary manager does approximately the same thing every day - calls to customers and paperwork. Not too varied work, is not it? And maybe, quite naturally, sometimes there is a feeling of a cycle and the meaninglessness of everything that happens. But the feeling of unnecessary work in this case is imaginary. The office in which a person works is based on people like him. And our entire civilization lies on the backs of workhorses. And the latter, by mistake, confuse themselves with rodents. It is clear that the meaning of phraseology “like a protein in a wheel” has softened today.

A lot of things are the reality of almost every modern person. But do not despair and think about different animals. You need to accept your destiny and understand that it is not so bad. Yes, from time to time it happens that a “thrush” appears next to a person, and in one second he will depreciate all the activity, which may even bring satisfaction to the “squirrel”. The advice is simple: do not pay attention to all kinds of spiteful critics.
We have analyzed the expression “like a squirrel in a wheel”, its origin and significance, as well as morality.