The older generation, brought up on the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, is well acquainted with the meaning of phraseology “fig leaf”. Its meaning is a feigned, prudish disguise of true circumstances and intentions. The leader of the world proletariat has repeatedly characterized the position of the liberals and the bourgeoisie hostile to him, using this biting expression.
The meaning of phraseology “fig leaf” is suitable not only for political rhetoric. The expression will come to the aid of everyone who wants to make speech brighter and more imaginative, especially since there are nuances in the semantics of this phrase. You can use it in the case when someone is trying to hide dishonest intentions under the guise of truthfulness, as well as when it comes to the desire to cover behind a screen of decency to obscene, shameful behavior, lifestyle.
We will understand the terminology
Phraseologism is a stable linguistic expression, with the participation of which speech acquires special expressiveness. The phrase is called stable because the lexemes themselves do not reflect the meaning of phraseology. The fig leaf is no exception. However, in order to understand how expression turned into a capacious speech revolution, it is nevertheless necessary to find out how botany served linguistics.
What is a fig leaf and how did it get into a figure of speech
From a scientific point of view, this is the name of the fig plant organ (other names are figs, figs). The large carved leaves of this southern tree reach 25 cm in length. They became famous for the fact that in Eden they became the first clothes of the ancestors of the human race - Eve and Adam. According to the biblical legend, the first people made themselves "girdles" from the leaves of the fig tree after they succumbed to the temptation to obey the devil who turned into a serpent. The fall caused Adam and Eve to be ashamed of their own nudity and quickly cover it up. As you can see, the meaning of phraseology “fig leaf” is closely connected with this story. The expression reinterprets the event, raising it to a metaphor.
No others found?
Why did a couple from Eden take advantage of leaves from a fig tree, and not from some other? There are reasons for this. Eve, taught by the serpent, plucked the fruit for herself and Adam from the fig tree, therefore it was logical to use its leaves. Perhaps they were the largest and most beautiful in Paradise and best suited for clothing. There is another version of why these particular leaflets appear in the Bible. Artist Amy Marsh offers a theory that organic fig tissue contains a specific enzyme that causes severe irritation to the skin. It turns out that putting a fig leaf on yourself is like being punished, which will not let you forget about the committed sin for a moment.
In art
Since the 16th century, under the influence of the Church, the image of a fig leaf has piously replaced in art an image of the genitals on a naked body. Greco-Roman statues, inherited by the Middle Ages from the laid-back Antiquity, underwent massive “shelling”. After painstaking work with a hammer and chisel, the papal will executors carefully covered the empty place with a stone fig leaf. This once again confirms the meaning of phraseology.