As Sherlock Holmes said, a drop of water a person who thinks and thinks can logically draw conclusions about the existence of the Black Sea or Niagara Falls, even if he had never seen one or the other in his life. The point is that any action has results in the future, if there is a reason, then there is a consequence.
Such is the meaning of the proverb "wood is cut - chips fly." True, its meaning shows that the result is not always positive.
What do flying chips mean?
Imagine a felling taking place . Trees fall one after another, and in the process dust rises, flying in all directions of a sliver of damaged wood. It’s good if they don’t hurt anyone, but such a sliver can hurt and blind. When they say "the forest is cut - the chips fly", the meaning is as follows: in order to achieve a good and desired result, you may have to suffer small damage from the chips. But it is not comparable with a more global and colossal goal - the resulting wood. In the Ukrainian language there is a proverb similar in meaning. It reads as follows: “debris - it’s powdery”, which can be translated as “where there is flour - it’s always dusty there”.
Another sense of this proverb, more economic, - flying chips are small, but mandatory costs of production.
There would be no happiness, but misfortune helped
The meaning of the proverbs "wood is cut - chips fly" and "there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped" is the opposite in meaning, although they are often confused. So, in the first case, it is understood that on the way to achieving a good, and most importantly, the desired result, you may have to endure the negative consequences. In the second case, it is understood that sometimes a nuisance can lead to good, unpredictable and unexpected consequences. Sometimes people get confused in the sense of these two sayings and misuse them.
Another meaning of the proverb "wood is cut - chips fly"
There is an interesting assumption that this proverb refers to larger concepts, such as whole nations. How to understand "wood is cut - chips fly" in this case? Thus, a forest can be associated with a people or a nation in the process of change (felling). Sometimes these changes are quite positive and bring something good, but any changes will cause innocent victims. In this case, chips mean human broken destinies.
Synonymous saying of causality
The meaning of the proverbs "chopped wood - chips fly" and "without breaking eggs, do not fry eggs" is close in meaning. In both cases, it is understood that on the way to a big and good goal, you cannot do without concessions and possible inconveniences. But if in a conversation about logging, wood chips are an optional and not very significant factor, then in the case of scrambled eggs, it is understood that sacrifices (broken eggs) are indispensable.
Many people mistakenly believe the meaning of the proverbs "forest cuts - chips fly" and "the farther into the forest - the more firewood" is the same, because in the first and second case we are talking about forest and trees. But it is not so. The second saying implies that any business in the execution process can bring more and more surprises, and the further - the greater troubles you may encounter.
Summarizing
The Russian language is rich not only in words, but also in phraseological units, winged expressions, sayings and proverbs. Using them, you saturate the speech, make it even more colorful and rich, and also show your intellectual level with dignity. At the same time, it is important to use the necessary phrases to the place, otherwise you will goof off, instead of flashing your mind. Now, knowing the correct meaning of the proverbs “cut wood - chips fly”, “without breaking eggs, do not fry fried eggs”, “the further into the forest - the more firewood”, you can use them in place.