What does the expression “dog in the manger” mean? The meaning of phraseology

No wonder the Russian language is called great and powerful. Its constituent vocabulary is true wealth. And the real diamonds in the midst of all this splendor are, without a doubt, countless idioms. They enrich, decorate, and make conversational and literary speech especially expressive.

The meaning of phraseology

When exchanging remarks with each other, we sometimes don’t even notice that we are using a stable expression in a conversation , they are so organically inscribed in the language. And the most interesting thing is that when pronouncing folk or book phraseologisms, we hardly think about their inner meaning. And even more so over the origin. And if someone suddenly specifically asked about what the expression “dog in the manger” means, it would not have been immediately found what to answer. Although it is used quite often.

One of the phraseological dictionaries explains the meaning of the idiom in this way: it denotes a situation where someone does not allow another to use an object, thing, attitude, opportunity, which itself is completely unnecessary. It’s a habit to use this phrase, of course, with a disapproving tone in relation to the person. However, it can be applied even when speaking of a group of people, a social collective, and even a whole state. And its meaning is transparent: when all these entities own something, but they themselves do not use it and do not allow others to do it.

The history of the origin of the expression “dog in the manger”

First of all, contemporaries recall a television movie with that name. They are sure that it is from him that one must dance in order to determine what the expression “dog in the manger” means.

Some will recall that the tape was shot on the comedy Lope de Vega. But not everyone will understand for what reason both the source and the film “Dog in the Hay” are so named. The meaning will become clear when we learn about the origin of this expression, regarding which there are two points of view.

According to the first, it goes back to the eponymous fable of Aesop. It refers to a dog who has lounged in the hay and growls menacingly at the horses who want to approach him. “Well, a shameless creature,” one horse could not stand. “And you don’t eat hay, and you don’t let us in.” From this morality is derived: live, they say, and let others live.

The second opinion goes into Russian folklore. It is believed that this is a truncated form of the proverb: "The dog lies in the manger, doesn’t eat and does not give cattle."

Synonyms

Having found out what the expression “dog in the manger” means, one can easily find stable phrases with a similar meaning. This may include the phrase "neither myself nor the other": "Well, what, buddy, do you decide with this dacha? It is necessary to do something, and then - neither to himself nor to others. ” In this situation, the expression in question is appropriate.

Such phraseological units with an explanation of a similar situation as “I myself will not give a damn (s), and I will not give it to another,” have exactly the same meaning with “a dog in the manger”. And indirectly: "It’s hard to carry, but it’s a pity to throw it away."

Incidentally, a similar parallel can be traced in other European languages, which allows us to make an assumption about the ancient origin of the image of a dog in the hay as a kind of standard of greed, greed, and an unfriendly attitude towards other people.

So, English phraseological unit (like) the dog in the manger (literal translation “dog in a manger”), as well as French n'en mange pas et n'en donne pas (“it doesn’t eat and it doesn’t give”), and le chien du jardinière ("gardener's dog"), have the same meaning as our "dog in the manger."

Antonyms

As a rule, phraseological antonyms are much less common than, say, synonyms. Antonyms-idioms, the opposite in meaning to what the expression “dog in the manger” means, is not fixed in modern dictionaries of the Russian language.

More or less in a certain context, the phrase “as much as you like” is similar in meaning: “So Vanka says so: do I really need all this? Take as much as you like. ”

With a slight exaggeration, one can consider as an antonym the phrase from the Epistle of the Apostle James: “All giving is good.”

Use of the expression “dog in the manger” in literature and colloquial speech

The aphorism under consideration is very widespread. Book phraseologisms, as a rule, most naturally turn into colloquial speech so that it is then difficult to determine which of them was primary.

The expression "dog in the manger" is appropriate to quote from the already mentioned comedy Lope de Vega (film of the same name). The protagonist, Theodoro, uses this phraseology when referring to Diana.

It is very often used in journalism. So, in one of the newspapers it was said about an elderly man who lived alone in an apartment of three rooms, barely making ends meet and often as debtors, but in no way wanted to make room to settle his own niece, who was in need of housing. The author of the article exclaims: “In a word, like a dog in the manger. And I’m not am, and I won’t give it to others! ” Thus, with the help of this steady expression, the journalist recreates before the eyes of the reader a true image of the poor fellow. Greedy, stubborn, like the hero of Aesop's fable.