Phraseological units from fairy tales: examples and meanings

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Every day we use various catchphrases in our speech. Some of them came to us from time immemorial, preserved thanks to fairy tales. Folk art passed on knowledge by word of mouth until a huge amount of work was done to collect folklore and folk legends. So phraseological units from fairy tales appeared in print and firmly entered the modern language. True, some of them have changed their meaning. Let's take a closer look at this.

What are phraseological units from fairy tales

All fairy tales can be divided into copyright and folk. That is, those who came from oral folk art, which has been passed down for centuries from generation to generation, and have an author - a writer. He can use folklore material, interpreting the events of legends and epics in his own way. As a rule, the author introduces new characters, comes up with details, and all this is against the historical background of a folk tale.

Koshchei the Immortal, a well-known character in many fairy tales, has long become a household name. Now they can call it a very thin man. And initially he represented, apparently, a sorcerer with an anti-social orientation. Since this character was born inpagan time, then the interpretation of its meaning is not entirely clear to researchers. A similar character is known in Bulgaria. Modern researchers suggest that Koschey is the son of Chernogor, the god of chaos.

Pushkin's Tales

The most fabulous place is Lukomorye described by A. S. Pushkin. Perhaps no one before him described it in such detail and poetically. Some illustrations show how the shore seems to make a bow with its bend and miracles happen in the resulting lagoon.

"There is a Russian spirit, there smells of Russia," Pushkin wrote. He also has other phraseological units from folk tales, apparently told to him by his nanny Arina Rodionovna, a great lover of folklore.

"And I was there, drinking honey-beer", - Alexander Sergeevich concludes the description of this fabulous place. Only, unlike the folk tradition, he did not emphasize that “it flowed down his mustache, but it didn’t get into his mouth.” He reports that he was sitting under an oak tree and the cat told him stories. The ones he gave us.

And since childhood we repeat the words from them, sometimes forgetting the source:

• A star burns in the forehead - they can say so about a bruise, a pimple on the forehead.
• With a broken trough - they talk about someone who has been busy with a lot, but to no avail.
• Well, is your darling happy now? a greedy person is asked sarcastically.
• The tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it - an indication of the rational grain of the story.
• Not a mouse, not a frog, but an unknown little animal - this is how they speak of someone of an extremely ridiculous appearance.
• If I were a queen - chuckling,remind the interlocutor that he is not omnipotent.
• You are beautiful, no doubt - a well-deserved compliment.

Andersen's Tales

From the fairy tales of G. H. Andersen, phraseological units have entered into many languages. He wrote fairy tales, parables, drawing a conclusion or summing up the story. For example, "The King's New Dress", where cunning tailors assure their sovereign that they made an outfit from the finest fabric. The servile nobles repeated this lie. And while walking in front of the people, the naive boy could not resist and noticed:

• 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 costs.
• Ugly duckling - they will say about a disproportionate teenager.

The Princess and the Pea, they say about overly scrupulous ladies

Many other phrases of the writer, maybe not so famous, but no less valuable:

• You have become just a shadow - you can hear when you are sick.
• Steady Tin Soldier - praised by a person who is loyal to duty, occupying a low position.

Afanasyev's Tales

Folklore collector A. N. Afanasiev did a great job, leaving notes about folk tales and legends. Now, according to his publications, they study the life of the Slavic peoples. Often they mention the time of the distant past, they call this era "before the king of Peas." In the same context, this phraseological unit is used now.

It is known that the Slavs had pagan names for a long time, which they often used together with baptismal names. Amongsuch "non-Christian" names are Peas. And the expression "under Tsar Peas" exists in both Belarusian and Ukrainian languages.

Afanasyev himself connects Tsar Pea with Perun. The 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 Ivanushka the Fool. It lies on the stove and does not work. But then he emerges victorious from all situations, marries the princess and receives half the kingdom. Sayings were born from these tales:

• The law is not written for fools.
• Fools are lucky.

Ivanushka the Fool in the modern sense is a person who is not guided by generally accepted laws and principles, but creates his own naive logic. However, it is often effective.

Fair buffoons

Buffoons were popular in Russia in the 12th-14th centuries. These itinerant actors were the first to hear the news and, in the absence of newspapers, were indispensable sources of information. They also knew many folk tales. As usual, at first the listeners were prepared - they told a saying. Often in poetic form, with jokes. Then came the story. Common phraseological units from fairy tales, examples for the beginning of a legend:

• In a certain kingdom, in a certain state.
• Thirty-nine lands.
• Far Far Away.
• On the sea-okiyane, on the island of Buyan.

Then there was a story about the adventures of the protagonist. He overcame difficulties and met various miracles:

• Walked high mountains, swam riversdeep.
• Three days and three nights.
• Long, short.
• Milk rivers and jelly banks.

• Hut on chicken legs.
• Not in a fairy tale to tell, not to describe with a pen.
• No sooner said than done.

The story ended with an afterword:

And I was there, drinking honey-beer

Tales of the Magi

In the ancient chronicles of the 13th-14th centuries, information about the Magi has been preserved. These are Slavic pagan priests with whom the church fought. They passed on secret knowledge to their followers through tales and epics, often playing the harp. Phraseological units from the tales of the Magi have come down to us, which have now lost their former meaning:

• Crushing water in a mortar is now called a useless activity.
• To beat the thumbs is a symbol of idleness.
• Peeing in the water with a pitchfork means vague promises.

In the fairy tales of the Magi, living and dead water appears. To make living water, the sorcerer collected it from seven different sources, after which he crushed it in a mortar for purification. After that, he took a triglav (this is a kind of fork) and wrote sacred runes on the water, making it holy.

When a child was born, the sorcerer marked the day and time of his birth, cut down a certain tree and smashed it into buckwheat. Now bucks are called blanks for wooden spoons. And in ancient times, toys, and handles for tools or weapons, and dishes, and talismans were made from buckets. They were considered a talisman for life.

Sayings come fromfrom fairy tales

Everyone knows the expression "a fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it." Thus ended the fairy tales. A wise saying summed up the story with one phrase. Many of them have become proverbs. There are many:

• The beaten unbeaten are lucky.
• Morning is wiser than evening.
• Don't get into your sleigh.
• Crowded, but not offended.
• Die yourself, but help a comrade.
• Don't open your mouth at someone else's loaf.
• The world is not without good people.
• Debt by payment is red.

Summarize

Without phraseological units, our language would be poor and inexpressive. A timely spoken well-aimed word can defuse a tense situation, console with folk wisdom, or express the essence of what was said. Speech, rich in folk proverbs, is interesting and original. No wonder storytellers still use this treasure trove of centuries-old heritage.