"Where the dog is buried": the meaning of a phraseological unit

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

Very often winged expressions contain words that seem to be not related to their general meaning. We say "that's where the dog is buried," meaning not the place where the pet is buried.

Value of expression

Trying to understand the problem that has arisen, a person puts forward various versions, considers all possible aspects. And when the insight happens, it's time to exclaim: "That's where the dog is buried!" The meaning of this idiom is “deciphered” as “to understand the essence of this or that event, fact”, “to get to the bottom of the truth.”

This expression can also determine what is the most important, fundamental in some problem, i.e. already understood its essence, reason, motive of what is happening. Let's say, a man was thinking and thinking, what was stressing him in some situation or phenomenon, and then, as if his eyes were opened, and it became clear where the dog was buried.

However, this may not be a global problem at all, but an everyday question: where, for example, did the son's school diary disappear. And if it suddenly turns out that it was he himself who hid it, because he simply earned a record of unworthy behavior, then youit becomes clear where the dog is buried. The meaning of the phraseologism in this situation is expressed by establishing the truth.

Etymology

This catchphrase is rich in origin versions - one is more interesting than the other.

Some researchers believe that the idiom is a tracing-paper from the German Da ist der Hund begraben, literally translated and meaning "this is where (or - in what) the dog is buried", "this is where the dog is buried".

Scholar-Arabist Nikolai Vashkevich is generally convinced that in this phrase we are not talking about a dog, nor about burying it at all. In Arabic, the word "zariat" means motive, reason, reason. And the service word consonant with “dog” is “sabek” - “preceding” (like the English perfect). The literal meaning of this expression is: “This is the reason that preceded this phenomenon.”

There is an opinion among linguists that this is a phrase from the lexicon of treasure hunters. Allegedly, fearing the evil spirits that are known to guard the treasures, they veiled to mislead them and called them “black dogs”, and the treasures themselves were called dogs. Thus, from the language of treasure hunters, the expression is “translated”: “This is where the treasure is buried.”

However, there are other points of view. Two more etymological explanations of the phraseologism "that's where the dog is buried" are much more romantic. The origin of this idiom is "dedicated" to the loy alty of dogs.

The oldest version dates back to the battle of the island of Salamis. Before the decisive naval battle, the Greeks put all the "civilians" who were not able to take part in it on ships andsent to safety.

Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, had a beloved dog who, not wanting to part with his owner, threw himself into the sea and swam after the ship. And when she reached land, she died of exhaustion. Shocked, Xanthippus buried the dog and ordered a monument erected to her - in commemoration of true devotion. This sign, where the dog is buried, was shown to those interested for a long time.

The second legend is connected with the dog of the Austrian commander Sigismund Altensteig, who accompanied him on all campaigns. In one of them, the warrior got into a dangerous bind. But the devoted dog at the cost of his life saved the owner. Altensteig also decorated the grave of his favorite and savior with a monument. However, over time, finding the monument became very difficult, since only a few people knew this place and could show it to tourists. And so the expression “this is where the dog is buried” was born with the meaning “find out the truth”, “find what you were looking for.”

Synonyms

An interesting interpretation of phrases similar in meaning to the one under consideration can be found both in literature and in colloquial speech. Surprise about the same phenomenon is expressed in different ways. Let's say the investigator wants to find out where the dog is buried, regarding the income of the person under investigation. He is tormented by this question, speculates, wonders who can tell where the legs grow from these capitals.

A less transparent meaning is the expression "because of which all the fuss flared up", but in a certain situation it can also be used in the meaning of "buried dog":“A deuce in physics? Well, then it’s clear why the fuss broke out.”

In V. Yelistratov's "Dictionary of Russian Argo", the phrase is recorded: "That's where the dog rummaged" - with appropriate notes that the expression is a) jargon-youthful, playfully-ironic; b) a punning transformation of a well-known literary idiom. The authorship of this phrase is attributed to M. S. Gorbachev, who at one time uttered it either by inadvertently making a reservation, or by deliberately distorting it. In any case, later the expression acquired an additional connotation: they say, where the dog rummaged, something is hidden and there is a stink from there, and there one should look for the cause of what is happening.

Antonyms

If the idiom “that's where the dog is buried” means the background of an event or phenomenon, a certain level of their clarity, then the “legalized” phraseological antonym of this expression can serve as “to let in (to let in) the fog”. This idiom is used when, on the contrary, it comes to making something unclear, if someone wants to confuse something, mislead someone.

In modern colloquial language, especially among young people, the expression with the word "fog" is also common and with the same meaning of uncertainty in some business: "solid fog". In a similar sense, the running “dark forest” is also used: “Well, have you figured out what is the joke with this problem? - Yes, well, her! Dark Forest…”

Use of expression in literature

Phraseologisms under the heading "bookish" in the Russian language are much less thancolloquial, nevertheless they form a certain stylistic layer. Such expressions can represent terms used in scientific, journalistic, official business speech. For example, in an article about idioms in the Russian language, the authors write: "That's where the dog is buried" - a phraseological unit that is a tracing paper from the German language.

It is interesting that the use of this expression is noted in the journalism of V. I. Lenin. Addressing his written opponent, he writes: “… you have forgotten how to apply the revolutionary point of view to the assessment of social events. This is where the dog is buried!”.

However, the phrase "that's where the dog is buried" is most widely used in fiction. It is used in different variations. There is, for example, the form “what is the dog buried in here.”

Using an expression in colloquial speech

Very often, in order to achieve a certain effect, it is necessary to increase expression. Ordinary words of the language are not enough for this purpose. A speech will sound more capacious, clear and emotional if it uses popular expressions.

Often they are pronounced as if by themselves, without much effort. This only confirms and affirms the natural place in the language that these combinations occupy.

In colloquial speech, no, no, yes, and the phrase “where the dog is buried” will sound, and this does not depend on education, social status, or the age of the speaker - its use is so organic.