Our language has a lot set expressions, which for us are simple and understandable. However, linguists foreign countries experience many difficulties when translating these expressions: it is not easy for them to understand what this or that stable combination means in one word. The origin of this has an interesting theory. Let's look at where the phrase “hack on the nose” came from, the meaning of this phraseological unit and several sentences using it.
This saying is used unconsciously by people living in our country. General value The phrase is as follows: the speaker expresses the desire that the person to whom he is addressing will firmly remember his words and never forget them again.
This phraseological unit can be used school teachers or adults who reprimand children.
This expression perfectly illustrates the emotional diversity of our language. A standard request to remember something well is not as emotional and eloquent as a stable combination of words.
At the same time, foreigners may mistakenly believe that the statement contains the danger of physical punishment. This theory is correct, but only partly.
Reference! The meaning of the phraseological unit “hack on the nose” is to remember.
How did the phraseological unit originate?
How did the phrase “Hack on the nose” come about? Initially, several centuries ago, the expression was not emotionally charged and was not related to mutilation. When a person said “notch on the nose,” he meant tablets that helped those who were illiterate.
The name of such tablets comes from the word “to wear.” In those years, writing instruments were extremely important, so many people always kept them with them. The phrase “notch on the nose” meant making notches on wooden notepads that were always at hand.
Why were the tablets needed?
The history of the phraseological unit “hack on the nose” is quite unusual. Until 1917, when the tsarist regime was overthrown, only representatives of high society were literate and educated.
The vast majority of Russian residents did not know how to write even the simplest words. However, the lack of education and literacy did not prevent people from taking an active part in trade, which flourished magnificently in the country at that time.
Trading houses opened regularly, fairs and caravans appeared. Every minute, many transactions were carried out, and for quite significant amounts.
Special tablets were created for uneducated traders. With the help of these tablets, merchants made special notches that indicated the transactions they carried out with money. The number of hacked sticks made it possible to decipher these records. It was inconvenient, but this version of the “notebook” was the only thing people had left in those days.
A widespread lack of literacy was also observed in European countries during the Middle Ages. Similar tablets also found their way there. Archaeologists regularly found not only tablets, but also sticks with notches applied to them.
How did the shade of menace come about?
Today, people who demand that their interlocutor cut himself off often threaten him in a joking manner (and sometimes seriously).
This emotional coloring arose due to the main purpose of the wooden “notepads”. Financial obligations that appeared to the debtor were recorded on the boards.
Let's look at an example. When someone borrowed 2 bags of flour from a person, the owner of the goods made two notches on the board. If the debtor did not repay the debt in full, the tablet was divided into parts between the collaborating people. Each piece contained half of the marks applied.
Financial obligations meant a certain threat for the debtor. As a result, the expression in question acquired a special emotional connotation over time.
Useful video: the meaning of “cut it on the nose”
Cases of use
This is a fairly common expression that is used everywhere and in oral speech, and in writing. It often appears in dialogues fiction, in films, print media.
Here are some examples of using the expression.
Sentences with phraseological units can be very different:
- Get it straight: the way the younger generation treats the older generation characterizes the level of education and culture of society as a whole.
- He had it in his head a long time ago that he shouldn’t prove himself right to everyone.
- Let it be said: you were lucky to meet me, and today you got off easy.
- The little girl made it a point to never try to tease street dogs.
- Get it in your head: this promise must be kept, no matter what the circumstances.
Advice! Pictures for the phraseological unit “hack on the nose” can better understand for children the meaning of the expression. Sentences with it, compiled independently, will consolidate understanding of the topic.
Picture for phraseological unit
Hack on the nose Simple. Express Remember firmly, forever. - Now is not the time to remember that you were a teacher. For me, you are first and foremost a fighter. And only a fighter. Get it on your nose(P. Pustyntsev. Through the lead blizzard).
Phrasebook Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.
See what “Hack on the nose” is in other dictionaries:
hack on the nose- notch on the wall, notice, record in memory, record in memory, notch on your forehead, notch on your wall, take note, notch on your forehead, save in memory, remember, tie a knot for memory, remember, tie a knot,... ... Dictionary of synonyms
hack on the nose- Notch on the nose (forehead) Take note, remember forever... Dictionary of many expressions
hack on the nose- remember firmly, forever. Initially, the phrase meant a playful threat. The nose was also called a tag that was worn with oneself and on which notches were placed to record work, debts, etc.... Phraseology Guide
hack to death- ruble/, rub/that is; hacked; flax, a, o; St. see also hack, hack to death, hack to death 1) someone to kill with a chopping instrument, weapon (axe, saber, saber) hack to death... Dictionary of many expressions
kill yourself on the nose- See remember... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian dictionaries, 1999 ... Dictionary of synonyms
hack to death- Notch it on your forehead or on your nose or on the wall (colloquial fam.) take into account for the future tense, remember it well. Get it in your head that I won’t tolerate this anymore... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language
HACK- HACK, I’ll hack, you’ll hack, absolutely. (to hack to death). 1. who what. Kill with a saber, saber, axe. “I will cut down your child, Katerina!” Gogol. 2. what. To make a notch on something (special). 3. what. Make a cut in something (forge). ❖ Get yourself some… Dictionary Ushakova
HACK- HACK, kill, kill; killed; Sovereign 1. whom (what). Kill with a saber, saber, axe. 2. what. Use a chopping tool to make a notch in whatever, on whatever. Z. log. Notch it on your nose or forehead (colloquial) and remember it firmly for the future. | imperfect hack,... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary
Razg. Express The same as a href=”/dict/frazslov/article/2/3561.htm” to hack on your nose/a. And I would tell another cook to hang it on the wall, so that he wouldn’t waste his speeches there, where power needs to be used (Krylov. The Cat and...
Outdated Express The same as a href=”/dict/frazslov/article/2/3561.htm” to hack on your nose/a. In fact, it turns out to be a perfect Box. Once you have hacked something into your head, you can’t overpower it with anything (Gogol. Dead Souls). I… … Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language
Books
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- Sharks of steel, Ovechkin Eduard Anatolyevich. From reviews of the book: “Ovechkin’s stories are most reminiscent of diary entries - that’s why they are valuable. The writer does not invent anything, he writes down what he sees around him. What we saw around us. in case...
The expression hack on the nose means to remember once and for all, to remember firmly. But what is the connection between cutting on the nose and the process of memorization?
As a child, I often heard this expression from teachers or parents. When they tried to instill something like that in me or force me to remember, the adults (usually sternly) said: kill it on your nose! Like this cannot be done, or it must be done only this way and not otherwise. Like, remember, you fool. I now understand that hardly any of them knew where this seemingly meaningless expression came from.
And it appeared from the depths of centuries, from those times when the rudiments of writing already existed, but there was no paper yet. And so, in order to remember something important, people made notches on nose- a special wooden tablet that they carried with them. This tablet was called nose, they made memorization marks on it. So cut it on your nose simply meant “make a note in your notebook—that is, on the nose»!
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One of the main versions of the origin of the expression If the mountain does not go to Mohammed,
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One more, last legend, and my chronicle is finished...
Russian language includes large number stable expressions, and their meaning is perfectly understood by its native speakers, but foreigners are often puzzled. An example of this is the catchphrase “cut off on the nose,” the translation of which is very difficult for some countries, while others do not understand at all. The origin of such expressions most often has a simple but interesting explanation.
The meaning of the phrase "cut on the nose"
It's very sustainable catchphrase , and is used most often unconsciously by native speakers of the Russian language. Phraseologisms come to the aid of people when they want their interlocutors to remember their words. For example, such a statement is often made by teachers or parents who reprimand a disobedient child. The phrase is also used by adults who quarrel with each other.
This phraseological unit is clear evidence of the emotional richness of the native Russian language. A phrase conveys the emotions and importance of the speaker’s words better than a simple request to remember something. The expression does not contain a threat of physical violence, as it may seem to many foreigners who translate this statement word for word.
History of the phraseological unit “hack on the nose”
At first, the catchphrase did not have any emotional coloring. It had nothing to do with damage to the human body. When offering to hack something, the speaker of this phrase did not mean the organ of smell at all, as one might initially think. The people received this name several centuries ago for tablets that served as a lifesaver to an untrained person in literacy.
How are these devices connected to the human nose? No way, because their name does not come from this word, but from the verb “to wear.” These writing instruments were very significant for the inhabitants of that time, and they practically never parted with them. The phrase meant to put a notch on a notebook that was always with you.
Why are “noses” needed?
Before the overthrow royal power in 1917, only people from high society were literate. And the majority of the population of all of Russia did not have any writing skills. Huge gaps in education did not prevent people from participating in trade, which at that time flourished in the country. Caravans flourished, fairs were launched, and trading houses were founded. Transactions sometimes involved very large sums and were carried out almost every minute.
The tablets we talked about earlier were invented to help illiterate traders. With the help of them, they recorded their own financial transactions in their memory, making notches. The notebook was deciphered by counting the marks created. This is not very convenient, but remember that in those days there were no electronic gadgets of any kind.
In medieval Europe, such devices were also widespread, because even there the situation with literacy was deplorable at that time.
Emotional color
So why do people today threaten their opponent, either seriously or playfully, when they say the phrase “cut the nose”? The expression acquired an emotional color in connection with the main purpose of the small tablets that replaced the notebook. After all, they were the main means of fixing debts.
An example of such a record is very easy to give.
Other phraseological units
There are others catchphrases , which seem to be associated with the respiratory organ. Among them there are phrases that have a simple explanation, and expressions that were formed in a complex way.
- The characteristic “with a gulkin nose” is an example of a light and stable phrase; it means a small amount of something. When we say “gulkin’s nose,” we mean the beak of a dove, which is small in size.
- You've probably heard the phrase "get away with your nose," which has as long a history as the expression "get away with your nose." The proposal has survived from the times when bribery was rampant. For example, it was difficult to hope for a positive resolution of the issue in court if you did not prepare a gift for a government official. Such a gift was not called a bribe, but was designated as a nose, a bring. If a person was left with his nose, then this indicated that the gift was refused, which is why achieving the goal seemed unrealistic.
Many catchphrases from the past have been forgotten, but the phraseology “to kill on the nose” is actively used today in the Russian language.
“Stick it on your nose” is usually advised to someone who needs to remember something very well. U modern man This expression can cause bewilderment: it is quite difficult to imagine how something can be hacked onto the nose. Meanwhile, the origin of this expression is in no way connected with the nose that is located on a person’s face or on the muzzle of an animal.
Origin of the saying
The nose referred to in this saying is associated with the verb "to wear." Modern people often carry with them notebooks– paper or electronic, in which they write down something important that you don’t want to forget. People of the Middle Ages also did not particularly rely on their memory when it came to important matters - for example, those that had to be given away in the future. But it was difficult to make notes in those days - after all, most of the population was illiterate, and there was nothing to write on: paper had not yet become widespread, and parchment was a very expensive material.People got out of the situation with the help of a simple mnemonic device based on the psychological mechanism of association: they created a conventional sign, which in itself does not carry any information, but when looking at it a person remembered for what reason the sign was made. Such a reminder sign could be a knot on some piece of clothing or a notch on a wooden stick.
Such sticks with notches were especially convenient as debts. For example, having borrowed 2 bags of flour from a neighbor, a person made 2 notches on a stick. In order not to forget, such a stick was constantly carried with them, which is why it was called the “nose”.
Thus, the expression “notch your nose” originally meant a proposal to make a notch as a keepsake.
Another saying about the nose
The nose, a wooden stick with notches as a keepsake, should not be confused with the other “nose” referred to in the expression “stay with the nose.” It is used in the meaning of “to leave with nothing”, “not to achieve one’s goal.”
However, the “nose” here is the same: “what is worn”, “offering”. We are talking about money or other material assets that were brought to a judge or other government official in order to win him over to his side and get the case resolved in his favor. In modern Russian this is called a bribe, but in pre-Petrine Rus' it was called a nose.
Bribery flourished in that era, but there were still honest officials who refused to accept the “nose”. About a person who, while trying to give a bribe, met such an honest person, they said that he was “left with his nose.”
