"I ate a dog": the meaning of phraseology and the cases of its use

There are such expressions in the language, in particular in Russian, when the constituent parts (words) do not give an understanding of the meaning. For example, "the dog ate". The meaning of phraseology what? In this we have to understand today.

Value

When they say that someone bit a dog, it means that a person is a good specialist in any field. And not just good, but excellent.

Gennady Petrovich

For example, imagine. The wife is looking for a good lawyer, who specializes in divorce cases. Let's say this is not an ordinary story. Suppose that a husband has money, and his wife wants to at least something "bite off" of his condition. Of course, you might think that this is more of a Western history, but we, in Russia, this also may well be. Not all the people we earn 15 thousand rubles. (Although, according to statistics, such percentages are 70%).

And then the imaginary person goes to her friend and asks:

"Do you have a friend lawyer?"

- Of course, in our time, any decent woman should have a good lawyer in store, or something is not enough. Here, I recommend, Gennady Petrovich Win-win - with these words, the girlfriend holds out the business card of the lawyer.

Our heroine reads the inscription and asks with doubt:
"Is Gennady Petrovich as good as his last name?"

"You laugh, but he ate divorce at a dog."

(The meaning of phraseology derives from the context of the dialogue)

Women diverge. And the reader, who knows Russian well, understands that the fate of the heroine is no longer to be worried. She is in good hands.

Hypothesis about the origin

Interestingly enough, how and why the "dog" has become a symbol of experience. Dictionaries and textbooks offer such a version. It was in the old days the expression "teeth ate on something". It comes from the saying "By the beard the apostle, and the dog in the teeth." Here you can only talk about the true meaning of the oldest popular wisdom. For example, in appearance it is ok, but inherently cruel, wise and experienced. "Dog" is a symbol of not only devotion, but also, for example, perseverance, perseverance in achieving the goal. Remember how dogs pursue a goal on the run. Later, in the process of language development, somehow the "dog" replaced "teeth", and now many are wondering what phraseology means "the dog ate". Well, it seems that things are becoming clear little by little.

Other, less convincing hypotheses of occurrence

There is another opinion, interpretation in the forehead, so to speak. There is a well-known expression: "I'm so hungry that I think I'm ready to eat a horse." Some researchers seriously believed that "the dog ate" -phaseology was born from the fact that someone mistakenly used dog food for food. Even writing about it is somehow awkward. One more thought is connected with the gastronomic theme, but first some prelude.

When a person works well, he eats well. In Russia there was even such a custom: The future worker was put at the table and looked at how he eats, if he ate badly, he was not taken for service. So, a man who has worked hard, is sometimes so hungry that he is ready to eat a dog. There is a complicated connection: one who works well achieves high results in some field, hence the phraseology. We leave the reader to choose what he considers more just. In other words, "the dog ate" - the meaning of phraseology is clear, but the true origin of it is unknown.

"Granite Science", strong teeth and their absence

There is such an expression "gnaw granite science." It means learning, comprehending wisdom. The most interesting thing is that in this phraseology there is also something connected with the symbolism of the teeth. Having "bad teeth", that is, a weak mind, you can not cope with science, you will not overcome wisdom. For example, if people say that "he ate his teeth on something", then it means also that he stifled them, crushed something about an object. Then, in the course of historical development, from the proverbial we discussed earlier, the teeth left, the dog remained in use. Although it should be recognized that if there was an old version of the teeth, it would, perhaps, even better. Since in the case of "the dog ate" the value of phraseology is very difficult to explain not only to a foreigner, but not every Russian will understand right away.

Formal and informal environment

Of course, the question is obvious, but it is worth recalling that, like other phraseological units, this one does not apply to an official meeting or something like that.

Imagine, there is a conference of scientists. Serious uncles and aunts sit and listen to the report. The speaker ends his speech, and the chairman, in order to praise the scientist, at the pulpit, says: "Our dear colleague Ivan Petrovich, as we know, ate the dog (phraseology) on this topic, so he made such a wonderful report." If it does, it's possible that the event will be disrupted.

Therefore, it is important not only to understand the meaning of a particular expression well, but also to understand in what context it is appropriate. Similarly, Ivan Petrovich can be praised only in the backstage, in the smoking room or with a cup of coffee in the buffet. And what? Scientists are also people, and nothing human is alien to them. In the official environment, however, it is better to follow the rules, as M.S. Gorbachev.