Bullshit meaning. Bullshit: how did this expression appear?

Gray mare

Jarg. they say Joking. Blonde. Maksimov, 186.

Large dictionary of Russian sayings. - M: Olma Media Group. V. M. Mokienko, T. G. Nikitina. 2007 .

See what “Silver mare” is in other dictionaries:

The gray mare walked around the market (through the field, through the garden), wandered around the courtyards, came to us, passed through our hands (a sieve). See YARD HOUSE HOUSEHOLD...

From mares to nags. People's Iron. About a man who exchanged the best place for the worst. DP, 469; YaOS 4, 133; SRNG 13, 339. Only fight mares. Tver. Disapproved About a rude, impolite person. SRNG 14, 18. Unbroken mare. Simple Disapproved ABOUT… … Large dictionary of Russian sayings

Noun, number of synonyms: 2 ugly (14) ugly (5) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms. V.N. Trishin. 2013… Synonym dictionary

GRAY, in color: dark gray, gray and gray, dark with gray hair, with an admixture of whitish or ashy; they talk about wool, color; a gray horse, between roan and gray. That's not the strength. that the mare is gray, but that she is unlucky (and that the water... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

adv. Separately, not together; apart. He told her that it was not good to live apart, we should live together. Chekhov, Three years. || In different directions. A gray mare harnessed to a cart with small hooves spread apart is dozing. Bunin, Care. ◊ apart... Small academic dictionary

Stick to your old friend and stay home to your new one! The hut is covered with Ilyinsky planks (that is, straw). Heaps of living mansions and sewn fur coats! I bought a house with brownies. A house is a home, but a brownie is a gift. Make a stable, and then some cattle! It's like Sunday, it's housewarming (i.e.... ... IN AND. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people

- “EmoBoy” is a fantasy story by Anton Soy, published in 2008. The story is an attempt to understand the spiritual world of the emo subculture. It is planned to publish a concept album of a collection based on the book.... ... Wikipedia

EmoBoy is a fantasy story by Anton Soy, published in 2008. The story is an attempt to understand the spiritual world of the emo subculture. It is planned to publish a concept album of a collection based on the book. Contents 1 Plot 2... ... Wikipedia

gray- oh, oh; SIV, ah, oh. 1. Grayish gray, grey, gray (about the color of a horse). Let's see how strong you are. Do you see the gray mare there? Raise the mare and carry her half a mile. // Pushkin. The Tale of the Priest and his Worker Balda //; Oh, you horses... ... Dictionary of forgotten and difficult words from works of Russian literature of the 18th-19th centuries

Cm … Synonym dictionary

Books

• Concerto for button accordion and drum, Verbovskaya Anna Mikhailovna. I wonder if anyone has actually heard the delirium of a gray mare that has eaten too much henbane? Can an ordinary school shift become proof of true male friendship? What remedy...
• Concerto for button accordion and drum, Verbovskaya A.. I wonder if anyone actually heard a gray mare raving, having eaten too much henbane? Can an ordinary school shift become proof of true male friendship? What remedy...

With graying (maybe a faintly visible gray or dark gray color frame of the coat).

A gray horse has the ability to be born, for example, as a black horse, but subsequently snow-white hairs will begin to appear in its coat, which will become more and more abundant with age. By the time it comes of age, this breed will become gray in color, and subsequently may even turn white. A distinctive feature of the gray color is the gray color of the coat with dark tints. As a horse ages, it begins to turn grey, losing any color in its coat. Horses' head and belly areas become noticeably gray. A gray horse does not have any clearly visible color transitions. She is completely gray and has no areas of any other color.

A gray horse is born immediately without pigmented hair on its belly and face. That is, her fur is initially devoid of color, and therefore looks gray. The peculiarity of this suit is the permanent color of the coat throughout life. The only thing is that in old age the color may turn slightly gray due to the influence of external factors on the wool. The gray color of the horse has no shades or tints. There are rarely spots on the body of a gray horse, and the presence of additional colors other than white and gray indicates that the breed of the presented color is mixed.

The gray mare's mane is distinguished by its thickness and length. Most often, a purebred gray breed has a dark brown or black mane. Such a bold transition of colors from light gray on the body to dark black in the mane only adds beauty and sophistication to representatives of the gray color.

The gray horse is often called white. Its deceptive colors have led to the fact that derivatives are often made from the name of the suit in the form of complaints about lying. The thing is that, according to custom, hair turns gray in old age, and these animals are already born gray. This is how the saying “bullshit” came about, meaning lies and deception. In addition, gray horses have long been considered, although beautiful, but rather stupid animals. The gray horse is one of the few that will eat any grass without going overboard, while other breeds are quite selective in their choice of food.


Wool is one of the main characteristic personal indicators of horses. Wool is considered a hereditary indicator and is guided by the color of the outer hair of the head, neck, body, limbs, mane, tail, skin color and eyes. The color of a horse characterizes a horse and distinguishes it from dozens of others. In any case, the bay will not have a snow-white mane, and the red one will not have dark legs. The coat is created during the foal's development and traditionally changes with age.

Although the expression “bullshit” is well known to Russian ears, its meaning is not obvious. Why is blatant stupidity attributed to the female horse, and precisely this color?
The word “delirium” did not always have the meaning that we give it today. In the 18th century, the phraseological unit was already widely used, and the word “delirium” at that time meant walking back and forth and came from the verb to wander, to wander. In the proverb, the word had the following meaning: to speak not to the point, to voice worthless information.
Here our idiom closely intersects with its synonym: “lies like a gray gelding.” The verb “to lie” in Russian meant idle talk, chatter, nonsense.
“Grey” is not only about color and horse color. In old Russian the word means: gray-haired, grey-haired, and, therefore, old.
Set expressions developed in the village atmosphere, which is obvious for two reasons:
The peasantry made up a significant majority of the entire population;
The rough language of the idioms that have survived to this day confirms that their author is the people.
What was the attitude towards old people in peasant Russia in the 18th century and earlier? After all, our caring government did not yet have a wonderful pension reform. It’s all great now, but back then you had to keep spinning until you were very old... But I digress from the topic.
At that time, the attitude towards old people was very lenient. These people were no longer suitable for work and procreation; roughly speaking, they sat on the necks of younger and more able-bodied people. What was left for them? Of course, chatter, idle talk and at the same time repeat yourself.
Consequently, the history of the origin of the phraseological unit is as follows: initially, incompetent talkers of respectable age were compared with gray mares and geldings, who spread about their past exploits to everyone who wanted to listen and who did not want to. Over time, to make the narrative more colorful, these stories were enriched with new fantastic details, and so the chatter turned into lies. And the expression became a household word, applicable not only to a gray-haired old man, but also to a chatterbox of any age. Certain associations involuntarily suggest themselves...
There is only one ambiguity left: why the mare? The appearance of this animal in the proverb is due to an old Slavic sign: if you dreamed of a gray horse, then expect lies today.
Bullshit is a phraseological unit that denotes obvious nonsense, a lie. Its appearance is due to the fact that the gray horse was popularly considered a stupid animal; her appearance in a dream was considered a harbinger of a lie. It is also likely that the word “delirium” in the phraseological unit meant walking back and forth.
There is a variant pronunciation that imitates English speech: [brad ov the save cable], probably invented by an unknown English teacher to indicate incorrect English speech.
Lying like a gray gelding, apparently appeared as a match for a gray mare. So based on logic - everything is in order, everything is in order...

Having heard the expression “bullshit,” every modern person understands the meaning of the phraseological unit. But where did this strange phrase come from, and what does the mare, and a gray one, have to do with it? The answer to this question is given in the article.

What kind of gray mare is this?

We use common phraseology every time we fundamentally disagree with someone’s point of view. Although many have no idea what the notorious mare looks like.

If you look at the list of horse colors, the concept of “gray” does not exist in modern horse breeding. This is the popular name for the hair of a horse, combining black color with graying or just dark gray color. For example, if we remember the famous Sivka-Burka, then the heroine of the fairy tale is gray and brown.

However, gray mares were not popular among the people. It was believed that these were horses that spoiled the furrow, and on occasion tried to kick or bite. They were not loved and considered stupid, and if you dream of such a mare, expect deception.

Even in the old days, gray horses were called gray. Unscrupulous traders could easily sell an old horse under the guise of a gray one if a naive buyer forgot to look the animal in the mouth. And here is another deception that explains the meaning of the phraseological unit “bullshit.” The new acquisition of the unlucky owners was left to wander aimlessly to the yard. But what does this have to do with nonsense?

To rave or to wander?

Today, the word “nonsense” is used to describe any lie or attempt to mislead. In medical terminology, this concept refers to a pathological disorder of thinking that occurs due to mental illness.

According to lexicographer G. A. Krylov, the noun “nonsense” comes from the verb “to wander,” which in the old days meant walking around without doing anything or aimlessly wandering, i.e., an activity devoid of meaning. It is not surprising that over time, nonsense has become synonymous with nonsense and nonsense.

And if you add here the disgraced gray color and a meaningless purchase, then “bullshit” takes on a prosaic and completely appropriate meaning. However, this phraseological unit has a much more interesting version of its origin.

The Legend of Herr von Sievers-Mehring

According to an old army story, an officer served in Tsarist Russia; his name is silent in history, but his surname was von Sievers-Mehring. This nobleman was remembered by his colleagues not for his military exploits, but for his amazing ability to lie and tell tall tales. In the officer’s regiment, the expression “he lies like Sivers-Mering” took root, the meaning of which was understandable only to a narrow circle of servicemen.

But the army does not stand still and, picked up by the soldiers, the phrase went for a walk throughout Russia without losing its meaning. The people in Rus' did not like incomprehensible words and over time “Sivers-Mering” turned into a “gray gelding”, and here it’s not far from a gray mare. Well, “lying” and “delirium” were already consonant synonyms.

Agree, this is a funny version of the origin of the phraseological unit “bullshit,” the meaning of which, in spite of everything, remains unchanged. But there is an even more original option associated with the full name of a little-known scientist.

Brad Steve Cobile

Famous figures of science and culture are awarded the Nobel Prize, unlucky ones - the Ig Nobel Prize, but at least their names are associated with some achievements.

But a scientist named Brad Steve Cobile, known only in narrow circles, was not at all lucky. He managed to write and publish a crazy article from a scientific point of view. And it wasn’t difficult to interpret his full name in the Russian manner.

If this story really took place, then the phrase “bullshit” owes its meaning and origin to it. Now it remains to consider the latest version of the catchphrase, which is not particularly intriguing, but therefore more probable.

Old men with gray hair

In Rus', not only gray horses, but also gray-haired old men were called gray. The people's attitude towards older people was tolerant and condescending. It is likely that behind the scenes the younger generation could compare their parents with both geldings and mares. The old and infirm could not work, especially if they fell into childhood. Many entertained their children and grandchildren with endless tales, each time embellishing their stories more and more until they turned into complete lies and nonsense. This is how the expression “bully bullshit” appeared with the meaning that we are talking about an elderly person who has lost his mind.

The resounding phrase quickly spread, and over time the expression began to be applied to talkers, dreamers and unscrupulous liars of all ages.

It is worth noting that the meaning of the phraseological unit “bullshit” does not always refer to a conscious lie. Unfortunately, people with pathological thinking disorders or, for example, in a state of alcohol psychosis also fall under this definition.

Gray mare

Expression " bullshit“although it is well known to the Russian ear, its meaning is not obvious. Why is blatant stupidity attributed to the female horse, and precisely this color?

The word “delirium” did not always have the meaning that we give it today. In the 18th century phraseological unit was already widely used, and the word “delirium” at that time meant walking back and forth and came from the verb to wander, to wander. In the proverb the word had something like this meaning: talk not to the point, voice worthless information.

Here is our idiom closely intersects with its synonym: “lies like a gray gelding.” The verb “to lie” in Russian meant idle talk, chatter, nonsense.

“Gray” is not only about color and horse color. In old Russian the word means: gray-haired, grey-haired, and, therefore, old.

Set expressions developed in the village atmosphere, which is obvious for two reasons:

The peasantry made up a significant majority of the entire population;
The rough language of the idioms that have survived to this day confirms that they author- people.

What was the attitude towards old people in peasant Russia in the 18th century and earlier? Very lenient. These people were no longer suitable for work and procreation; roughly speaking, they sat on the necks of younger and more able-bodied people. What was left for them? Of course, chatter, idle talk and at the same time repeat yourself.

Hence, history of the origin of phraseological units is as follows: initially, incompetent talkers of respectable age were compared with gray mares and geldings, who spread about their past exploits to everyone who wanted to listen and who did not want to. Over time, to make the narrative more colorful, these stories were enriched with new fantastic details, and so the chatter turned into lies. And the expression became a household word, applicable not only to a gray-haired old man, but also to a chatterbox of any age.