The Russian language includes many meanings that are perfectly understood by its native speakers, but puzzle foreigners. “Hack on the nose” is a bright one, the translation of which is difficult for linguists from other countries. The origin of the phraseological unit, as is typical for such expressions, has a simple and at the same time interesting explanation.

Hack on the nose: the meaning of the phrase

The catchphrase is so established that it is used unconsciously by native speakers. The phraseological phrase “to hack on your nose” comes to a person’s aid when he wants his interlocutor to remember his words forever. For example, this statement can be made by parents or teachers who are scolding. It is also used by adults who are quarreling with each other.

This phrase is one of the clear proofs of the emotional richness of the Russian language. The expression “get it on your nose” better conveys the speaker’s emotions and the importance of his words than a simple request to remember something. However, it does not at all contain a threat of physical harm, as it may seem to a foreigner trying to translate the statement literally.

Origin of phraseology

Surprisingly, popular expression initially did not have any emotional connotation. It was completely unrelated to damage to the human body. By proposing to cut off the nose, the speaker did not mean the organ of smell, as one might think. This name among the people was acquired several centuries ago by tablets that served as a lifesaver for a person who was not trained in literacy.

How are these devices connected to one of the body parts? Absolutely no way, since their name comes from the verb “to wear.” Considering the importance of writing instruments, many residents of that time practically did not part with them. In fact, “notching on the nose” meant making notches on the “notepads-noses” that were always with you.

Why are “noses” needed?

Almost until the overthrow of the tsarist government, which took place in 1917, literacy remained a privilege of high society. Most of the Russian population did not even have basic writing skills. Serious gaps in education did not prevent people from actively participating in trade, which flourished in the country. New trading houses were constantly founded, fairs were launched, and caravans flourished. Transactions were made every minute and sometimes involved large sums.

The tablets, to which the phraseological phrase “cut on the nose” owes its existence, were invented to help illiterate traders. With their help, they recorded their own financial transactions in memory, making notches. The “notepad” was deciphered by counting the number of “sticks” created. This does not seem convenient, but it is worth remembering the lack of electronic gadgets among people in those days.

It is interesting that such devices were also widespread in medieval Europe, since there, too, the situation with the literacy of the population in those days was deplorable.

Emotional color

Why do people these days threaten their opponents, either playfully or seriously, when they ask to be hacked to death? The meaning acquired an emotional coloring in connection with the main purpose of the tablets, which successfully replaced modern notepads. They became a means for fixing debt obligations.

It is easy to give an example of recording such an operation on a commemorative tag. A man borrows three bags of flour from a friend. To remember the fact of the loan and repay it in a timely manner, three notches are made on the board. Partial repayment of the resulting debt was not excluded. In this case, the “notebook” was divided into parts between the partners, and half of the notches made were kept on each part.

Obviously, they can pose a certain threat to the debtor. Connected with this is the gradual acquisition of emotional overtones by harmless expressions.

Other phraseological units "with a nose"

There are other original catchphrases that seem to be or are actually related to the olfactory organ. Among them there are phraseological units that have a simple explanation, and expressions that were formed in a complex way. An example of a “light” stable phrase is the characteristic “with a gulkin’s nose”, meaning a small amount of something. By gooey nose the speaker means the beak of a pigeon, which is small in size.

The phrase “getting away with your nose” has as long a history as “getting away with your nose.” The proposal remains from the times when bribery flourished in the country. For example, it was difficult to hope for a positive resolution of one’s issue in court if a gift was not prepared for a government representative. Of course, such a gift was not called a bribe: it was designated as a nose, a bring. If a person is left with his nose, this indicates that his gift was refused. Consequently, achieving the goal seems unrealistic.

Many catchphrases from the past have been forgotten, but the phraseological unit “cut on the nose” continues to be actively used in the Russian language.

Notch it on your nose - they usually say if you need to remember something firmly. This is usually said with a reproach or threat so that a person will forever remember the words of the speaker.

But why do they say this? What can be hacked on the nose and is it safe? What is the real meaning and origin of this phrase?

Origin

What's interesting is the expression Nick down has nothing to do with the part of the body that adorns our face. In the old days, a nose was a name given to a stick or board with notches that was carried with you - hence the word nose, i.e. the nose is what is worn.

Why were these notches on the “nose” needed? This is a very simple, long-known technique that allows you to remind someone of something. Someone ties a knot, another writes a line on his hand, etc. and so on. - everyone has their own ways of not letting themselves forget about something important, about some assignment. Such a reminder will catch your eye - and that’s it, I remember what I need. Thus, such noses used to play the role of notepads, and “notching on the nose” meant making a note in such a “notebook.”

And in the old days, notches on the nose were also made for another important reason - this was how debts were remembered, i.e. these sticks were used as promissory notes.

Notches on the nose

"Nose" in the meaning of "what is worn" is also used in another expression - " stay with your nose". “Stay with your nose” meant “stay with what you came with.” Usually, this is what they said about those who gave an offering (in our opinion, a bribe) to some official or judge. And if the official turned out to be honest, then they said about the bribe-giver that he “was left with his nose.”

Phraseologism " Nick down"is known to most residents of our country: it is often used in colloquial speech, usually in the case when it is necessary for the second person to whom this phrase is addressed not only to hear and ignore it, but to understand, draw appropriate conclusions and remember for a long time what have to do. But how do you think this expression is interpreted? Foreign citizens in the literal sense of this phraseological unit? Most likely, they won't understand it! After all, the expression is very difficult to translate into other languages ​​and, moreover, in the end, it will lose its original meaning. Foreigners are likely to interpret this phrase as “a call for self-harm.”

In this article we will answer the question of what the phraseological phrase “hack on the nose” means today, and what was the meaning of this expression in the past. where did this expression come from and why its meaning has nothing to do with the organ of smell. The human nose has nothing to do with it! What does it have to do with it then? Let's understand the meaning and origin of phraseological units.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “about nicks on the nose”

Nowadays, the phraseology “get it on your nose” means to put information in your memory forever, for the rest of your life. The expression is often said “in the hearts” accompanied by negative emotions. Therefore, it can carry aggression and rudeness towards the person to whom it is addressed. But also in this phrase can also act as a warning, due to the desire for a person to draw an appropriate conclusion from the current situation, for example, when a mother reprimands her child for committing an offense and demands that he remember the said instruction for many years.

This expression can be used in the educational and training process, but more gently. For example, if a teacher wants to convey necessary and very useful information to students, I focus on its importance and considerable significance.

Some may think that the word “hack” is too harsh and can be replaced with a softer one. However, the requirement to put a notch on the nose has nothing to do with damage to this human organ. To be convinced of this, let us turn to the history of the origin of phraseological units.

The origin of the phraseological unit “hack on your nose”

Why did they start using “nose” in this phraseological unit, and not another human organ? The history of the origin of phraseological units begins on Russian soil, at a time when ordinary people were not illiterate - they could neither read nor write. And such a lack of these skills had a negative impact on trade in general. Because of this, people could not count money correctly and make purchases at the bazaar, as well as participate in various kinds of fairs. In those years, letters had to be delivered on special wooden tablets. Notches were made on these tablets and various inscriptions were made.

Over time, this habit passed on to merchants, who made notes on completed transactions and sales (purchases) on tablets. Illiterate people constantly carried signs with them. This is where the word “nose” came from - from the verb “to wear”, this is how they began to call the plate on which marks and notches were placed.

And the expression “notch your nose” at that time meant “write it down on your tablet,” and had nothing to do with the human nose, much less mutilation of it.

An important purpose of this kind of writing tablets was to keep records of debt obligations. For example, one man borrowed four pounds of salt from another, and in order not to forget and remember this transaction, he makes four marks on this tablet. If the return was not carried out in several operations at once, then the men divided such a board among themselves. And both of them had parts with the required number of marks on their hands.

That is why the expression “cut it on your nose,” which later acquired a figurative meaning and became a phraseological unit, is used in Russian colloquial speech in our time.

“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 given expression is in no way related to the nose that is 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 They often carry notebooks with them – paper or electronic – in which they write down something important that they 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.”

Phrase " cut it on your nose” means remember once and for all, remember firmly.

Take into account for the future tense, remember well (Explanatory Dictionary of D. N. Ushakov, 1935-1940)

This expression appears quite often in the literature:

Ostrovsky A.N.
“Thunderstorm” - merchant Kabanova says to her son: “Well, you remember everything I told you. Look, remember! Cut it on your nose!”
“A lucrative place” - Yusov says to Zhadov: “You should have listened to this man with your mouth open, so as not to let out a word, but to kill his words on his nose, but you argue!”
Dostoevsky F.M.
“Idiot” - “hear, not with a request, but with a demand, kill yourself with this!”

As a child, I heard this expression very often from my parents and teachers. When the purpose of a conversation with me was to remember some written or unwritten rule, I was told, and quite strictly: cut it on your nose! Those. this cannot be done, or it must be done differently.

Do you know where this seemingly meaningless expression came from? And what is the connection between cutting on the bow and the process of memorization?

In the Middle Ages, wooden sticks were used as promissory notes. This was due to the fact that debtors and creditors did not know how to write. For example, in Ancient Rus' If a peasant took 2 bags of flour from a neighbor, he would plan a stick and make 2 cuts on it. Then, the debtor had to split the stick into 2 longitudinal parts and give one part to the neighbor, and keep the second for himself as evidence of recognition of the debt. At the time of calculation, both halves were added together, and the notches had to coincide. In Rus', such sticks were also called “nose” and were always carried with them for memory. Hence the expression “ kill yourself on the nose».
In England, the same notched tags were used for accounting and tax collection until the 17th century. And recently in Germany they found such a wooden promissory note. The find was made during excavations in the town of Wittenberg. The thirty-centimeter stick has 23 cuts, and the name and date - 1558 - are also carved on it. I wonder if this townsman managed to pay off his debts?