What does it mean to not drink water off your face? Don’t drink water from your face: How did the fate of the children who were called “the most beautiful in the world” turn out. Synonyms of the proverb “don’t drink water off your face”
Some expressions in colloquial speech we use without thinking. But when the task arises to explain meaning one way or another proverbs, you involuntarily find yourself in a dead end. Let's try to reveal today meaning of the proverb “Don’t drink water off your face”(another option: "Don't drink water off your face").
Meaning, scope of use
The proverb is used when talking about relationships between a man and a woman. In former times, spouses often became spouses of convenience, by the will of their parents, and not by love. And then the newlyweds were consoled with the words “Don’t drink water off your face,” thereby explaining that beauty is not the main thing (but money does). The expression was also applicable in the situation if a village girl, for example, married a hard-working but ugly man. I would like to exclaim: Oh times, oh morals! But if you think about it, the proverb is still relevant today. For example, a group of girls are discussing their new boyfriend, who is a great dancer, but has a long nose. Then it would be appropriate to say: Do not drink water from your face. Another example: There is a film in the cinema with a new, incredibly talented, but not very handsome actor. And then this proverb will also apply.
The meaning or, so to speak, mission of the proverb is to pay attention to others positive qualities person, while downplaying the importance of beauty.
Origin
There is no history of the origin of the proverb “Don’t drink water off your face,” but one can logically assume why the popular aphorism sounds this way and not otherwise.
In Rus' there was a tradition of drinking tea from a saucer. And the more beautiful it is, the more pleasant it is. From a dirty, rustic, broken saucer, the drink will not seem so tasty. Drawing a parallel with beauty, people mean that a face is not a saucer, you can’t drink water from it, and therefore, what difference does it make whether it’s beautiful? The properties of water also matter here - it is transparent and everything can be seen through it. And therefore, don’t drink water, not tea, kvass or sbiten.
Proverbs with a similar meaning, analogues:
- Don’t drink water off your face, if only you could bake pies.
- Don't print gingerbread on your face.
- Although unpretentious in appearance, he is eloquent in the world.
- Unpretentious in face, let him look like a good fellow.
- Don't look for beauty, but look for kindness.
- Beauty to the end, and intelligence to the end.
Opposite
- And red, and colorful, and faded.
- And smooth, but nasty; and pockmarked, yes God's servant.
- “I met a person who I really like as a person. He and I agree on a lot of things, we are never bored together, he knows how to make me laugh. But he doesn't physically attract me at all. I know it's ugly, but his face disgusts me.
The physical aspect of a relationship is very important to me, and my first thought was that he and I could just be friends. But I'm afraid that I'll never meet someone with whom I have such an emotional attraction.
I know there are a lot of fish in the sea, but what if this is the best fish I'm destined to catch? Maybe I'm superficial?
We had nothing with him, we didn’t even kiss. He insists that I decide who we are to each other, and I say that we need to wait, but I feel that he is about to lose patience. What should I do? How important is appearance to love?
Luckily, there's a simple name for the person you like but don't want to kiss: friend. If his face, as you write, “disgusts” you, this does not prevent you from simply being friends.
Don’t delay the explanation until things get complicated and the guy starts to think that you’re leading him by the nose. If you really want to be friends with him, it’s better to tell him about it now.
You shouldn't feel guilty because he wants to hug and kiss you, but you don't. Your sacred The right is to kiss only the one you really want to kiss.
Popular
“The important thing is not how beautiful a person is, but how attractive he seems to you.”
Is appearance important? The important thing is not how beautiful a person is, but how attractive he seems to you. The perfect handsome guy from the picture may not attract you, but a person who is far from the canons of beauty charms you with his disarming smile, for example. Many people choose those whom they did not consider “their type” at all. Attraction is a mixture of a million subtle impulses that either turn you on or not, and it is extremely important in a relationship. It is no one's fault if this attraction simply did not arise. Moreover, if this guy not only does not attract you, but also repels you externally. This doesn't mean that you are superficial.
And you shouldn’t think that this person is your soulmate and you’ll never meet another. Forget about the fish in the sea. Let's imagine that you are sitting in a restaurant and the waiter puts in front of you a dish of fish that you did not order. You don’t want her, you’re even disgusted to look at her. But the waiter insists that you eat it anyway. Are you going to eat it with your eyes closed and your nose pinched, or are you going to tell him to immediately take it back to the kitchen and bring you what you want?
One of the most difficult sections when learning a language is phraseology. Understanding set expressions is not easy. To do this you need to look deep into the past. Know the customs and rituals of the people speaking the language being studied. If you ignore set phrases as such, then you can get into trouble because it is simply impossible to guess the meaning of many of them.
Meaning
The meaning of “Do not drink water from your face” has been rethought. The words: “water”, “drink”, “face” in our usual understanding do not have any meaning in this phrase. The meaning of the phraseological unit “Do not drink water from your face” is to accept a person not by the beauty of his face. The proverb is easier to understand if you look at history. For a long time in Rus' there was a ritual - to marry young people by agreement of their parents. Until the wedding, the bride and groom were not supposed to see each other. This caused many concerns about the appearance of the future spouse. For the parents, what was mainly important was the material wealth of the new family, so with the help of this phrase they consoled the intractable child. In addition, young people with unattractive appearance or physical disabilities were given a chance at family life.
Gradually, the custom of deciding their future for children disappeared, but the phraseology remained. Its meaning remains the same. It denotes material gain in marriage. If a person is wealthy, his appearance fades into the background. But in the meaning of “Do not drink water from your face,” another concept appeared - to value human dignity above the beauty of appearance. In the end, one can come to terms with shortcomings and even not notice them at all if a person has good spiritual qualities.
Origin story
The emergence of phraseological units is presumably associated with another ritual - the ritual of tea drinking. In Rus', the tea ceremony was accompanied by an abundance of treats and could last for several hours. Guests were seated on the most best places, under the images. For the tea ceremony they used beautiful, and most importantly, intact dishes (without chipped edges or cracks). This custom showed the generosity and breadth of the Russian soul. The meaning of the proverb “Don’t drink water off your face” is not to see flaws appearance person. From bad dishes You can’t get enough tea, but you can accept a person no matter what he is. Everyone has both advantages and disadvantages.
Why water, since there were many other drinks in Rus'? Most likely, the word “water” was attached to the phrase due to the fact that it is transparent, any flaw is clearly visible through it.
Equivalents, synonyms, antonyms
Many proverbs and sayings have equivalents. This is natural, because the origin of many of them dates back to the pre-literate period. People remembered the main meaning, but individual words or grammar could easily be changed. This phrase is no exception. Any combination of words included in this phrase should be understood in relation to the basic meaning of “Do not drink water from your face.”
In addition, this proverb may have synonyms (expressions that are similar in their lexical meaning, but different in sound and spelling). They can be found in the collection “Proverbs of the Russian People,” compiled by V. I. Dahl. He gives synonyms for this proverb in the “Essence-Appearance” section. Thus, the meaning of the phraseological unit “Do not drink water from your face” can be revealed using other set expressions:
- Not pretty, but useful.
Not solid, but divided.
In the same collection you can also select antonyms, that is, expressions with the opposite meaning.
Using a proverb
Availability large quantity synonyms and antonyms indicates the prevalence of use of the phrase we are considering. Most often it is used when talking about the chosen one or the chosen one, about family life. Sometimes the meaning of “Don’t drink water off your face” is comic. For example, when a person is too focused on his partner’s shortcomings.
The expression is often found in works of literature that tell about the traditions and customs of the Russian people. It can be found in the works of N. A. Nekrasov, N. S. Leskov and many other writers of Russian classics.
The use of stable expressions in speech makes it more figurative and original. These phrases help to understand the situation without lengthy explanations, which is why they are so loved not only by the authors of classics, but also by journalists.
Don't drink water from your face to whom. Razg. Joking. Someone should be lenient about the lack of attractiveness or beauty of the groom or bride. He has three hundred thousand money, but only one daughter. Let’s assume that she’s a little pockmarked and squinting a little, well, the doctor shouldn’t drink water from his wife’s face(Mamin-Sibiryak. Bread).
Phrasebook Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.
See what “Do not drink water off your face” in other dictionaries:
Don't drink water off your face- You shouldn’t pay attention to a person’s appearance... Phraseology Guide
drink- verb., nsv., used. very often Morphology: I drink, you drink, he/she/it drinks, we drink, you drink, they drink, drink, drink, drank, drank, drank, drank, drinking, drank, drank; St. drink; noun, with... Dictionary Dmitrieva
drink- I drink, you drink; drink; drank, la, drank (from the negative: didn’t drink, didn’t drink, didn’t drink, didn’t drink); drinker; pity, pita, pita, pito; nsv. 1. (what). When swallowing, absorb what l. liquid. P. tea. P. beer. I want to serve p.P. from a glass, from a mug, from a bucket. P. water from... Encyclopedic Dictionary
drink- I drink, you drink; drink; drank, la/, pi/lo, see also. drink with the negative: didn’t/ drank, didn’t drink/, didn’t/ drank, didn’t/ drank, drink; pi/ty, pit, pita/, pi/to; nsv. 1) what When swallowing, absorb what l. liquid... Dictionary of many expressions
Don't drink water from your face- It’s not about the face to drink water from the face (inn.). Don't look at the face, but look at the custom. Wed. Why, dear madam, Sarenka’s wife objected! You can’t drink water from your face, you can’t survive life, you can’t cross a field. Leskov. In Moscow. 36, 2. Wed. Why are you talking about nonsense!... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
Don't drink water off your face- (foreigner) it’s not about the face. Don’t look at the face, but look at the custom. Wed. “What madam, dear,” Sarenka’s wife objected. You can’t drink water from your face, you can’t survive life, you can’t cross a field. Leskov. In Moscow. 36, 2. Wed. Why are you talking about nonsense! Comely! What a joke... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary
Do not drink water from your face.- Don't drink water from your face. Not ugly, but also handsome. See QUIRK And not okay, whatever. Do not drink water from your face. See ESSENCE APPEARANCE Do not drink water from your face. Don't lick what's good, don't cut what's bad. See MAN...
Don’t drink water off your face, if only you could bake pies.- Don’t drink water off your face, if only you could bake pies. See LONELINESS MARRIED... V.I. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
physics- and, f. physique, German Physik physike physis nature. 1. outdated Physical structure and condition of the body. ALS 1. I now spend most of my time in the village; however, my health is poor. From the physics side, I became completely different. 26.6.… … Historical Dictionary Gallicisms of the Russian language
EZEKIEL PROPHET BOOK- is part of the OT (refers to the so-called great prophets). The author is traditionally recognized as the prophet. Ezekiel. Text Jewish tradition According to many. commentators, heb. the text of I. p.k. is one of the most poorly preserved. As R. Smend believed, I. p.... ... Orthodox Encyclopedia
Books
- Fishing in still waters, Lugantseva Tatyana Igorevna. What kind of bad luck is this - decent men don’t fall for Laura Antonova! She doesn’t seem to be stupid, and she doesn’t have a bad face... But as soon as you trust someone with your feelings, it will definitely turn out that way or...
The emergence of the expression “Do not drink water from your face” was based on an analogy between the face and the dishes, which, like other elements of material wealth, were highly valued in predominantly poor Russian families. In those days, medicine was not very developed, so the common people often suffered various diseases, including smallpox, which after recovery left noticeable scars on the face of the person who had been ill. In addition, hunting and field work quite often led to facial injuries, after which marks remained.
Therefore, the expression “Do not drink water from your face” was intended to emphasize that for long-term living together, the beauty of the face, which was often interpreted simply as the absence of pronounced marks after an illness or injury, is not as important as the integrity of the utensils intended for drinking.
Use of expression
The expression in question has become widespread to describe a person’s appearance. Thus, it was actively used by writers and other literary figures who worked in different times. The use of this expression can be found in the works of such famous Russian authors as Anton Chekhov, Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak, Vasily Shukshin and others.Another option for pronouncing this proverb is to change the ending in one of the words: in this case it is pronounced as “Do not drink water from the face.” Finally, a common version is a proverb with a modified word order: “You can’t drink water off your face.” The preference for one or another version of a proverb in Russia has a certain geographical location.
To convey the meaning that is usually put into this saying, there are other expressions in the Russian language, which, however, are less widespread. So, for example, among them we can name the sayings “Do not look for beauty, but look for kindness”,
“Beauty to the crown, and intelligence to the end.” It is noteworthy that, in addition to denying the importance of external attractiveness for marriage, they emphasize the importance of other advantages.
