With Gulkin's nose origin. What does the expression “with a gulkin nose” mean? Antonyms in other languages

Philologist, candidate of philological sciences, poet, member of the Union of Writers of Russia.
Publication date:01/10/2019

When something good is not enough, it is depressing. To convey disappointment, some particularly succinct expression is needed. There are plenty of such idioms in the Russian language! One of them is with gulkin nose– perfectly characterizes the traditions of Russian minimalism.

The meaning and origin of phraseological units

The stable phrase “with a gulkin’s nose” is used when they want to emphasize a tiny amount of something. Gulka is a “gulya”, a colloquial name for a pigeon. The ghoul's beak is tiny, it cannot be compared with a duck's or an eagle's. That is why something small and insignificant can be compared to a pigeon’s nose. Phonetically, the expression also fits the situation: there is some slightly offensive, teasing connotation in it.

There is also an expression about a sparrow: “shorter than a sparrow’s nose.” This bird is even smaller, but the pigeon takes first place in the idiomatic race.
For example, after picking mushrooms, when mushroom pickers compare the volume of spoils brought in baskets, it will be annoying to hear from an experienced grandfather, commander of a detachment of grandchildren: “Well, Vasyatka, you picked mushrooms like a fool!” This means there is nowhere less...

“Wrote an essay - like a fool!” - Marya Ivanna will reproach the laziest student, placing a notebook with a fresh “C” on his desk. You must understand that the assessment directly depends not only on the number of errors, but also on the amount of work. Brevity, of course, is the sister of talent, but brevity also has its limits.

Another example of the use of phraseological units is everyday colloquial speech. When discussing and condemning their acquaintances, ladies do not stand on ceremony in their choice of expressions. They may well say about a short-sighted neighbor: “She’s as smart as a fool: she also thought of doing laundry for Easter!” This means that the neighbor, who is not very smart, in the opinion of the “pious” gossips, has violated a certain prohibition.

In general, we can say that Gulkin’s nose is remembered everywhere and at every opportunity, as soon as something is missing. This expression is one of the most beloved by Russians, because the broad nature of their compatriots loves space and scope. Everything small, cramped, limited upsets us and makes us want to express ourselves more expressively.

If there is very little of something, you can use synonymous idioms, which are abundant in our language. Instead of saying “this is not enough for me,” say, for example:

• with a sparrow nose;
• with a pin head;
• what a grain of grain is to an elephant;
• a drop in the sea;
• once or twice and I miscalculated;
• on the little finger;
• You can count them on your fingers.

To more clearly imagine the meaning of a phraseological unit, compare it with antonyms used in the meaning of “very much, excessively”:

• the chickens don't peck;
• count not count;
• there is nowhere to go.

To denote the extreme scarcity of something, foreigners use the following phrases:

• as small as the nose of a dove (German);
• a drop in the ocean (English);
• with a cat's forehead (Japanese);
• there is nowhere to bite (Spanish).

A harmless bird with a short beak, in general, very harmless. There is no fault that the neatness of her nose has become. In order not to be disappointed and remember as little as possible about need and lack, try to do everything to ensure that there is more good in life than in the wild.

Origin and meaning of the phraseological unit "with a gulkin's nose"?

0 what does Gulkin's nose mean? They have been using it in Russia since ancient times large number colorful figures of speech that give our language figurativeness and expressiveness. Some of them were formed relatively recently, while others have their roots going back centuries. Therefore, not all citizens can confidently say that they know their meaning and origin. To dispel your doubts and find an explanation of the necessary terms, I suggest adding the site modye-slova.rf to your bookmarks. Then you can come and see us at any time. Today we will talk about a curious expression, this With a gulkin nose, you can find out the meaning of the phraseological unit a little lower.
However, before continuing, I would like to show you a couple more sensible publications on the topic of proverbs and sayings. For example, what does it mean to make eyes; how to understand Dashing trouble is the beginning; what does it mean? Beats means loves; the meaning of the expression Further, more, etc.
So let's continue What does Gulkin's nose mean??

The origin of the expression With a gulkin nose arose at the dawn of pigeon lovers, the so-called pigeon breeders. The fact is that when a person begins to feed his winged pets, they begin to make pleasant guttural sounds " gul-gul". Therefore, some admirers of these birds began to affectionately call them “ghouls” or the diminutive “gulki”. It must be admitted that today in villages they call for feeding with the words “gulya gula” not only pigeons, but also chickens, ducks, and other flying animals.

Based on the above, we can conclude that “ Gulkin's nose" - this is a dove's beak. And since this bird’s beak is not very large, everything that is called that is tiny in size. Therefore, when you hear girls laughingly discussing the “jade rod”, one of the guys, comparing “it with a goofy nose”, know that this is very offensive.

After reading this article, you learned phraseological units With gulkin nose meaning and its origin. Now you won’t get into trouble when you again discover this ambiguous statement or hear it from your familiar cuties.

In ancient times, chopping meant striking enemies, that is, striking the enemy from the shoulder or backhand. This strike was specially trained, and it was considered very effective in battle.

And the warrior who mastered this science was considered an experienced warrior who knew how to give a worthy rebuff in difficult times. The main thing was that the blow should occur sharply, suddenly. Only its surprise was half the success.

Later this expression entered civilian life.

Now “cut from the shoulder” means saying something directly, sharply, without mincing words.

With a gulkin nose

In Russian, a dove or dove was affectionately called gula, gulka. Pigeon keepers, those who deal with pigeons, know this very well. They say this because pigeons, when they are fed and talked to, respond with sounds such as “gurg-gul”. They are even invited to feed like this.

So, Gulkin’s nose is the nose of a dove.

And we use the expression “with a big nose” when we want to say that there is very little of something, just the size of a pigeon’s nose.

Seven Fridays a week

In ancient times in Rus', Friday was market day. On this day, people went to the fair to buy or sell something. That is, on this day trade transactions were made, contracts were concluded, conditions were written down. Debts were also paid off.

The person who did not repay the debt on Friday was considered an unreliable person. Merchants tried not to deal with such a person.

And among traders there was an opinion that such a person always had seven Fridays a week.

Those. this man swore to repay the debt, but put it off from day to day.

Later, this expression began to be applied to people who constantly change their minds and postpone their decisions.

Burn with shame

Every person has experienced this at least once. After all, there were moments in life when we were ashamed. It seems that the face is simply on fire. And all because the blood rushes to the face from excitement.

And it seems a little more and you can burn out completely. That's how this expression came about. And the root here is in the work of the human body.

Such expressions very clearly and colorfully describe a situation. Use them wisely.

What unexpected and at first glance even incomprehensible expressions are not contained in Russian language dictionaries! Here is “Gulka’s nose” - who is Gulka and what does her nose have to do with it? Let's try to figure it out.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “with a gulkin nose”

Wealth native language What is characteristic is that the definition of a particular concept is not limited to one word. You can simply say, “I’m hungry.” But this will be nothing more than a statement of fact. Or you can add expression to this message and say: “There hasn’t been a drop of poppy dew in my mouth since yesterday.” And the degree of hunger of the speaker becomes almost palpable. How much richer does such a message sound!

A great many such examples can be given. No wonder it was published huge amount relevant dictionaries explaining the meanings and origins of various set expressions.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “with a gulkin’s nose” also expands the concepts of “very little” or “very small, not large.” It is used, as a rule, when characterizing a place, objects, money: “He’ll need a place like a big guy,” “And the coins in his wallet are like a big guy,” “He’s got a room like a big guy.” The meaning of something small is also expressed by the phrase “with a sparrow’s nose.”

The history of the origin of the expression “with a gulkin nose”

Phraseologisms and words have common features - lexical meaning and grammatical category. The first parameter is confirmed by the fact that both can be correlated as synonyms. This includes the idiom “with a gulkin’s nose” meaning “very little”.

The history of the emergence of phraseological units points to the phrase as a genetic source. By and large, each of the idioms represents grammatical construction, which is rethought for a specific concept. This is also indicated by the expression in question.

The phraseology “with a gulkin’s nose” is directly related to the beak of a dove. Are these birds usually called? “Guli-guli-guli” - in imitation of their “conversation.” And these birds themselves began to be affectionately called the same. And the beak - the nose of a dove, a goosebump - is very small in comparison with its body. This is the lexical-genetic origin: “with a gulkin’s nose” - therefore, something extremely small, well, just the size of a pigeon’s beak.

Synonyms of phraseological units in Russian

The expression in question belongs to the category It is known that thanks to them the language is enriched. By the way, several more similar catchphrases have the meaning of the phraseological unit “with a gulkin’s nose” in Russian vocabulary.

The history of the emergence of phraseological units is rich in such examples. Expanding the topic, you can turn to verbal synonyms (including dialectisms) that have the same meaning.

• In the meaning of “little”: drip, drop, for a penny, at the bottom, sensitive;
• in the meaning of “small”: tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, microscopic, so tiny.

Synonyms in other languages

Of course, originally Russian expression, associated with the onomatopoeic name of a dove, cannot be literally transferred to foreign lexical systems.

However, in different languages There are set expressions that mean “very little.” So, in English this is the phrase less then nothing, literally meaning “less than nothing.” And the familiar “drop in the sea” in English sounds like a drop in the ocean (a drop in the ocean).

IN German so klein/wenig wie Taubennase - almost “gulkin’s nose”, which means in literal translation“as small/as small as the nose of a dove.”

A popular Spanish expression with the same meaning sounds like no hay para un bocado, i.e. there is no room to bite.

The Japanese version of the phraseological unit (neko no hitai hodo), which literally means “with a cat’s forehead” and also means “very little, almost nothing,” also seems interesting.

Antonyms of phraseological units in Russian

Naturally, if the concept “very little” exists, then, accordingly, the opposite must also exist. What could be the opposite meaning of the phraseological unit “with a gulkin’s nose”?

An example is the idiom “at least a dime a dozen.” In the old days, in order to artificially create a small reservoir, they blocked the river flow with a dam. For its construction they used stones, earth, in general any waste material, cheap material, which was around in large quantities - at least a dime a dozen.

The expressions “apparently and invisibly”, “more than enough”, “there is no end in sight”, “as much as your heart desires”, “a carriage and a small cart”, as well as the word “full” can be considered as antonyms.

Although at first glance this seems somewhat unexpected, the phrase “endless land” can be used in a certain sense. Wed: working with Gulkin's nose - there is no end to the work.

Antonyms in other languages

The expression “with a gulkin nose” has the opposite meaning interesting options in other languages. In English, this antonym with the meaning “at least a dime a dozen” will sound like this: at least a dime a dozen. It translates into Russian as “at least a dime (a 10-cent coin) per dozen.”

In English there is another expression - the antonym of “gulkin’s nose”, which corresponds to the Russian “car and small cart”: enough for a man and his dog (i.e. literally: enough for a man and his dog).

The Spanish phrase al menos a diez centavos por docena has the same meaning as the English phrase about 10 cents per dozen.

The French equivalent to the Russian “at least a dime a dozen” is au moins treize à la douzaine. Literally translated as "at least thirteen by a dozen (i.e. by twelve)."

In German, the analogues of “more than enough” are jeder menge, i.e. “a large number”, “at least a dime a dozen” - Im Überfluss (“in abundance”), but these are, so to speak, verbal substitutes. And there is also this one set phrase: so viel wie Sand am Meer, which literally translates: “as much as sand by the sea.”

Use of the expression “with a gulkin nose” in literature

Phraseological units have an enviable fate. They are assigned the role of elements of the language, decorating and enriching it. Take, for example, the expression “with a gulkin’s nose.” The meaning “very little, very small,” as has already been established, has several other stable expressions that are successfully used in literary speech.

And although in dictionaries next to the idiom in question there is a note “simple.” - colloquial, it’s not difficult to imagine how dull the dialogue of, say, the heroes of S. Antonov’s story “It Was in Penkov” would sound if instead of “Gulkin’s nose” the laconic “very little” was written: “A dryer is needed when there is something to dry, - he interrupted her. - And you know how much seed corn we have. With a gulkin nose.”

As already noted, the phrase is used not only to define a tiny amount, but also to describe the size and area. Thus, in “The Zvonarev Family,” A. Stepanov, through the mouth of one of the characters, remarks: “One thing is bad: put it where? The shed is as big as a gulkin’s nose, and even that one has a thin roof.”

Using the expression “with a gulkin nose” in oral speech

When people talk to each other in everyday situations, of course, it hardly occurs to them what lexical units they use in the conversation - phraseological units or just words. And stable expressions have this peculiarity: they represent an integral formation and are used, organically and naturally flowing into the speech flow. And “with a gulkin’s nose” is not even an exception. Quite the contrary.

Phraseologisms, like words, are used in oral speech, obeying the established norms of the language. However, they can be pronounced by speakers in a slightly modified form. You can use the phrase without a pretext: “small - well, a pure gulkin’s nose.” In another colloquial version, it will sound like “no more than a gulkin’s nose.” And above, such a synonym for the expression in question was noted as “with a sparrow’s nose.” As they say, the birds are different, but the meaning is the same.

Conclusion

Among the various components of the composite section of linguistics, called phraseology, the expression “with a gulkin’s nose” stands out according to the method of formation: its component is like a reinterpreted word. “Gulka” means “dove”, “nose” means “beak”, and the resulting expression “beak of a dove” expresses a new meaning - “insignificant”.

As a rule, phraseological units are mostly elements colloquial speech, no matter how often they are used in fiction. However, they are quite difficult to separate from stylistically neutral expressions used in different languages, including colloquial ones.

Knowing what “with a gulkin’s nose” means as a phraseological unit, you can use it in everyday communication in a role that linguists would characterize as stylistically reduced - colloquial.

However, if you try to conduct a kind of experiment on the frequency of use of this phraseological unit, in comparison with words that have the same meaning, then, perhaps, you will be the winner. If it’s not “on the nose”, then “the cat cried” - for sure.