Contents
Many famous sayings are literally passed down from generation to generation – the first pancake is lumpy, bread is all over the head, you can’t spoil the porridge with butter. We do not even suspect that the appearance of these aphorisms has its own history and reason.
“Appetite comes with eating”
The phrase “appetite came with eating” first appeared in 1533 in the novel Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais. In one of the episodes, a large feast is described, and one of the heroes utters the following phrase: “Appetite comes with eating – just as, according to Angers Mansky, thirst goes away while drinking.” Bishop of Mansky existed in reality, but whether he actually uttered the phrase is unknown. Today this phrase has such a meaning: if you don’t want to do something, then you should start – and “appetite” will appear.
“Salt of the earth”
This aphorism appeared thousands of years ago, it is mentioned in the Gospel. Of course, without salt, any food seems tasteless – a person does not receive any pleasure and enjoyment. The best people are called the salt of the earth – who give life taste and significance. Salt has always been equal to gold, and such people today are just as expensive and rare.
“Eat a pound of salt”
To eat a pound of salt with someone is to know the person how to share your life with him. This phrase appeared when salt was very expensive, and if a person shared salt with someone, then he trusted him unconditionally, like himself. The food was not salted for strangers, and they went about “eating too much.” By the way, a pood is 16 kg, exactly as much salt will be eaten by two people throughout the year.
“You can’t cook porridge”
You can’t cook porridge together – that’s what they say when it’s impossible to do a common cause with someone. And the roots of this aphorism go back to the times when cooking porridge was considered a common affair of the whole family. Unverified strangers were not allowed to participate in this process.
“The first pancake is lumpy”
So they always say when any business does not work the first time. Indeed, the first pancakes from the dough that come up are often ugly or do not come out at all. But the aphorism appeared thanks to the Slavic Maslenitsa traditions. The first pancake on this holiday was not eaten, but given for the repose of the souls of loved ones. Memories caused “a lump in the throat” – from here came the expression about a lump of pancake.
“Do not open your mouth on someone else’s loaf”
Do not count on something that does not belong to you – the meaning of this expression. And this is only half of the proverb. Completely it sounds like this: “Do not open your mouth on someone else’s loaf, but get up early and start your own.” Previously, in every house from the very morning they baked a loaf for the whole family. In the houses where the idlers lived, they did not cook bread. Hence, they began to say that if you want to get something, get up and move, and not just envy, lying on the stove.
“Bread is the head of everything”
This is the most famous folk phrase. Bread used to be a rarity in many homes and the most satisfying dish to save on other food. Therefore, bread was valued even higher than meat – it was a guarantee that the cold would not come in the house. Now this phrase has lost its relevance.
“You can’t spoil porridge with butter”
Despite the fact that today we are trying to maintain the balance of fat in the body, oil used to be a luxury and envy item, because it cost a lot of money. The amount of butter in the porridge was used to judge the status of the family and its prosperity. Fat also warmed and helped men withstand heavy physical labor. Literally, the phrase means that something useful and meaningful simply cannot do harm, even in large quantities.
“A mess in the head”
Kawardak – this was the name for dishes in which many ingredients were mixed, often left over after a meal. Stewed potatoes in meat and onions, millet fish soup, cabbage hodgepodge – all this is an example of a mess, a hodgepodge. What a mess in the plate – this can be in the head.