Quiet expression. Quietly - what does it mean? "Silently"

Many expressions in the Russian language can be understood by literally everyone, but no one knows what they specifically mean. One of these catchphrases is the expression “on the sly.” This idiom consists of two words, the word “quiet” does not require any explanation, but the word “sap” makes many people think. What is this “sap” in general and what does it mean you can find out on this page website

The history of the emergence of the expression “secretly”

First version.
Researchers claim that the word “sapoy” was borrowed into Russian from the French “sape”, which means hoe. However, the translator does not contain such a word.
What is noteworthy is that such a word as “saper” can be translated as undermining or undermining. That is, if you think logically, then this expression means making a hidden undermining and undermining enemy fortifications.

Second version.
In Rus' there was a snake, which was called Sapa. Therefore, the phrase “the quiet one” can be interpreted as moving like a “quiet snake”. After all, if you have seen how a snake moves, you get the impression that it glides along the surface completely silently.

No matter how many new versions arise, the meaning of this idiom “slyly” will not change. It means only one thing - to do everything secretly and unnoticed. And so that no one would guess.

It works quietly.

Most phraseological units in the Russian language not only remain unknown to the common man, but may also consist of words that are also not familiar to everyone. And an example of one such expression would be phraseological unit quietly

In the given phraseological unit, at first glance, only one word is clear - “quiet”, but what kind of glander this is and what this expression means in a general sense can be found on this page of the website.

Versions of origin “slyly”

It is noteworthy that, according to some sources, the word “sapa” comes from the French “sape”, which is translated into Russian as a hoe. But this word is missing from the translator. But a word like “saper” is translated as undermining, undermining. Those. according to this version the expression quietly means dig under the enemy's wall with extreme caution.

An equally interesting version of the origin of this expression is that sapa is a snake in Rus'. And, therefore, the expression quietly can be interpreted literally as “a quiet snake.” After all, it is logical that a snake really crawls much more quietly and can sneak up on someone without making noise.

But no matter how many disputes there are about the origin or versions of the expression, it means one thing: “ quietly“to do” means to do something secretly, and so that no one knows.

Let's try to figure out where such strange words and phrases come from in the Russian language.

Quietly

The word sape means "hoe" in French. In the 16th-19th centuries, this term denoted a method of digging a trench or tunnel to approach fortifications. The expression “on the sly,” which means: sneaking, unnoticed to penetrate somewhere, originally meant secretly undermining, digging a secret tunnel.

Often the purpose of digging such trenches was to place explosives under the fortification, so the word “sapper” also comes from these times.

Suffer from bullshit

And here is the promised obscenity. Information about how recently the word “dick” has acquired an obscene connotation definitely prompts philosophical reflection on the conventions of prohibitions.

In Dostoevsky’s “The Brothers Karamazov” we read: “And the milk mushrooms? - Ferapont suddenly asked, pronouncing the letter “g” aspiratedly, almost like a dick.” Of course, the classic didn’t mean anything bad - a century and a half ago, that was the name given to the aspirated letter “x” in the Church Slavonic alphabet, that’s all.

After the reform of 1918, the name of the letter disappeared from primers, but the word itself remained in the spoken language. Since there was no object, but there was a word, a use was quickly found for it - they began to replace the well-known three-letter word. Yes, with such success that after a couple of decades, the obscene meaning was finally assigned to a harmless word.

The most ironic thing is that the origin of the name of the disgraced letter was initially quite divine - from the word “cherub”.

At the same time, the word “garbage,” which is not even a derivative of dick, began to sound indecent. This is just the name of a common hernia, derived from the Latin term hernia. In the 19th century, such a diagnosis was often given to rich middle-class children who wanted to “opt out” of military service—peasants usually didn’t have enough money for “garbage.” So then half of Russia suffered from bullshit. Not like now.

Latest Chinese warning

Those born in the 60s of the last century remember how this expression arose. But the next generations were already deprived of the pleasure of following the confrontation between the United States and China at the turn of the 50-60s of the 20th century. When China, outraged by the U.S. air and naval support of Taiwan, issued its angry note called “The Final Warning” in 1958, the world shuddered in horror and held its breath in anticipation of a third world war.

When, seven years later, China already published the four hundredth note under the same name, the world was no longer shaking with horror, but with laughter. Fortunately, China did not go beyond threatening words; Taiwan still retained its independence, which Beijing still does not recognize. Those who know about the origin of the expression use it correctly: in fact, we are not talking about a final warning, but about empty threats that will not be followed by action.

Slap

This word, as well as the expression “Hey, hat!”, has nothing to do with hats. It came into slang straight from Yiddish and is a distorted form of the German verb “schlafen” - “to sleep.” “Hat,” accordingly, means “sleepyhead, gape.” While you're here, your suitcase is draped.

bosom friend

Everything is obvious here: a bosom friend is someone with whom you can “pour the Adam’s apple” together, that is, have a spiritual drink.

A woman with a twist

And this image was given to us personally by Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy. It was he who first coined the expression “a woman with a twist.”

In his drama “The Living Corpse,” one character says to another: “My wife was an ideal woman... But what can I tell you? There was no zest - you know, there is zest in kvass? “There was no game in our lives.”

Cast pearls before swine

These are the words from the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces.” "Bible Matt. 7:6" / synodal translation, 1816-1862

With pearls, the phrase sounds somewhat more logical, and the ideal in its meaninglessness expression about beads is explained simply - that’s what pearls used to be called in Rus'. So the word “beads” was fixed in the expression and came into colloquial speech from the Church Slavonic text of the Bible.

Filka's certificate

Unlike Trishka with his caftan or Kuzka with his mysterious mother, Filka is a completely historical person. This is the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Philip II of Moscow. He was a short-sighted man who forgot that the first duty of the Moscow high priest is to diligently give to Caesar what is Caesar's, so he barked for his misfortune with the Tsar-Father Ivan the Terrible. I decided, you know, to expose the bloody atrocities of the tsarist regime - I began to write true stories about how many people the tsar tortured, tortured, burned and poisoned. The Tsar called the Metropolitan’s writing “Filka’s letter”, swore that Filka was lying, and imprisoned Filka in a distant monastery, where the Metropolitan was almost immediately finished off by assassins sent.

Places not so remote

In the “Code of Punishments” of 1845, places of exile were divided into “remote” and “not so remote”. By “remote” we meant the Siberian provinces and subsequently Sakhalin, by “not so distant” we meant Karelia, Vologda, Arkhangelsk regions and some other places located just a few days’ journey from St. Petersburg. This phrase firmly entered the language of writers of the second half of the 19th century to indicate exile.

Not at ease

The expression comes from the French phrase n'être pas dans son assiette. The French word assiette means not only “plate” but also “position; state; mood".

A well-known story says that at the beginning of the 19th century, a would-be translator translated the phrase “buddy, you’re out of sorts” from some French play as “you’re out of your element.”

Alexander Sergeevich Griboyedov could not ignore such a brilliant blunder and put an illiterate phrase into Famusov’s mouth: “My dear! You're out of your element. I need sleep from the road." With the light hand of the poet, the crazy phrase took root in the Russian language.

Unfrightened idiot

The authorship of the expression is attributed to Ilya Ilf. In the “Notebooks” that the writer kept since 1925, there is a phrase: “The land of unafraid idiots. It's time to scare." The expression parodied the title of Prishvin’s then popular book “In the Land of Unfrightened Birds.”

In the 80s of the last century, the phrase had a continuation: “The country of unafraid idiots and evergreen tomatoes.” The authorship of the second part belongs to Mikhail Zhvanetsky - “evergreen tomatoes” first appeared in his miniature “You didn’t bury it in Odessa in August?”

Sharpen the laces

Lyasy (balusters) are turned, figured posts of railings at the porch. At first, “sharpening balusters” meant conducting an elegant, fancy, ornate (like balusters) conversation. However, there were few skilled people to conduct such a conversation, and over time the expression began to mean empty chatter.

(French - sape, from Italian sappa - spade). 1) a trench, a ditch, covered with a rampart or tours, for approaching the fortress. 2) a genus of fish from the family. carp.

Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Chudinov A.N., 1910 .

a ditch that is dug in sight of the enemy, so that for safety the working soldiers are covered with special baskets of brushwood - aurochs.

A complete dictionary of foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language. - Popov M., 1907 .

a trench, during the construction of which workers are supplied with tours (see) for protection from enemy fire; With. it can be volatile when the fire is low and quiet when there is great danger; in appearance - single and double.

Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. - Pavlenkov F., 1907 .

French sape, from Italian. sappa, spade A trench that is made by the besiegers when they approach the fortress closer than a rifle shot.

Explanation of 25,000 foreign words that have come into use in the Russian language, with the meaning of their roots. - Mikhelson A.D., 1865 .

glanders, w. [ it. sapa, lit. hoe] (military). Undermining, a trench dug during an attack across open ground to gradually approach a fortified enemy position. І Quietly - secretly, unnoticeably.

Large dictionary of foreign words. - Publishing house "IDDK", 2007 .

Sapa

s, and. ( fr. sape trench, communication course).
military An open or underground communication passage for covert approach to the enemy.
Quietly- hidden, unnoticeable and slow.

Explanatory dictionary of foreign words by L. P. Krysin. - M: Russian language, 1998 .

Synonyms:

See what "SAPA" is in other dictionaries:

glanders- y, w. sape, German Sappe. 1. Through the word sappa, of course, the front part of the trench, which little by little, that is, foot by foot closer to the fortress, is constantly being carried out day and night. 1744. Vauban About the attack of the fortress. 39. Kopanka for the siege of fortresses. Tuchkov 1818.… … Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Women fish from the genus Chebak, Cyprinus ballerus. II. SAPA female, French trench, trench, covered with a rampart or trench for approaching the fortress. Flying glanders, small, quickly carried out at night, protected by aurochs or earthen bags. Go by the boots,... ... Dahl's Explanatory Dictionary

Trench, trench, undermining Dictionary of Russian synonyms. sapa noun, number of synonyms: 5 pickaxe (14) trench ... Synonym dictionary

- (French sape lit. hoe, saper to dig), a trench used in the 16th beginning. 20th centuries during the siege and capture of fortresses to gradually approach his fortifications under enemy fire (hence the sappers). In a figurative sense, quietly and secretly... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

SAPA, sapa, women. (Italian sapa, lit. hoe) (military). Undermining, a trench dug during an attack across open ground to gradually approach a fortified enemy position. Lead the sapa. Go slowly, quietly. ❖ Quietly (go,... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

SAPA, s, female. (obsolete). A deep trench towards the enemy to gradually approach him during the offensive. Lead the sapa. Quietly (simple) secretly and gradually. Act quietly. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova.... ... Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Soldiers dig a trench under the cover of a mobile barrier. Sapa (from the French sape hoe) is a method of opening a trench, ditch or tunnel to approach fortifications ... Wikipedia

Y; and. [French sape] Obsolete A trench, a trench towards the enemy for gradual approach to him during the attack. Lead the sapa. ◁ Quietly, in the know. adv. Razg. Careful, unnoticeable. Act quietly. * * * sapa (French sape, literally ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

I glander I trench, rifle trench, glander work with a hoe, old. zap and glanders m., in the era of Peter I; see Smirnov 270. From French. sар(р)е is a trench, and the shape on the з is through it. Sarre (1653; see Kluge Götze 498 et seq.); Wed Convert II, 251. II sapa II ... Etymological Dictionary of the Russian Language by Max Vasmer

Books

The pride of Russian drama. Methodological manual, Alexander Valerievich Sapa. A modern methodological guide for literature teachers on the study of N. V. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General”. The methodological guide presents six detailed lesson developments, including…

Quietly SILENTLY. Razg. Iron. Stealthily, secretly, unnoticed (to act, achieve something). - I did [Galya]? So how is it, Nikitin? - Granaturov asked suspiciously. - Strong, strong, musketeer! Are you acting on the sly? “I don’t understand,” Nikitin said. - I walked to the gate and got some fresh air(Yu. Bondarev. Shore). And Kolya decided to build a new bathhouse. The men grinned, the women advised him to hire a carpenter. But Kolya did not listen. Quietly he assigned to the forest, Kolya’s plot was allocated in a pine forest and the log house was allowed to be erected(Al. Ivanov. Kolya - one hundred grams). . Simple Region Well, if they’re pinned to the wall and don’t get out, a silent, long siege begins, with starvation and quiet gulps the Chushans get their way: what they need to bypass, they’ll bypass, what they want to get, they’ll get, whoever they need to survive, they’ll survive.(V. Astafiev. Tsar Fish). - From the military term sapa: “a tunnel or ditch to the enemy’s position, which was made secretly, quietly, unnoticed, usually when besieging a fortress to undermine its walls” (from Italian. zappa- hoe). Lit.: Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language / Edited by prof. D. N. Ushakova. - M., 1940. - T. 4. - P. 50.

Phraseological dictionary of the Russian literary language. - M.: Astrel, AST. A. I. Fedorov. 2008.

Synonyms:

See what “Silently” is in other dictionaries:

quietly- quietly, secretly, quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly, quietly Dictionary of Russian synonyms. quietly adverb, number of synonyms: 18 without noise (6) ... Synonym dictionary

quietly- see sapa; in zn. adv.; decomposition Careful, unnoticeable. Act quietly... Dictionary of many expressions

quietly- on the sly, secretly, unnoticeably. The expression is associated with the speech of the military. Sapoy was the name of a tunnel or ditch, which was made during the advance of troops in open areas for a secretive, unnoticed approach to the enemy’s position. The word sapa is borrowed from... ... Phraseology Guide

Quietly- Razg. Stealthily, secretly, imperceptibly (to act, to achieve something). BTS, 1325; ZS 1996, 200, 231, 357; Mokienko 1990, 129. /i>

SILENTLY. Razg. Iron. Stealthily, secretly, unnoticeably (to act, to achieve something). Did you see [Galya] out? So how is it, Nikitin? Granaturov asked suspiciously. Strong, strong, musketeer! Are you acting on the sly? “I don’t understand,” Nikitin said.… … Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language

glanders- Quietly (to go, to approach, to penetrate somewhere, to achieve something, etc.; colloquial irony) trans. sneak, slowly and unnoticed. At fortification number three, the Japanese temporarily retreated to their nearest trenches and are moving quietly. A. Stepanov ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Language

SAPA- Quietly. Razg. Stealthily, secretly, imperceptibly (to act, to achieve something). BTS, 1325; ZS 1996, 200, 231, 357; Mokienko 1990, 129. /i> Sapa - from the French. sape – trench, undermining. BMS 1998, 513 514; FSRY, 408 ... Large dictionary of Russian sayings

glanders- s; and. [French sape] Obsolete A trench, a trench towards the enemy for gradual approach to him during the attack. Lead the sapa. ◁ Quietly, in the know. adv. Razg. Careful, unnoticeable. Act quietly. * * * sapa (French sape, literally ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

SAPA- SAPA, sapas, women. (Italian sapa, lit. hoe) (military). Undermining, a trench dug during an attack across open ground to gradually approach a fortified enemy position. Lead the sapa. Go slowly, quietly. ❖ Quietly (go,... ... Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

Books

Return of Cupid, Stanislav Fedotov. You can’t say anything, Emperor Nicholas I amazed the high society of St. Petersburg by appointing General Muravyov as governor-general of Eastern Siberia, which stretched from the Yenisei to the Pacific Ocean. Few…