In colloquial speech, literature and songs, we often hear how about two people say: "do not spill water." But not everyone knows where this expression came from. Nevertheless, it is always nice to know a few interesting facts about something. Maybe one day you will have the opportunity to spruce up the conversation with an interesting fact. In any case, let's turn to the depths and origins and find out the history of this expression.
Phraseologism “do not spill water”
The phrase “do not spill water” or “you will not spill water” by itself cannot have a literal understanding, since this is a typical phraseological unit.
Phraseologisms are stable verbal combinations that play the role of one lexical unit. This means that in the text they can be replaced with one word. Moreover, this combination of words is typical only for one language, and when translating into another, you need to know a similar phraseological unit for a foreign language or replace it in meaning. Obviously, the literal translation of such phrases loses its meaning and will sound ridiculous.
In our example, the idiom "you can't spill it with water" can be replaced by the word "friends". But they use this expression when necessary.emphasize the quality of this friendship, say "best friends".
The expression refers to people who have a strong friendly bond with each other. Usually they are always seen together and it is generally accepted that it is impossible to quarrel such a couple. It’s good if you have such people and you can be said “do not spill water.”
Where did it come from
This popular expression appeared a long time ago and it is connected not at all with friendship, but, on the contrary, with rivalry. When a second bull appeared on the field where the cows graze, the two rivals grappled in a fierce battle for leadership. The fact is that there can be only one bull in the herd. When the second one appears, they so converge in a fight that it is impossible to separate them, but the shepherds came up with an effective way. They doused the fighting couple with water, and while the bulls had time to come to their senses, they were bred in different directions.
Since then, people who are closely related to each other, and subsequently friends, have also been called this way. This means that their friendship is so strong that even if bulls can be bred by dousing them with water, then these friends are not. This phrase has taken root in Russian speech so much that its origin has long been forgotten, making it a stable phraseological unit.
Antonyms for the expression "do not spill water"
Among the rich selection of phraseological units of Russian speech, you can choose both synonyms and antonyms for the phraseological unit “do not spill water”. Antonym in this case will describe people who have mutual antipathy. The expression “like a cat with a dog” is best suited, meaningtwo intolerant towards each other, in a quarrel or constantly scandalous personalities.
This vivid expression is no less popular than what we are considering. And, unlike the phrase "do not spill water", its origin is obvious.
Synonyms that can be matched to the expression "do not spill water"
There are not so many bright and accurate synonyms for the phrase “do not spill water” among phraseological units, and they are only partly synonymous. For example:
- Tamara and I go as a couple (always together);
- Sweet couple (always nice);
- On a short leg (links established).
The use of certain phrases depends on the specific purpose. It is important that the speaker wants to emphasize. So, the expression "on a short leg" speaks more about people who have established business ties than friendship.
Phraseologisms are a great way to enhance the effect of what has been said, to make the thought brighter, more accurate and more figurative. It is possible that, having learned the meaning of one phraseological unit, the reader will want to learn more about other interesting expressions in Russian.
