It is difficult to guess the meaning of many speech turns without knowing the history of their origin. This problem is often faced by people who know the language perfectly. Where did the enigmatic expression “to sharpen folly” come from in Russian? What is the traditional meaning of it? The answers to these questions can be found in this article.
The expression "to sharpen the hair": origin
Unfortunately, linguists have not yet come to a consensus on where this expression came from. Many of them associate the speech turnover “to sharpen the folly” with an old craft that has already remained only in memories. Lasas (balusters, balusters) were once called carved posts that were used as a support for stair railings.
Making lyas (balusters) is a labor that can hardly be called heavy, burdensome. It is not surprising that the masters in the process of work entertained themselves with conversations with each other without the slightest damage to the result. The most popular theory says that this is how it appeared in our languagespeech turnover "to sharpen the laces".
Alternate version
Of course, there are other versions explaining the origin of the mysterious phraseological unit. For example, some modern linguists suggest paying attention to the word "balusters". They argue that it could be formed from the Old Slavonic verb "balakat", which translates as "talk, talk." It is almost forgotten these days.
In this case, the word "sharpen" also has a completely different meaning. Researchers suggest looking for its roots in the Indo-European language. If you rely on their theory, the verb was formed from the words "pour, exude." Therefore, it means "to make sounds", "to pour out speeches".
Value of expression
“To sharpen the laces” is an expression that is actively used today both in colloquial speech and in works of art. It is used when they want to draw attention to the fact that someone is engaged in empty chatter, wasting their time on it. In other words, the meaning of a phraseological unit is: “talk about trifles”, “talk about nothing.”
For example, it can be said about a talker that he is a lover of “grinding lyas”. However, phraseologism can also be used in its direct meaning, which implies the manufacture of balusters.
Examples of usage
The above talks about what the expression "to sharpen the hair" means. To remember it, you should also familiarize yourself with examples of its use in literaryworks. For example, this speech turnover is actively used by the writer Fyodor Abramov. For example, in the work "Pelageya", written by him, one of the characters offers the other to leave, explaining this by the fact that he does not have time to sharpen lyes with him.
You can also find a stable construction in the work "Przewalski's Horse", the creator of which is Shatrov. One of the characters asks the workers if they intend to get down to business or if they continue to sharpen their laces. Examples of the use of speech turnover show that it is often resorted to when they want to accuse someone of wasting time - their own or someone else's.
Synonyms and antonyms
It is very easy to find a suitable synonym for the expression "to sharpen the laces", the meaning of which is revealed above. Balabolit, chatter, chat - verbs that can be used in this case without the slightest loss of meaning. You can also, if desired, replace the laces with balusters or balusters - the value will remain unchanged.
Of course, this original speech construction also has antonyms, which are also worth remembering to expand your vocabulary. Let's say that a person can be said to be "silent, as if he had swallowed his tongue", "keeps his mouth shut".
