What does the mysterious expression "carrot spell" mean? This question can confuse even a person who knows Russian perfectly. In order to understand the meaning of this speech turnover, it is necessary to look into the past. So, where did it come from, in what situations is it used?
The expression "carrot spell": origin
First of all, it's worth understanding what a "spell" is. This will allow you to penetrate the meaning of the expression "carrot spell". So, this word comes from the verb "to fast", which means "to fast". It denotes the day before fasting, a period when certain foods (meat, fish, dairy products) are strictly prohibited.
In the old days, people treated religious traditions with much more respect than they do today. Of course, the posts were strictly observed. “Zagovene” is the day when it was possible to afford meat, milk and similar fast foods for the last time before a long abstinence. It is not surprising that on this day it was customary to throw a sumptuous feast. Immediately after the “spell”, forbidden food was expelled from the diet.
What does the carrot have to do with it?
All of the above still does not explain the meaning of the mysterious phrase "carrot spell". To unravel it, you need to call on the help of imaginative thinking. Obviously, carrots are a product that can be safely eaten on fasting days. In other words, she is fasting, even the harsh monastic charters did not object to her.
While the word "zagovene" is associated with fatty foods, which on certain days are strongly ordered to be completely excluded from the diet of religious traditions. Consequently, the "carrot spell" is a figure of speech in which incompatible concepts are combined. Other examples of such concepts: "sweet pain", "living corpse".
Value of expression
Our ancestors liked to use the phrase "wait until the carrot spell", which means that we are talking about an event that may never happen. It is used when they promise a long wait. Moreover, the period of this waiting is impossible to predict. There is a high probability that the long-awaited moment will not come at all, which is what the joking expression warns about.
Why carrots and not turnips, beets or cabbage? Unfortunately, linguists have not been able to find an answer to this question, although certain efforts have been made in this direction. Perhaps sohappened due to the fact that phraseological units associated with other vegetables already existed. For example, “easier than a steamed turnip”, “chopped into cabbage”.
Similar Sayings
So, the above is about what a "carrot spell" is. The meaning of phraseologism is no longer a mystery. Other sayings that have a similar meaning will help to fix it in memory and expand vocabulary. Fortunately, the Russian language is rich in such turns of speech.
When talking about a future event that may not happen at all, people can use the saying "when the cancer whistles on the mountain." Obviously, the arthropod is not able to put claws in its mouth and produce a sharp sound. Therefore, the same meaning is put into this phrase as in the case when the “carrot spell” is mentioned. The meaning of the phraseologism "until the second coming" also hints at a long and possibly fruitless wait.
It is impossible not to remember the beautiful phrase “before the Greek calends”. This expression is borrowed from Latin. The ancient Romans called Kalends the days when tax collectors came to them. Traditionally, this happened on the first day of the month. Whereas for the Greeks the first day of the month had no special meaning. Therefore, the expression "before the Greek kalends" has the same meaning as the speech turnover "before the carrot spell."
What else do you need to know?
As mentioned above, the word "zagovene" was formed from the verb "to fast" (to fast, to fast). Interestingly, not all people pronounce itright. We must not forget that when pronouncing the word "incantation" the emphasis must be placed on the first syllable, all other options are incorrect.
What simple synonyms replace the expression? "Infinitely", "long" are words that can be used in this case.
