The word "scourge" is a homonym. Under this name there are two concepts that are not exactly diametrically opposed, but represent two different entities. On the one hand, the scourge is an object, and on the other hand, a person. Consider both, so that there are no questions.
Beach - item
Let's start with the inanimate, then move on to the human. We will pay a little more attention to the latter, because the living soul must have priority. If you look into the explanatory dictionary, he will tell us that the word "scourge" has the following meanings:
- Whip, whip, long whip. The trainer in the circus deftly wields a whip.
- That which causes disaster and catastrophe. It's a high style word in that sense. Downpours are the scourge of the tropics.
Naturally, you can scourge in a figurative sense. For example, "the writer ruthlessly uses his cynicism as a scourge, under the blows of which the vices of the time cannot stand." A slightly Soviet example came out, but we hope the reader understands the scourge - what kind of tool it is.
Synonyms of the word "scourge" in its subjectvalue
As always, let's look at analogues to make it easier to understand, although some of them are already given in meaning. But, as you know, repetition is the mother of learning. Here are the replacement words:
- punishment;
- curse;
- lash;
- whip;
- whip.
The harvest is not rich, but the main thing is not quantity, but quality. The main goal must be achieved, and it is, we remind you, to understand the essence of the word "scourge". This is what we strive for, sparing no effort.
Another, "human" meaning
Homonyms are like twin brothers who are well aware of their relationship and therefore try not to resemble their relative in anything, except for their appearance. If you give free rein and turn on your fantasy, then you can imagine that the same energy acts on people and words - the force of resistance, so they are filled with a different content.
In another sense, a scourge is a person without certain occupations and shelter. The same as the bum. Do you know what the difference is between a bum and a scourge? Never guess. Homeless is an acronym and it stands for: "without a fixed place of residence." The reader will ask: “Why, then, is the word “homeless” written in lowercase letters?” Reader, it's a pleasure doing business with you, great question. The term was used in the protocols of the Soviet police, which means it has been living in the language for a long time, so "homeless" can be written in lowercase, like "university", for example. What can I say, “there are strange rapprochements.”
But our topic is: "Beach - who is this?". Calm down, everything will be clear. But we must consider the original meaning.
Origin. A sailor without a ship and a "former intelligent person"
Maybe it will sound a little funny and cynical, but scourges are not born, they are made. The question is how? The word appeared as a response to the sailors loitering along the coast, who for some reason stayed at home instead of boarding the ship. To paraphrase a famous movie character, which will be discussed later, they must have lost their boarding pass. One way or another, but over time, the scourge became just a tramp, without any connection with the beach, seashore and romanticism, sung by Jack London. And yes, given that beach is "beach" in English, and our word is very reminiscent of tracing paper, it probably came to us from Foggy Albion or from across the ocean. But this is just a version.
Remember we said bum is an acronym? So, scourge is a backronym. The term means the set of words with which the acronym is created. It is interesting that the object of influence was not an abbreviation, or the acronym originally had a different meaning. Of course, without examples it is difficult to understand something. Here they are:
- University (Get Successfully Married).
- BEACH (Former Intelligent Person).
- SOS (Save Our Souls) - save our souls. Initially, the distress signal meant nothing, it was chosen for practical reasons: it was easy to tap it in Morse code.
Words are written in lowercase letters, we wrote in capital letters for clarity. Of course there areand more obscene backronyms, but out of respect for the reader, we will not give them here.
Regarding the concept of "scourge", let's say: it was not an abbreviation, folk fantasy is inexhaustible, and almost every person is not alien to linguistic creativity, even if it is quite simple.
An unexpected example of a scourge - Chance Boudreau from Hard Target (1993)
Of course, fans will protest, what Chance is a scourge? He looks good, stylishly dressed. Yes, everything is true, but do not forget that this is Hollywood - a "dream factory". If you want to look at real homeless people, then you just have to go outside or read Samuel Beckett, he has such a collection “First Love”. It presents quite realistic pictures of homeless life, but everything is so naturalistic that we do not recommend reading for the faint of heart.
But back to Chengsu. He is obviously a high-class professional who stayed on the shore because of his principles. The hero even has military awards. And such a person, it is a shame to say, in the conditions of a fabulous American life turned into a scourge. Such a message can be seen as a certain position of the director. Even the action movie contains an ideological part that should not be ignored.
Of course, the development of events shows that Chance Boudreau is not a scourge at all, but at the beginning he is almost homeless.
Instant soup and scourge?
Now it is worth touching on the question of what is a beach package? So called instant noodles: pouredboiling water, wait 5 minutes - and you're done.
There is an opinion that this food is so called because it is eaten by poor students who do not have money for normal products, hence the nickname. But, if allowed, we will offer another explanation. The expression entered active speech use 12-15 years ago. Indeed, students bought noodles, not because they had no money, but because they were too lazy to cook ordinary food.
Therefore, the word "scourge" and its derivatives have a different, non-dictionary meaning, the meaning of which exists only in live colloquial speech: "an extremely low level of something, of any quality." For example, a beach package combines low-quality food and the minimum amount of the “chef's” desire to move and cook something. The following adjectives are suitable as synonyms in this sense:
- poor;
- beggarly;
- poor;
- pathetic;
- insignificant.
All these definitions are used not only in their direct meaning, the range of their figurative meaning is also quite wide.
