To correctly understand the meaning of one or another speech turnover present in the Russian language, one often has to look into the distant past, delve into historical annals. This also applies to the mysterious phraseological unit "Kolomenskaya Verst". Fortunately, the history of Russia allows you to get an answer to questions about what it means and where it came from.
"Kolomenskaya Versta": the origin of phraseology
So, how did this expression become part of the Russian language? To begin with, it is worth understanding the meaning of each of the words that are present in the speech construction “Kolomenskaya verst”. The history of the village of Kolomenskoye began many centuries ago, it was first mentioned in chronicles during the reign of Moscow Prince Ivan Kalita, or rather in 1336. At different times, the village was owned by various metropolitan princes, then the kings paid attention to it.
The village of Kolomenskoye began to play an important role during the accession to the throne of Ivan the Terrible. It was he who first began to celebrate his name dayin the Kolomna Palace, where all the metropolitan nobility began to flock to feasts. In 1610 the village became the headquarters of the infamous False Dmitry II, but only for a short time. However, it reached its peak during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich, who loved to spend the summer months in it with his family and close associates. Peter the Great lived in it most of his childhood, indulging in fun entertainment. Nowadays, the village plays the role of a museum-reserve, this status was assigned to it in the first half of the last century.
What is a verst
Verst is another word that is an integral part of the expression "Kolomenskaya verst". This is an old measure of length that was used on the territory of the Russian Empire before the metric system was introduced, which happened only in 1899. For reference, a verst is 1.006680 km.
Mile at that time it was customary to call not only the above-mentioned length, but also the pillars, which played the role of a kind of road signs informing travelers about the miles traveled, so they could not get lost and die. The roads on which such signs were placed were called pillar roads. Traditionally, milestones were painted in a slanted stripe, this was done so that they would attract the attention of travelers. The column indicated the exact number of miles left to go to (or from) a certain settlement.
Emperor's Decree
So, where did the expression come from"Kolomenskaya verst"? This happened thanks to the autocrat Alexei Mikhailovich, nicknamed by his subjects the Quietest. The tsar issued a decree in which he ordered the construction of special pillars along all important Russian roads. The poles indicated the distance in versts. Subsequently, these structures became known as versts or milestones. History claims that this innovation saved many residents of the Russian Empire from death in the snow.
What does the “Kolomenskaya Verst” have to do with it? The fact is that the autocrat, taking care of his subjects, did not forget about his own convenience. By his order, the road, which allowed getting to the village from the Kremlin, was decorated with special pillars. They had a much greater height in comparison with those that were installed on "simple" roads, they looked more impressive. Moreover, each pillar was decorated with a drawing depicting the coat of arms of the country.
Meaning of phraseology
Surprisingly, the locals did not like the "imperial" pillars, endowed with impressive dimensions, at all. They constantly complained that because of them it became difficult to use the road. The road was immediately renamed "pillar", and then the speech turnover "Kolomenskaya verst" appeared. Its significance turned out to be quite unexpected. After all, they began to call people of very high growth. The new phraseological unit quickly took root in the Russian language.
So, what does "Kolomenskaya verst" mean? Synonyms suitable for this will help you better understand this.speech turnover: tall, tower, lanky. In most cases, this stable construction is used in an ironic sense, whether it is written or spoken.
Examples of usage
Phraseologism, the meaning of which is considered in this article, is often found in the literature. For example, we can recall the work "The Zvonarev Family", written by the author Alexander Stepanov. The heroine points out to the hero, who proposes to see her off, the fact that all people will pay attention to such a “Kolomenskaya verst” as he is, but she does not want this. The man is implied to be very tall, which allows him to stand out from the crowd without making any effort to do so.
You can also refer to the famous historical novel "Peter the Great", which was created by the writer Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoy. The hero of the work describes the growth of a teenage boy, says that he has already managed to stretch himself “from the Kolomna verst” while he has not seen him.
What else you need to know
Obviously, the idiom "Kolomenskaya verst" has not only synonyms. The antonym that is most appropriate is shorty. You can also use other words - undersized, short.
It should also be taken into account that the order of the placement of words in this case does not play a significant role. “Kolomenskaya verst” or “Kolomenskaya verst” - the meaning remains the same, no matter which option the speaker uses.
