You don’t need to study for long the numerous pages on the Internet devoted to this saying to be convinced of the amazing variety of its interpretations, sometimes very contradictory. Many people wonder and enter into an argument, seeking an explanation for the saying “They carry water for the offended.”
Why exactly “offended”
Does the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” express a hint that the “offended”, that is, people deprived of something, always get the hardest and most thankless work? By the way, in the case of such an understanding, the saying is perceived as something self-evident, as a banality. Or is it some kind of warning for these same “offended”? And why is it their destiny to carry water, and not, say, to chop wood or fell timber?
And how does this correspond to the statement of S. I. Ozhegov’s classic Explanatory Dictionary that the expression “carrying water on someone” means abusing his flexible, kind character, loading him with tedious and not prestigious work?
Proverb or saying
But before you begin to understand the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended,” it doesn’t hurt to clarify what we are talking about: a proverb or a saying?
Even on this issue it is not so easy to achieve clarity. But these are different concepts.
To be precise, a proverb is a concise, rhythmically organized folk saying with an instructive meaning. A proverb is a truncated or underdeveloped proverb, which, as a rule, does not form a complete sentence. Example: “In the middle of nowhere.”
We must imagine that any current expression, be it a proverb or a saying, exists (circulates between people) as a kind of living formation. That is, it changes along with them and along with time, which is why it can acquire a new meaning, different from the original one.
Changing vocabulary over 150 years
“They carry water for the offended” is the meaning of the saying, and its lexical composition has changed since it was recorded in 1867 in V. I. Dahl’s “Explanatory Dictionary” “Proverbs and sayings of the Russian people.” “Angry people carry water on a stubborn horse” - that’s how it sounded 150 years ago.
How did the “angry” turn into the “offended” and how do they differ from them? It turned out that many of our contemporaries do not feel the difference here and perceive these words as synonyms.
Angry, disgruntled, even angry - this is a person out of balance. (Compare: “An angry person doesn’t carry pots” or even “An angry person doesn’t drive pots”). Linguistic experts compare the word “angry” with the word “heart” - to get angry, to do something in the hearts, that is, rashly, thoughtlessly. And according to Christian ideas, the heart is the place where anger is concentrated, one of
Angry or angry
The meaning of the proverb “They carry water for the offended” has another meaning. If you dig deeper root base“angry” and wrathful, then it turns out that “anger” is related in origin to the word “fire”. How to put out the fire? It is filled with water.
This is how the ancient and very deep explanation of the saying “They carry water for the offended” is revealed. And in everyday understanding, she expressed a warning, good advice to a person who is quick to anger - to change his behavior, to dampen his ardor. At the same time, the understanding was not canceled that being a water carrier is a difficult occupation and not one of the most honorable.
Water Museum
And the explanation of the proverb “They carry water for the offended” at the exhibition in St. Petersburg does not stand up to any criticism. It boils down to a simple illustration of everyday circumstances: rude, impolite water carriers who offend people are punished by forcing them to work for free. One might think that among all city workers, it was the water carriers who were for some reason particularly intolerant (where is the written evidence of this?) and the police were forced to specifically monitor and punish them.
The “legend” that unscrupulous water distributors replaced high-quality water drawn from the deep and clear Neva with muddy water from the Fontanka or Moika for profit, and was punished for it, also smacks of the same precocious writing. It would not hurt the authors of such legends to take into account the fact that water was distributed not only in St. Petersburg.
Word transformation
But how did the transformation of the angry into the offended take place? The fact is that the word “angry” is synonymous with the word “touchy.” And logically this is understandable: after all, a person who is unreasonably angry, angry, hot-tempered solely because of bad character easily becomes touchy without any apparent reason.
And here again we have to talk about the linguistic hearing loss of our contemporaries, about their inattention to the semantic nuances of the form of a word.
“Touchy” is a character trait of a person who is inclined to be offended, regardless of whether there is a reason for this. “Offended” is someone who has been deliberately offended or humiliated. And why should this person, who has already suffered, be offended again by carrying water on him?
Not a man, but a horse
The meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” is sometimes transferred not to a person, but to a horse. Indeed, you can’t carry water on a hot horse to the place; you’ll spill it along the road. Tame ones, for the most part, or geldings, that is, “offended”, are suitable for this work. In Russian literature, the phrase “water nag” was often used to mean: driven, exhausted by back-breaking labor.
Criminal jargon
But closer to the truth are those researchers of modern speech who point to the widespread introduction of the dictionary of the criminal world into the spoken language in recent decades. In criminal jargon, "offended" (or "lowered") refers to a homosexual prisoner of the lowest reputation.
The meaning of “They carry water on the offended” here is already close to the saying “They carry water on fools” or “The devils carry water on the offended.”
This means that when we say “They carry water on the angry” (and this option has not yet completely fallen out of use), we want to make someone understand about his excessive “angry” - inappropriate pride, ambition. We seem to encourage a person to be more modest in his own interests.
But the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” will be different. He simply states that those who are bypassed by fate and the attention of people and who have come to terms with this face a hard fate. Your neighbors will not be slow to take advantage of this. That is, this is closer to the interpretation given in S.I. Ozhegov’s dictionary, although the dictionary only cites the saying “to carry water.”
Try comparing these two options. The latter looks flatter, less interesting in literary terms.
Modern semantic shades and historical heritage
There are many other versions of the proverb that are not so common: “water is carried” by “fools”, “stubborn”, “kind”, “gullible”. Unlike the original, there are no negative meanings; there are also positive characters - “kind”, “gullible”.
It is curious that the expression “to carry water” as part of a proverb has turned into an independent phraseological unit, and it acquires various semantic shades. Thus, a hard-working, hardworking, physically strong person is characterized by his ability to “carry water.” And sometimes this phrase sounds ironic: “Yes, you can carry water on it!”
A proverb (or saying), being a stable phrase, is not something unambiguous, given once and for all. It connects us with the historical origins of our culture, but remains alive and somewhat changeable.
There are three versions of the origin of this expression.
One of them dates back to the nineteenth century. At that time, many people used the services of water carriers, which delivered clean drinking water in barrels on carts. Water was sold for an inexpensive, one might say symbolic, fee.
However, some water carriers inflated the price, which caused fair indignation among buyers. As punishment, greedy water carriers were harnessed to a cart instead of a horse, forcing them to deliver the water themselves.
The second version is also associated with water carriers. It is worth noting that in those days, along with drinking water, process water was also delivered, which was used for household needs, such as washing something or watering, and was correspondingly cheaper. The barrels in which water was transported were different color depending on water quality. The white ones carried drinking water, and the blue and yellow ones carried technical water. So, rogue water carriers sometimes passed off process water as drinking water. When the forgery was revealed, the well-deserved “people's punishment” overtook the “hero” in the form of the punishment described above.
The third version dates back to the time of Peter the Great, according to whose decree a person who publicly shows his resentment and anger should be forced to run with a yoke and two buckets filled with ice water until the irritation passes.
In general, resentment is not worth your emotional experiences, because they manifest themselves in you, and not in the person to whom the resentment is directed.
Hello, my dear readers! Let's talk about resentment today. Our relationships with people are built on sensitivity and mutual understanding. Sometimes a careless word causes a storm of emotions, and we are ready to seriously quarrel with the offender. How not to react to hurtful words and not dwell on them? First, let's remember the folk wisdom. “They carry water for the offended,” the meaning of the saying itself foreshadows the difficult fate of the offended person. But first things first.
There are several options for the origin and interpretation of the saying. Let's look at some of them.
Punishment of water carriers
Here is one of the assumptions where the expression came into use. It dates back to the reign of Peter I. Then unscrupulous water carriers were punished in a special way. Usually, water from the Neva was delivered by arrogant men. They were not averse to adding water from standing springs located within the city to the barrel. This saved them travel time and could provide water to more houses and yards in a day. The emperor ordered unscrupulous water carriers to be harnessed instead of horses, and during the day they carried barrels of water. Offended? Certainly! Who would like to carry water all day instead of a mare? Thus, the history of the times of Great Peter became a well-known proverb.
Real fact
In Peter's time there was another custom. The Emperor, as you know, had a sharp tongue, did not tolerate boredom and was always ready for any fun. His jokes did not please everyone, and many were openly offended. When Peter noticed offended person, then he forced him to run with a yoke and buckets to the nearest pond. There he had to draw water, carry it back and douse himself from head to toe for the amusement of the emperor and his retinue. But don’t be silly and don’t pout!
How to learn not to hold a grudge
First, let's remember an old joke. The man brags to his friends: “I came up with it myself, I was offended myself, I shouted myself, I cried myself, I forgave myself. That’s how independent my wife is!” But, if you look at the problem seriously, it turns out that many of our grievances are superficial. And we ourselves make them worse. Sometimes close people themselves provoke each other to make barbs at themselves. To avoid quarrels and unnecessary showdowns, psychologists suggest listening to their advice.
Don't put pressure on your interlocutor
You should not impose your opinion on others. There are practically no people in the world who fully meet the ideal criteria. Some do not live up to expectations, others do not behave according to the rules, and others allow absolutely unacceptable things. Everything goes against one’s own perception of behavior and communication. This offends, but only until you begin to realize that everyone has the right to their position. It’s difficult, of course, to stop nagging your sister-in-law for unprepared dinner or your nephew for torn pants. But if you try, you will immediately notice how the situation in better side, and mutual grievances disappear.
Turn your emotion 180 degrees
The most universal advice for situations not only with loved ones, but also at work. When the offense is about to overwhelm you with a dark and sticky wave of anger and disappointment, you need to remember something good about the offender. Things weren't always so bad. There were also joyful moments. This can quickly put the emotional background in order, and the offense will be perceived as a misunderstanding.
Understand someone else's position
IN in this case you need to unfold not your emotions, but the whole situation as a whole. Understand the motives of another person, the reasons why he acts this way and not otherwise. The offender may just be in a bad mood today or not feeling well. Therefore, he simply cannot smile and spread pleasantries. You need to find the strength to see the root of the problem. And then decide who is to blame and whether to be offended.
Think about your own health
Who needs these stressful situations? No one. First of all, life is not eternal. Secondly, health is also one thing. You shouldn’t waste them on petty grievances and worries about or without it. The best way– is to pay attention to long-livers, read interviews with them, see how they live. I give a 100 percent guarantee that all these people are calm, friendly and not obsessed with other people’s opinions. You should not mock yourself under the weight of resentment. They carry water to the offended, that’s the meaning of this saying - it’s hard for them to live!
Let go of the situation
The hardest thing is not to react to the situation. The advice is to not give in to provocations. There are people who try to offend on purpose because they get moral pleasure from it. They are difficult to deal with, especially if they are close people. The fear of causing offense on one's part further aggravates the conflict. But in any case, you can’t take it to heart. It is better to step aside and remain silent than to bring the situation to the highest point of passion. This behavior is considered the privilege of smart people.
Realize the consequences
You just need to think about what the offense will lead to. Then decide whether it is worth the nerves, tears, sleepless nights. It's often the little things that cause grievances. They need to be rethought and other life priorities put in place. Then there will be nothing to be offended by.
Be able to forgive
Oh, how difficult it is! But, if you sincerely love a person, then you can forgive. Psychologists say that there are more grievances where people know nothing about forgiveness. It is not at all necessary to tell a person that he has been forgiven. He may not need to know about it. But I can say with confidence that a huge burden will be lifted from our shoulders as soon as such a decision is made.
How to respond to insults
Well, what if this is not just an offensive word thrown out by chance, when the person himself is not glad that he said it? If you were really insulted, and even in public? There is only one piece of advice - don’t stoop to the level of such a person. Who usually allows himself to insult others? These are narrow-minded, bitchy people. These are energetic aggressors who are ready to rise in their own eyes in any way. No need to feed them! Let them destroy themselves. Pull yourself together, try to calm down. The main rule is never make excuses to them, do not continue the scandal. Always be confident in yourself.
In conclusion, I suggest you watch the video: a parable about resentment.
For today, that's all I wanted to talk about. I wish you to treat your loved ones and friends with care! Don’t hold grudges over trifles, be able to forgive. Subscribe to my blog, write comments on articles. Goodbye, see you again!
Don't hold grudges to yourself.
Try to forgive each other.
Perhaps offended by the whole world,
Haven't you noticed that
The other one was hurt more
And pretending to be offended by him.
This story with the photo reminded me of the lake,
Where someone was offended
And they pretended to be offended
Completely different.
The ability to forgive -
This is a person's strength.
After all, it’s not for nothing that there is a saying:
Just think about these words,
And I will try to help you with this:
There are several versions
Origin of this saying.
One by one, she is connected
With St. Petersburg water carriers.
In the 19th century, the price of imported drinking water
Cost 7 kopecks in silver per year,
At that time the amount was quite small,
But some water carriers inflated the price,
Why were they punished?
Taking the horse and forcing
Carry barrels of water on yourself...
The second version is very close to the first,
The only difference is
That clean drinking water was transported in white barrels
And the price for it was the highest,
Water was carried in yellow and blue barrels
For technical needs.
Rogue water carriers sometimes put white barrels
Process water was poured,
Causing epidemics among the population,
Why were they punished?
Harnessing them to water carts.
The third version is related to the earlier one
Period of Russian history.
By decree of Peter the Great on all those
Who publicly expressed their grievances,
Anger or dissatisfaction
They hung a yoke with two heavy buckets
With ice water
And they made me run around the pond.
The water splashed, cooling their ardor.
"Carrying" your own resentment -
A useless exercise.
After all, resentment is a destructive feeling,
Directed not at the one who offended,
And on this man himself.
It’s he who chooses to be offended by someone
Or analyze the event
And draw your own conclusions.
03/02/2014
Reviews
I LOVED IT VERY MUCH!!! My bitter insult
She came and left without apologizing...
I'll tell you straight out,
Anger pierced my heart.
I will address the insult with affection...
Cock; I will cherish her...
I will climb the blue mountains...
-I WILL FORGIVE HER AND FORGET HER!!!
I'll wander into fields and forests...
I will fall to the dear birch trees...
I will certainly find the reins.
And I will live a blessed life!
WARMTHLY ANNETTA!!!
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We hear this expression quite often, and sometimes we repeat it ourselves, wanting to express disregard for the feelings of a person who has been insulted, wittingly or unwittingly. What is the true meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended”? Having analyzed all the known options, we will try to summarize them and find the most acceptable answer.
A Call to Control Negative Emotions
As you know, anger and despondency are included in the list of the seven deadly sins. Anyone who is often angry and offended harms his own mental health, depletes his spiritual strength, and incurs God’s disfavor. Based on this Christian postulate, let us consider what meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” could be meant when someone tried to reason with an overly emotional interlocutor.
Firstly, this could sound like advice to moderate your ardor, calm down. It’s not without reason that even now an upset, worried or overexcited person is offered a glass of water.
Secondly, if we imagine that the saying arose among artisans involved in the transportation of various goods, a warning about the loss of profitable orders could be hidden here. Indeed, who would trust a hot-tempered cab driver to deliver fragile dishes or some other valuable cargo? An angry and unbalanced comrade who is offended by the whole world has a direct path to the water carriers. Even if it spills some water, it’s not a big loss.
And finally, it could be a message calling not to succumb to the provocations of offenders, not to relax, and to remain strong in spirit. Once you make concessions, you allow yourself to be pushed around - they will carry water on you, they will put a collar around your neck, and then, lo and behold, they will sit on horseback - that is, they will completely subjugate you to their will, make you a slave.
Taming obstinate animals
At a time when horses were both a means of transportation, draft power, and arable power, their character was given Special attention. An easy-going horse is a faithful friend and helper, but an obstinate and angry horse was sent to the backyard and used for various household chores. It is possible that this is where the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” comes from. It is known that one of the continuations of the phrase sounds like this: “...and they ride good horses themselves.”
Developing this version, we can assume that the matter concerned thoroughbred horses that participated in races and exhibitions. Horses rejected for some reason faced an unenviable fate - they were harnessed to a plow, plow, or adapted for transporting various cargoes.
Why did water creep into the proverb? Most of the work was seasonal: the land was plowed in spring and autumn, firewood could be prepared in advance. But the craft of a water carrier required being at his post every day, at any time of the year, enduring heat and cold. What's not a way to tame an obstinate character?
“I’ll give the horse to good hands”
Adhering to the previous point of view, we can once again try to explain what the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” means in relation to horses. Let’s imagine that the konik faithfully served its owners, and when it grew old, it was given to the service of a water carrier. Here the epithet “offended” could mean “worn out”, “tired”.
In the Wild West, driven horses are shot, but in our country they are assigned to unskilled labor, where special speed and strength are not needed. Obviously, it was inappropriate and too wasteful to use young healthy horses for such work.
Unscrupulous St. Petersburg water traders
Some literary sources provide an explanation that is logical at first glance, interpreting the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended.” Allegedly, under Peter I, street vendors were found to be inflating prices or selling process water Instead of drinking water, they were forced to pick up shafts and transport water without the help of draft animals. Exactly the same punishment awaited home-grown merchants who treated their customers impolitely or treated their horses cruelly.
It is absolutely not clear how this historical fact influenced the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended.” Why are rude people and scammers suddenly called offended? Linguists explain that a transformation of concepts could occur: angry - angry - pouty - offended.
Violent boyars and nobles
Continuing our research, let us return again to Peter's times. They say that the Tsar-Transformer really did not like it when someone publicly expressed their anger and flaunted their grievances. Such unrestrained subjects were supposed to run several times from the nearest reservoir to an empty barrel with a rocker in order to fill the container with icy water and cool down their ardor.
The meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” in this case becomes more transparent, if, of course, such events really took place and were not invented by modern jokers.
Variation on the theme of the underworld
Reflected in some religious and mythological writings, the people to this day have an idea about the structure of hell and heaven. As we know, sinners are destined to burn forever in the fires of hell. It is quite possible that various details of this process were also thought out. For example, it was assumed that people who suffer insults and humiliations in earthly life, if they do not go to heaven, will be thrown into less “hot areas” of purgatory. Someone must prepare wood for the devil’s fire or douse the souls of pardoned sinners with water.
Based on this version, we can also reveal this rather interesting meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended.” Let's call it vindictively comforting. The insulted man resignedly endured the humiliation, but wished his offender punishment in the next world: “You will still remember me when you roast on hot coals. I won’t bring you water!”
Echoes of Slavic mythology
In the works of Dmitry Konstantinovich Zelenin, a famous researcher of folklore in the last century, there are arguments that are vaguely reminiscent of the previous version. What is the meaning of the saying “They carry water for the offended” according to Zelenin?
According to beliefs that existed in some Russian provinces, suicides, as well as those who died from drunkenness or drowned due to carelessness, entered into the service of evil spirits. And the devils did whatever they wanted with the “offended” - they could harness them to a cart, force them to carry water, and ride them on horseback. In the old days it was believed that if a person did not die a natural death, it meant that he was offended by life.
Condemnation of cruelty and heartlessness
Let’s try to pronounce these words without any subtext, simply as a declarative affirmative sentence: “They carry water for the offended.” The meaning of the saying could well be completely different, even the opposite of what we are used to. Somehow I can’t believe that our ancestors could be ironic about the “offended” (read: orphaned, wretched, deprived).
It is possible that the derogatory sound of the phrase became such relatively recently. Let us try arbitrarily, without claiming to be the ultimate truth, to recreate full text proverbs: “For them, nothing is sacred: they carry water for the offended, they ride on horseback for the kind, they will sell their own mother for a penny.”
It is quite possible that the original message was judgmental, describing the actions of evil, unprincipled, cruel people. The “offended” here should be understood not as those who constantly pout, but as widows, orphans, cripples, and so on.
Take a closer look at the faces of the children depicted in Perov’s painting “Troika”. Do you seriously believe that children carrying a heavy barrel of water are being punished for being too touchy?
You can also remember that in the old days the word “resentment” did not mean feelings of moral torment, but very specific physical actions. In the first lines of A. S. Pushkin’s fairy tale “About the Golden Cockerel” we read:
“Once upon a time there lived a glorious king Dadon.
From a young age he was formidable,
And the neighbors every now and then
He inflicted insults boldly.”
There is a high probability that the “offended” are defeated, oppressed peoples. And, as you know, they did not stand on ceremony with the prisoners.
