The phraseology of"to climb on the horn"is often cited as an example in the lessons of history, when they tell about the life, traditions and rites of the ancient Slavs. Those who climb on the horn, in the people are not just condemned, but also warned of the deadly danger.

I think that they remember where this expression came from and what the word "horn" means. But today it is not a sin to remind once again.

The expression "to climb on the horn" is associated with the hunt for a bear. Defeating the "king of the Russian forest" in a hand-to-hand battle is almost impossible. But the adult bear, whose weight reaches 300-400 kilograms, can easily "break" a person.

In order to protect themselves, in the old days, flight attendants, collectors and hunters had to take a wooden stake with a sharp iron tip into the forest. This weapon was called a birth.

It was used when the beast attacked first. Standing on his hind legs and falling on the man with all its weight, the bear steamed on the edge of the face and died. It turns out that he seemed to "climb on the horn" as if begging for death.

This majestic and tragic picture eloquently shows that awaits someone who provokes danger and threat by his own behavior.

The proverb "Don't wake up famously while it's quiet" also comes to the occasion.

To go to the fly

Summer is one of the rivers in the underworld of Hades, giving oblivion of the past life to all who came to the abode of death. To be in oblivion is to be forever forgotten, to disappear without a trace. In derzhavin's prophetic poem, written shortly before his death, we read:

The river of times in its aspirations
takes away all
the deeds of men,
and drowns in the abyss of oblivion peoples, kingdoms and kings ...

Entire eras are forgotten, civilizations are dying. What can we say about us mere mortals? Often a person leaves without leaving a good memory, not having done outstanding deeds, not heating anyone with the warmth of his soul.

Soon his name, and all life is forgotten, and the fast-flowing river of unconsciousness carries away all sorts of memories of him.

The Hellenes had detailed and specific ideas about the underworld.

Getting there on the rook of the gloomy Charon, the souls were obliged to drink water from the river of oblivion, to lose the memory of all that they left on earth.

There were exceptions, when a formidable deity opened the gates of death and released the soul back, then she had to drink the summer moisture again before leaving to re-remember everything.

In addition to Leta, there were other rivers in the Aida river:

• Cocyte;
• Styx;
• Flegeton;
• Ahaeron.

A special legend was associated with each of them. According to ancient beliefs, Acheron separated the world of the living from the world of the dead. It was on it that Charon's boat made its way. (Some ancient authors insist that it was Styx).

In the fiery Flegeton languished those who committed the murder of a blood relative.

Sacred Styx was considered a place of power. If anyone swore at Sticks, the oath was considered indestructible.

According to legend, Achilles' child was bathed in his water, which is why he got his strength.

Everyone is used to the idea that in Russian language the expression"Achilles heel"means a weak, unprotected place, no matter what the conversation is about. Phraseology is most often used in a conversation about human vulnerability, that is, about a particular cause or process, the result of which will be fundamentally the opposite of the expected success.

In order to understand why the Achilles heel is a weak spot and to learn the history of the origin of phraseology, you should read the myth of Achilles.

The Legend of Achilles

Sustainable expression originates from the myth conveyed by the writer Gigin, about the hero Achilles. Legend tells that the son of Fetida - a beautiful warrior, all knew how dexterous and impregnable for sharp copies and arrows of the enemy.
From a young age he was predicted a long life in which he would not experience fame, or, heroic, but short life, ending with the death of a warrior at the walls of
Troy.

Fetida's caring mother was afraid of her son's early death, and therefore went to the River Styx, the waters of which were considered sacred. She plunged the baby into the groundwater, holding his heel, protecting his flesh from the impact of any weapon. Magic enchantment protected the hero from any trouble, but, there was only one place of his body, which did not extend the holy protection - heel.

When Fetida dipped her son into the river, she held him by the heel, leaving this part easily vulnerable. The Trojan War pushed Prince Paris and Achilles on the battlefield. Led by the god Apollo, who had previously been offended by an invulnerable warrior, Paris prepared for battle poisoned arrows, took aim and hit the heel of Achilles. An impregnable warrior was killed. A small wound from the arrow was fatal for the hero.

When the cancer on the mountain whistles and the fish sing

In an attempt to find a solution to this symbol can be broken a lot of philological copies, however, it is better not to try. This is warned by the writer Taffy in the story "When cancer whistled."

The main character boy Petya Jabotkin, hearing this expression as a child, decided to know the unknown and find the same cancer, which must whistle, so that all human hopes are justified. This idea became the meaning of his life. He even took up the occult to learn the mystical connection between a whistle and a creature without lungs. It didn't end well.

So, the whistling cancer is something like the famous crow Edgar Poe, shouting "Nevermore"? It turns out that yes. This idea is influenced by the juxtaposition of proverbs and sayings of other nations. All these pigs in yellow flip-moons, climbing on a pear, or the moon, becoming green cheese, are in their own way magnificent images of the impossible, which are abundantly "found" in such folklore genre as "fiction".

The obvious alogism of expression is the main key to understanding it. Cancer never, under any circumstances, will not whistle - it means that the fulfillment of a promise is impossible.

How much figurative power people put into their words just to say "never"! All this is because hope dies last and for each "never" you want to ask: "Maybe, after all, someday?"

Bearish service

Help can be different: belated and timely, unexpected and long-awaited, gratuitous and self-serving. And sometimes it is better that it would not be at all.

In ancient India there was an interesting story about a monkey and a stone. French fable painter Jean de La fontin has borrowed this plot for his story L'ours et l'amateur des jardins, turning a monkey into a bear. Ivan Krylov translated the fable into Russian.

We know her as "Desert and Bear."

In the story of the deserter, a man leading a secluded existence, tired of loneliness and befriended a bear. They walk, but the man breaks out of strength and goes to sleep. The bear is vigilantly guarding the sleep, driving away from it flies. In trouble annoying insect sits on the nose of a deserter. Mishka, without hesitation, takes a cobblestone and breaks the skull of a friend, trying to kill a fly.

The Russian language is rich in florid phrases that baffle foreigners with literal translation. There are expressions with a similar meaning: "a helpful fool is more dangerous than an enemy."