Things are as white as soot
Wed. What, how are you? “Things are as white as soot!”- cannot be praised.
Saltykov. Poshekhonskaya antiquity. 27.
Wed. And how are you doing? - "Yes, ours things are as white as soot, how are you?” - We live according to our sins, we also smoke the sky.
Dostoevsky. Notes from the House of the Dead. 2, 4.
Russian thought and speech. Yours and someone else's. Experience of Russian phraseology. Collection of figurative words and parables. T.T. 1-2. Walking and apt words. A collection of Russian and foreign quotes, proverbs, sayings, proverbial expressions and individual words. St. Petersburg, type. Ak. Sci.. M. I. Mikhelson. 1896-1912.
See what “things are as white as soot” in other dictionaries:
- (i.e. so white). See GOOD MERCY EVIL... IN AND. Dahl. Proverbs of the Russian people
Disgusting Dictionary of Russian synonyms. things like soot white adj., number of synonyms: 1 disgusting (88) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms ... Synonym dictionary
Things are as white as soot- Things are LIKE SOOT WHITE. Razg. Joking. Very bad, no good. Here things are as white as soot; They sent a photographer and photographed people for party documents. But Sintsov has yet to turn away from the gates (K. Simonov. The Living and the Dead) ... Phraseological Dictionary of the Russian Literary Language
Things are like white soot (bad). Wed. What, how are you? “Things are as white as soot!” cannot be praised. Saltykov. Poshekhonskaya antiquity. 27. Wed. How are you doing? “Yes, our affairs are as white as soot, how are you?” We also live by our sins, we also smoke the sky.... ...
Black Hair is like tar. Wed. Schwarz wie Pech. Wed. Coelum pice nigrius. The sky is pitch black. Ovid. Her. 18, 7. Wed. Νέφος μελάντερον ήΰτε πίσσα. The cloud is blacker than tar. Hom. II. 4, 277. See things like soot is white. See jet black... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary
SOOT, soot, many. no, female Black deposits that settle on the internal parts of stoves and chimneys are a product of incomplete combustion of fuel. ❖ Things are as white as soot (joking pog.) things are bad, things are unimportant. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary
Like pitch (like soot, like soot) black. The hair is like resin. Wed. Schwarz wie Pech. Wed. Coelum pice nigrius. Per. The sky is pitch black. Ovid. Her. 18, 7. Wed. Νέφος μελάντερον ἠύτε πίσσα. Per. The cloud is blacker than tar. Hom. Il. 4, 277. See Cases like... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)
HOW TO GIVE A DRINK- pogov. before: How to give something to drink. Exactly, for sure. How are you? // Things are all in folders / Things are going on, the office is writing (and the clerk can barely breathe) / As white as soot / Washing the dial rope. Like a fool with a clean neck (sit) pogov. It is in vain to wait for something, to prepare. How … Explanatory dictionary of modern colloquial phraseological units and proverbs
AND; and. 1. units only A product of incomplete combustion of fuel, a black coating deposited on the internal parts of stoves and chimneys. Get dirty with soot. You're covered in soot. Things are as white as soot (verb; about a bad state of affairs, failure in business). 2. Chemical product... encyclopedic Dictionary
soot- And; and. see also soot 1) only units. A product of incomplete combustion of fuel, a black coating deposited on the internal parts of stoves and chimneys. Get dirty with soot. You're covered in soot. Things are as white as soot (verb; about a bad state of affairs, failure in business) 2)… … Dictionary of many expressions
Yes, of course, sayings are the heritage of our ancestors, but it often happens that they can be just a beautiful phrase, the words of which can be easily replaced by others that are similar in meaning. In this article we will analyze the meaning of the phrase “as white as soot.” What does this saying mean? Why, and most importantly why, can it be heard quite often in our everyday life?
The meaning of the saying
A black soot deposit settles on the inside of the stove and chimney. Soot black. It’s easy to get dirty with soot, and it’s difficult to wash off the dirty residue from your face. The sensations from this can be the most unpleasant. When they say: “as white as soot” - what does the expression mean? It has a completely opposite meaning.
Each of us understands that soot cannot be white and, therefore, our affairs are also far from “white”. In other words, things are bad. Often this expression is used when they do not want to give a specific answer and limit themselves to using this phraseological unit in their speech, implying the unsatisfactory progress of affairs. Why do people use this expression quite often? Why, and most importantly why, do we sometimes like to complain?
A little psychology, or the habit of complaining
What kind of bad habit do most people have of being in a bad mood and constantly complaining about fate? Quite often you can hear the answer to the question: “How are you? - As black is white!". Which means slowly or even with the letter “x” - good. “Good” can mean anything but “good.” The famous Dutch professor of psychology at Erasmus University, Ruth Veenhoven, said in one of his television programs that one sixth of the land mass occupies an “honorable” third place in the matter of being happy: he came to the conclusion “that happiness must be suffered” or “happiness must be earned.” Yes, of course it is, we can confirm in unison. Red-cheeked Danes, holders of the first “contented” place, tirelessly praise their lives, the government and even gay parades. But what’s wrong with this if a special manner of giving critical assessment to everything has been formed? All this can become a habit, which will turn into self-hypnosis; against a generally favorable background, a person will look for spots in the sun, and to the question “how are you?” invariably answers: “As white as soot!” What does it mean to be unwilling and unable to assess your real position in life?
Conclusion
To summarize what has been said, I would like to note that it is in the parental home that a thinking style is formed, based on the habit of seeing the negative. But a critical attitude to what is happening may not always be inconvenient for us. If in general you are satisfied with life, work, family, and when asked: “How are you?” nevertheless, occasionally you answer “Like soot white!”, this means that your skepticism is completely justified.
The task of each of us is to be able to step over negative thinking, see new opportunities in life, and not be afraid to explore it in all directions. And if you want to grumble a little, then grumble for your health, but know when to stop!
Things are as white as soot Things are as white as soot(bad). Wed. What, how are you? “Things are as white as soot!” cannot be praised. Saltykov. Poshekhonskaya antiquity. 27. Wed. How are you doing? “Yes, ours things are as white as soot"How are you?" We also live by our sins, we also smoke the sky. Dostoevsky. Notes from the House of the Dead. 2, 4. Cm. The sky is smoky.Russian thought and speech. Yours and someone else's. Experience of Russian phraseology. Collection of figurative words and parables. T.T. 1-2. Walking and apt words. A collection of Russian and foreign quotes, proverbs, sayings, proverbial expressions and individual words. St. Petersburg, type. Ak. Sciences.. M. I. Mikhelson. 1896-1912.
White soot
White soot- hydrated silicon dioxide, which is obtained by precipitation from a solution of sodium silicate (liquid glass) with acid, most often sulfuric, followed by filtration, washing and drying.
It is the basis for obtaining a large number of fillers for polymer composite materials, which are products of modification of white soot with organic modifiers, most often polymer wax.
White soot is sometimes called boron nitride, obtained by “burning” pentaborane in nitrogen. The white soot pigment is finely dispersed zinc oxide ZnO.
- Soot.
Literature
- Ermilov P.I., Indeikin E.A., Tolmachev I.A., Pigments and pigmented paints and varnishes. – L. Chemistry, 1987
- Raw materials and intermediate products for paints and varnishes. Ed. MM. Goldberg. M.: Chemistry, 1978
Why when they ask: “How are you?” They answer: “How white is soot?”
Why when you ask: “How are you?” They answer: How white is soot?
Evgenica
How soot is white means that things are out of the ordinary and manageable, because soot is not actually white...
In general, this is some kind of rhyming proverb, which carries more irony than a real reflection of the state of affairs.
Orina
Soot is not white, it is black. This means that when they answer: “As white as soot,” they mean that things are bad. But often things go well, and people respond that way. This saying is very well known. Personally, I sometimes remember her just like that, when they ask the question “How are you?”
Stealth
Well, this is how his deeds are - there is as much good in them as there is whiteness in soot, that is, zero.
White means light, good, and black means bad, negative.
Everything means bad for him, but still not really if he still has the strength to joke..)
What does it mean: “As white as soot” when they answer the question: “How are you?”
Svetlana Tarasova
The saying “things are as white as soot” means the deplorable state of affairs, that everything is bad, and there is only negativity everywhere. Often such an expression can show one’s attitude towards a person, like “don’t pester me”, “don’t bother me with questions”, or simply “leave me alone”. Which does not exclude at all, but rather highlights the first concept that “things are not very good.”In Ancient Rus' there was nothing blacker than soot. And our ancestors always associated dark color with something not very positive and good. That is, the phrase “white as soot” sounds quite sarcastic, since in this particular case the color black is implied.
“Things are as white as soot” synonyms of the proverb
- Trouble does not come alone;
- These are flowers and berries ahead;
- It could be worse;
- Our fault is trouble;
- Trouble after trouble - like wave after wave;
- The further into the forest, the more firewood;
- Living life is not a field to cross.
In Portuguese - "vai de mal a pior" - "from bad to worse"
In English:
- "things are as all right as soot is white" - "things are as good as white snot"
- "I'm fine as a frogs hair" - "I'm fine as the hair of a frog"
Use of proverbs in literature
“Pyotr Evlokimovich, how are you doing?... - It’s as white as soot! I think soon we’ll all starve to death.” ("Port Arthur" by A. Stepanov)“You ask, how are you? How white is soot! My head is buzzing like a bell.” ("Submariners" by A. Novikov Surf)
“Over time, we will come to the question, how are you doing? - Yes, what, good gentleman from Yaroslavl will say, “my business is as white as soot. The salary is small. I went to a couple of stores and there is nothing, barely enough until the end of the month.” ("Yaroslavl residents in Moscow" Kokorev)
“Yes, that’s all, how are you? My deeds are as white as soot! You can’t even praise me.” ("Poshekhon Antiquity" by Saltykov-Shchedrin)
“And how are you doing? - Yes, our affairs are as white as soot, how are you? That’s how we live, according to our sins, just smoking the sky.” ("Notes from the House of the Dead" by Dostoevsky)
“We are doing like crazy, they sent us a photographer to take photos of citizens for party documents. But the Sintsovs have refused so far.” (“The Living and the Dead” by K. Simonov)