Sometimes we come across ignorant people who, without even worrying about what they do not know, run the risk of expressing their own, no, not an opinion, but rather discontent. But there is no such situation in which someone would not visit us before you. Even in ancient times, when confronted with ignoramuses, people said one interesting phrase: “A pig in oranges”. What does this expression mean? To which particular situation does it apply? And where did it come from? We will discuss this topic in today's publication.
A bit of history and science
It is no coincidence that the expression “pig in oranges” arose. There is a scientific explanation for this. So, it was determined that the pig does not distinguish between sweet, salty, sour, etc. And for physiological reasons it does not understand the taste of overseas fruit.
For the first time, the phrase “pig in oranges” was used by Nikolai Leskov, a Russian writer and publicist. In his letters to Shubinsky, a Russian historian and journalist, he mentioned a certain third party, who, in turn, received such an unflattering characterization.
Later, the expression “pig in oranges” was used by another Russian writer, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. And he did it again, not in a literary work, but in a letter to his friend Suvorin.
In those days, such an expression, “like a pig in oranges,” meant that a certain character is absolutely not versed in any field, but at the same time he is actively trying not only to judge, but also to put his own assessments.
One can only wonder how accurately and cleverly the comparison was made. After all, then science did not have data on some of the taste characteristics of this animal. Perhaps the reason for this comparison was the observation of the behavior of the pig during its keeping.
Ignorant people
The lower a person’s professional abilities and intelligence, the less he understands how ignorant he is. Unwillingness to realize their inferiority is directly related to the scarcity of mind and limited horizons. Moreover, this fact was noted by Darwin, who believed that "ignorance gives rise to confidence than knowledge." Perhaps the pig became a hostage to his far from artistic appearance. And therefore, it has become a synonym for ignorance and stupidity. “Pig in oranges” is not just a phrase. This is an indicator of competence, education of the individual. The knowledge of such expressions, and most importantly, the ability to use them in your speech in a certain case indicates a well-read, intelligent, interesting person in communication.
Dangerous for health
Scientists conducted an experiment in which two groups of people took part. Representatives of the first were faced with competently, even elegantly constructed objections. And the latter were forced to conduct electronic negotiations with people whose answers turned out to be primitive and built according to the thinking pattern of a near person. Pressure surges and irritability were observed in the second group of participants who had to communicate with “fools”. But we are in regular contact with such people. Moreover, it should be remembered that interlocutors of this type can spit in your soul without even noticing it. The meaning "like a pig in oranges " boils down to the fact that this expression marks a person as an ignoramus, warns others who have to deal with.