There are more and more people on the planet, the level of socialization is growing every second. It is impossible to hide from relatives, friends and colleagues anywhere: using the Internet and smartphones with spam messages, pictures, links to videos, you can get a person everywhere. Oddly enough, for such a situation, the Russian people have long come up with a capacious definition of "finish off." This verb is universal and ambiguous, equally suitable for describing endless moralizing, as well as for annoying, cloying love messages.
Where did it come from?
The origin will seem confusing for several reasons. In jargon there is the word "channel", meaning:
The version seems good, but it is incorrect. The concept under study is an imperfect view for "finishing off." What will it give? If we discard the prefix for the approach to the “before” event, we get an unambiguous “poke”:
- squeeze with light;
- to choke.
Fasmer suggested a connection with the Polish konac or "death." The rapprochement with the word "end" in the conversation about life is obvious. In Lithuanian there are words kanoti, kanoju:
Not the most promising prospect. Since ancient times, the basic meaning of "finish off" has been associated with death, and quite painful. However, contemporaries use an allegorical interpretation.
How is it used?
In an official conversation of utterances with a sonorous word, you will never hear - it is too rude and unworthy of secular communication. At the household level, there are many situations in which one of the meanings can be used:
- destroy, intentionally bring to death;
- spoil, harm, disable;
- put in a hopeless position.
Most often, the action is aimed at a person who asks to stop torturing him. It can sometimes be transferred to animals or objects. If the peasant uses the cattle too much, he quickly catches up with it. Like an overexcited child, while playing with the handles on the keyboard and monitor, it poses a serious threat to the computer.
There is a fourth interpretation, however, corresponding to the norms of the language even less. In this case, "finish off" is the last effort, reluctant to finish the job. They do not pay attention to quality, if only to surrender and forget as soon as possible.
When is it appropriate?
There is no clearly negative context for the word. Yes, it implies something bad, but often either expresses the speaker’s emotions or is used with irony. In a friendly circle, it is quite possible to use this colorful concept, but in official conversations choose a more literary expression.