Quite often, situations arise when in a conversation with an interlocutor we are talking about a common acquaintance, and not even a minute passes before he already appears behind him. How can this be? How did this person feel that they were talking about him? Why in such cases they say "easy on sight"? The history of the emergence of the well-known phrase and its exact meaning will be considered below.
What does the saying "easy on sight" mean?
Explain the meaning of the expression is quite simple: the sudden "materialization" of a person who was remembered or discussed in a conversation. There is an opinion that such a “miracle” even scientists tried to explain, connecting the phenomenon with intuition, among the people such a regularity has been noted for a long time.
True, earlier they used to say more often: "Just remember the devil, how is he here." Allegedly, it is easy to “call” him if you “remember”, that is, remember or say a few words about him in the conversation.
The people believed that when a person is just constantly remembered or waiting for a meeting or news from him, he is "easy on sight", which means that it is typical for him to appear at a certain moment or to make himself felt, even if such a guest is not a joy to the owners.
History of Expression
“Mention” is an old Russian word, meaning “remembrance”. In Russia, there were many beliefs and superstitions connected with this, for example, they avoided mentioning the devil, believing that even words uttered in jest could cause evil spirits. They were afraid of wolves, who were frequent guests, attacked pets.
At that distant time, the phrase was pronounced a little differently: "the wolf is easy on sight", which means that cattle are again missing. Insatiable wolves, as soon as they think about them, appear in the yard waiting for prey. About wolves, as well as about the devil, it was not customary to speak out loud, so the word was omitted, and the expression was transformed, but did not lose its meaning.
Another interpretation comes from the origins of a folk custom. At the wake, it is customary to drink a glass for the deceased, for his repose, then - for the health of loved ones, from whom there was no news for a long time. Considering that all relatives attended the commemoration, it happened that after such a “mention”, those same people appeared at the door, whose health had been drunk earlier, which means “easy on sight”.
Proverbs Analogs
The mystical connection of expression with the materialization of thoughts has not been proved, but the fact remains: the one who is often thought or spoken about soon makes itself felt. There are similar semantic sayings related to the story of wolves, bothering Russian settlements many centuries and decades ago:
- about the wolf, and the wolf to meet;
- gray is remembered, and gray is here;
- about gray speech, and gray towards;
- Mark the wolf, and the wolf from the stake.
The proverb “easy on sight” (which means the sudden appearance of the one in question) is often mentioned in the literary works of Turgenev and Rasputin. It is important that even today, modern Russian people know where it is appropriate to use it, which once again supports the existence of folklore.