One of the most difficult sections in language learning is phraseology. Understanding persistent expressions is not easy. To do this, look deep into the past. To know the customs, rites of the people speaking the studied language. If you ignore stable phrases as such, then you can get into an absurd situation, since it is simply impossible to guess the meaning of many of them.
Value
The meaning “Do not drink water from your face” has been rethought. The words: "water", "drink", "face" in the usual sense for us do not have any meaning in this phrase. The meaning of the phraseology “Do not drink water from your face” is to accept a person not by the beauty of his face. A proverb is easier to understand if we turn to history. In Russia, for a long time there was a rite - to marry young people in a conspiracy of parents. Until the wedding, the bride and groom were not supposed to see each other. This caused a lot of concern about the appearance of the future spouse. For parents, the material wealth of the new family was mainly important, therefore, with the help of this phrase they comforted the intractable child. In addition, young people with an unattractive appearance or physical disabilities got a chance at family life.
Gradually, the custom to decide for the children their future disappeared, but the phraseological unit remained. Its meaning remains the same. It stands for material gain in marriage. If a person is provided, his appearance goes by the wayside. But in the meaning of “Do not drink water from your face”, another concept has appeared - to value human dignity above the beauty of appearance. In the end, one can come to terms with shortcomings and even not notice them at all if a person has good spiritual qualities.
Origin history
The emergence of phraseology is supposedly associated with another rite - the rite of tea drinking. In Russia, the tea ceremony was accompanied by an abundance of refreshments and could drag on for several hours. Guests were put in the best places, under the images. For the tea ceremony, beautiful, and most importantly, whole dishes were used (without chipped edges and cracks). This custom showed the generosity and breadth of the Russian soul. The meaning of the proverb “Do not drink water from your face” is not to see the imperfections in a person’s appearance. You won’t get tea from bad dishes, but you can accept a person, no matter what. Everyone has both advantages and disadvantages.
Why water, after all, in Russia there were many other drinks? Most likely, the word “water” has grown to the phrase due to the fact that it is transparent, any flaw is clearly visible through it.
Equivalents, synonyms, antonyms
Many proverbs and sayings have equivalents. This is logical, because the origin of many of them dates back to the preliterate period. People remembered the main meaning, and individual words or grammar could very well change. This phrase is no exception. Any combination of words included in this phrase should be understood with respect to the basic meaning of “Do not drink water from your face”.
In addition, this proverb may have synonyms (expressions similar in their lexical meaning, but different in sound and spelling). They can be found in the collection “Proverbs of the Russian people” compiled by V. I. Dahl. He gives synonyms of this proverb in the section “Essence-appearance”. So, the meaning of phraseology “Do not drink water from your face” can be revealed with the help of other stable expressions:
Not bodily, but divided.
- Not fit, but fit.
In the same collection, you can pick up antonyms, that is, expressions with the opposite meaning.
Using a proverb
The presence of a large number of synonyms and antonyms indicates the prevalence of the use of the phrase we are considering. Most often it is used, talking about the chosen one or chosen one, about family life. Sometimes the value "Do not drink water from the face" is comic. For example, when a person is too obsessed with the shortcomings of a partner.
The expression is often found in works of literature telling about the traditions and customs of the Russian people. It can be found in the works of N. A. Nekrasov, N. S. Leskov and many other writers of Russian classics.
The use of stable expressions in speech makes it more imaginative and distinctive. These phrases help to understand the situation without long explanations, therefore they are so loved not only by the authors of the classics, but also by journalism.